In June 2021, the sunny and oh-so-spirited Justin Hall became the new, head winemaker at Nk’Mip Cellars in the southern Okanagan Valley (pronounced in-ka-meep). What’s remarkable about this bit of news is Justin is a proud member of the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB), one of seven bands that make up the Okanagan Nation in central…
Category: Viticulture
B.C. Winery Nk’Mip Cellars: A Remarkable Indigenous Success Story Driven by Trailblazing Chief
Wine writers love to wax poetic about wines that speak to a ‘sense of place’. Yes, it’s a bit of a tired maxim, one that’s often overused and steeped in hyperbole. But when you actually, truly DO find a wine producer who delivers on ‘place’, it’s a pretty big deal. So what does it mean?…
Avignonesi Winery: Leading Montepulciano’s Vino Nobile Regenerative Renaissance
Michael Lewis, one of my all-time favourite authors (Moneyball, The Big Short) says he knows he’s at the intersection of a great story and a great central character when his palms start to sweat. Usually, he adds, the story involves someone who doesn’t take the safe road. They follow some idealistic, quixotic path that inevitably…
The Regenerative GM: My Q&A with Tablas Creek’s Chief Terroir Officer Jason Haas
Earth Day is Thursday, April 22 and I can’t think of a better wine standard bearer, vineyard bon-vivant, herd-boss and planetary steward than Jason Haas (not to be confused with Adelita the Spanish Mastiff – the real herd-boss). You met Jason, the General Manager and Partner at Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles in my…
The Regenerative GM: Tablas Creek Vineyard’s Inspiring Circle of Life
When I called Jason Haas, the spirited, (staggeringly!) prolific General Manager at Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, California it was ostensibly to talk chalk. If you’ve driven the dry, winding, oak-strewn roads of the western Adelaida wine district of Paso Robles (I worked harvest there in 2017) you know there’s a white, dusty cloud…
‘Rock and Soil’ Star: Winemaker Cathy Corison Digs Deep
I recently listened to down-to-earth rock star Alecia Moore – aka Pink – talk about how everything in her Santa Barbera vineyard made perfect sense after she dug her first soil pit. “I wanted to know why a vine here is vigorous, and next to it, not at all. Why some vines are healthy and…
Tasting Notes: the DRY Riesling Challenge – Niagara to FLX
Before we ‘taste’, let me be clear. I love all styles of Riesling. That said, it’s fair to say my previous purchase behaviour puts me squarely in the German feinherb camp (~10 – 20 grams/Litre Residual Sugar – RS). Feinherb – for those new to the Riesling game – is a German descriptor for a…
Searching for DRY Riesling: my Niagara to Finger Lakes 8 g/L RS Wine Challenge
I have a friend who might best be described as a wine aficionado. He likes the good stuff but he also likes good value. And he’s seriously miffed at the price of most international, award-winning wines. I suggested he drink local. He meh-ed. Do you like Riesling, I challenged. Yes, he said. But it has…
Wine that’s Creating Positive Change: the Stratus and Evergreen Sustainable Wine Collection
What’s the perfect pairing? In the food and wine business, we like to say ‘what grows together, goes together’. Some examples? Spring strawberries and rhubarb (the best sweet/sour pie pairing ever), savoury Beef Bourguignon and red Burgundy (classic earthy flavours and aromas) and crisp, minerally Sancerre and creamy Crottin de Chavignol cheese (quintessentially Loire). While…
Part 3 – Sentient Wine and Beer brands Amp up Organic and Sustainability Messaging
Well that’s pretty much a wrap for September. How did you celebrate National Organic Month? If you’ve had the chance to read my last two blog posts (part 1, part 2), you’ll know I’ve spent the last few weeks thinking about why we buy and the factors shaping our 2020 consumer behaviours. There’s nothing more…
Sentient Wine & Alcohol Brands Amp up Organic and Sustainable Messaging
In 2018 – before the name Greta was etched into our consciousness – I was in a grade 3 classroom user-testing an environmental app for kids that explored climate change and plastic pollution in our oceans. Predictably, the students told us the app was buggy (which it was), and had way too much text (which…
Locals Drink Local: The Hidden Gems & Must Try Wines of Prince Edward County
There was a great advertising campaign in 2017 for the high-speed Eurostar train that connects London to Paris. The message read: “Ask a local, not your phone.” The campaign encouraged travellers to ditch their technology and tap the local knowledge and passion of the community. Paris isn’t in the cards for most Canadians living a post…
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