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

It’s been a super-hot and sunny vintage so far in British Columbia, and Business in Vancouver has caught up with a few winemakers to find out if that’s a good thing. There’s a saying that goes, “If it’s good for fires, it’s good for grapes.” Unfortunately, it’s been a good year for fires, but there’s mixed reviews on the grapes.

Over at the Huffington Post, a brief guide to shopping, dining and sippin’ wine in Kamloops, one of B.C.’s emerging wine destinations.

Hooray, hooray, let’s drink more Gamay! At The Globe & Mail, Beppi Crosariol pens an ode to the unsung variety. Slowly but surely, we’re making Beaujolais into less and less of a bad word.

Oh, man! SO tempting to hop over to Tinhorn Creek on Saturday, August 22nd, when Yukon Blonde take the stage as part of the winery’s popular concert series.

Rod Phillips devotes his Ottawa Citizen column to issues he has with Ontario’s VQA program, and wonders aloud whether they should move toward a European-style, quality-oriented classification system. Meanwhile in B.C., we’re in the midst of, er, re-imagining our own VQA program, which I wrote about last month in the Georgia Straight.

Across the 24hrs network, Christopher Waters speaks to deliciously affordable Pinot Noir, and waves the flag of My Wine Canada partner winery, Ontario’s Flat Rock Cellars. It doesn’t get much better than a slightly-chilled bottle of Pinot on a sunny summer day!

Is your martini or Manhattan tasting a little musty? Western Living magazine’s Neal McLennan thinks your Vermouth may have gone bad…

Toronto Life shines a light on exclusive, small-batch Ontario wines that are only available in restaurants, championing Pinot Noir, Gamay and Riesling in the process.

This video by Luke Gibson (and a drone) is easily the most stunning virtual wander through the Okanagan Valley I’ve seen.

Oh, and don’t forget! This weekend is your last chance to get free shipping from Rosehall Run! Check out Jake Skakun’s take on ‘em here.

 

Kurtis Kolt is a Vancouver-based wine consultant, writer, competition judge and enthusiast. Track him down at KurtisKolt.com, or on Twitter and Instagram @KurtisKolt.