earthly pleasures and heavenly delights
It’s probably a dumb idea to make predictions about anything these days (says the woman who’s studying astrology), but I gave it a shot in my latest piece for Edify. I took a look at the wine trends I think we might see in 2021, …
Just a quick post today, on this last day of 2020, to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. I hope you are all raising a glass of something delicious tonight whilst wishing 2020 a very merry fuck you. I also wanted to share my …
I recently picked up a case of wine from Color de Vino. In the last few years, they’ve really honed in on the natural wine zeitgeist. I was interested in dipping my toe further into natural wine after finishing my last freelance wine story of …
I first learned about qvevri in Alice Feiring’s 2016 book For the Love of Wine. In this book, she recounts her experience visiting Georgia and discovering the wines from this region, many of which are made in qvevri – giant egg-shaped terracotta vessels that are …
I posted about this wine a few weeks ago, as I have enjoyed many bottles of the 2014 vintage of the Gabbiano Chianti Classico Riserva over the course of this year. It just switched over to a new vintage so I was curious to compare …
One of these days I really need to visit Summerhill Winery in person and meditate in their giant pyramid. Summerhill is one of the mainstays of the Okanagan Valley wine industry and a pioneer of organic viticulture in Canada. It’s also one of the most-visited, …
I remember a time when it was difficult, if not impossible, to find rosé in the winter. When I started working in a wine shop in the early 2000s, we’d get a few pink wines in the spring – more and more each year as …
Today is Beaujolais Nouveau Day and I’m not going to drink any. Instead, I’m going to enjoy a lovely Cru Beaujolais, which is one of the most underrated (and therefore greatest values) in the French wine industry. My latest story for Edify explores Beaujolais in …
I’ve been thinking a lot about virtual wine tastings lately, ever since attending one last week. (Write-up here.) There are pros and cons of these which I want to dig into a bit more. A few places around Edmonton have started doing virtual tastings during …
Happy International Tempranillo Day! I love a good Tempranillo, especially from Rioja, so I was delighted to be invited to a virtual Rioja wine tasting and cooking class hosted by Get Cooking. This was my first virtual wine tasting. A few places in Edmonton have …
It’s unusual to find single varietal red wine in Rioja – most are blends dominated by Tempranillo. Graciano is an uncommon red grape that fell out of favour a few decades ago due to its low yields and disease susceptibility. In the 1990s, Rioja winemakers …
I visited Luxembourg in 2004 because my Contiki bus tour stopped there for lunch. I don’t remember much about it, except for seeing medieval castles on cliffs overhead. I was 19 at the time (hence the Contiki tour) and had only just started working in a …