He who knows how to taste does not drink wine, but savors secrets. – Salavador Dali Here’s the previous round of wine quotes if you’re thirsting for more.
Wine Articles
Wine Aroma Wheel: 5 Wine Tasting Secrets They Reveal
The best-known wine aroma wheel above was developed by Dr. Ann Noble, while she was a professor with the renowned oenology program at the University of California at Davis. It categorized aromas broadly, splintering off into more specific sub-aromas. It was ground-breaking in that it took the obscure and confusing adjectives often used to describe wine and categorized them coherently. Here are the top 5 wine tasting secrets that Dr. Noble’s aroma wheel, and the other wheels below can tell us: 1. Describing wine doesn’t have to be vague and off-putting. Using concrete, everyday adjectives from categories of fruit, flowers […]
Sommelier Courses: French Language + Fresh Focus Video
In the video chat, Tom Vigeant, Coordinator of the Sommelier Certificate Program at La Cité Collégiale in Ottawa, talks about the courses offered in this French wine program. You can also watch our other video chat on the 5 worst questions to ask a sommelier. What makes La Cité collégiale Sommelier Program different from the George Brown or Algonquin College Sommelier Program? From the Wine and Spirits Education Trust or WSET courses? Is your sommelier program aimed at the wine enthusiast who wants to learn more about wine but not necessarily work in the industry or is it for industry […]
The 5 Worst Questions to ask a Sommelier Video
Tom Vigeant, the coordinator of the Sommelier Certificate Program at La Cité collégiale, answers the 5 worst questions that you can ask a sommelier. ou going to try to sell me an expensive wine? 2. Shouldn’t I just order your cheapest wine on the list, that’s the best value right? 3. I’m on a date and have a price in mind, but don’t know which wine. Are you going to make me say the price out loud to help me choose? 4. You recommended a wine to me, I’m tasting it and I don’t like it. It’s my […]
Halifax Sommelier Pairs Wine and Seafood with Titanic Menu
Avery Gavel, assistant manager and sommelier at The Five Fishermen restaurant in Halifax, shares his insights about pairing wine and seafood, creating historic meals with wine and his take on Nova Scotian wines. What was your first wine experience? I grew up on a dairy farm in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, the oldest of five children. Wine wasn’t part of our family traditions, not even special celebrations. Communion in church was grape juice, even. My first wine experience was at The Five Fishermen in the early 1970s when I was 24 and on a double date. We ordered the cheap German […]
Liquid Lingo of Italy: You Say Wine, I Say Vino
By: The Drink Wine and Giggle Gals Dove regna il vino non regna il silenzio. (Where wine reigns, silence does not reign.) Italian Proverb The second stop in our linguistic tour of the world’s top wine-producing countries is Italy. Whenever the Drink Wine and Giggle Gals think about Italy, we think about the Italian philosophy of living referred to as la bella figura—“the beautiful figure”—that is about much more than dressing well, looking good and admiring all forms of physical beauty. La bella figura is also defined by behaviour, specifically how one comports oneself when ordering wine. Our first Italian […]
A Wonderful Life With Wine – Ottawa At Home
Raised by a single mother in Nova Scotia, Natalie MacLean learned the value of a deal, hard work and ambition at a young age. A strong work ethic and drive, combined with study at Oxford University and in Canada, has helped to shape her into the woman she is today: An award-winning author of two best-selling books and an internationally-acclaimed writer on wines. Natalie enjoys life to the fullest, sharing a love of movies with her 14 year-old-son Rian, and engaging in the family sport of dining out on weekends. There is nothing she likes more than great conversation and […]
Sommelier Program Graduates: Algonquin College
Although those who enroll in the Algonquin Sommelier Program are primarily from the National Capital Region, the program also has graduates who have traveled from other regions, provinces and the United States for the express purpose of taking the program, a testament to the Algonquin Sommelier Program’s wide reach and respect. Veronique Rivest, pictured above, is the double winner of ‘Canada’s Best Sommelier’, winner of ‘The Best Sommelier of the Americas’ 2012, top-12 finalist ‘The Best Sommelier of the World’ competition 2007 and 2010 and second in the 2013 ‘The Best Sommelier in the World Competition’. Véronique is also a […]
The Making of a Sommelier: Who Makes the Cut?
Algonquin College Wine Tasting Lab There’s been lots of debate lately over the definition of a sommelier: Is it someone who has taken a few courses? Graduated from a recognized program? Works full-time in a restaurant? It’s a great discussion, and one that was prompted recently by a National Post article on wine critics and their expertise in tasting wine. The Algonquin College Sommelier Program in Ottawa has played an important role in training many sommeliers, however you may define that role. The Program is the first, and still the only, sommelier program in the province sanctioned by the Ministry […]
Best Wine Bloggers Conference Ever: Penticton, BC 2013
The Wine Bloggers Conference is sort of a cross between a press junket, MacWorld and summer camp. It involves some work with a lot of play and often serves as the kick-start to a summer vacation. Some people leave their families at home for WBC. The majority of bloggers attend every year, so it gets quite old homey with the all the alumni and veterans hugging and kissing. To encourage fresh blood, though, the conference offers a scholarship fund to those who can’t afford the $95 “citizen blogger” fee. What citizen bloggers get is 2.5 days of wine tastings, wine […]
