The Wine Diva celebrates her 8^th Birthday with a list of memorable wines.

His name is Chef Todd. He owns  Apartment 12B. It’s also where he cooks 6 course meals for friends and anyone else who tracks him down. On our visit it was the Terminal City Roller Girls.

Because its Oscar Weekend we talk to the stars on the red carpet, including Andy Serkis,  James Cromwell and Christopher Plummer!

We visit with the makers of Goon.

John Skinner, the visionary behind Painted Rock meets us in West Van

And

We finish with the voices for Hockey Night in Canada

Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson.

THE SHOW

Daenna van Mulligen celebrates her 8^th birthday as The Wine Diva. Last week we counted down the first 15 memorable wines. Now we present Part Two.

Daenna Van Mulligen

Each bottle represents a special memory for Daenna… Hopefully it encourages you to make your own memories.

http://www.winediva.ca/i.php?l=L425560851457c8d7a58777&v=nl00118540014194f29b80c2601b&pagenum=1

There’s a chef cooking in Vancouver, in a kitchen that you can’t just walk in to… in an apartment that you just can’t look up on line.

Chef Todd is a word of mouth Chef and the word is spreading rapidly.

He cooks for at least 10 people each night in his own apartment… he chooses the courses and you bring your own wine.

He’s so popular that he’s taking weekend bookings now. For  JULY!

His guests on the night we were there were the Terminal City Roller Girls. They included:

Amazombie

Hittin’ Miss

Rumble Stiltskin

roller girls

http://www.terminalcityrollergirls.com/

Its Oscar weekend and I thought I’d share some wine chat with the current crop of Red Carpet Hollywood Stars…  Specifically …

Andy Serkis

James Cromwell

Diablo Cody (Oscar winner and writer of The Help)

Oswalt Patton

Makers of The Muppet Movie – who made a Muppet wine

Jason Segal/Nick Stoller/John Scotti

Octavia Spencer – The Help

Christopher Plummer

Christopher Plummer

http://www.criticschoice.com/

For years we’ve been waiting for the hockey movie as good as Slapshot.

This weekend comes the next contender – its called GOON.

It’s bloody and foul but it’s also shot with love for the game and its traditions.

We hunker down with the Writer,  Vancouver’s Evan Goldberg (writing partner of Seth Rogan)

Super Bad 

Green Hornet

50/50

Pineapple Express, etc

And Director Michael Dowse (from Calgary)

Fubar 1 & 11

Its all gone Pete Tong

Take me home tonight.

John Skinner/Painted Rock Wines

John Skinner

John was a stockbroker in Vancouver for more than 25 years, during which time he became an avid wine enthusiast. John and his wife Trish dreamed of having their own vineyard after spending time exploring wineries in the South of France with their family.

In 2004,  he purchased the land in south Penticton known locally as “The Blackhawk.”

Perched high on a bench on the east side of Skaha Lake south of Penticton, backing up against the famed climbing bluffs. Once an apricot farm, it had been fallow for 17 years. He planted in 2005 and 2006 and now has roughly 25 acres under vine, all of it Bordeaux reds or Syrah except for a block of Chardonnay. On the advice of consultants, he has planted multiple clones of every variety, giving his winemaker good blending options. John was confident that this terroir and its site influences presented “a unique opportunity to create exceptional wines” and that he had “both the opportunity and the obligation to do this property justice

Painted Rock Estate Winery was just ranked #1 Winery in BC and #3 Winery in Canada at the 2011 Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards. The producer of ultra-premium Okanagan wines received 13 medals, including 3 Gold, as well as 4 Silver and 6 Bronze.

http://www.paintedrock.ca

and finally, The voices for Hockey Night in Canada..

Jim Hughson  

And Colour Man

Craig Simpson, who has a wine distribution company based in Alberta , Simmer Fine Wines!

We find them amid the naked bodies in the Canucks dressing Room..we have no photos of the interview..trust me, it wasn’t pretty!

http://www.simmer.ca/

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/opinion/hockeynightincanada/

Stories we’re working on

Legendary Hall of Fame Baseball icon Pat Gillick

John Clerides from Marquis wine Cellars checks in from the South of France and in March it’s our annual

Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival special. Live from the Tasting Room

Presented by Poplar Grove and The Kambolis Group of Restaurants

Five stars of the World of Wine!

Jacques Lurton

Isbelle Meunier

Piero Incesa

Alberto Antonini

Laura Catena

ALL in one room, with David Scholefield and  John Clerides!

Daenna Van Mulligen celebrates 8 years of being The Wine Diva with memorable bottles. We run down the first 15. You can make your own memories.

J Wheelock, Calgary Whisky expert spins the epic tale of the lost Shackelton Whisky..that is now found at the South Pole , after 100 years.

THE SHOW

Daenna Van Mulligen celebrates 8 years of being The Wine Diva…  She has a total of 29 memorable bottles to share with you. One for each day of Feb.We run down the first 15. You can make your own memories.

Daenna Van Mulligen

http://www.winediva.ca/i.php?l=L425560851457c8d7a58777&v=nl00118540014194f29b80c2601b&pagenum=1

Here are the guests in our two part  segment… all found at the Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver at a Trialto Wine Tasting.

5 of the brightest stars in the wine world…

Laura Catena (4th generation of Argentina’s leading winery) http://www.catenawines.com/

Jacques Lurton (famous Bordeaux family – 15 members in wine business) http://www.jacqueslurton.fr/

Alberto Antonini (winemaker in 9 countries including Canada @ the Okanagan Crush Pad)  http://www.haywirewinery.com/albertoantonini.html

Isabelle Meunier (Quebecoise winemaker at Evening Land Oregon) http://eveninglandvineyards.com/

Piero Incesa (Sassicaia family. Now  making wine in Patagonia)  http://www.bodegachacra.com/

Also included is our narrator and event host  David Scholefield and Marquis Wine Cellar owner John Clerides.

J Wheelock tells the story of the Shackelton Polar Expedition of 1907..the one that left 3 cases of  whisky under the ice cap where it stayed until discovered in 1997.

Its been lovingly re-created and 50,000 bottles are available.

4 guys …  23 cases of Whisky. They drank 20. Hell yes!

Wait til you hear this story!

We present to you Mackinlay’s Shackleton Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky. This unique product is a re-creation of the 1907 cache of Mackinlay’s whisky discovered in 2007 in the Antarctic by a team of archaeologists from New Zealand. A re-creation of the original malt, produced by Mackinlay’s brand owners Whyte & Mackay, this whisky has made headlines around the world.

Whisky expert David Bloom was the first to sample the whisky, followed by Whyte & Mackay Master Blender Richard Paterson, who was invited to analyze and replicate the whisky. Paterson described the find as ‘a gift from heaven’, and was shocked at how light and flavourful the 100 year old whisky was. “It was a real privilege getting to handle, nose and taste such a rare and beautiful bottle of whisky,” he writes. “The quality, purity and taste of this 100-year-old spirit was amazing. The biggest surprise was the light flavour and the clear, almost vibrant colour of the liquid. I hope I have done our forefathers and Ernest Shackleton proud with the replica.”

Paterson’s resulting Mackinlay’s Shackleton Whisky is a limited release, and with only 50,000 bottles produced. Five percent of the proceeds of every bottle sold will be donated to the Antarctic Heritage Trust of New Zealand.

BBC: Shackleton: a Voyage of Endurance http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/shackleton/index_embed.shtml

Voyage of Endurance

Discovery News:

http://news.discovery.com/history/whisky-shackleton-south-pole-century-110117.html

National Geographic: video

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-channel/specials-1/expedition-week-1/ngc-shackletons-whiskey-recipe.html

New York Times: Article

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/magazine/

   Stories we are working on…

Chef Todd and 12B. No one knows what he looks like and no one knows exactly where his apartment 12B is but he’s becoming the talk of foodies in Vancouver.

His special guests on the night?  Me and the ladies of The Terminal City Roller Team

John Skinner – Painted Rock

Masa Shiroki – master Sake maker

Terry Deane – Barbarella Pizza-from Brooklyn to Broadway

Daniel Rabu – Gooey Duck

Playhouse Wine Festival primers from The Wine Diva and Director Harry Hertscheg.

The Diva also has three great wines for Valentine’s Day.

Hockey Writer and Wine Fan Tony Gallagher steps into the Tasting Room.

Mission Hill  and Winemaker John Simes win a big award in London.

Chef Ned Bell reshapes the menu at Yew Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel, Vancouver.

THE SHOW

Our regular wine reviewer Daenna van Mulligen – The Wine Diva – has a double dip for you.

Daenna Van Mulligen

First she’ll pass along some tips for anyone considering attending the 34^th annual Playhouse International Wine Festival In Vancouver Feb 27- March 4!

Trust me on this, for first timers or the casual wine fan, you need all the information you can use. She also talks about the event she’s hosting.

Secondly, Daenna presents for your consideration,  three bottles that work well with the romance of Valentine’s Day.

 Stoneboat Pinot Noir $25

Fresita $15.95

Jadot Beaujolais Village $19.99

www.winediva.ca

www.winescores.ca

Tony Gallagher is the Province columnist focusing chiefly on the NHL,

He covered his first game in 1972 and has covered 22 Stanley Cup Finals.

He was recruited by The Province when he graduated from UBC where he was writing for the campus paper in the late 60s and began working in hockey when the New Westminster Bruins of the WHL came west from Estevan, Sask. In 1972 he moved on to the WHA Vancouver Blazers and in 1976 became the paper’s lone beat writer doing the Canucks. He was promoted to general columnist in 1987 and left the paper in 1989 to host a national, network open line radio show called ‘Gallagher on Sport’ on the Satellite radio network. He returned to the paper as NHL columnist two years later and also wrote extensively on the NBA.

Of course, Tony is the voice of reason on TEAM1040’s Canucks pre-game show

Tony  lives in Vancouver with his wife of 33 years. Two of their three sons are lawyers practicing in Vancouver, and their youngest is studying engineering at the University of British Columbia.

What the sports fan may not know is that Tony Gallagher is a big wine fan. Like yours truly, he’s learning AS FAST AS HE CAN.

We talk hockey,  who  the wine guy is in the Canucks dressing room and what Tony’s tasting lately. It’s all fun because Tony tells great stories. Join us.

One more small item: for many years when Bob Hope delivered a killer  punch line and while the audience laughed..Hope would put a certain smile on his face to wait out the laugh.

Tony Gallagher

That’s the same smile Tony’s wearing. Thank You

http://www.theprovince.com/columnists/Tony_Gallagher.html

Harry Hertscheg

Harry Hertscheg is the Executive Director  of the 34^th annual Playhouse International Wine Festival. He’s the guy with all the numbers.

180 wineries 1700 wines 30,000 bottles

64 events 15 countries = 25,000 visits between Feb 27 to March 4^th

When you’re presented with over 1700 hundreds wines being shared by over 25,000 people, you want to know the lay of the land. Harry’s the guy to follow. He tries every year to get to all 64 events.

Chile is the featured wine Region and Cabernet’s are being spotlighted this year.

I wish someone had presented Harry’s information to me when I first started attending.

Enjoy the info. We hope it all comes in handy.

http://www.playhousewinefest.com/

Mission Hill Family Estate is the 2011 recipient of the coveted IWSC Trophy as the ‘Canadian Wine Producer of the Year’ at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) in London, United Kingdom. The award came as a complete surprise to Mission Hill Proprietor Anthony von Mandl who was presented the award in front of 600 international wine luminaries at the historic Guild Hall in London by this year’s IWSC President, Prince Robert of Luxembourg, Proprietor of Château Haut-Brion in Bordeaux, France.

In addition to the 2011 IWSC Trophy for ‘Canadian Wine Producer of the Year’, Mission Hill Family Estate won 19 individual medals at the IWSC competition, including: Gold Medals for the 2009 Reserve Riesling Icewine, 2005 Select Lot Collection Riesling Icewine and 2009 Reserve Vidal Icewine. A complete listing of awards is available at www.iwsc.net

The IWSC award comes on top of Mission Hill’s recent ’Winery of the Year’ award at the 2011 InterVin International Wine Awards competition. Mission Hill was also featured in Wine Spectator magazine with three of the winery’s red wines - 2007 Compendium, 2007 Quatrain and 2007 SLC Syrah – earning scores of 90 points; while its signature Bordeaux-inspired wine, 2007 Oculus, scored 91 points. This is the first time a Canadian winery has ever received 90+ scores for its red wines from this publication.

Our guest is the man who made those wines John Simes, Winemaker.

Ned Bell

Our last guest is Chef Ned Bell.  

If you go back far enough in his resume you can see that here was a chef who would be one of the best – and he is.

From  le Crocodile and then working with Rob Feenie at Lumiere, through Niagara wine country and three restaurants in Calgary, starting Cabana Grille in Kelowna with his partners, to The Waldorf, The RoseWood Hotel Georgia and now The Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver.

His room is  YEW and it’s just received a great review from one of the toughest critics Alexandra Gill of the Globe and Mail.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/alexandra-gill/sea-change-puts-yew-in-class-by-itself/article2318251/

Vancouver Sun’s Mia Stainsby calls Yew “ A Stunner of a Room”  ’ Farm to table’ is an essential mandate of this Okanagan born chef.  A good portion of his life was spent growing up in the Okanagan Valley which has instilled a lifelong passion for fresh and locally sourced cuisine.  “Food doesn’t need to be complicated, but it is important to know where it comes from,” says the chef.  We finish the show talking Fish, Food and Wines with one of Canada’s Star Chefs.  The Ned!

http://www.yewrestaurant.com/people/executive_chef_ned_bell/

NEXT WEEK

Laura Catena (4th generation of Argentina’s leading winery)

Jacques Lurton (famous Bordeaux family – 15 members in wine business)

Alberto Antonini ( winemaker in 9 countries)

Isabelle Meunier (Quebecoise winemaker at Evening Land Oregon)

Piero Incisa (Sassicaia family, making wine in Patagonia)

Mike Gillis  GM of Vancouver Canucks

John Skinner .  The making of Painted Rock

What the heck is a  “Dishcrawl” and why is it in  Edmonton and Calgary?

BC”s Mission Hill Family Estate was named Canadian Wine Producer of the Year by the International wine and spirit Competition. We talk to winemaker John Simes.

Calgary’s Corey Wood has completely re-invented the Tasting Room Radio Website. He’s guesting to try and explain the whole thing to me.   A Luddite!

Our first Playhouse Primer. Its fast approaching in Vancouver. We talk to The Wine Diva and Director Harry Herscheg.

And we finish with an Alberta  Mini Meadery Special.

Guests are Fallen Timber from Water Valley and Chinook Arch, Okotoks.

The SHOW

Dishcrawl is a national foodie start-up founded on the premise that “Food is the best way to bring a community together”. Rapidly expanding into new markets, Dishcrawl holds monthly progressive food adventures all over the United States and Canada. Also in Portland, Edmonton, Calgary, California’s Bay Area and Tri-Valley, Washington D.C., Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa. Dishcrawl is currently located in the Silicon Valley and on the web at www.dishcrawl.com.

The basic idea is for 30-50 people to meet in an area of a city and then walk and eat their way through the neighbourhood.

 We talk to Teresa Lin in Edmonton and Jessica James in Calgary. Calgary’s next Dishcrawl is Feb 28^th. Edmonton’s is sold out.

Info at www.dishcrawl.com.

Mission Hill Family Estate is the 2011 recipient of the coveted IWSC Trophy as the ‘Canadian Wine Producer of the Year’ at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) in London, United Kingdom. The award came as a complete surprise to Mission Hill Proprietor Anthony von Mandl who was presented the award in front of 600 international wine luminaries at the historic Guild Hall in London by this year’s IWSC President, Prince Robert of Luxembourg, Proprietor of Château Haut-Brion in Bordeaux, France.

In addition to the 2011 IWSC Trophy for ‘Canadian Wine Producer of the Year’, Mission Hill Family Estate won 19 individual medals at the IWSC competition, including: Gold Medals for the 2009 Reserve Riesling Icewine, 2005 Select Lot Collection Riesling Icewine and 2009 Reserve Vidal Icewine. A complete listing of awards is available at www.iwsc.net

Mission Hill Family Estate

The IWSC award comes on top of Mission Hill’s recent ‘Winery of the Year’ award at the 2011 InterVin International Wine Awards Competition. Mission Hill was also featured in Wine Spectator magazine with three of the winery’s red wines – 2007 Compendium, 2007 Quatrain and 2007 SLC Syrah – earning scores of 90 points; while its signature Bordeaux-inspired wine, 2007 Oculus, scored 91 points. This is the first time a Canadian winery has ever received 90+ scores for its red wines from this publication.

Our guest is the man who made those wines John Simes, Winemaker.

John Simes

missionhillwinery.com

Calgary’s Corey Wood is one busy guy. He and his team create web sites and design that speak to all platforms.

Corey Wood

I have little or no internet or social media skills. He saved my bacon! I’ve asked him to guest and explain to me and YOU what he did to the website and how everything works.

www.mezzmedia.ca     www.woodmarcom.com

The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, Canada’s premier wine show, will run from February 27th to March 4th, 2012. The Playhouse Wine Festival is one of the biggest and oldest wine festival events in the world. In 2012, the Theme Region will be Chile and the Global Focus, Cabernet(s). The Festival features a week of special events including the Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction, wine seminars, wine minglers, winery dinners, and lunches and brunches at fine restaurants and hotels..

Our guests are Daenna van Mulligen – The Wine Diva, who explains her events.

Daenna Van Mulligen

… and Harry Herscheg, The Executive Director of the Playhouse, takes us through a primer and how to prepare for your visit.

Harry Herscheg

 Now, you may say “Prepare for WHAT?” …  well… 

180 Wineries

30,000 Bottles

1700 selected wines

15 Countries

64 Events

And 25,000 people.

 www.winediva.ca

http://www.playhousewinefest.com/

… and we finish with a crash course on Alberta Meadery.

All you need is honey (lots of it) and water and some other stuff.

Colin & Nathan Ryan

Our guests are:

Colin and Nathan Ryan from Fallen Timber Meadery in Water Valley  http://www.fallentimbermeadery.ca/

…  and Art Andrews from Chinook Arch in Okotoks.  http://www.chinookhoney.com

Art Andrews & Guests

NEXT WEEK

The one and only Dirt Willy

HELLO VANCOUVER!

Saturday 10 AM TEAM 1410

Wayne Gretzky!!

He’s not the whole show mind you but he sits in this week.

Jason Priestley starts the show!

While were in Hollywood  we bump into George Clooney and  talk about WHY he drinks wine only in Italy. (He thinks its medicine and he’s right)

Then The Wine Diva has wine suggestions for your Super Bowl weekend.

A quick reminder from Tourism Vancouver about the last two days of

“Dine Out”

And the star of the show..The respected wine mind with a mouth that roars..John Clerides from our title sponsor Marquis Wine Cellars

The  SHOW

 The Great One. Wayne Gretzky.

Wayne Gretzky

We sit down with Wayne in a hockey rink (Natch) to talk about Gretzky Wines, Gretzky Foundation and what effect he, Dan Aykroyd and Mike Weir had on the Niagara Wine Community.. Gretzky Wines were recently sold to Peller with an eye to the continued growth of the winery and the wines.

My apologies for the rink noise..just as we started, The Leafs came out and did a shoot around.

www.gretzkyestatewines.com

Thanks  to John DeVries and The Duke for the audio assist.

Jason Priestley is one busy guy.

He’s directing, acting, co-hosting HollywoodandVinesTV with me and he’s currently in his biggest role ever..DAD.

JP’s also a big wine fan and likes to fondle his 5,000 bottles of wine.

We talk wine (doh) and Call me Fitz, his very successful HBO Canada comedy series.

He also talks about missing his competitive driving days.

Call Me Fitz

http//www.hollywoodandvinestv.com

http://www.hbocanada.com/callmefitz/

Even though he was  just passing through… down a red carpet in Hollywood… George Clooney took the time to step over and say hello.

We’ve done interviews together for a number of years and we always ended up talking about wine.

This time it’s about George’s theory that Italian red wine is medicinal… and he’s drinking as much Barolo and Brunello as he can.

I’ve never seen the man look so “Healthy”!   

George Clooney

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000123/

Daenna Van Mulligen

The Wine Diva, Daenna van Mulligen returns with Super Bowl wines for the weekend. I’ve bolded the ones we talk about

Click here for list. 

www/winediva.ca   www.winescores.ca

I’ve met a LOT of wine experts over the past 10 years. Most were passionate, knowledgeable and all were opinionated. 

Very few put it all together like John Clerides at Marquis Wine Cellars.

If a winemaker asks him for an opinion, he delivers in spades. That’s what I like about him.

Straight up. Honest. Truthful. Blunt.

He’s put more noses out of joint than I can recall but people in and around wine know, he’s been honing his craft for 25 years and totally knows what he’s talking about.

I interviewed John in his “office” which is nothing more than a glorified stock room and the boxes are winning!

We talk about what kind of wine town Vancouver is… ”used to be a bunch of old guys sitting around a table… now its 20-30 year olds…who are passionate”

We talk about what wine was last years best seller and then get him to recommend wines from his store.

Sure hope you like him… because he’s going to be around the show a lot.

John has travelled extensively though Australia, Washington, Oregon, California, Italy, Spain, France and Austria, sourcing unique, flavourful, undiscovered wines. Even after 25 years his quest for discovery remains unabated. You will most likely find John in either one of three places, at Marquis Wine Cellars assisting his clients, in a vineyard or cellar somewhere in the wine world, or his most preferred location: at the local ice rink playing hockey.

John Clerides

http://www.marquis-wines.com/

It’s the last 2 days of Dine Out Vancouver… there’s still time to get out in your neighborhood and experience all the foods that Vancouver has to offer.

231 restaurants have created menus at three different prices.

Sonu Purhar from Tourism Vancouver steps into the tasting room.

http://www.tourismvancouver.com/

NEXT WEEK

Albertan Chef Ned Bell takes on Vancouver.

John Skinner – The man behind Painted Rock

The Wine Diva preps us for Playhouse

The Canadian Culinary Championships begin in Kelowna.

 Yowzah!! Its February..why it’s almost SPRING!!

Here’s your Alberta show for this week..

Wayne Gretzky!!!  He’s not the whole show mind you but he kicksoff Part 2 this week.

Jason Priestley starts the show then  while we are in Hollywood,  we bump into George Clooney and  talk about WHY he drinks wine only in Italy. (He thinks its medicine!)

Then The Wine Diva has wine suggestions for your Super Bowl weekend.

A Wine Monkey and a Barbarian bring us the good news about wines of Spain and Argentina.

After #99 , its Chef Michael Smith and his new cookbook… and finally Bruno LaPlane, representing DiamAndes in Argentina.

Along with legendary consultant Michael Rolland, they make I Million bottles of

Clos de los Siete and much more.

The SHOW

 Jason Priestley is one busy guy.

Jason Priestley

He’s directing, acting, co-hosting HollywoodandVinesTV with me and he’s currently in his biggest role ever..DAD.

JP’s also a big wine fan and likes to fondle his 5,000 bottles of wine.We talk wine (duh) and Call me Fitz, his very successful HBO Canada comedy series. He also talks about missing his competitive driving days.

www.hollywoodandvinestv.com

http://www.hbocanada.com/callmefitz/

Even though he was  just passing through… down a red carpet in Hollywood…

George Clooney took the time to step over and say hello.

George Clooney

We’ve done interviews together for a number of years and we always ended up talking about wine!

This time it’s about George’s theory that Italian red wine is medicinal..and he’s drinking as much Barolo and Brunello as he can. I’ve never seen the man look so “Healthy”!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000123/

 The Wine Diva, Daenna van Mulligen returns with Super Bowl wines for the weekend.  Bolded wines are the ones we talked about!

Daenna Van Mulligen

www.winediva.ca    www.winescores.ca

We’re heading back to Cornucopia in Whistler for a re-visit.

Paul Watkin and Keith Nicholson  form a formidable wine pair at Wine Monkey.  Here’s what the Wine Monkey website says:

“The Following website contains coarse language, no violence, no BS, some wine gibberish, hopefully some random nudity, a lot of wine drinking and other related antics.

Some material may be inappropriate for “wine snobs.”

Let me introduce two very knowledgeable and charming Wine Monkeys. They’re going to talk about Spanish wines because they bathe in it.

FYI – They’re both wine educators.

http://www.winemonkey.ca    

Keith Nicholson

 

 Then we  cross the room and find Master of Wine Barbara Phillip and her wine educator husband Ian Phillip.

Iain Phillip, Barbara Phillip

 

 

 

 

 

I find them setting up to talk about Argentine wines. The Terroir, how Malbec leads the way but what they really want to talk about is all the “other” wines to be found in Argentina, especially the whites.

http://www.barbarianwine.com`

The Great One… Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky

We sit down with Wayne in a hockey rink (Natch) to talk about Gretzky Wines, Gretzky Foundation and what effect he, Dan Aykroyd and Mike Weir had on the Niagara Wine Community.. Gretzky Wines were recently sold to Peller with an eye to the continued growth of the winery and the wines.

My apologies for the rink noise..just as we started, The Leafs came out and did a shoot around.

Thanks  to John DeVries and The Duke for the audio assist.

Chef Michael Smith, Canada’s best-known chef is the winner of the James Beard Award for Cooking Show Excellence and host of Chef Abroad, Chef at Home, Chef at Large and The Inn Chef on Food Network Canada and in more than 100 other countries. Currently Michael is in production on a brand new series that will begin airing in 2012 on Food Network Canada.

Michael is Prince Edward Islands official food ambassador, an award winning cookbook author, newspaper columnist, professional chef and home cook. In 2010 he led the team of chefs that cooked for the worlds Olympians in the Whistler Athletes Village.

Michael and I talk about his new cookbook  but also get into a great discussion about how food becomes an important social element in all our lives.. Memories of people and places are tied into the dinner table.

Michael Smith

http://chefmichaelsmith.com/

And we finish in Argentina..with Bruno LaPlane .He is the voice and face of The Jewel of the Andes! 

Bruno LaPlane

In 2005, the Bonnie Family, owner of the renowned Château Malartic-Lagravière (Grand Cru Classé de Graves) and of the Château Gazin Rocquencourt (Pessac-Léognan), decided to leave France in search for new horizons in the world of wine. It all began with the acquisition, along with their partners, of a single 130-hectares (321 acres) block of land in the heart of the Uco Valley, to the south of the city of Mendoza. That is where Bodega DiamAndes was born, as a member of the prestigious Clos de los Siete group.

Its enough to say that the driving force behind Clos de los Siete was and is consultant Michel Rolland. They now make 1 Million bottles of Clos de los Siete

DiamAndes

NEXT WEEK

Albertan Chef, Ned Bell takes on Vancouver.

John Skinner – The man behind Painted Rock

The Wine Diva preps us for Playhouse

The Canadian Culinary Championships begin in Kelowna.

Dish Crawl  Edmonton and Calgary are coming…. will fill you in on the deets!!

The Wine Diva returns as the star of the film Budget Bottles – The Sequel. ALL under $17 It’s a wine tour of Alberta wine minds..We ask 4 of the best to answer the question

“What was the surprise wine of 2011 and what will it be for 2012”

 I’m hoping you’ll search out the answers.

Barney Bentall and Ed Robertson from Bare Naked Ladies are the feature musicians at the Canadian Culinary Championships Feb 11-12 in Kelowna.

 We talk. We rock.

A tribute to Robbie Burns and Scotch with Ranald Watson from Springback Distillery, Campbeltown,  Scotland

The SHOW…

Daenna van Mulligen returns as The Wine Diva..this time it’s Budget Bottles -  Under $17.The Sequel Wines include:

Gehringer Bros

Twisted Old Vines

Stoneleigh

Montalto Nero D’Avola

The Ned Sauvignon Blanc

Beringer Stone Cellars

Vina Mariola Utiel-Requena

Fazi Battaglia Verdicchio

WineDiva.ca

Karen Anderson is looking for Manly Men. Her Calgary Food Tours has scheduled a Superbowl Saturday food tour built especially for guys.

It includes bison chili to start, a brewery tour, steak dinner, a tasteful lingerie show and shopping for valentines gifts plus wine stops.

Check out her website for all the details. Check out the other tours she has planned   www.calgaryfoodtours.com

The Canadian Culinary Championships – The Gold Medal Plates returns to Kelowna for the finals Feb 11-12 9 of Canada’s best chefs go head-to-head.

Canadians wines, ciders and beer are showcased and the entertainment is  not bad either.

Barney Bentall

Barney Bentall and from the Bare Naked Ladies Ed Robertson join us on the show.

They have performed together at various regional competitions this year..so for them it’s a wrap as well. Barney talks about biking through Burgundy and Bordeaux with people who’ve bid on the trip at these events..and Ed reminds me that he doesn’t drink but is a huge foodie. So we end up talking music , food and wine. WHAT is not to like?

      

Ed Robertson-Bare Naked Ladies

http://www.goldmedalplates.com/ccc.html

And because it’s Robbie Burns Day, we find Ranald Watson in Calgary. He’s  with the Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown, Scotland and he’s passing through Calgary pouring his pure heaven. He’ll give you do’s and do nots of Scotch tasting. And a brief history of how Scotch came to be. www.springbankwhiskey.com

Slainte – Your Health

Someone please pour a dram over the Burns statue in front of the Hotel MacDonald!

LISTEN TO PODCAST HERE

NEXT WEEK..

We take Vancouver..with Wayne Gretzky, Jason Priestley, George Clooney and The Wine Diva has wines for your entire Super Bowl Weekend.

Back and forth in Alberta. What WAS the surprise wine of 2011 and what are the predictions for 2012?

Four different Alberta views! We head for one of my favourite dining spots – breakfast, lunch or dinner it doesn’t matter Coyotes in Banff.

The Wine Diva has Budget Bottles under $17. Karen Anderson from Calgary Food Tours has a “Manly Man Superbowl Saturday food and beer” tour for you.

…and we  even have time for a wee dram. Happy Robbie Burns day, y’all!!

The SHOW…

Where to begin?? OK. Something I’ve wanted to do since Christmas. Talk to a small handful of wine experts about this question…

“What was the surprise wine region, varietal of 2011 and what will it be  in 2012?”

Guests include Brian Welsh and Jeff Beerwart at Ruth’s Chris Edmonton and Calgary. Karen Anderson at Calgary Food Tours and Kathy Johnson at Coyotes in Banff.

Downtown Banff

A couple of surprising choices here…including an Alberta Meadery.

www.ruthschris.com

www.coyotesbanff.com

www.calgaryfoodtours.com

We stay at Coyotes in Banff to talk to the Three Muskateers who run the wildly popular restaurant. Kathy Johnson, her chef husband, Lucas and co-owner Trudy Wilson.

The whole thing ends up in a food fight..with Lucas and Kathy trading food and wine pairing shots. www.coyotesbanff.com

Trudy Wilson & Kathy Johnson

Daenna van Mulligen returns as The Wine Diva..this time it’s Budget Bottles -  Under $17.The Sequel Wines include:

Gehringer Bros

Twisted Old Vines

Stoneleigh

Montalto Nero D’Avola

The Ned Sauvignon Blanc

Beringer Stone Cellars

Vina Mariola Utiel-Requena

Fazi Battaglia Verdicchio

WineDiva.ca

Karen Anderson-Calgary Food Tours

Karen Anderson is looking for Manly Men. Her Calgary Food Tours has scheduled a Superbowl Saturday food tour built especially for guys.

It includes bison chili to start, a brewery tour, steak dinner, a tasteful lingerie show and shopping for valentines gifts plus wine stops.

Check out her website for all the details. Check out the other tours she has planned   www.calgaryfoodtours.com

And because it’s Robbie Burns Day, we find Ranald Watson in Calgary.

He’s  with the Springbank Distillery in Campbeltown, Scotland and he’s passing through Calgary pouring his pure heaven. He’ll give you do’s and do nots of Scotch tasting. And a brief history of how Scotch came to be. www.springbankwhiskey.com

Slainte – Your Health

Someone please pour a dram over the Burns statue in front of the Hotel MacDonald!

NEXT WEEK..

we take Vancouver With George Clooney leading the charge plus…   Superbowl weekend wines from The Diva!

Great News to tell you!!

Bell Media in Vancouver  and with it a lot of the West Coast have agreed to air
Tasting Room Radio every Saturday at 10am on Team 1410. We start Feb 4th.
Things are going to get really interesting on the show and the website.
So many stories to tell. So many interview possibilities.
And because they’re a sister sports  station to Team 1040, we include even more of your Sports Stars talking wine and food in the show.
Hello Vancouver and The Island.

It’s a Double Dip of  The Diva.
First Daenna Van Mulligen reviews some of her Top 50 wines of 2011.
Some of these are big buck bottles. All are worth every penny.
In the second half of the show The Diva comes back with budget bottles for 2012..
We head back to Memphis Blues BBQ and talk pig and wine  with George and Park.

The return of Harry McWatters…and with him his own wine!!

Enjoy!!!

THE SHOW

Memphis Blues BBQ is a fixture on the West Coast
They’re making plans to head into Alberta soon so I thought a return to their Commercial St store in Vancouver’s Little Italy was in order.
Course I also used then occasion To launch my book Mulligan’s Stew at the same time.
Co-owners Park Heffelfinger and George Sui are the odd couple of BBQ.
They BBQ’d a whole pig for the occasion and followed it up with great wines.
Some very surprising.
So, it’s a crash course in smokey meats and wine..but because it’s George and Park..it’s going to be funny and fun.

George Sui

Park Heffelfinger

The Wine Diva loves her wines and wine lists.
She has two segments on this show.
She starts off the show and
her first list.  Wines between $20 and $50.00

Herder Josephine 2008
Painted Rock Chardonnay 2010
AstroLab  NZ Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Foxtrot Chardonnay 2009
Joie reserve Chard 2009
CayMus Zinfande
Accordini Valpollicela Repasso Verona 2007
Belle Glos Pinot Noir
Rodney Strong Pinot Noir 2009
Summa Ques Howling Bluff  Sin Cera Blend 2009
Hester Creek The Judge. 2008
Luigi Bosca. Reserve Malbec.
Laughing Stock  Syrah/Viognier

Harry McWatters is a leader in the thriving British Columbia wine industry in which he has been involved for over 40 years. He was founder of British Columbia’s first estate winery, Sumac Ridge Estate Winery in 1980 and founder of See Ya Later Ranch Estate Winery in 1995. In the spring of 2000, Sumac Ridge Estate Wine Group was sold to Vincor Canada and Harry continued as president of Sumac Ridge and See Ya Later Ranch as well as being a Vice-President of Vincor Canada.

Harry “retired” as President of Sumac Ridge Estate Winery effective April 30, 2008. On May 1, 2008, Harry established Vintage Consulting Group Inc. and the Okanagan Wine Academy.. Now he’s back with his own wine, a beautiful World class Meritage. When you see the names Harry McWatters and Richard Cleave on a bottle- BUY IT!!

The man is a living history of Canadian wine..i had a ball talking to him. Hope you like it.

www.harrymcwatters.com

Daenna starts of the second half of this weeks  Tasting Room Radio with budget bottles - all well under $20.00

Penfold Koonunga Hills  2008 Shiraz/Cab
Spier “signature” Chenin Blanc 2011.Stellenbosch S Africa
Prospect Ganton and Larson Project Birch Canoe Pinot Blanc 2010
Peter Lehmann. Barossa Blonde 2009 Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Robertson  Sauvignon Blanc 2010. S Africa 2010
St Hubertus Chasselas 2010
Trapiche  “Astica” Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Argentina
Argento Reserva Bonardo 2010
Bodegas Castano. La Casona Old Vines GSM. 2009 Spain
Canepa Carmenere 2010 Chile
d’Arenberg The Stump Jump 2009.
Jacobs Creek  Reserve Shiraz 2008
Grey Monk Pinot Noir  2009
Pascual Toso. Malbec 2009
Trapiche Reserve Malbec  Argentina 2009
www.winediva.ca    www.winescores.ca

NEXT WEEK – Alberta Show

• a quick wine tour of Alberta’s sommeliers.
• What was the wine of 2011 and what’s the breakout wine for 2012.
• The Wine Diva and I talk budget bottles Part 2

  Great News to tell you!!

Bell Media in Vancouver  and with it a lot of the West Coast have agreed to air
Tasting Room Radio every Saturday at 10am on Team 1410. We start Feb 4th.
Things are going to get really interesting on the show and the website.
So many stories to tell. So many interview possibilities.
And because they’re a sister sports  station to Team 1040, we include even more of your Sports Stars talking wine and food in the show.
Hello Vancouver and The Island.

It’s a Double Dip of  The Diva.
First Daenna Van Mulligen reviews some of her Top 50 wines of 2011.
Some of these are big buck bottles. All are worth every penny.
In the second half of the show The Diva comes back with budget bottles for 2012..
We head back to Memphis Blues BBQ and talk pig and wine  with George and Park.
Richard Harvey is One of the best wine minds in Canada.  He’s just one of the reasons why Calgary’s MetroVino is a must stop for locals and travelers.

We hope to have Jason Priestley finish off the show.
However, right about now he’s a Dad first. Celeb is a very distant second.

Enjoy!!!

THE SHOW

The Wine Diva loves her wines and wine lists.
She has two segments on this show.
She starts off the show and
her first list.  Wines between $20 and $50.00
Herder Josephine 2008
Painted Rock Chardonnay 2010
AstroLab  NZ Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Foxtrot Chardonnay 2009
Joie reserve Chard 2009
CayMus Zinfande
Accordini Valpollicela Repasso Verona 2007
Belle Glos Pinot Noir
Rodney Strong Pinot Noir 2009
Summa Ques Howling Bluff  Sin Cera Blend 2009
Hester Creek The Judge. 2008
Luigi Bosca. Reserve Malbec.
Laughing Stock  Syrah/Viognier

Daenna starts of the second half of this weeks  Tasting Room Radio with budget bottles – all well under $20.00
Penfold Koonunga Hills  2008 Shiraz/Cab
Spier “signature” Chenin Blanc 2011.Stellenbosch S Africa
Prospect Ganton and Larson Project Birch Canoe Pinot Blanc 2010
Peter Lehmann. Barossa Blonde 2009 Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Robertson  Sauvignon Blanc 2010. S Africa 2010
St Hubertus Chasselas 2010
Trapiche  “Astica” Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Argentina
Argento Reserva Bonardo 2010
Bodegas Castano. La Casona Old Vines GSM. 2009 Spain
Canepa Carmenere 2010 Chile
d’Arenberg The Stump Jump 2009.
Jacobs Creek  Reserve Shiraz 2008
Grey Monk Pinot Noir  2009
Pascual Toso. Malbec 2009
Trapiche Reserve Malbec  Argentina 2009
www.winediva.ca    www.winescores.ca

Memphis Blues BBQ is a fixture on the West Coast
They’re making plans to head into Alberta soon so I thought a return to their Commercial St store in Vancouver’s Little Italy was in order.
Course I also used then occasion To launch my book Mulligan’s Stew at the same time.
Co-owners Park Heffelfinger and George Sui are the odd couple of BBQ.
They BBQ’d a whole pig for the occasion and followed it up with great wines.
Some very surprising.
So, it’s a crash course in smokey meats and wine..but because it’s George and Park..it’s going to be funny and fun.

As Jim Cuddy told us last week..when he tours with the Cuddy Band or Blue Rodeo, one of the two wine stops he makes in Western Canada is MetroVino in Calgary.
Some wine stories try to win you over with volume. Fair enough. That works.
Richard Harvey’s MetroVino is more a boutique, with everything in the store hand selected, usually by the staff on their travels around the World.
They can tell you the stories behind the wine.
Which means..there are no bad bottles. Just good choices
What a relief.
Richard returns to TRR and fills us in on some of the programs he has going in the weeks ahead.

A return to Volnay
The  “let’s get serious” Series
Sangiovese 6 ways
www.MetroVino.com

And as for Jason Priestley…the kids have taken over the kitchen and he can’t  find the phone or the new puppy.  Please Hold.

Wait..He’s found the phone and I’ve found him.

We’ll talk Call me Fitz, his funny and successful comedy series shot in Wolfville NS, in the heart of East Coast wine country.

Jason and I are the co-hosts of  Hollywood and Vines TV..now shooting its third year for Super Channel in Canada and for 180 Countries around the world via Travel Channel (UK)

JP and I talk Nova Scotia wine, NHL player bottles (what IS a Wendel Clark merlot?) and of course we talk Fitz and wine!!

www.hollywoodandvinestv.com/

NEXT WEEK 

• a quick wine tour of Alberta’s sommeliers.
• What was the wine of 2011 and what’s the breakout wine for 2012.

Were  Coming to Vancouver

starting 10am Saturday Feb 4 

on Team 1410