The Friday Files: News & Notes from Canada’s Wine Scene

Bill Zacharkiw of the Montreal Gazette got into the spirit of Valentine’s Day and wrote a fantastic piece on his love for wine, specifically as it pertains to Chablis.

With word that Starbucks may start serving beer and wine across Canada before the year is done, they’ve hit a snag in Manitoba — new regulations mean they’d have to have a full kitchen that can serve a variety of meals.

Going to be in Vancouver next week? There are still tickets left for some events at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, which runs from Feb. 20 – March 1.

Speaking of festivals, there’s just over a month to go until the Northern Lands festival takes Edmonton by storm, and there will be plenty of My Wine Canada representation on-hand. (Thankfully, there are still some tickets remaining as well.)

The festival of wine, food, craft beer and spirits features a number of different seminars — check out, for example, the Women in Wine featuring Severine Pinte of La Stella/Le Vieux Pin

The cool-climate Chardonnay seminar, meanwhile, features Heidi Noble of JoieFarm, Paul Pender from Tawse Winery (who will also take part in an Ontario seminar) and JAK Meyer from Meyer Family Vineyards.

The Okanagan Pinot Noir seminar will feature, among others, David Paterson of Tantalus Vineyards, and will be moderated by MWC’s own Kurtis Kolt (however, it’s sold out). Kurtis will also host a seminar about Canada’s emerging wine regions.

Bubbles are always popular, so it’s no surprise the sparkling wine seminar, featuring Jay Drysdale of Bella Wines and Ezra Cipes from Summerhill Pyramid Winery, is also sold out. (You can still pick up their wines right from this website, of course.)

Hey, speaking of bubbles — even if Valentine’s Day isn’t your thing, why not take advantage of $2 off the 13th Street Cuvée Rosé between now and the end of February?

 

Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson is the wine columnist and literary editor for the Winnipeg Free Press. He’s on Twitter and Instagram at @bensigurdson.