A comprehensive organic-biodynamic program from vineyard to bottle, Tim Pawsey photo Last week’s column for the North Shore News was a quick recap of our visit to Emiliana Los Robles Organic Biodynamic Vineyards. It was one of the more impressive but—more to the point— profound experiences of my week in Chile. A [...]
Been a bit churlish, we have, of late towards BC’s beloved burger-monger and family resto chain White Spot—due mainly to the presence of its large chicken mascot on BC Ferries the other weekend. (White Spot supplies a portion of BC Ferries food requirements...) Somebody in the Twitterverse took offence when we suggested (in jest) the [...]
Grant Stanley: one of the Okanagan's best One of our favourite tastings of the year is an action packed hour or so spent with Quails Gate winemaker Grant Stanley. We’ll get to the wines shortly but much of my enthusiasm stems from the fact that Grant—aside from being a superb winemaker and one [...]
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 [...]
Peller / Sandhill master winemaker Howard Soon, Tim Pawsey photo Because he always is! I like this pic of Peller / Sandhill / Calona winemaker guru Howard Soon. It was just a quick snap, taken at a recent BC Wine tasting. But it shows you exactly the way Howard is: always there [...]
The Flying Pig's skirt steak—the real deal, Tim Pawsey photo It just goes to show; you can never know what to expect on a Vancouver Monday night. One recent, still dry October soirée, you could have fired a proverbial cannon down most of Yaletown’s narrow streets, so who knew that we’d only just [...]
Two long established wine families have reached across the border to produce a new Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The Stewart family, which owns Quails Gate Winery in Westbank, BC, and the Zepponi family of Sonoma, California, have a history of similar if distant beginnings, in that their forebears settled and started farming at around the [...]
Time to mark the calendar for May 2nd. Yes, it’s Election Day in Canada but more to the point, it's the day the Kiwis roll into Vancouver for the annual New Zealand Wine Fair, this year at The Roundhouse —so you can take the Canada Line to right across the street. [...]
Newly minted Miradoro blends nicely with the existing barrel cellar, Tim Pawsey photo We finally made it to recently unveiled Miradoro, the new restaurant at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, in Oliver, BC. We’ve been watching the progress (admittedly, slow at times) of this latest South Okanagan addition with interest, in part because it’s a [...]
This is the time of year when a lot of people who don’t buy wine very often find themselves standing in front of liquor store shelves scratching their heads. Here’s a grab-bag of good value labels we’ve featured during the past several months as ‘Belly’s Budget Best’ picks in our various columns. You’ll [...]