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

Wines And Vines reports that sparkling wine production is up, wayyyy up across Canada these days…

…and I was just saying a couple weeks back that sparkling may just be the signature Canadian wine!

Vacay.ca names the Okanagan Valley as one of the 20 Best Places to Visit in Canada in 2015….

…which came hot on the heels of Wine Enthusiast magazine naming it one of the 10 Best Wine Travel Destinations for the year, too!

Whoa man, I hope people didn’t rush to the Valley upon reading those rankings, ‘cause they woulda found themselves waist-deep in what was dubbed #Snowkanagan.

The icewine harvest switched into high gear in Ontario this week, and Niagara This Week had all the details.

Speaking of icewine, the Nova Scotia Icewine Festival begins January 31st. Check it out and say hi to our friends L'Acadie Vineyards and Luckett Vineyards!

Over at the Ottawa Citizen, Peter Hum shares his wine resolutions for 2015.

In the Edmonton Journal, Gurvinder Bhatia pulls back the curtain on 20 winemaker’s dinners happening on the same night around Edmonton as part of the inaugural Northern Lands festival.

On the festival front, we have a couple biggies coming up here in Vancouver. January 22nd is the 21st edition of Taste B.C., which celebrate all things local in wine, craft beer and food. Soon after that, the Vancouver International Wine Festival runs February 20th to March 1st, with 170 wineries from 14 countries pouring almost 800 wines.

Excitement is building in Winnipeg for the Best Sommelier of Manitoba Competition, happening this Sunday, January 11th!

Finally, Calgary’s Avenue magazine has a story on the city’s unique connection to many of Northern Italy’s most acclaimed Prosecco vineyards.

 

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.