A toast to Véronique Rivest who won the Best Canadian Sommelier Competition in Halifax on September 17, as well as to the finalists, Will Predhomme and Élyse Lambert. Semi-finalists included Bruce Wallner, Robert Noel and Bertrand Eichel. They all participated in extensive written exams, blind tasting, wine list correction and an hour-long simulated restaurant service in front of a live audience in their second language. You can watch two video interviews about the sommelier competition with semi-finalist Bruce Wallner. Winner Véronique Rivest Les Fougères Restaurant Chelsea, Quebec Congrats to our hometown gal on her extraordinary win: we are so […]
Events
Wolf Blass Wine Tasting Full Video with Wines Tasted
You can watch the video below of the whole Wolf Blass wine tasting in Ottawa and taste along with us. The full-house had a great vibe that night … not a drop of pretentious stuffiness that sometimes tries to substitute for lack of personality at these events. Yet attendees felt that they had learned a lot, per their comments below… I was so impressed that the 220 folks who attended the two events made a serious commitment to be there, about $100 by the time they paid for parking, unlike free events. There were another 70 tickets waitlisted, so it’s […]
Wolf Blass Wine Tasting in Ottawa, 2 Videos
The excitement for the Ottawa Wolf Blass tasting started with a long lineup that snaked down the sidewalk in front of Restaurant 18. The great vibe from the people who attended, Wolf’s rascal humour and the tasty wines made it a wonderful evening. Here’s more on that plus two video clips from CTV News below … Wolf loves women … I couldn’t find any pictures of him with men :) I couldn’t keep up with the tweets during the event, but it was lovely to see how much people enjoyed themselves with the comments […]
Recipe: Cedar Planked Salmon, Beet Quinoa Salad with Jackson Triggs Chardonnay
Cedar Planked Salmon With Beet & Quinoa Salad, Chardonnay Vinaigrette Salmon and Chardonnay are long-time comrades, and the use of chardonnay in this vinaigrette adds another dimension to the dish. Meet Chef Mackiddie at the i4c Kick-Off Party July 20th, featuring The Arkells at Jackson Triggs. Tickets on sale at www.coolchardonnay.org. Ingredients: 2 Cups Dry Quinoa 4 Cups Water 1 Tsp Salt 2 Medium Beets Cooked and Sliced 1 Tsp Chopped Thyme 1 Tbsp Chopped Parsley Method: Add Quinoa, Water & Salt into a saucepan, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until water is fully absorbed (about 15 minutes). […]
Video: Winery Backs AIDS Walk for Life: Living Well; Doing Good
As many as 68,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in Canada. One third of them don’t even know it. To date, there is no cure and no vaccine to prevent new infections. This topic may sound completely unrelated to wine, but it’s not. In the video below, we talk to Bruno Zaratin from the Italian winery Santa Margherita, which been a major supporter of the Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life that happens across the country every September for the past six years. What is Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life? Santa Margherita goes well beyond writing a cheque: […]
Wine and Design Tasting Event at Corner Lot Home Decor – Toronto May 31
Looking for wine and design inspirations? Come to Corner Lots first tweetup. We will be having a great night of sharing wine, nibblies and design in my own store. Looking forward to meeting great new people who live to talk about wine and design. We will have lots of places to sit and hang out. Bring your favorite bottle of wine and some thoughts about room design. We will provide the glasses. We’re happy to announce that Peter Brooks of Bedford Brooks will be our featured designer at the party and starting Monday May 14 Peter Brooks and company will […]
Importing Wine for Pleasure and Profit Seminar – Toronto June 16
When you were a kid, did you dream of owning a candy store? Now that you’re a little older perhaps you dream of owning a wine store or a winery or better still, travelling the world looking for great new wines. This is the job of a wine agent. Wine agents represent wine suppliers. Their role in the industry is to convince the Liquor Boards to buy wine from the suppliers they represent. It isn’t always easy; but, it definitely isn’t rocket science either and there are lots of great perks like wine travel and free samples. Thanks to your […]
More Magazine Celebrates Fifth Anniversary with Four Women Leaders
I’ve been an avid reader of More since it first started publishing its classy, smart magazine five years ago. With the fifth anniversary, they did a complete redesign and I was happy to sign on on the wine columnist. On Thursday, I’ll join four women I admire immensely for a panel discussion that’s part of the celebratory activities: Rosey Edeh, ET Canada Host; Lisa LaFlamme, CTV National News Anchor; Suzanne Timmons, The Hudson’s Bay Company Director; and Bev Thompson, Canada AM Host. (I’ll be chatting with Bev earlier that day on her show about wines for Mother’s Day.)
Okanagan Wine Tours with Tastings, Winery Visits, Restaurants
Visit one of the wine capitals of the world and… North America’s only harvest-time wine festival. Discover Canada’s unique desert region and… relax at a true “Desert Oasis” resort spa. Taste select award-winning wines and… explore the Okanagan’s world-class wineries! Tour Price: $1,599.00* Canadian. Yes, wine lovers, this includes wine! Date: October 1st – 7th, 2012. Contact: Joan Simmons at [email protected]. *Land Package Only Includes: 6 nights at Okanagan Resort Entrance to all wineries tastings Tickets to Wine-fest events 2 meals daily (average) Cruise on Lake Okanagan Ground transportation & transfers *per person based on double occupancy Does not include […]
Appassimento Wine Tasting – Ontario Wine Society
The Faculty Club – University of Toronto 41 Willcocks St., Toronto Monday, May 14, 2012 Reception – 6:00pm Tasting – 6:30pm Interest in producing appassimento-style wines in Ontario is growing rapidly. This grape-drying process, used in Northern Italy to produce famed Amarone wines, is now producing rich and full-bodied wines here in Ontario. Donald Ziraldo will be our guest speaker, who will share with us his passion for Niagara appassimento-style wines. Joining us for the tasting portion of the evening will be several of Ontario’s innovative appassimento-style wineries : Burning Kiln Winery: 2010 Pinot Noir Burning Kiln Winery: 2011 Cabernet […]
