Naramata: The Board Game

Naramata wasn't the first wine region in B.C., nor is it the largest. But it will be the first B.C. wine region to be the setting for a wine touring-themed board game. If shopping locally isn't enough, now you'll be able to play locally too. The game is the creation of game designer Chris Dias …

Kelowna Museums Lecture Series Begins

Join me online next Tuesday, July 7th on Zoom! It is by donation to the Kelowna Museum, which was absolutely instrumental in my research for writing "Valleys of Wine". I hope to see you then!

Ontario quarantines its wine industry for another year

Oh Ontario. More news to file until the "Not really that surprising" category. Ontario's Ford government has extended the restriction on receiving interprovincial shipments of wine through their regulations. Wine lawyer Mark Hicken posted today that the Ontario government has amended the law to restrict wine shipments from outside of the province for another year …

No More Feeding at the Trough – Tasting Rooms During COVID-19

Wine shops should be teaming with people by now. Tourists should be coming to the Okanagan in droves and enjoying wines on patios and tasting bars. Wineries should be selling their newest vintages as they have every year. None of that is happening right now. At least not with the same volume as previous years. …

The Okanagan Wine Tour Guide, 6th Edition is now out

There are times in one's life when  things go sideways. Oftentimes, other good things come from it. In my case, this is one of them. John Schreiner asked me in the spring of 2017 to contribute to the next edition of the Okanagan Wine Tour Guide. For me personally, the spring of 2017 could be …

How things have changed

As we all know, things have changed a lot in the past month. The changes that have affected the world are shaking the foundations of our cultures and civilization to such a degree that things that we once felt were extremely important are now less important than they used to be. The biggest change is …

2020 Here I Come

When I was growing up, I thought that we'd all be driving flying cars by the time the year 2020 arrived. Other than the occasional Tesla, it's still grounded petrol-powered vehicles everywhere. I also never would have thought that by 2020 I'd have published a book about wine - "Valleys of Wine". Somehow, it happened. …

Valleys of Wine

Hello BC wine lovers in BC Wine-Lover Land! This is my first post in over a year and a half. Writing this seems a little bit weird given all of the changes that have happened to me over the past few years. Aside from some significant personal changes, my book, "Valleys of Wine" has now …

Changes at Wine Country!

Hello BC wine lovers and readers of this blog! First of all, let me say how much I miss you all and miss contributing to this blog that I started 9 and half years ago now! I have been going a little slower on producing posts and have stopped with podcasting altogether when I started …

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 …