Dear Wine Ladies,
Just back from a weekend in the big apple and apparently the hottest trend right now in the way of cocktails is a drink called shochu. As a bartender on this side of the border I’d like to know more.
Any insight on this would be appreciated.
Jack
Dear Wine Ladies,
I’m in the market for a birthday gift for a “wine gadget geek” friend of mine. Have you ever heard of a soire? Apparently it’s some kind of special decanter that only partially decants. Would this make a good gift if it were to fit in my budget of around $25.00?
Lizzie
Dear Wine Ladies,
I enjoyed reading about “green wine”, or Vinho Verde in last weeks column, but would now like to ask you about a “yellow wine” otherwise known as Vin Jaune. A wine we had never heard of until recently and found to be very interesting in flavor. What is Vin Jaune? Is this a place or a grape?
Bev
Dear Wine Ladies,
The Girl Guides of Ontario were involved in a recycling program of wine corks in conjunction with a company called Jelinek Cork Group a couple of years ago. Unfortunately I haven’t seen or heard any more of this for quite a while. Is there still a recycling program in place? Are there any others?
Heather
Dear Wine Ladies,
I’m interested in the Portuguese wine Vinho Verde, which your guest touched upon last week on your radio show. I just caught the tail end, missed out on some of the info as well as the explanation for why it is referred to as “green wine”. Does it have to do with the colour or does it have the same significance as it does here in Canada? I thoroughly enjoyed a glass last evening and have to say that after tuning in, I’m really looking forward to exploring some of the other wines discussed, as they also fit perfectly into my current budget!
Brian
Dear Wine Ladies,
Just a quick question about my most favorite red wine grape, the ruling king of grapes, the almighty Cabernet Sauvignon! A friend of mine maintains that the Cab’s lineage is from the second rate Cabernet Franc, and another grape he was not aware of. Tell me this isn’t true…
Thanks Wine Ladies
Geoff
Dear Wine Ladies,
A few weeks back in the Life Style section of the Globe, they were talking about budget sparkling wines for Valentines. In the photo I noticed they showed the wine being poured into one of those old coupe, dessert style glasses. I thought tall thin glasses were the best for bubbly? Are these others coming back into style?
Heather
Edmonton
I heard that there is a winery in British Columbia that is actually owned and operated by an Indian Band. This is pretty cool! I’d love to know more! How are the wines and do they make any icewine…my new found passion! Is it possible to purchase any of these wines on line?
Ask The Wine Ladies- Please submit your questions to info@thewineladies.com
Absolutely! The winery you are referring to is called NK’Mip Cellars (pronounced in-ka-meep). It is located in the Osoyoos region in the South Okanagan. It’s actually North America’s first aboriginal-owned and operated winery producing VQA wines. The Indian Band owns 230 acres at the Inkameep Vineyard. Some of the vines dating back to 1968. Forty of these acres are currently being managed by NK’Mip Cellars producing a variety of wines including Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Syrah.
Randy Picton has been honoured with multiple gold, silver and bronze awards from both domestic and international competitions. Do they make any icewine? Indeed they do. In fact with quite an impressive track record. The Nk’Mip Qwam Qwmt 2007 Riesling Icewine was awarded Double Gold at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. A Gold at the Okanagan Wine Festival and Best of Category at Vancouver Magazine International Wine Competition. The list of awards going back several years is pretty impressive.
The newer line NK’Mip Qwam Qwmt, is a reserve line of wines that have also garnered a lot of attention and been recognized with multiple awards. Apart from the winemaking duties of Mr. Picton, he is also involved in training some of the youth of the Osoyoos Indian Band. Training in both the area of winemaking and in the day-to-day operations of running a winery. In fact, a number of the young band members have enrolled at the Okanagan University College taking the winery Assistant Certification Course.
Dear Wine Ladies,
I am a culinary student and am part of a group project that is looking at cooking with alcohol. What are the reasons for cooking with wine, what does it do to the food and does the acidity in wine play a role? Help please.
Keith
Next week I’ll be having the ladies over for an evening of wine, food and fun. I’ve decided to go with Pad Thai for something a little different. I have no idea which wine to pair with it. I normally drink red, but I know most of the girls will only drink white. Any suggestions?
Leesa,
Houston Texas