Cider Takes Off

When exactly did cider get so popular? Why does cider occupy three whole fridge spaces at the small government liquor store in Oliver? Who saw this coming? Clearly, nobody did. The small cider producers in the Okanagan have got to be happy about it. Cider historically has always been a part of our beverage production …

Are we too cavalier about alcohol?

Drinking alcohol is everywhere in our media landscape and especially on social media, upon which wine in BC has been latched for a fair number of years. Photos of wine bottles in exotic places with amazing food and lovely people are all over the internet on Facebook and Instagram accounts. Add in the trending craft …

Smoke on the water

I noticed lately that there hasn't been a whole lot of action on social media this summer regarding #bcwine. A quick scan of that hashtag on Twitter reveals that very few people are posting anything that involves scenery in any way, even from accounts that are normally filled with beautiful wine country views. This also …

Why aged wines are awesome

Aged wines take courage. Aged wines take patience. Aged wines take discipline. All three of those things take a little work and some effort on the part of the wine collector, which may be why most wines are generally consumed young. In practical purposes, it is also expensive to keep wines in a cellar for …

BC Wine Culture 2017 – THANKS MILLENNIALS!

I was pouring wine samples at a liquor store recently and perusing the shelves during the lulls between customers when something occurred to me. Wine and craft beer cultures have both made a serious change to liquor stores in under a decade. The store I was in was the average run of the mill private …

The 2016 LG Award Winners

It's that time of year again when I get distracted by stats relating to the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in BC Wine. You can find my "analysis" of the winners from 2014 and 2015. This year's winners are a very interesting collection of wineries. Here is the complete list: Bordertown Vineyards & Estate Winery 2013 Living …

Why the Garagistes are so important in BC

When the Garagiste North Small Guys Wine Festival first took place in 2014 at an event hosted by Meyer Family Vineyards in Okanagan Falls, I was thrilled. Super excited. And I didn't even really know why. I went, I tasted, I interviewed (badly, as it turned out that all of the audio was unusable to …

Whose history is this anyway?

History is a funny enough thing without wine. Then when you add wine, it just gets better but a bit ridiculous. Especially in a relatively new wine region like we have here in BC. Just reading through various sources makes me wonder if what I'm writing for my upcoming book on BC wine history is …

Where there’s a wine, there’s a way

Hey BC wine-lovin' folks, how's your year been going so far? You've probably been wondering just what they heck is up with Wine Country BC these days? If you haven't, well, I'm going to tell you anyways. I am busy. Busy like I've never been busy in any winter before kind of busy. Podcasting took …

Merry Christmas from Wine Country

To all of you who have taken the time to read the blog or listen to the podcasts, Merry Christmas. A Wine Country BC salute to you all!     *CLINK* ~Luke