The Friday Files: News & Notes From Canada's Wine Scene
The Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS) national competition for Canada’s Best Sommelier took place last week in Toronto. Sommeliers from coast to coast were on hand, including (for the first time) representation from both British Columbia and Manitoba.
Of the eight finalists who made the national competition three went on to the finals, which were broadcast live online and were fascinating to watch (for a taste, watch the movie Somm).
The winner? Appropriate that on International Women’s Day it should be Montreal sommelier Elyse Lambert of Maison Boulud. Lambert will head to international sommelier competitions in Chile next month as well as Argentina in 2016.
The second-place finisher was Steven Robinson from Atelier restaurant in Ottawa, while third place went to Carl Villeneuve Lepage of Montreal’s Toqué!
My Wine Canada is offering a unique opportunity, pre-order one of these amazing 2014 vintages from Kacaba Vineyards and receive $2 dollars off each bottle! Act fast, the wine will be sent to you once it's bottled on March 25th, after that prices go up. The pre-release bottles include: Unoaked Chardonnay, Jennifer's Pinot Gris, Reserve Riesling and Rebecca Rosé.
Can't wait and want to try these wines right away? You can! Today’s the last day to pick up tickets for the exclusive barrel tasting happening at Kacaba Vineyards tomorrow afternoon (Saturday, March 14) with My Wine Canada. Taste all of Kacaba's 2014 vintages before anyone else does! The event runs from 1 – 5 p.m. at the winery, which is located in Lincoln. And you’re in luck — if you’re in the Toronto area, you can hop on MWC’s bus and get a lift there and back. Click here to get your tickets. For more on Kacaba, check out this winery spotlight.There’ll be food, prizes, and maybe even a few extra wines popped and poured throughout the event.
Time’s running out to get tickets to Northern Lands, taking place in Edmonton at the end of March and featuring a whole heap of great Canadian producers as well as brewsers, chefs, restaurateurs and more (including MWC’s own Kurtis Kolt). Tickets and info are here.
Prowein, Germany’s largest wine trade fair and exhibition, goes down March 15-17, and this year we'll see a healthy representation of Canadian wines being poured. Among the Canadian producers heading across the pond to Düsseldorf is My Wine Canada partner winery Flat Rock Cellars as well as representation from Wine Country Ontario.
Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson is the wine columnist and literary editor for the Winnipeg Free Press. He’s on Twitter and Instagram at @bensigurdson.
