Just before Easter we came across an old bottle of Summerhill Cipes Brut in my Father-in-Law’s wine cellar. Cipes (rhymes with pipes) Brut is a sparkling wine that Summerhill produces using the traditional Champagne method (methode champenoise). Before I get too much into discussing Summerhill and Cipes Brut though, I want to briefly explain what…
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Singletree Winery
One rainy Sunday, a few weeks back, I was headed out to Mission in pursuit of a pair of antique sconces I found on Craigslist, when out of nowhere I came across a sign for a winery tasting room – so of course I had to stop by. Singletree Winery is owned by the Etsell…
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World Malbec Day
World Malbec Day began in 2011. It is a day created by Wines of Argentina, who were tasked with establishing Argentinian wine as a worldwide brand, and Malbec has become their “global ambassador”. April 17, 1853 is thought to be the day that the president of Argentina, Domingo Faustino Sarmienot, sent Michal Aime Pouget (a…
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2017 Vancouver International Wine Festival
It’s amazing what you can justify when you commit to a year of wine education! I’ve been wanting to attend the Vancouver International Wine Festival for years, but I always found the cost prohibitive – not this year though! Canada as the featured country was just the icing on the cake! Prior to attending the…
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The Oldest Wine I Have Ever Had…Thus Far
Ever since watching the documentaries SOMM and SOMM: Into the Bottle (available on Netflix) I’ve been very curious about what very old wines are like; are they really that incredible!?! On a recent visit to a wine store I happened upon a magnum (1.5 litres) of Portuguese wine from 1997 for around $60. I knew…
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Class No. 4
This is the last class of the course, and it is also exam night, but before the exam there are eight BC wines to try whilst learning about food and wine pairing. Let’s begin! The lineup of wines included Wild Goose ‘God’s Mountain’ Riesling 2015; Joie ‘En Famille’ Gewürztraminer 2014; Noble Ridge Reserve Chardonnay 2012;…
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Class No. 3
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of this whole spitting thing I discovered I was wrong…I dribbled wine down the front of my shirt not once, but twice! Did I mention we were tasting RED wines? Oh dear! Red wines get their colour from grape skins and, as I mentioned in an…
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Class No. 2
I returned to class the following week with my six ISO glasses in tow. Having tried to hone my spitting and tasting technique at home during the previous week, I felt ready to learn about white wine varietals. WSET Level I focuses primarily on the “noble” grape varietals: Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot,…
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Class No. 1
So I have chosen to take WSET Level I and it runs over four weeks; class is every Monday evening from 6:30 to 9:30. While registering for the course, much to my horror, I was forced to acknowledge that there would be absolutely no consumption of alcohol during the classes – you are expected to…
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Why I write this blog…
Many years ago I had the opportunity to attend a wine series at Legacy Liquor store in Vancouver. Every few weeks that summer I was invited to take a seat at their long ‘Harvest Table’ and representatives from wineries all over BC would tell their story and offer us a taste of some truly spectacular…