A Virtual Visit to the Vineyard
Many of us Canadians enjoy our close proximity to wine country. In the same way that we’re growing ever more conscious of where our food comes from, it’s always nice to visit the vineyards and wineries that are behind our favourite bottles and meet the people crafting them. However, even those of us who live close can’t get to wine country as often as we’d like, never mind those who live a healthy distance away.
It’s because of this that I really appreciate how the popularity of Twitter allows us the ability to engage with wine principals across the country on an ongoing basis. Everyone from British Columbia’s Road 13 Vineyards (@Road13Vineyards) to Nova Scotia’s Luckett Vineyards (@LuckettVineyards) are on board, providing a peek behind-the-scenes of vintage, answering questions and sharing news.
Better yet is the success of weekly wine country chats in our two biggest wine-producing provinces. Each Wednesday from 10-11 p.m. EDT, Ontario Wine Chat (#ONWineChat) hits Twitter with a slew of local winemakers, writers and enthusiasts tackling that week’s given theme. BC Wine Chat (#BCWineChat) follows at 8-9 p.m. PDT with a similar format. You’ll often see a crossover of folks discussing issues on both threads, connecting the great distance between the two regions.
Wineries do enjoy hearing from you, so next time you’re enjoying a bottle of Canadian wine, by all means share your thoughts on Twitter and start a conversation! If you’re into a lengthier discussion, do join one or both of Canada’s weekly chats. You needn’t be an expert or authority, the chats are open to everyone and are a lot of fun. This Wednesday’s #BCWineChat is all about Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country, while #OnWineChat dives into the discussion of organic versus conventional viticulture.
I’ll be logging on as well, and hope to see you there!
Kurtis Kolt is a Vancouver-based wine consultant, writer, competition judge and enthusiast. He’s not half as fancy/boring as that sounds. He Tweets and Instagrams @KurtisKolt.
