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…
Bottled Optimism: The Exceptional Wines of Prince Edward County
In a perfect world (audible sigh), I’d be lounging on an outdoor patio chair at (say) Waupoos Winery, in Prince Edward County (PEC) with a beautifully chilled Rosé, enjoying spectacular views of Lake Ontario with friends and family. We’d laugh, we’d high-five, and we might even steal a sip or two from each other’s glass…
Cliff Lede Vineyards: Brilliantly Blending the Rock and Rolling Hills of Napa
CANADIANS IN NAPA: EPISODE #5 When you’ve spent 44 years of your life in the northern reaches of Alberta, Canada on construction sites, oil rigs and pipeline corridors, no one should really be surprised when you decide to pack it in for the bucolic expanses of Napa Valley. And if you also spent those years…
Unconventional Wisdom: Jean-Michel Comme on the Vines & Wine of Pontet-Canet
Postscript: On May 11, 2020 Jean-Michel Comme resigned his position at Pontet-Canet, saying the pressure of the job had become unbearable. In our interview, he spoke openly and honestly about that incredible stress and the emotional toll of managing an estate with first growth expectations. It was an incredible interview for me. I wish…
Takin’ it to the Street: Pandemic-Weary, Quarantined Neighbours Drink & Review Canadian Wine
The other day I was walking my dog – observing physical-distancing best practices (!) – when I came across a neighbour’s bag of empty wine bottles parked beside the recycling bin. As a market researcher, I simply could not keep walking. This was a deliciously nerdy, ethnographic research study in a bag and it was…
Trial by Fire: Raising a Glass to Australia’s Recovery from the Bushfires
If you’d like to help support Australia’s recovery from the bushfires, consider lifting a glass of Aussie’s finest. Like so many local businesses, Australia’s wine producers have felt the impact of the devastating bushfires and many top producers will not be making wine in 2020. While research suggests only 1% of total vineyard area suffered…
A little Green with your Bordeaux? Château de La Dauphine’s Green Wine Tour
Perched on a rolling hill above the winding Dordogne River, Château de La Dauphine is one of the most visually stunning properties in Bordeaux. I first eyed this peaceful right bank beauty last year, as we drove westbound into Bordeaux along D670, the highway framing the south Fronsac appellation. It was my first trip to…
Eco-Savvy Château de Chantegrive: Trailblazing Bordeaux Vineyards are Rolling out Green Wine Tours
For me, the really juicy story swirling around the food and beverage category – and indeed just about every retail category – is the changing values of customers. Many consumers now rank a company’s environmental record higher on their list of “purchase considerations”. Seminal research is indicating this ‘sustainability mindset’ is a marketing game-changer. Some…
A Second French Revolution: Château Guiraud’s Sweet Eco Manifesto
Xavier Planty and his son Luc Planty may not be direct descendants of the 16th century owners of Château Guiraud in Sauternes, but they definitely inherited their revolutionary spirit. In fact, if there’s one word that best describes the wine business modus operandi of the Planty family, it’s rebellious. Which is exactly how one might…
Going Going Green: The Noble Winemaking Efforts of Bordeaux’s Domaine de Chevalier
It’s a bright, refreshingly cool morning in the vineyards of Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac-Léognan when the gravel soil of the namesake Graves region really starts to make its presence known. I’m in minute four of a low-level, half-squat, half-kneel position wrestling with an unbelievably prodigious Sauvignon Blanc vine. The current challenge: to wedge my…
Digging into Bordeaux’s Green Movement
I’m back from Bordeaux. Yes, again. How many visits to Bordeaux in a year constitute an addiction? No need to answer; it’s a rhetorical question. But for the record, I’m up to three. Some of my friends are calling me a wannabe Bordelaise. I am happy to report that’s true. Disclosures aside, the focus of…
