Weekly Wine News Roundup
December 1, 2009 by Sheila Whittaker
As we head into December and the holiday season, it’s time to curl up with a celebratory flute of bubbly (Blue Mountain’s Brut is delicious) and find out what’s going on in the world of wine.
If there is a favourite American wine that you have had on your wish list, but could not find for sale in Canada, FedEx has just announced that it will be able to help you get your fix…maybe. It seems that FedEx did not jump through all the regulatory hoops necessary and the announcement was a bit premature. The hope was that a new “direct purchase” scheme would allow U.S. wineries to send their vino to your home in BC, Alberta or Ontario. But don’t hold your breath for that special Cali Cab, as the future of the project is unclear. This will be an interesting story to follow on WineLaw.ca
In lighter news, The Province‘s Wine Guy, James Nevison offers some affordable, drinkable solutions for doing your part to solve the wine glut — a world wide surplus in wine. He suggests Finca Flichman 2008 ‘Oak Aged’ Shiraz, Argentina ($10.99); Cooralook 2008 Chardonnay, Australia ($17.99); and Carpineto 2006 Chianti Classico, Italy ($21.99).
In the Vancouver Sun, Anthony Gismondi writes the second part of his holiday wine-buying guide, which concentrates on red blends. He also includes a varietal Malbec — a long-time favourite of mine – Punto Final Malbec.
The Vancouver Sun also included some food and wine pairing tips from Joanne Sasvari. She gave some additional guidance about pairing wine with cheese, which is informative reading for your upcoming holiday entertaining! If reading isn’t enough, there is also a Wine & Cheese 101 class coming up in Vancouver.
In the Vancouver Courier, Tim Pawsey sheds some light on Kiwi wines, which will be a featured theme at the Playhouse Wine Festival in 2010. Jurgen Gothe rounds up his “BOYs” (Best of the Year wines) in the Georgia Straight. In Vancouver Magazine, David Scholefield chooses Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Sun Rock Shiraz 2005 as his Wine Pick of the Week.
Keep your eye out in BC Liquor Stores for the winter issue of Taste magazine. It is set to feature secrets from Bordeaux, wines of Chile, tips on cellaring wine, a who’s who in BC wine and plenty more. Wine Access magazine recently published the 2009 Canadian Wine Awards. You can check out the winners online, or pick up an issue.
In and around BC, John Schreiner reports on Mission Hill’s proposed $80 million expansion, and Master of Wine James Cluer talks to Glenn Fawcett at Black Hills Winery.
After all this reading, I’m sure you’ve downed most of that bubbly by now and you may be feeling a warm glow, or maybe you’re tipsy? Balmy? Pam Freir explores the many ways to explain your buzz all around the world.
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