I often wonder how wineries can afford all the different types of equipment needed for that precious nectar to go from grape to the bottle I enjoy with dinner. If you’ve ever been to a winery, you’ve probably seen a press, tanks and barrels. But there’s also a raft of special-purpose equipment involved in bottling […]
Ingrid Sapona
EPIC Celebrates – and Commemorates – Canada’s 150th in Style
I’m continually impressed with the ideas Ontario wineries come up with and I’ve been wondering what some might be doing to mark Canada’s 150th birthday. Well, 10 of the EPIC wineries (the acronym stands for Essex, Pelee Island, Coast wineries) have released a special, limited collection of VQA wines under the EPIC 1867 banner. Each […]
Winemaker Amélie Boury’s Favourite Childhood Game Really Paid Off
Like many winemakers, Château des Charmes’ Amélie Boury attributes a love for the outdoors and growing up on a farm as a reason she’s at home in the vineyard. But, she attributes her interest in winemaking to a creative game her mother played with her growing up. The “Nose Game”, as she referred to it, […]
Sip & Sizzle through the long weekend — and next weekend
A friend and I popped down to Niagara-on-the-Lake yesterday for Sip & Sizzle. A few years ago we enjoyed this event, but I must say, this year the selections are even better. The Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Konzelmann Estate Winery had invited me and I had plans to go earlier in the month but I […]
Catherine Langlois – winemaker and owner of Sandbanks Estate Winery
I love Prince Edward County and always look for reasons to visit. This week I had a sad reason – the funeral of a friend’s mother. Because it was a planned trip on a weekday, I decided to see if Catherine Langlois – the winemaker/owner of Sandbanks Estate Winery might be in that day. I […]
A Sample from Taste Ontario
Yesterday I was at Taste Ontario — a VQA tasting featuring over 40 Ontario wineries. Nice to see some new wineries, including Meldville Wines, Derek Barnett’s virtual winery (you can find it a Legends Estate Winery in Beamsville). I especially liked his Chardonnay 2015 (Retails for $20). It was also nice to have some wineries […]
A new version of PB & J?
The folks at Konzelmann Estate Winery invited me to visit during Days of Wine and Chocolate. Joanne, a friend from Hamilton, had never been to Konzelmann and she was happy to play hooky with me one Friday. Because I’ve always found tutored tastings fun – and a great way to really experience a winery – […]
Re-imagining the sound of bubbly: from pop to click?
Few sounds are as magic to me as the pop of a champagne cork. It signals the promise of pleasure and celebration – even if it’s just the celebration of enjoying a glass of bubbly. But, the down side of popping a cork on a bottle of bubbly is that if you don’t finish it […]
Out and about at Days of Wine and Chocolate
It’s Family Day weekend here in Ontario – a long weekend designed to give folks a mid-winter break. Most years, that means a weekend of snow-filled activities. With an unusual early spring thaw (temperatures topping 10°C – over 50°F), I’m sure lots of folks had to change their plans. Fortunately, for me and my friend […]
Days of Wine and Chocolate — a Passport to Enjoyment
Have you ever participated in one of the coordinated passport events wineries run in a particular region? If you haven’t, you should… And if you have – let’s compare notes about it. The Days of Wine and Chocolate event is currently going on all this month. The marketing folks at the Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake gave […]