Category: seminar

When I think of olives, I think about olives coming from Europe.  They are typically brined and salty.  But there is an alternative; California Ripe Olives.  I was invited to a lunch with calolive.org to learn about how olives are grown and processed in California. Our host was Emily Lycopolus, a level-two olive oil sommelier and author of eight cookbooks. …

I was invited to attend the Swirl Around BC 2023 seminar recently to hear from BC winemakers about the challenges and opportunities in the BC wine industry.  Our Moderator for this seminar was DJ Kearney, and our Panelists were: Alistair Veen, JoieFarm, Bailey Williamson, Blue Grouse Estate Winery; Charlie Baessler, Corcelettes Estate Winery; David Paterson, Tantalus Vineyards; Ross Wise, Black…

This seminar at the Vancouver International Wine Festival helped us learn how California’s landscape and climate shape the Golden State and its wines. Each wine we tasted explored a different aspect of California from the coastline to the mountains, with a winery principal talking to us about the wine and the region.  Our Moderator was DJ Kearney while our panelists…

This is Part Two of my article covering the Chianti Classico Masterclass led by Jason Yamasaki.  In Part One I covered the history, and grape varieties used for Chianti Classico, touched on the DOCG quality pyramid, and reviewed a basic Annata tier of Chianti Classico wines.  In Part Two I am covering the Chianti Classico Riserva and Gran Selezione tiers…

I was fortunate to be invited to a Chianti Classico Masterclass led by Jason Yamasaki, the Chianti Classico Ambassador in BC.  Jason spoke to us about the history of the Chianti Classico region, the grape used and the different quality levels of Chianti Classico.  As this was such a wide-ranging masterclass, I am dividing it up into two sections.  In…

The Vancouver International Wine Festival in 2021 host countries were slated to be from South America.  One of the countries, Brasil, is one that I have heard makes wine, but never had a chance to try.  With COVID, I understand why VanWineFest cancelled the 2021 Festival, but my interest in finding out about Brasilian wine did not diminish. Fortunately, Vinexpo New…