A visit to Megalomaniac Wines in Niagara.

Fine wines, beautiful winery, great venue. Updated October 15, 2023 This article also appears on my consulting website. Speaking of consulting, I do branding makeovers and offer my services as a writer/blogger and content creation resource. MORE HERE … I remember when John Howard first started out in the wine business. He launched and grew

Bella Terra Red.

An endearing red blend from Bella Terra’s own estate vineyards. PondView Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake has recently changed its  name to Bella Terra Vineyards. The 2018 vintage of Bella Terra Red is a blend of the three main red varietals that grow in their vineyards: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. This lovely medium-bodied red

Off to Wine Country in a Mercedes sport coupe

I contributed this article to the summer issue of Mercedes-Benz Club Canada‘s magazine. This is a reprint. I’m dreaming! Dreaming of hopping into a gleaming white sport Coupe, with a few ponies under the hood, tooling through south of France wine country. In my fantasy, I’m negotiating winding roads through the dazzling countryside along the

Smithavens Brewing Company crafting attention getting beers

Smithavens Brewing of Peterborough is doing a great job getting their award-winning ales and lagers into The Beer Store, grocery stores and LCBO. I’m happy they’re getting easy to find because these are such great beers. You can’t beat small batch naturally brewed Ontario craft beer. These beers taste fresh and natural. Generally craft beers

PondView Harvest Party 2017. Great turnout, great wine, great music!

Happy Crowd at PondView The Baroness and I had the good fortune to attend the PondView Harvest party this past weekend. Best fun we’ve had in Niagara all year. PondView is a happening winery that is creating some good buzz. They’re producing fine wines and have a good sense of marketing to fuel their growth.

Visit to Viewpointe Estate Winery

Excellence in winemaking This family-owned estate is one of Southwestern Ontario’s reference point wineries. Situated in EPIC (Essex Pelee Island Coast) near Windsor Ontario, the region also carries the VQA designation: Lake Erie North Shore. A visit to Viewpointe is not to be missed. John, Steve, and Jean Fancsy all have the passion for wine

The next hot trend – Ontario about to burst forth with micro-distilleries

    Spirits Start To Emerge in My Consciousness I’ve been a wine aficionado for a long time. But I haven’t been able to resist the lure of spirits either. They’ve gradually tugged at my attention and they’re winning me over. They’re fascinating and equally full of culture and lore. So with this post, I

Railway City Iron Spike & Dead Elephant are two cool beers

I had occasion to visit Railway City Brewing in St. Thomas a couple of days ago. The brewhouse is state-of-the-art and the brewmaster really knows his stuff. Following are two of my favourites. Both available in LCBO. St. Thomas was once the railway capital of Canada, having six railway lines (compared to four in Toronto).

Is Greek wine the next big thing? Yes indeed. Here’s why.

  Greek wines   are experiencing a significant renaissance. That’s a very good thing. It’s possibly the oldest wine producing region of the world, going back at least 6,500 years. It was the Greeks who introduced wine to Italy. Greek wine had especially high prestige among the Romans. And Greek wines were transported to the

Taste Ontario was a fine wine event in Ottawa today. Ontario’s wines are stronger than ever.

Both the trade event this afternoon and the consumer event this evening at the Westin confirm Ontario’s strengths in wine. Photo: Walter of Pelee Island with the Wine Baron in Ottawa.