Tag: Tasting Notes

Maritime Grapes: Tasting Nova Scotia Wine

One of my favourite things about the Canadian wine industry is the little pockets of the country that are on the very fringes of wine country, where a few pioneering wineries are continually testing the […]


Cheap and Cheerful: Vegan Wines from Oxford Landing

I have basically given up on wines under $20. That sounds dreadfully snobby of me – and it is – but it’s also a reflection of the cost of wine in Alberta. When I first […]


Promises and Potions: Tasting Merkin Vineyards Shinola Red

If this wine is any indication, Maynard James Keenan does indeed know shit from Shinola. I’ve been exploring the world of celebrity wines again recently. Most of them are pretty crap, but occasionally you find […]


It’s TIME to Evolve: tasting value Okanagan wine

A little while ago I had the opportunity to try a few Okanagan wines that are part of the portfolio under Encore Vineyards: TIME Winery, McWatters Collection and Evolve Cellars. Encore was owned by the […]


Pros and cons of virtual wine tastings

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 […]


Food and drink pairings at the 2019 Edmonton Fringe

Finding the best food and drink pairings at the Fringe is a finely honed skill that I’ve developed over the past 12 years of spending way too much time on the Fringe grounds during marathon […]


What does honey from a Flow Hive taste like?

I recently tasted some honey from a local Edmonton beekeeper using a Flow Hive. If you’re not familiar, the Flow Hive is a new type of beehive design that started making the rounds on social […]


Edmonton’s honey sommelier at your service

Last fall, I did a blind tasting of some honey samples from local Edmonton beehives. I was asked to do so by Dustin Bajer, one of Edmonton’s beekeeping experts and fellow Food Council member, on behalf […]


Vinitaly 2017 Edmonton roadshow: Italy North to South

There’s a sea change happening in Italian wine: more and more producers are returning to the 500+ native grape varieties found in Italy alone. No other country can claim such a sheer diversity of grapes. […]


How to taste wine and influence people

People ask me fairly regularly how I learned about wine and how they might go about learning more themselves. Proper tasting method is often at the top of their list of wine skills to master, […]


Vancouver Island wine & spirits

The thing about being an editor for an alt weekly paper while maintaining a full-time day job is that it’s really difficult – okay, almost impossible – to get enough ahead on your writing that […]


Mega Purple? Mega No Thanks.

It was a shocking shade of purple and there was no way it was natural. Ever seen a wine that seemed to defy the laws of nature? Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon is one of them. It’s […]