Above photo an unrelated event
Pennsylvania, a state with a government controlled liquor board, is planning to plant wine vending machines in supermarkets. But don’t get too excited minors, because the machine will require you to blow in a breathalyzer and insert your photo ID, which will be matched to your face via video by a [...]

A little way’s back, I’d made mention of a wonderful new Naramata Viognier that was bottled and ready to go, but the BC government was keeping us from getting some.  I’m happy to say that this is no longer the story.
A little background…
Miranda and Del Halladay of Elephant Island Orchard Wines have been producing phenomenal [...]

“Now, ours is a severely troubled world, and a tweet from a wine guy, no matter how eminent, is by definition an inconsequential event. But for those who love wine, mega-critic Robert Parker’s tiny rant indeed marked a watershed.”
A swell article by Tom Philpott on Grist covers the latest Robert Parker controversy…

So there’s this beautiful, brand new Naramata Viognier that is ready to be released.
It is stunning, and a phenomenal new venture from some folks many of you know and hold in quite high regard.
- but -
Our government doesn’t want you to drink it.
More soon…

My pals and, now, neighbours Cynthia & David Enns of Laughing Stock Vineyards have come up with a great plan to not let the upcoming BC HST sting consumers when buying their wines.
For a background of how the HST will burn BC wine lovers, check out Jake’s recent post…

By the way- their 2007 Portfolio, comprised [...]

While flipping through the 2nd Edition of the Oxford Companion to Wine, I found this picture accompanied by the caption:
Each year Robert Parker visits a class of six-year-olds in a private school in Bordeaux to give them a talk about France’s Vineyards
What the hell? I hope he doesn’t still do that, because that’s kind of [...]

Tantalus’ new digs, borrowed from John Schreiner.
I realize that I’m nearly two weeks late on this, but one of my favourite BC producers has finally cut the ribbon on their new green winery. Perched high above Kelowna and Lake Okanagan, Tantalus’ LEED Gold Certified home is now open for business. All the fruit used [...]

A huge, heartfelt congratulations go out to our great pal Rhys Pender, who has just become Canada’s youngest Master Of Wine!  This is an enormous accomplishment, Rhys’ dedication, passion and determination is worthy of much respect.
Rhys runs the Okanagan’s wineplus+ wine school, and does a zillion other things in the BC wine world, waving our [...]

The charming and historic West Kootenay town that is Nelson, finally has a wine shop the people can be proud of. BC Wineguys Nelson VQA store boasts a thorough Okanagan selection at winery prices. The shop is owned and managed by Jon Langille, who is best known for opening the All Seasons Café - one [...]

Image from the C&C archives
It sounds like the east-facing bench of vineyard land south of Oliver, known as the Golden Mile, may be rooting out other fan favourites, such as the Naramata Bench and the Black Sage Bench, to become the first official sub-DVA (Designated Viticultural Area) of the Okanagan Valley. In a new post, [...]

My first day of a short visit to Portland found me snacking at Clyde Common and sipping local Pinot while perusing the inspired wine list. I realize that I should be seizing the opportunity to drink as much wine from the nearby Willamette valley as I can handle, and this will hopefully come with a [...]