Sam The Wine Teacher 
There may not have been limos pulling up in front of the Sheraton wall Centre dropping off glamorous celebrities to walk the paparazzi lined red carpet, but there certainly was a buzz of excitement around the Sheraton Wall Centre. For twenty-seven years now, Vancouver Magazine has recognized the talents of our finest culinary talents. … Read more
The day began with a pre-awards reception, which featured a variety of beer, food and wine samples. I began with a cool refreshing new Double IPA from Stanley Park Brewing, which was the perfect way to wake up my taste buds for what was to come. My first stop was Culmina, a Triggs family winery … Read more
Malbec may have grown up long ago in Bordeaux, but it has since retired to Argentina. Not the whole grape family, mind you. Some, perhaps out of a sense of patriotism or because they thought Argentina would be too hot, stayed in France and settled a little to the east in Cahors. A few adventurous … Read more
They say that when one door closes, another opens. For Judy Kingston, a car accident brought her 25-year law career to an end. Then during an Okanagan holiday in 2006, chance brought Judy Kingston to Naramata where she stumbled across a property that was for sale and had an epiphany. The door opened; then and … Read more
I was thrilled when contacted by Mireille Sauve of the Wineum Brella, who asked if I’d be interested in tasting some German wines with Romana Eschensperger, a visiting Master of wine, who was in town. Well there aren’t many things that would get me up early to drive into Vancouver, but tasting German wines … Read more
BC Distilled is BC’s premier craft and micro-distillery festival. Its goal is to celebrate and promote British Columbia’s many specialty distilleries. The festival is the largest spirits event in Canada reserved exclusively for local distilleries. In addition to 26 distilleries, there were several restaurants and other exhibitors in attendance, some of which … Read more
2013 Malbec Eau Vivre Cawston, BC $23.00 Not a classic Argentinian style Malbec (why would it be?), but a darn good wine and a great example of what BC can do with this grape. Garnet red in colour with a medium-deep intensity. Black pepper, black berry and blue berry aromas on the nose. Well … Read more
Vancouver Foodster Tasting Plates Marpole I’ve been on several of these walkabout dining tours and this one was particularly nice because everything was so close and I got to know an area of Vancouver I had only previously driven through. All the locations were within a block or so of each other and some had … Read more
What could make over forty people line up outside of Adanac Street’s Wise Hall, in the cold and dark and rain on one of the windiest nights of the year? Well a chance to sample some of Vancouver’s best craft brews of course. This was the fourth annual East Side Beer Fest (ESBF), sponsored by … Read more
Christopher Lay and Diana McKenzie opened Callister Brewing in 2015. Located on Franklin Street, just off of Clarke, Callister operates as a custom brew facility, renting space and equipment to three other brewers. The line up changes year to year, but this gives people interested in pursuing their passion an opportunity to hone their … Read more