Blog
Visitors to BC may be familiar with the "U-Brew" concept, a store in which all the work is done for you and all you have to do is bottle the finished wine. Sounds like a good deal? Read on ... I was in Toronto a couple of weeks ago, visiting a similar store in order to review some of their procedures. The thing I noticed above all is that some of these places are cutting corners in order to rush the wine out the door due to space restrictions and demands on the employee's time.
POSTED July 19th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS 
I started here for a few days, in the oldest city in North America, founded in 1497 ! Discovering the rich history of this venerable area, one pint at a time, I was duly impressed by the fact that George Street has more bars per square foot than any other street on the continent. Is this merely coincidence, or a natural evolution? Water Street, the oldest road in North America, has it all -- lively music, great pubs, good beer...the better were the offerings from the Quidi Vidi brewery, very solid...
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Deacon Brodies Tavern is a pub I know well. In the past, not only many a pint here, but one of my daughters worked as a server here for a while. It makes a father proud when his kid can make a shamrock on a pint of Guinness! There are so many old, classic pubs in this town, and it's certainly worth the effort to track them down, pint by pint. Not all have real ales, in some you have to ask for them, but the character of these pubs adds to the enjoyment of your pint.
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There is a brewing trend in Scotland, a crusade to reclaim the quality of beer in this country. I am sitting in the Central Pub in St Andrews on the front lines, amongst a group of locals who recognise excellence in the service of cask ale (aka draught) Self-proclaimed quality control enforcers, they routinely inspect pubs to check out the temperature, appearance, aroma and flavour at the point of dispense. They maintain that ONE of TWO pints are of poor quality.
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Many of the pubs in Great Britain are closing due to lack of patronage. Pubs doing well are the ones focusing on quality real Ales. These beers have many flavours and a wide range of aromas - nuttiness/ apricot / burnt popcorn / grapefruit / honey / banana / pear / apple / prune / roasted chestnuts / chocolate and cherry. You cannot get this character in a "run of the mill" pint! I still find some pubs here don't respect the proper handling...
POSTED July 19th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS First Class in our newest store 
A huge shout out to Whitney for her excellent work starting up and running our newest Home Vintner location in Okotoks! Only open for a few weeks, this store has already hosted its first winemaking class and, despite the beautiful weather that evening, the response was fantastic. We're excited to begin planning more classes here very soon. Thanks again Whitney for your hard work and enthusiasm, we're happy to have...
POSTED June 28th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS 
The Home Vintner helped raise over $1000 for the Airdrie and District Humane Society by hosting a fun night of wine tasting featuring Paul's cheese and chocolate pairings. This was the first annual even for ADHS and was quite a success. We are already planning to host another "Raise a Glass to the Animals" event again next year.
POSTED June 27th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS 
Rocky Mountain House residents have proven that, despite their relative isolation from the big city, they sure have the thirst for wine appreciation.Another successful wine event was held recently at the local Home Vintner, and, due to the enthusiastic turn out, we will soon be setting up more events and wine/beer making classes to keep up with demand.
POSTED June 27th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS 
Last weekend I flew to Ontario to attend my nephews wedding. My mission for the weekend – go to a local winery to choose the wine for the reception. The classic wine and food pairing comes into consideration but more importantly is the group of wine drinkers. The wine that you might personally choose to drink at your table for the evening may be quite different from the wine the whole room would enjoy. Softer tannin wines work well to appease all pallets and for...
POSTED June 15th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS The Wow Factor With Wine and Chocolate 
Our wine guild spent an evening with Brad, the chocolatier at Choklat discovering the secrets of what makes a truly great experience in the enjoyment of chocolate. Our group tasted various types of chocolate and then paired them with different wines that they had brought. The winning wines were our peach ice wine and our chocolate raspberry port. (Note both with be rereleased in the fall) Top quality wine deserves top quality chocolate. www.sochoklat.com
POSTED June 7th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
Argentina friends of my daughter stopped to rest on their journey travelling from the southern type of Argentina to Alaska. What is amazing is that they are driving a 40 year old Citroen. Not much money, 2 years working northward. We swapped travelling stories sorting through our English and Spanish. Worked our way through some of our Canadian beers to compare with our knowledge of South American brews. Moosehead Beaver Tail and Wild Rose, as Canadians we can be proud.
POSTED June 7th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
The Home Vintner (cabin in the woods) recently hosted visitors Brian and Marie who have spent 3 years travelling around the world on their motorcycle. In celebration of the final leg of their trip back home to Montreal we searched our cellar to find wines from some of the countries where they had travelled. It makes us realize how global our selection of wines is – France, Italy, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand to name a few. We raised a glass in admiration of this determined...
POSTED May 18th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS HOT TUBBING - NOT JUST FOR ADULTS ANY MORE! 
Darius has the right idea - hot tubbing with a "cool one"! This is Ron's grandson, having himself a blast in his Rub A Dub Rent A Tub. A little too young for a Mint Mojito or a Strawberry Margarita, but he's got the right idea! Summer's coming, & Ron of the Northwest Calgary Store, has his Mojitos fermenting & Hot Tubs for rent -- all sizes -- as you can see!
POSTED May 7th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS WHAT DO WINE & HOCKEY HAVE IN COMMON? APPARENTLY, NOT MUCH! 
I was in Ontario last week, and had a chance to do some wine tasting. Wayne Gretzky and Dan Akroyd both opened Estate wineries in the Niagara region, and the opportunity arose to judge their attempts at Bordeaux style wines.Similar vintages were chosen - 2006 / 2007 - for a side by side comparison. Gretzky should be given a game misconduct. Serve it on ice or not at all !Dan Akroyd, on the other hand, should be given a warm applause for his attempt, but certainly not...
POSTED April 17th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS Rocky Mountain House Wine Appreciation 
Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Spit (maybe not spit -- at least good wine)!We had a fun and educational event at our Rocky Mountain House store on March 27, 2010 wine appreciation cheese, chocolate pairing class. The Home Vintner has moved people up to better wine kits available in the market. Now, we want our customers to get the most out of their wine. Put us to the test. Check our website for further events.
POSTED April 3rd, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT |
