wine and culture in Edmonton
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 …
I often get asked where people can find the wines that I write about. There’s actually a really simple, quick answer: go to Liquor Connect and search for the one you want. Liquor Connect is a website (and an app) by Alberta Gaming, Liquor & …
Happy Xinomavro Day! Yesterday, that is – I’m a day late on this. Greek wines are fantastic and often very overlooked in this part of the world – which is why they can often be excellent values. Xinomavro is one of the main red grapes …
As we hunkered down on the couch last night to watch an old episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the 17th time, my husband and I decided to have a glass of red wine. We pulled the cork on a bottle of Feuerheerd’s “Anchor …
Without fail, as soon as the nighttime temperatures start edging below zero, I get a hankering for port. Tawny port, that is – this wine is absolutely synonymous with fall and winter: warming and savoury, something to be sipped in the dark evenings as the …
Rioja wines are awesome and this one is no exception. Rioja ranks at the top of my fave wine regions, alongside Chianti Classico and Bordeaux. It’s one of the wines wines I reach for out of habit, when I can’t decide on anything else or …
Let me show you what I’ve been drinking for the past eight months: I discovered this wine shortly after the COVID pandemic ramped up in March 2020. Since then, I have drank dozens of bottles of it. I’m not exaggerating. This became our house wine …