Wine Country BC: Recent Episodes
nHarmonix Music & Media
The Sipsters Wine Podcast Episode 1 is now live! It’s my first podcast in 7 years and I’m very excited to be back creating shows again. Listen to it directly on the Buzzsprout site or find it on your favourite podcast platform.
I have a new website about the podcast that is available here.
So, what’s happening with Wine Country BC? Well, nothing really. This site will eventually be shuttered so I hope to see you all over at the new Sipsters site.
If you haven’t gotten your mitts on a copy of The Sipsters Pocket Guide to 50 Must-Try BC Wines, volume 1, you can order it through Mosaic Books in Kelowna or contact me directly at sipsterswinepodcast (at) gmail.com (or any of the other ways to reach me) and I can set you up with a signed and personalized copy.
I will be shutting down all of the social media associated with Wine Country BC shortly as well. At this time I have no plans to start or continue with any social media for Sipsters. Social media isn’t what it used to be and I’m just not interested in competing for anyone’s attention anymore. Plus, I really don’t think anyone wants to see me ‘pistol pop pop’ or any kind of IG/Tiktok reel that happens to be huge at the moment. Listen to the podcast or email me at the address above.
For the last time, cheers from wine country!
I forgot for a while that I have a website. I used to spend hours and hours on this site – producing podcasts, putting up photos, writing about wine – but that has taken a back seat to other work for the past few years. Sarcastically perhaps, I used to say that blogging was what … Continue reading Good-bye social media?
A strange book appeared in my line of sight after moving some items around in my storage room. There were three books, each containing wine labels that had been soaked off their bottles. Most were labels from Italy, France, Spain, and BC but there were some others in there too. Some had early tastings notes … Continue reading Many Vintages Ago
Alternative packaging is always interesting. The large bag-in-box format (aka Cardbourdeaux) has been a round for a while and Tetra-Pak has been slowly gaining ground for the environmentally aware wineries. Stainless steel is the high-brow alternative to glass but probably isn’t that much better in the long run, though I have no science to prove … Continue reading Yes we can
Sipsters represents a new way to communicate about wine that is freed of the limited and technical vocabulary of wine education ("medium acid", "aromas of berries and tar"), the cliches of wine sales ("patio sipper", "pizza wine"), or the manipulative spin of marketers.
The recent passing of George Hanson, owner and winemaker at Seven Stones Winery in Cawston has left me a little empty since I first heard the news. George was always generous with his time for me, as a fledgling in the wine media writing for Wine Trails, podcasting on this site, and later when I … Continue reading George Hanson, Memories
There hasn’t been a whole lot to celebrate this past year so small victories are worth celebrating. After a year of uncertainties with jobs, limited times to gather to play to play music, and the constant spectre of the pandemic, some good news came to me unexpectedly this fall that I felt was worth celebrating. … Continue reading A New Door Opens
In touring wineries, I’ve encountered many wine dogs over the years. I think that it belittles them to call them mascots because they often do a lot more work than any mascot could. Some have real jobs to do like scaring away bears and patrolling vineyards for birds or other pests in addition to welcoming … Continue reading Vintage Pooches
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 … Continue reading Naramata: The Board Game
Readers (or listeners, if you go way back like that…) of Wine Country BC will know that supporting our local wine industry has been at the foundation of what I’ve been talking about on this blog. In the 11 years that has past since I started this site, B.C. wine has both increased in quality … Continue reading Support “Local”
If the town of Oliver is going to call itself “The Wine Capital of Canada”, there should be at least a little credit given to the first person to plant in a vineyard there. Though this person did not necessarily make wine commercially from those grapes, he was an early champion of the potential for … Continue reading A Sip of History: Who is Joseph Renyi?
The Okanagan Valley (and yes, the Similkameen too…) are what most people think about when they think about B.C. wine (or #BCwine, if you prefer). Most of the grape production happens in these regions and it far and away the dominant presence in the province’s wine industry. What does that do to the other regions … Continue reading Apples to apples, must to must…
Over the course of researching for Valleys of Wine, I was extremely lucky to meet so many amazing people. Two of those people left me in amazement. This wasn’t because of their characters or personalities (both of which were huge) but that their contributions to the wine industry in B.C. have gone largely ignored. Even … Continue reading A Sip of History: Where Credit is Due
One of the first questions that I am asked when talking about the history of British Columbia’s wine industry is, “Which winery was the first?” I can think of at least 3 wine shops that I’ve been to where they claim to be the first winery, oldest vineyard, or the first to use this or … Continue reading A Sip of History: BC’s First Winery
If you are looking for a real wine adventure, this is it. Visiting a wine region that currently only has one winery means that it is adventure you’ll be seeking and not a full day of wine touring. Nakusp, BC is located near the mid-point of the Upper Arrow Lakes and just like the Okanagan, … Continue reading True Wine Adventures in Nakusp: Valley of the Springs Winery
River Stone Estate Winery should be on your radar by now. If you haven’t been able to try their wines, any of them, then you are missing out on the authentic boutique B.C. wine experience. I featured them on a podcast way back in 2011 but had met owners Ted and Lorraine Kane some time … Continue reading River Stone Estate Winery
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!
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 … Continue reading Ontario quarantines its wine industry for another year
On my first wine tour in the Okanagan, the very first winery offered us a tasting of their gold medal-winning Gewurztraminer. We loved it and bought a bottle. Then, at the next winery, we were offered a tasting of their gold medal-winning Gewurztraminer. It was good too and we bought that as well. Driving away, … Continue reading How many Gold Medals are there?
Podcasts have been around for well over a decade now. When I first started producing the Wine Country BC podcast in 2009, it was not new technology, but I often had to explain to people how to listen to them. Apple released the Podcasts app beginning with the iPhone 4 and podcasts started to take … Continue reading Who listens to podcasts these days?
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. … Continue reading No More Feeding at the Trough – Tasting Rooms During COVID-19
Let me be right up front about this from the beginning. I’ve never liked wine reviews. When I was learning about wine, I found them a bit silly, never really useful for deciding for myself about which wines to seek out, and when I did find one and its review, was never able to really … Continue reading Wine Reviews: To Care or Not To Care
Why join a wine club? Isn’t that only for the really rich people who have huge cellars and purchase wines by the case to stock for their massive house parties? I don’t own a Cavavin or Eurocave, and live in a small place, so why would I ever need to puchase that much wine at … Continue reading Why now is the best time to join a wine club
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 … Continue reading The Okanagan Wine Tour Guide, 6th Edition is now out
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 … Continue reading How things have changed
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. … Continue reading 2020 Here I Come
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 … Continue reading Valleys of Wine
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 … Continue reading Changes at Wine Country!
I love seeing people take chances. I’ve always loved watching drummers in bands try to do crazy stuff. (Is he going to drop the sticks? Is that fill going to finish on time? Will anything break??) Things can go off the rails quickly but watching and hearing music that is so close to that tipping … Continue reading Noble Ridge’s Threepeat Perfect for Holiday Adventures
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 … Continue reading Cider Takes Off
The big news in wine country today is about a small winery. Laughing Stock, on the Naramata Bench northeast of Penticton, has been acquired by Arterra Wines Canada (formerly Constellation, formerly Vincor, formerly Cartier Wines and Beverages …. formerly Grower’s Wine Company) which is now administered by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Of course John Schreiner … Continue reading Laughing Stock is cashed in
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 … Continue reading Are we too cavalier about alcohol?
The BC wine industry will be facing some battles over the coming years. The renegotiations of NAFTA and the Comeau case, that is set to be heard in the Supreme Court of Canada this December, are just two of the things that the industry will have to fight for. So says John Peller, CEO of … Continue reading John Peller at Wine Talks – Preparing for Battle
So here it is folks, a working cover of THE BOOK that has occupied my life since 2014. I am in the editing stages of it now and this cover is really only a mockup for an upcoming catalogue but I thought I’d share it with you anyway. The book will cover a lot of … Continue reading History in the making
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 … Continue reading Smoke on the water
Well, that was an interesting day in wine country. Today’s announcement by Andrew Peller Ltd. that the company has inked deals to acquire Black Hills Estate Winery and Gray Monk Estate Winery and has written a “letter of intent” to acquire Tinhorn Creek was indeed a shocking read in my email’s inbox this morning. Not … Continue reading Andrew Peller Goes Shopping