Exploring the World of Wine, One Sip at a Time!
When my good mate DJ “Markj” asked me to do a wine pairing dinner with his uniquely successful DJ-and-catering business (appropriately named Soundfood for intimate private parties), I couldn’t resist. I was already stoked to visit Melbourne, Australia for the first time after years of dreaming of the trip to catch up with my long lost […]
Ironically despite the introduction to the cold weather, the sparkling magic of the holidays brings a sentiment of warmth, wonder, and awe for many. Full disclosure, I get really excited around the holiday season for a number of reasons. Number one, although I drink sparkling wine all year round no matter what the occasion – […]
Is it too early to talk about Maple syrup-infused “moonshine”? Not because I’m writing this review before noon, (and yes I did have a taste to make sure I’m accurately describing the flavours!) but because reality states that fall is just around the corner (sad, but true.) All sorts of autumn-inspired cocktail ideas to mix […]
Friday, July 28th, 2017: After chasing a monstrously sized mechanical dragon through the streets of downtown Ottawa to catch a glimpse, we were famished! (Just as I had imagined that dragon would be if it were real and waking up in a new city for the first time.) Tourists and locals alike flocked in […]
Three Dog Winery of Prince Edward County produced this little number in 2011- and it’s just my type: cheap and cheerful! It’s made up of 92% Vidal, which lends the wine pretty honeysuckle and floral aromas while the remaining 8% Riesling provides loads of apple, lemon and minerality on both the nose and palate. A […]
Prince Edward County, Ontario’s ‘newest’ noteworthy wine region has been getting some warranted international and local recognition for its similar Burgundian soil characteristics, and rightfully so. I’m going to be honest here, I knew ‘The County’ had potential; I had no idea of its current ability, nor its rich horticultural history, until I recently revisited […]
It’s no secret that Belgian beer has left its imprint in the craft beer world while heavily influencing methods of brewing, marketing and adjunct ingredients that go into cultivating some of these delicious liquid libations. Perhaps we can blame its rich cultural and political history for making Belgian styles of beer world famous? While other […]
Let’s explore some of the ‘classic’ styles and characteristics of both Trappist and Abbey ales. There is a multitude of diversity amongst these highly respected beers, and there are no absolute cookie-cutter traits of each. This is precisely why it is so satisfying to ‘study’ these elaborate ales. By ‘study’, I mean drink! Some are […]
What are ‘Trappist’ beers? What’s an ‘Abbey’ beer? How do they differ in style, or are they the same? Where did these delicious brews come from? So many questions! Thank God (pun intended) that there are enough of these types of yummy beers to sip on whilst we #figureitout! First, we should clarify that neither […]
Whoa….whoa…wait a minute….there’s a style of beer with WINE in its name? I’m IN! Are you really that surprised? There are no grapes in barley wine, however. This may or may not disappoint you. Barley wine is the strongest style of beer, almost always reaching vinous strength of anywhere between 8%-14% abv (hence its name). It […]