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Earlier this month I had the pleasure of visiting CheckMate Artisanal Winery and catching-up with Natasha Sadowy, Experience Curator. Natasha toured me around the construction of their new facility, which is well underway. The new building has been designed by Tom Kundig and will include a winemaking facility, barrel room, tasting room and spaces for…
Continue reading CheckMate Artisanal Winery: Anything but Chardonnay?
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I recently re-watched Sideways, a movie attributed with spiking the popularity of Pinot Noir while massacring Merlot. According to a study led by Steven Cuellar, professor at Sonoma State University, the positive impact of Sideways on Pinot Noir sales was greater than the negative impact of the movie on Merlot sales, which primarily affected Merlot…
Continue reading CheckMate Artisanal Winery: You had me at Merlot
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Happy National Rosé Day! This celebration was officially registered in 2014 by Bodvár House of Rosés and it is celebrated each year on the second Saturday in June. Consumers are learning that Rosé wines aren’t just sweet, pink plonk anymore. Provence, in the South of France, is infamous for their dry Rosés and there are…
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tan•ta•lus [tan – tl – uh s] Tantalus: Tantalus was a son of Zeus and the nymph Plouto. He was invited to eat at the table of the gods in Olympus where he stole ambrosia and nectar. Tantalus took these items back to earth, and intended to feed them to his people in order to…
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The wine industry in Canada is young, especially when you compare it to countries like France and Italy, but you may be surprised just how early commercial wineries in Canada existed. Jordan Wines, for example, was an Ontario winery established in 1920. In 1926 they expanded, taking over another Ontario company called Canadian Grape Producers…
Continue reading The 2017 Quails’ Gate BMV Riesling: BC Wine History in a Bottle
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One evening, Sean and Saeedeh Salem found themselves at a restaurant in the company of good friends, eating incredible food and enjoying wonderful wines, when someone commented, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could make our own wines, right at home, and have them with beautiful dinners like this one?”[1] Over a decade later, husband…
Continue reading Le Vieux Pin and LaStella: New World Wines, Old World Elegance
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On June 20, 2009 I joined 1700 other cyclists and we embarked on an epic, two-day journey from Vancouver to Seattle. It was the inaugural Ride to Conquer Cancer in British Columbia and the event raised $6.9 million. Funds raised went directly to the BC Cancer Foundation to support research and patient care at the…
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In 1858, during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, the Hudson’s Bay Company made plans to build a post across the Fraser River from the town of Lillooet, British Columbia. This post would act as a supply outlet for the influx of people who were flocking to the area, and the post was to be called…
Continue reading Fort Berens Estate Winery: From Gold to Wine
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Shana Miller, who was born and raised in Nova Scotia, is one of the founders of Upper Bench Winery and Creamery. At the age of 25 she found herself working in a stressful accounting job in Quebec. Motivated to make a change, Shana moved to the Okanagan in 1995. At the time, Shanna also had…
Continue reading Upper Bench Winery and Creamery: A Series of Fortunate Events
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A few years ago I had the pleasure of listening to a charismatic and engaging speaker named Tony Holler, owner and president of Poplar Grove Winery. As I myself work in healthcare, I found Tony Holler particularly interesting as he left a career in the medical world to pursue his passion in the wine industry.…