The big news in wine country today is about a small winery. Laughing Stock, on the Naramata Bench northeast of Penticton, has been acquired by Arterra Wines Canada (formerly Constellation, formerly Vincor, formerly Cartier Wines and Beverages .... formerly Grower's Wine Company) which is now administered by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Of course John Schreiner …
Continue reading Laughing Stock is cashed in
Drinking alcohol is everywhere in our media landscape and especially on social media, upon which wine in BC has been latched for a fair number of years. Photos of wine bottles in exotic places with amazing food and lovely people are all over the internet on Facebook and Instagram accounts. Add in the trending craft …
Continue reading Are we too cavalier about alcohol?
The BC wine industry will be facing some battles over the coming years. The renegotiations of NAFTA and the Comeau case, that is set to be heard in the Supreme Court of Canada this December, are just two of the things that the industry will have to fight for. So says John Peller, CEO of …
Continue reading John Peller at Wine Talks – Preparing for Battle
So here it is folks, a working cover of THE BOOK that has occupied my life since 2014. I am in the editing stages of it now and this cover is really only a mockup for an upcoming catalogue but I thought I'd share it with you anyway. The book will cover a lot of …
Continue reading History in the making
I noticed lately that there hasn't been a whole lot of action on social media this summer regarding #bcwine. A quick scan of that hashtag on Twitter reveals that very few people are posting anything that involves scenery in any way, even from accounts that are normally filled with beautiful wine country views. This also …
Continue reading Smoke on the water
Well, that was an interesting day in wine country. Today's announcement by Andrew Peller Ltd. that the company has inked deals to acquire Black Hills Estate Winery and Gray Monk Estate Winery and has written a "letter of intent" to acquire Tinhorn Creek was indeed a shocking read in my email's inbox this morning. Not …
Continue reading Andrew Peller Goes Shopping
Exploring new wine regions is always interesting. With little or no prior experience with any of the producers, it is almost like I was starting over from scratch with my wine knowledge. This is particularly true if the wine region is very small and if the grapes are very different from the 'classic' vinifera grape …
Continue reading Adventures in Quebec Wines
What has been happening lately in America has been shocking me. The events of Charlottesville, VA simply didn't make sense to me. Seeing clips of interviews with 'white supremacists' being shared on social media seems like one massive case of looky-loos. It's one thing to spread that kind of message deliberately but it's a whole …
Continue reading Standing Up for What is Right and Left
The results of the 2017 Lieutenant Governor's Awards for Excellence in British Columbia Wine are now in! Congratulations to all of this year's winners: Cassini Cellars The Aristocrat Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Cassini Cellars Nobilus Merlot 2013 Castoro de Oro Estate Winery Crimson Rhapsody 2014 Gray Monk Estate Winery Odyssey White Brut 2014 The Hatch Crown …
Continue reading The 2017 LG Awards Results
Listening to the news on the radio in Vancouver last weekend, reports made it sound like the whole valley was a flood zone and that visitors are going to be swept away in the deluge. This is not entirely the case. There are many wineries that I have visited that would really like everyone to …
Continue reading New high water marks
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