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Groucho Marx Alive and Well in Olds! 
This fun bunch in Olds found a unique and humourous way to protect their identity on the internet! Of all the classes I've done, this was one of my biggest surprises - they were such a light hearted fun - filled bunch. Thanks to Brenda, another group has been enlightened on pairing wine cheese and chocolate and now have the knowledge to host their own events at home. POSTED March 6th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS February NE Store Wine Appreciation Event 
Another good time had by all. The wine appreciation event at the NE store in February was a lot of fun. Even though the purpose of the evening was to educate it often feels like I’m officiating a party. We always have question and answer time, people often ask about vineyards that they have visited and about the wines that they have sampled. The bottom line is this, can I make the same wine at home? Chances are good that they can! The Home Vintnter supplying vineyards expand around the globe from Europe, North America, South America, South Africa and Australia. We enjoy the challenge of matching our customers with the special wine they are looking for. POSTED March 1st, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Cochrane Wine Appreciation & Cheese, Chocolate Pairing last Thursday night 
It’s always rewarding when someone in the class starts the evening claiming that wine all smells the same to me. And by the end of the class they are so excited because now they can pick out the different characteristics of the wines. “I can smell chocolate, black currents WOW! How did I miss that before? Does that cheese ever change the taste of that wine! I’ll never think about chocolate the same way again.” Since we only bring in the best quality wine on the market we want our customers to judge it and to get the most enjoyment from the quality. POSTED March 1st, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Rocky Mountain House Wine Making Class 
Last Saturdays “Beginner Wine Making Class” (Feb 19) at Rocky Mountain House was another great success. The local community there has embraced quality wines and an insatiable thirst for more knowledge. We have the products that satisfy those who have set high standards in their wine making. Next event at Rocky will be a wine appreciation night where we will be instructing the class on how to judge wine and then how to match wine with the right cheese and chocolate. Tentative date is March 27, watch for more info on this as participants will need to pre-register with Wende. POSTED February 26th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
This week our staff enjoyed a tasting of 2 of our Chilean wines, the Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere. For a quest of more knowledge of Chilean wines I recently went to Chili with my 2 daughters. The wine regions in the foothills of the Andes produces a fruit forward softer tannin style of wine. The Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon - red and black berries accented with black pepper carries through from start to finish, a very good wine with pepper steaks and spicy pasta. POSTED February 5th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS Stags Leap - a great addition to any wine cellar 
Ron brought in a bottle of Napa Valley Stag's Leap District Merlot for a staff tasting. Nicely aged since 2006 the silky smooth structure with fruit forward flavours of plums and red berries was accented with spice notes. Reminded me of my field trip to research wines in Napa Valley. It is easy to see why we have a following for this wine - well worth cellaring to bring out its true nature. POSTED January 29th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT Rockin in Rocky Mountain House Our newest store and fastest growing thanks to Wende was packed last Saturday afternoon. The wine and beer community at Rocky is developing a knowledgeable appreciation of the art of making fine wines and micro brewery calibre beers at home. Blog tip - the secret to making great wine is patience. In February we are planning another wine and beer making class, dates will be announced soon. POSTED January 26th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS Wine Making Class last Thursday - NE Store Another full house - a blend of experienced wine makers and novices. We find that experienced wine and beer makers are appreciative of the knowledge they gain even in our beginning class. Of special interest was solving the CO2 dilema in Calgary. Barometer pressure is increasing so this week wine should be progressing nicely. POSTED January 26th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS Great Wine Making Class last night at the NW Store Last night we had a full house at our wine making class at our North West Store. Everyone enjoyed the good selection of wines along with cheeses and crackers. The focus in January is, "Raising the standard of everyone's expectations in wine and beer making". Looking forward to another free wine making class on Thursday night in the North East store and another one Saturday at Rocky Mountain House.. POSTED January 20th, 2010 | 0 COMMENTS 
For those of you making wine this weekend, there has been a dramatic drop in barometric pressure again. Things will be slow to clear and slow to ferment, be patient. This is our very first blog entry. In this blog we plan on keeping you updated on changes in the store, new wine discoveries, and the travels of staff and customers. If you have any wine-related travel stories, please send them in and we will share them with our customers. We always enjoy hearing first-hand about various wineries throughout the world. POSTED January 15th, 2010 | 2 COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT |
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Barb Donnelly