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…
Tag: Wines of British Columbia
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…
Anthony von Mandl: British Columbia’s God of the Grape (& other fine beverages)
Who is Anthony von Mandl? Let me first admit I haven’t had the pleasure, but visiting British Columbia’s idyllic Okanagan Valley, it’s clear he casts quite a spell both for the international esteem he’s bestowed on the region and for his unprecedented level of investment in the local wine industry. Twice, von Mandl and his…
Harry McWatters: The Force behind the BC Wine Industry
He’s been called a legend, a maverick, the godfather of wine and British Columbia’s Robert Mondavi. As I chat with BC wine pioneer, and Okanagan Valley resident Harry McWatters about the highlights and lowlights of the BC wine industry over the last half century, I can’t help but think he’s the grape growing equivalent of…
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