Here you can find all the past shows for your listening enjoyment

The show is also available as a podcast at iTunes now.

Eric McCormack returns to the stage and the show. Matt Batey and John Simes at Mission Hill. The Wine Diva does Cali. Pay what you think the meal is worth at Rogue. Larry Wilmore from Dinner for Schmucks. Luke Smith Winemaker at Howling Bluff. And the Pepper King of Togo (and Nelson) Edmund Segbeaya.

The SHOW

Eric McCormack builds a home in Vancouver for his family and then takes to the Stanley stage in David Mamets Glengarry Glen Ross. It will be a glorious run as the cast is an all star group and Eric’s good friends. www.artsclub.com

This is Erics third time on TRR and each one gets better and funnier.
It takes 2 segments to get it all out. All the venom, pain and angst.
And the good stuff too. Have a laugh with us.

Then it’s in to Mission Hill Family Estate wines in West…um Kelowna (Bank). We do a seriously upscale food and wine pairing with Chef Matt Batey and Winemaker John Simes. www.missionhillwinery.com

Daenna van Mulligen -The Wine Diva is back from Napa and she’s loaded with wine reviews.

Hour TWO

Larry Wilmore is the Senior Black Reporter for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He’s also a producer, writer and actor. This weekend he stars in the Paramount summer comedy Dinner for Schmucks with Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd. We talk about what’s funny, chocolate (not the food) wine and the movie.

Luke Smith is the winemaker/visionary at Howling Bluff Wines on the Naramata Bench outside Penticton in BC’s Okanagan Valley. That also makes him a neighbor. Great guy makes great wines. What’s not to like? Have dreams of getting into the winemaking business? Listen to Lukes story and then decide. www.howlingbluff.ca

And finally this week outside The Bench Market in Penticton I heard a voice cutting through the hot air saying ” hot peppers here. Pepper sauce that makes you feel like you’re in Africa” Edmonds story is compelling. He was born in Togo West Africa.

He now lives in Nelson BC. How he got there is part of the interview but it includes running for his life in Togo, years in Germany, church support and a re-unite with his wife and twin girls and finally creating a killer pepper sauce that’s beginning to make him famous.
It got him invited to CBC’s Dragons Den as well. Check out his story!

Next Week we begin broadcasting province wide in Alberta on CKUA. Wednesday Aug 4th at 6pm Mountain. 5 Pacific. www.ckua.com

Both shows will include our new sponsor guests:

MetroVino

The River Cafe

100 Wines

Noble Ridge

Vinomania

And Ruths’ Chris

Also Sommelier of the Year in Vancouver Kurtis Kolt cohosts a segment from his summer gig at the Cobblestone Wine Bar in Naramata BC.

Guests include:

The Van Westens

The Hallidays from Elephant Island

Plus Ross and Nicole from Nichol Vineyards.

The Wine Diva reviews their wines.

Have a great long weekend!

Hammers House of Hog..Rockin Ronnie Sewchuck. BBQ Prophet God’s Mountain plays host to Blue Mountain and Joy Road Catering.

The Wine Diva reviews. Dunham and Froese plus others. We head for OK Falls and visit Covert Farms..also the home of Dunham and
Froese wines.

A repeat of an earlier interview with Tony Stewart from Quails Gate who had just returned from killer fires in Oz. Also John Schreiner talks about his latest book Wineries of BC.

Here we GO!!

It’s a small shack on wheels and a trailer hitch..with a great little porch and rigtht up front a beautiful BBQ oven..complete with smokle stack.

Right in the middle of a parking lot in Oliver..pulled pork and
chicken..Love this roadside kitchen.

A two part special on the legendary God’s Mtn above Skaha Lake, south of Penticton. www.godsmountain.com

Ian and Matt Mavety from Blue Mountain, Dana Ewert from Joy Road Catering and some 35 people gather under the shade trees and beside the Vines belonging to Wild Goose. We tatse, we listen!! www.bluemountainwinery.com www.joyroadcatering.com

The Wine Diva reviews Dunham and Froese and half a dozen other labels. www.winediva.ca

Hour Two

We visit the groundbreaking Covert Farms at McIntyre Bluffs and their land partners Dunham and Frose. www.covertfarms.ca www.dunhamfroese.ca

Repeats ahead…

Tony Stewart describes the recent fires in OZ

John Schreiner The Wineries of BC

AND…Rockin Ronnie ends the show!

Enjoy!

Dear Roomers

Things are happening in the Radio World for TRR. We’re now being heard on Long Beach Radio
CIMMFM 99.5 Ucluelet
CHMZFM 90.1 Tofino
… Saturdays at 5pm

Plus we’re heard throughout the Gulf Islands and major parts of Vancouver island on
CFSI Salt Spring 107.9 Saturdays at 4pm

THEN starting Wednesday August 4 at 6PM Tasting Room Radio will be heard Province wide in Alberta on the CKUA Radio Network.
Hellllooo Alberta!!

Check out this list of guests… Mike Raffan and The Queen, John Skinner from award winner Painted Rock, Anthony Von Mandl, Romers Burger Bar, The Wine Diva reviews Governor General Award winners… PLUS Alex and Geddy from RUSH, Jim Cuddy from Blue Rodeo and Alan Doyle from Great Big Sea.

THE SHOW

Mike Raffan is my neighbor as he’s the proprietor of Township 7 Wines. Naramata bench.
He’s also pretty pumped about the news that her Majesty Queen Elizabeth drank his wines with dinner in Ottawa. The fact that - of all the wines available - Ottawa chose T7 is just a great endorsement of his wines. We talk about this honour and then turn to the state of the wine business in BC.
www.township7.com

Great Big Sea have just released a fantastic new CD called Safe upon the Shore. Alan Doyle is the lead singer and one of the songwriters in a solid band.
We do touch upon the new music but Alan has also become an actor having just played the part of Alan-a-Dale in Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood.
Because Russell is our mutual friend, it became an RC love-in..
Alan and Russell are writing songs together as well.
I also wanted to know what wine Alan and Jim Cuddy were drinking at the 2010 Junos in St John’s. Alan tells us what he can remember.
www.greatbigsea.com

Romers is a very cool new Burger Bar in the 1800 block of 4th Ave in Vancouver.
It helps make that block one of the most interesting food destinations in all of the lower mainland.
Three veterans of the food wars Chef Jim Romer (Milestones) and brothers Scott (Browns, Milestones) and Steve Ward have joined forces to make this a dream, come true.
My first question is ..does the World need another burger bar?
And off we go!!

Daenna van Mulligen returns to her usual spot as The Tasting Rooms’ wine reviewer. She’s is after all The Wine Diva.
I wanted to know what she thought of the just released list of Governor Generals Best Wines of the Year in BC.
She has some very interesting thoughts about some of the choices.
www.winediva.ca
www.winescores.ca

HOUR TWO

BC’s Governor General’s Wine Awards were just announced and holding down two spots was the surprising upstart winery Painted Rock. It’s the 7 year vision of John Skinner and his very loyal staff, which includes Viticulturist Val Tait.
He’s won for his blend Red Icon and for his Cab Sauvignon.
You say you haven’t seen his label around?
That may be because the restaurants in BC and Alberta snapped up most of it, as soon as they tasted it and also part of John’s master plan.
Yes, John makes Chardonnay, Syrah and Merlot but its these award winners that will raise his profile for the time being.
I jumped in the car and found him in his cellar..enjoy!!

Here’s an interview that came out way in the past year. During our visit to the Niagara Fall Wine Festival, Ken Weir and I drove over to Tawse and found Geddy lee and Alex Lifeson from Rush raising funds for their charity.
I wish all interviews were this cool and funny… These guys know their wines but wait till you hear what was in the Rush backstage rider.
www.rush.com

Here’s another interview from the past year. A rare sit down Q&A with Mission Hill Family Estate winery owner and visionary Anthony Von Mandl.
Wait until you hear about his life in LA during the Watts Riots. It hasn’t all been wine and roses for this dreamer.
www.missionhillfamilyestate.com
FYI..yours truly is honoured to co-host the Okanagan Symphony Summer Gala with music director Rosemary Thompson tonight at the very same Mission Hill.

And our final re-visit is with a real pal… Jim Cuddy from Blue Rodeo. He talks wines, his cellar and as always we take shots at each other about East vs. West.

Enjoy!!

Two Hours…Two Islands.

First hour we travel to Salt Spring Island and the first ever Chefs across the Water at the historic Hastings House.

Special guest Chef Pino Posteraro from Cioppinos. We also visit the three wineries that call Salt Spring home plus we go looking for the exclusive Chef Kelly.

Second Hour..its back to finish off our coverage of the annual Tofino Food and Wine Festival.

THE SHOW

We start our hour at Salt Spring Winery with new co-owner Joanne McIntyre and veteran winemaker Paul Troop.

Lots to talk about, such as winemaking on Salt Spring, new directions, new releases including a great bottle of bubble and more importantly, where’s Dev McIntyre. www.saltspringvineyards.com

Then its just down the road to the next driveway and a return visit to Garry Oaks Winery with grower Marcel Mercier and winemaker Elaine Kozak. What a great job they’ve done, taking this former sheep grazing farm and turning it into a jewel in this beautiful valley.

Marcel explains why they do so well in wine competitions in the USA and Elaine gives us valuable info on the portfolio.

We also talk about The Blatners..and new series of wines..named after a legendary Swiss grower who may have created wines that excel in these climates.

Wines include Prism, Zeta and the funky Fetish. A classic blend of 60% South Okanagan Merlot and 40% Cab Franc. It’s the only one of their wines not labeled Estate. That is an on-going subject over the full two hours. When is an Island wine not an island wine??
www.garryoakswine.com

Then its across the island, through Ganges and finally to the third winery on Salt Spring - the totally organic Mistaken Identity.

Ian and Wendy Baker have been on the show before, so we had some catching up to do.

What’s new is a unique white blend of Chardonnay and organic apples..called mel in Italian..so the result is Charmela. Killer with Salt Spring Blue cheese. www.mistakenidentityvineyards.com

The reason we came to Salt Spring was a very generous offer from the management at Hastings House on Salt Spring Island. www.hastingshouse.com

Chefs across the Water features star chefs from the Vancouver area. These events will also raise awareness of the health and economic benefits of using local, organic and sustainable ingredients and bring into focus how local farming is being challenged by changing regulations that favour large agri-businesses. The highlight of the evening is a 5 course dinner prepared by Pino Posteraro of Cioppinos.

His restaurant has been named best Formal Italian in Vancouver for the 8th year in a row..He’s also been named Chef of the Year and is always top 3 for best restaurant.

We also talk to Bonnie O’Conner co-owner and Millie Sinclair, food and beverage Manager.

Then it’s our regular visit from The Wine Diva, Daenna Van Mulligen. She’s just back from a weekend in London and an all day concert that ended with Sir Paul McCartney live on stage.

There’s also time for two wine reviews.

Hillside Muscat Ottonel, Castano Old Vines Monastrell Spain and a comment on Gulf Island wines. www.winediva.ca www.winescores.ca

The Wine Diva is brought to you by Passa Tempo Restaurant at Nk’Mip in Osoyoos.

HOUR TWO

Off to to Ucluelet and Tofino..on the outer edge of BC. It’s becoming a much talked about surfing destination but the far West coast of Vancouver Island has always been a food destination.

As the travelers and second home buyers have discovered this special part of the World..the food and wine community has followed.

We’ve already done a two hour special but I did so many interviews that there’s more than enough for a second hour.

(believe it or not, we’ll still find room soon to run our interviews with Rocky Creek Winery and John Waller, the Exec Chef at The Wick..plus a visit with Osyter Jim)

We start at Shelter Restaurant with owner Jay Gildenhuys and Manager and wine list guy Sam Maltby. Great place..check out the photos. www.shelterrestaurant.com

If you’re going to Ucleulet..you just have to go fishing..so we talk to Sam Vanderwalk about fishing charter company Salmon Eye www.salmoneye.net

Roger Dosman is a veteran owner/winemaker based in Duncan on Vancouver Island. As part of the Tofino Food and Wine Festival He was kind enough to pour a 10 year vertical of his Alderlea Vineyards Cowichan Valley Pinot Noir..

What a treat!

We cover why he believes that Vancouver Island may be the next best place on Earth for Pinots. Plus, he’s also passionate about the fact that everything he bottles is Estate grown..a pure Island Wine.
www.alderleavineyards.com

Then its straight into the annual Tofino Food and Wine Festival. As they pour in the forest and gardens for the masses, we talk to:

Brent Hayman - Blasted Church

Jay Drysdale - La Stella/Le Vieux Pin

Cassandra Anderton - http://twitter.com/goodlifevan

Mike Walk - Long Beach Resort - pouring Joie, Orofino and Pentage

Bob Ferguson - owner/winemaker pouring his Kettle Valley and drinking local beer.

That’s all folks.

NEXT WEEK

Cherry Point Winery.

A great new burger bar in Vancouver - Romer’s

Alan Doyle - Great Big Sea

Enjoy!!

Transportation to, and from the Pacific Rim provided by BC Ferries and Tourism Vancouver Island.

Accommodations provided by Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet and Long Beach Lodge in Tofino.

Special thanks to Tourism Ucluelet, Tourism Tofino and Kira Rogers -
Director of the Tofino Food and Wine festival, for organizing my trip to the west coast.

For more information on the Tofino Food and Wine Festival go to www.tofinofoodandwinefestival.com

Planning your trip to Ucluelet and Tofino? Visit
www.tourismucluelet.com and www.tourismtofino.com

An encore performance of one of our favourite wine events. The 2010 playhouse international wine festival.

Its the 32 Annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. One of the Gold Standards. We set up a complete studio right in the middle of the Thursday Trade Tasting. Over 30 guests from all over the World. All brought to you by The Kambolis Group of Restaurants and Poplar Grove Winery.

The Show

We kick off with David Scholefield, Harry Herscheg and Hollywood favourite and Kiwi Winemaker Actor Sam Neill.

Then comes the feature Regions New Zealand and Argentina. Guests include Peter Yealands who uses plastic bottles, sheep and tons of sustainability to make his landmark wines, Edgardo Del Popolo from Dona Paula, the amazing winemaker /doctor Laura Catena (Catena Zapata), whose Great Grandfather first planted Malbec in Argentina in 1902 and Bill Spence, who along with his brother Ross, made the first commercially produced Sauv Blanc in NZ at Matua.www.donapaula.com.ar www.catenawines.com www.matua.co.nz

Next, our show sponsors..Harry Kambolis, founder and leader of his restaurant group Raincity Grill, C and Nu. His Executive Chef Robert Clark. www.raincitygrill.com www.crestaurant.com www.whatisnu.com

Also Ian Sutherland, winemaker at Poplar Grove on the Naramata Bench!! www.poplargrove.ca

A segment on a feature wine… Rosé. Almost 60 Rosé wines from around the World. DJ Kearney, Randy Ullom (Kendall Jackson) Judith Lane, food and wine writer and Grant Stanley, winemaker at Quails Gate. www.kj.com www.quailsgate.com

Hour Two

We start with one of last years feature regions..British Columbia.
John Simes (Mission Hill) John Schreiner, Writer, Gordon Fitzpatrick (Cedar Creek). www.missionhillwinery.com www.cedarcreek.bc.ca

Then comes The Ladies.

Daenna Van Mulligan, Kate MacMurray (MacMurray Ranch) The House Wine Girls Michelle Bouffard and Michaela Morris and DJ Kearney..all sitting talking about Women in Wine and a ton of other subjects.. This was an absolute Blast!! www.macmurrayranch.com www.winediva.ca www.housewine.ca

Next was California. Legendary wine stars Larry Stone (Coppola and Rubicon) Ted Seghesio, Rene Schlatter(Merryvale and Starmont)and again Kate MacMurray. www.rubiconestate.com www.merryvale.com

and finally..The World.

Paul Hobbs, California winemaker but also consults all around the World. Marc Kent from Boekenhoutskloof in South Africa and George Samios from Wolf Blass. www.boekenhoutskloof.co.za www.wolfblass.com.au

and thats all fffffolks!!

Next Week

Hour One - food and wine tasting on Salt Spring Island including special guest chef Giussepe (Pino) Posteraro from Cioppino’s cioppinos.wordpress.com. Hour Two - the remaining interviews from Tofino and Ucluelet.