Food & wine festivals

Drinking in Dine Out in Style

Postmark brewing sm

Dine Out Vancouver started out as discount dinner-fest. But it’s now blossomed well beyond the plate. Dine Out is now very much also about what’s in the glass. The time was, not all that long ago, when you’d be hard pressed to find any BC wines on a restaurant list. No More. Dine Out’s most […]

Read more January 19, 2015 Dining

Dine Out 2015: Hired Belly’s $38 list and more

West Oak, a warm and welcoming addition

($18 menus  / $28 menus) The annual Dine Out media preview (organised by Tourism Vancouver) is one of the year’s most anticipated evenings, designed to give media a sense of what’s on offer. The format sounds simple but the execution is complex. A true tour de force, it involves shepherding several large groups of media around […]

Read more January 16, 2015 Dining

Dine Out Vancouver 2015: Hired Belly’s $28 Picks

Carthage Café cous-cous and mussels, Tim Pawsey photo

Dine Out’s $28 category is the most hotly contested, with some 133 options—of which quite a few are chains—though worth checking out. What you won’t find mentioned below are restos who seem to have a tough time charging moderately for wines, or for, whatever reason, are still oblivious to the very notion of Ocean Wise. […]

Read more January 13, 2015 Dining

Vancouver International Wine Festival 2015: Early Bird savings

Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre—a spectacular setting, TP photo

It’s never too early to be thinking about this coming spring’s wine festival—especially if you’re a wallet watcher. Some serious deals are afoot for early birds, right through December 31. This year’s theme country is Australia. And the global focus is Syrah—which means a great chance to taste a broad spectrum of old world Syrah […]

Read more November 7, 2014 Wine

Drink in Wine Tourism Day with this Summerland Deal!

Summerland's Local Lounge | Grill

(From the release) November 8 marks North America’s 2nd annual Wine Tourism Day.  Okanagan Crush Pad has gathered neighbouring wineries, restaurants and a hotel, to offer an incredible weekend getaway in BC wine county. The winery itself will be open Nov 8 from 12-5 pm to pair their bubble with catered treats from chef Roger […]

Read more October 20, 2014 Wine

2014 BC Wine Awards: A Premier for Platinum

BC Wine Award Platinum winners

Last week I was privileged to spend the best part of three days with a very focused group of wine judges from BC, across Canada and Kansas City. I’m convinced that, aside from an overall willingness to truly work together, the right setting enhances the process. As it turned out, with its ‘collegial’ personality, super staff, and […]

Read more October 1, 2014 Wine

Okanagan Falls: More Than Just a Pretty Place

Okanagan Falls: beach at Skaha Lake

The more focused evolution of the Okanagan’s specific wine regions continues, as sub-appellations seem likely to become a reality. Witness the progress of the Okanagan Falls Wineries Association. Last Friday night’s Party in the Park was just that: a delightful evening of wine tasting, excellent barbecued pork (from The Chef Instead) and a good band […]

Read more July 14, 2014 Wine

Make Mine with Mezcal: Tequila Expo Shakedown

My new favourite food pairing: Leyenda Oaxaca Mezcal and toasted grasshoppers!

Mezcal can be mildly mesmerizing. Over the years I’ve learned to treat certain spirits—from single malt Whisky to Absinthe and more— with a degree of respect. Maybe it was only a matter of time before Mezcal was added to the list—a fact reconfirmed at last week’s Vancouver International Tequila Expo. In a way it’s all Eric Lorenz’s […]

Read more June 6, 2014 Spirits

Winning Wines at The Osoyoos Oyster Festival

wine and oysters

The Osoyoos ‘Oyster’ Festival? Seriously? I must admit, I was just a tad surprised when I first heard of the idea. After all, burgeoning bivalves is maybe not the first thing that come to mind when you consider the sandy (rock free), shores of the South Okanagan’s popular beach-side resort. However, the Osoyoos Oyster Festival […]

Read more April 26, 2014 Wine

Agave Week: Time to Taste Tequila and Meet Your Mezcal (Video)

Mezcal is in the spotlight at this year's International Tequila Expo

“Mr. Mezcal” Updated, April 9, 2014. This year’s Vancouver International Tequila Expo runs May 26-31. Full details here: Much more to come soon…   When we first met Eric Lorenz a few of years ago, Tequila was something you made margaritas with and, well, who had even heard of Mezcal? Lorenz is busy putting the final touches on […]

Read more April 17, 2014 Spirits

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