
A passionate palate
Winning an international wine competition is a huge achievement, especially given the popularity of wine in today’s society. Last week’s article applauded the dedication and training required to become a member of a competitive wine-tasting team. Apart from having a deep passion for wine, the team must have access to wines from all over the […]

Wellington cool
Well wasn’t that a simply superb Pumpkinfest? The weather couldn’t have been better, and the village was teeming with people full of goodwill. Congratulations to the organizers. The orange beanie is quickly becoming the beacon of Pumpkinfest attendance. Had anyone been so fortunate as to scale the ‘ladder to the skies’ on top of our […]

Concrete and clay
Ah, downtown Picton! Oh how I miss you. I miss the old, uneven sidewalks, the pavement that feels like a drive through a plowed field and the orange spray-painted warnings on concrete. Let’s be real, navigating the sidewalks, of Main Street in downtown Picton isn’t easy these days. Main Street businesses are open throughout this […]

Mind the gap
Here’s a game to play, next time you find yourself in a grocery store or a pharmacy with some time to kill. Go to the personal care and grooming section, find a razor or a tube of deodorant, and check the price. Then find the equivalent product marketed to the opposite gender, and check that […]

Tim Hortons collector cards
Once again this year, collectors have been given the opportunity to put together a set of hockey cards while sipping their coffee. There are 100 cards in the Tim Hortons collection, beginning with #1 Tim Horton. These cards came out as the World Cup of Hockey was getting underway in Canada. Naturally, one of the […]

China ascending
In Greek mythology, Zeus (clearly no fool) delegated the task of choosing the fairest of three goddesses— Hera, Athena and Aphrodite—to Paris of Troy. This first “Judgement of Paris” set the stage for the Trojan War and eventually led to the founding of Rome. The second Judgement of Paris rocked the wine world in 1976. […]

Nobel prizewinners and everyday heroes
They awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday to Juan Manuel Santos. Santos is the president of Colombia who negotiated what has so far proven to be an uncertain end to 50-plus years of civil war. Peace Prize winner last week, right here in Wellington. Dan McDonald, the co-proprietor of the It’s Wickedly Sweet bakery, […]

Muzzled
Recently I’ve been feeling as though my physical voice is being taken away from me. Nope, no one has told me to shut up. Although I’m sure some would love to do just that. Actually, like a lot of all y’all, I am mostly wary about making a comment on any subject, at any time, […]

Birds of a feather
Bird migration has become a topic of some discussion in these parts lately. Apparently, the Orioles are not quite ready to head south, and are planning to hang around the Metropolitan Toronto area for the next couple of days. The Blue Jays have consented to stay around and join them for a friendly game. It […]

Working together
Although we are well familiar with the concept of agricultural co-ops in Canada, we have yet to see its impact on smaller Canadian wine producers. In Europe, wine cooperatives are fully owned and operated by the vineyard owners who bring their fruit to the co-op for processing. Everything is shared— from machinery to wine storage […]