It’s fair to say James Harder captured a little of my patriotic, wine-loving heart when his Tank Garage Winery website and sentient IP geo-bot acknowledged our shared homeland. It’s a small thing, but that patriotic nod to his Canadian roots is just one of the many savvy insights that James and his partners bring to…
Canadians in Napa! Faith Armstrong Foster’s ‘Onward Wines’ feature old-school sparkler – Pét Nat
That Napa winemaker Faith Armstrong-Foster harkens from Surge Narrows on the remote Inside Passage of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, should tell you something about her winemaking philosophy. Anyone who grew up amidst the pristine inlets and spectacular wilderness setting of this northern location is going to be on nature’s side. Coast&Kayak Magazine suggests Surge…
Wine-making Canadians in Napa – Meet Ray Signorello Jr.
Over the holidays, I had the pleasure of reading Canada’s #truepatriotlove poster boy, Mike Myers. His memoir, Canada, is the former SNL funnyman’s unabashed love letter to Canada and his critical take on what traits define our country. A “bastion of progressive ideals”, “a country where I am my brother’s keeper”, the “heartland of civility”…
Counter Culture goes Mainstream: The arrival of Weed Wine (part 2)
When 60’s folk icon Bob Dylan wrote “….everybody must get stoned,” he could never have imagined a counter culture drug would be so common, so regulated, sooooo corporate. But here we are at the end of 2017, pot will be legal in California come January and across Canada by July 1st. Riding into the middle…
Coming Jan 1/18: Cannabis Infused Sauvignon Blanc from one “Bad-Ass” California Winery
“This is the first-ever marijuana infused wine,” announces the weed-wine pitchman with a revolutionary fervor that makes my fellow wine writers at the Santa Rosa Wine Bloggers Conference lean in. “Our company is called Rebel Coast and we’re winemakers,” he continues, proudly displaying his green wine. Flowers of the marijuana plant are heated to activate…
Testing our Symmetry Chops: The Rodney Strong Meritage Blending Workshop
I think it’s fair to say if I could hit the replay button on life, I’d come back as a winemaker (….working at a winery with gently rolling hills, south and southwestern exposures, limestone soil, a long growing season, warm climate – where you don’t have to bury the vines, 36 inches of annual rainfall,…
My Bucket List Visit to Napa Valley’s Chateau Montelena: After the Fires
A visit to legendary Chateau Montelena has been on my bucket list since I learned about The Judgement of Paris – the seminal 1976 blind tasting event that pitted new-kid-on-the block California wine against the great wines of France. If it sounds like an epic battle, that’s because it was. At the time, it was…
Taste Canada Awards Gala: My Wine Pairing Challenge with Canada’s Top Chefs (part 2)
I’m at the 20th annual Taste Canada Awards Gala/Les Laureats des Saveurs du Canada at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto. We’re here celebrating Canada’s top culinary chops and I’m at the chef-led food stations on a wine-pairing mission. The hallway is scented with the aromas of fall as some of Canada’s best chefs prepare their…
Taste Canada Awards Gala: Wine Pairing with Canada’s Top Chefs
There was a cornucopia of culinary royalty at the 20th annual Taste Canada Awards Gala/Les Laureats des Saveurs du Canada held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto last month. The red carpet was rolled out to honour Canada’s finest cookbook authors, publishers and food bloggers with 24 Gold and Silver awards given out. Categories ranged from…
Tasting Notes: Rangeland Wines and the Wines of Paso Robles
Rangeland is one of the best-kept secrets in Paso and Paso is one of the best-kept secrets in the wine-world. It didn’t take me long to figure that out. The awareness challenge that I talked about in my first Paso post, is changing….slowly. The community is banding together to help get Paso the recognition it…
Risk and Reward: Wine Business Straight Talk from Rangeland’s Chief Wine Officer (CWO)
The Canadian ex-pat in the cowboy hat running Rangeland Wines in Paso Robles is Laird Foshay. An early investor in Silicon Valley who built and sold two startups in the digital publishing arena, Laird knows something about risk, reward and bridge financing. He jokes he and his wife Lisa are 17 years into a 25-year…
From Vine to Wine: Harvest Curriculum @ Rangeland Winery
Harvest is a feverish, high-energy time in the vineyard and winery. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing seven months of nature’s miracle growth transition from vine to wine. “Team Canada’s”* 10 days of working the Paso Robles, California harvest with winemaker, Paul Hinschberger and vineyard manager, Patrick Hamilton were not only rich in curriculum, but they…
