HOUR ONE

Dine Out Vancouver is always a big hit. Mark Taylor, wine guy from CRU knows this and decided to get out in front of the pack and start early. Its info you can use and a nudge to support your local eatery, where ever you are.

Australians really don’t need any excuse to party but their wineries are on a tour of North America and they’ve called it a birthday party – on Jan 26th OZ will be 221 years old and their wine industry will be 185 years old. Celebrate both occasions with PJ Charteris from Brokenwood Winery and Mark Davidson, Vancouver based, Sydney raised, wine expert!! The tour hits Vancouver Saturday Jan 24th at the Public Library and Toronto Friday Jan 30 in the Distillery district.  Almost 50 wines being poured. MANY you may never have seen or tasted. www.wineaustralia.com

Thanks to Books to Cooks we have three fantastic foodies join us in The Tasting Room. Author Jill Lambert, talks about her new book on sustainable seafood A Good Catch. Joining the discussion are two Vancouver chefs who preach the sustainable kitchen, Rob Clark from C Restaurant and Karen Barnaby from The Fish House in Stanley Park. Find out how you can be an informed ethical foodie!! By the way, A Good Catch explains the best, most responsible seafood choices and is endorsed by Dr. David Suzuki! www.bookstocooks.com

One of Vancouver’s busiest and best actors Malcolm Stewart has 3 films at this year’s Sundance film Festival – on now. He raised the cash for going to this very expensive week by cooking food for 26 people in his home. It’s a great heartwarming story. Hope you like it. By the way, if you want to donate to his journey, his email is mccallie@shaw.ca

HOUR TWO

Aurelio Montez is one of the best winemakers from Chile!! He brings to The Tasting Room a wealth of knowledge and the recent history of his country’s wines. He was named best winemaker in Chile in 1995. His winery was “New World Winery of the Year” in 2002. It’s a nice conversation about one of the wine world’s best places to find great bottles of wines for a greatly reduced price. In this day and age, that’s what everyone is looking for. www.monteswines.com/english/nuestra_vina/vision.htm

Our thanks to Everything Wine Victoria for the support! www.everythingwine.ca

Taylor Thompson has just been named the winner of the Grand Award at the Wine Tasting Challenge in Toronto. Over 300 people entered. Tasting 4 reds and 3 whites, entrants had to tell the judges what varietal, what country, appellation and year the wine was made. He’s 27 and is a sommelier at Reds Bistro and Wine Bar on Adelaide in Toronto!! You’re going to like this guy.

The 31st annual Playhouse International Wine Festival takes place in Vancouver at the end of March. It was kicked off recently at a press event and I of course used it as an excuse to do interview. We talk to wine experts and festival judges David Scholefield and John Schreiner, also Chief Executive Harry Hertscheg. This year is very special because the featured region is British Columbia. www.playhousewinefest.com

Still at the Playhouse Wine Festival press event, we bump into Daenna Van Mulligen, The Wine Diva, and for you, she previews some of the wines to watch for. www.winediva.ca

ENJOY!!