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Public Events
There are many more complete wine and food calendars on the web but our goal is to post those events that appear to over-deliver for the ticket price. The key factors that affect our decisions (having spent over 20 years attending such events) include attending principals, the quality of the food and wine, the location and the chance to learn something new.
July 24, 2K10 – Welcome back to Gismondi on Wine. Nothing but reviews this month including a large selection of riesling and sauvignon blanc labels just in time for the warm weather. I’m back from Germany and the 2008 Best of Riesling competition in the Rheinhessen. Expect an update later this weekend in our Vancouver Sun archives. We remain busy posting new tasting notes and stories. Coming up, more with Alex Dale and a look at some new wines from his highly underrated (at least in the Canada) Winery of Good Hope and a tasting with Aurelio Montes of Montes Wines. The Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards are opened for submissions as the search begins for the best wines of the year made in Canada. You can’t win anything if you do not enter.
If you haven’t noticed, whenever a wine style begins to capture the imagination of consumers, a certain sector of the wine industry jumps into action and produces some of the most forgettable versions of the style in question. Rosé is no exception. It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the current drink-pink renaissance, but for best results you may have to pay attention and jot down the odd name of the wines that really appeal to your taste. full article...
Giving customers what they want may produce early increased sales but lack of choice and, more importantly, creating zero in-store interest, will surely come back to bite BC Liquor Stores. Each store has its own character and staff, and so do the wines, so why would you suppress character to increase the sales of already popular wines? full article...
Summer and Riesling are a great match so look for the Wynns Coonawarra Estate Riesling 2008 to over deliver from its petrol, lime rind and mineral aromas to its crisp, dry, slightly austere style. full article...
Government liquor stores are going to begin rationalising the way they display products giving more facings to the top selling brands and less facings to the labels that generate lower sales traffic. Translation: more Yellow Tail Shiraz and Fuzion Malbec on the shelves and less, handcrafted estate wines. full article...
I am sorry, Mr. Minister, if I left you with impression that prices were going up. I thought it was clear that I was saying despite an overall three per cent reduction in tax when the 10 per cent PST and the five per cent GST morph into the 12 per cent HST, wine prices are not going down. full article...
On January 27, 2010 the BC Wine Appreciation Society (www.bcwas.com) organized an extensive vertical of their cab franc from 1996 to 2007 conducted by Sandra Oldfield. full article...
They found a Geisenheim-trained winemaker named Mark Rattray, the owner of a winery near Christchurch called Floating Mountain. He agreed to design their winery and to make the 2006 vintage, especially since the vintage in the northern hemisphere occurs in his off-season. full article...
Winemaker Kelly Moss, a strong supporter of screw cap closures, has no time for synthetic corks. “Using synthetic corks is like going back to Betamax,” Moss says. full article...
After a long year of tasting and travel we are proud to release our “Top 100” list. In short we like then a lot and in most cases will for many years to come.
Ossau Iraty (OH-soh-ear-ah-TEE) is a delicious AOC, traditional sheep’s milk cheese from the Basque region of the French Pyrenees using only unpasteurized milk. full article...
Unpasteurized cow's milk cheese from the Savoie that has been soaked in Marc for one month in an airtight container, and then aged under a thick blanket of grape must. full article...
Tasting wine takes you to many places, both hotels and restaurants - some good, some great and some bad. In response to many requests I will begin posting some basic details on where to stay and eat in wine country or wine friendly cities but only if I have first hand experience. Take it for what it is: a personal opinion but one that is based on many years of travel.
A 16 at 2355 Chestnut in the Marina area is named after a road in Italy. Expect delicious Naples-style thin crust pizza and light ricotta gnocchi as well as wonderful wood-fired cooking of Italy’s south. full article...
Four Seasons Resort Whistler's 273 guest rooms, suites and townhouses are generously sized and capture the spirit of a luxurious mountain residence. full article...
The Ritz-Carlton Santiago opened in June 2003 debut and immediately raised the standard of Chilean hotels. The hotel is set in Las Condes in the heart of the central business district. full article...
Cold, harsh winter weather has always benefited wine growers in this country if only because it acts as the perfect, natural pesticide but today freezing temperatures that blanket our vineyards each winter yield a much richer reward - icewine. full article...
July 24, 2K10 – Welcome back to Gismondi on Wine. Nothing but reviews this month including a large selection of riesling and sauvignon blanc labels just in time for the warm weather. I’m back from Germany and the 2008 Best of Riesling competition in the Rheinhessen. Expect an update later this weekend in our Vancouver Sun archives. We remain busy posting new tasting notes and stories. Coming up, more with Alex Dale and a look at some new wines from his highly underrated (at least in the Canada) Winery of Good Hope and a tasting with Aurelio Montes of Montes Wines. The Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards are opened for submissions as the search begins for the best wines of the year made in Canada. You can’t win anything if you do not enter.
After a long year of tasting and travel we are proud to release our “Top 100” list. In short we like then a lot and in most cases will for many years to come.
