Rosé

A Clutch of Valentine Wines

Haywire Pink Bub

Roses are red Violets are blue But what would you think If we drank only pink? The Hired Belly has been busy checking his Valentine ‘s shopping list, and pondering just which wines might be best to go along. We’re tempted to throw caution to the wind with this year’s crop of Valentine ’s wines, […]

Read more February 13, 2014 Wine

A Taste of Provence Rosé

A clutch of very drinkable rosés

Is Rosé still on a roll?  It looks that way. Last month we had a chance to test drive a quartet of Provence rosés (part of a BC Liquor Stores’ promotion) to see how they stacked up. Following on from last year’s tasting, it was interesting to note the ongoing emphasis on creative packaging, which […]

Read more July 15, 2013 Wine Reviews

Rosé on the Rise: Tastes of Provence Rekindle Memories, with a Modern Feel

If wine is about place, chances are what’s in your glass (aside from—hopefully—tasting good) may also rekindle memories. My tasting last week with the folks from Vins de Provence did just that, as it transported me back several years to an unexpected four-day stopover in and around Aix-en-Provence, during which I was able to leisurely […]

Read more June 4, 2012 Hired Belly's Best Wines

First Tastes from Lillooet: Fort Berens Unveils its Inaugural Estate Releases

Last week in Holland they were celebrating Koninginnedag or Queens Day—a national holiday in honour of the Queen, when everyone wears orange to the max. Rolf de Bruin and Heleen Pannekoek (who came to BC from the Netherlands) were also celebrating (and wearing orange), for a different reason. They were pouring the first releases of […]

Read more May 6, 2012 Wine

Wine Festival Vintners Brunch Food & Wine Smackdown: Lift Ascends

Most people know the Wine Festival’s Vintner’s Brunch as the festival’s flagship food and wine event. It usually sells out within minutes of tix being available—even more so now that it’s held in the dazzling surrounds of the new Convention Centre West, with its sweeping ocean-mountain vista. Few realize that beyond being a pretty nice […]

Read more March 8, 2012 Belly's Best Bites

Canned Budget Bites by the Book: Moving Well Beyond Sardines on Toast

A few weeks before Christmas we dropped into Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks to take a peek at what’s hot in the culinary book world. And, as usual, we wound up picking up a couple of things that would make fun gifts—but somehow we forgot to give them away. One was Len Deighton’s French Cooking for […]

Read more January 24, 2012 Belly's Budget Best

Going Haywire (with a little BS thrown in) at Edible Canada at the Market

Yesterday we took time out from our pre-holidays deadline whirl, and Zagat Survey wrap-up (hence the lack of posts here), to catch lunch with the Okanagan Crushpad gang and consulting winemaker  Alberto Antonini. His best quote of the day was: “If I was a yeast, I wouldn’t want to spend my life in stainless steel!”, […]

Read more December 20, 2011 Belly's Best Bites

Provence Rosé: the Perfect Pick for Late Summer Sipping

The Hired Belly recently harvested his garlic—a sure sign that summer is slowly but surely on the wane. However, all is not yet lost. Besides, we’ve long been long convinced summer actually extends well beyond the Labour Day weekend. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it… It’s no coincidence that two of late summer’s […]

Read more August 20, 2011 Belly's Budget Best