ISOLE E OLENA — PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
We all have it. But what do we learn from it? The first time I met Paolo de Marchi, owner of Isole e Olena in Tuscany, I was an insignificant young wine seller working the floor in a shop in south Calgary. I’d recently tasted his Chianti Classico and had been astounded by its elegance […]
WINEMAKERS, COME TO ALBERTA FOR THE MOOSE, SPRUCE, AND GOOSE
If you’re from Italy, Spain, or France, you might not come to Alberta for avant-garde fashion. If you’re from California, you may not be keen on our beaches or cutting-edge technology. And if Australia is your home, our diving, café culture, and poisonous animals may not be worth your time. But there’s a lot you […]
TIBERIO FROM ABRUZZO IS MAKING YOUR NEXT GO-TO WINE
Abruzzo-cadabra—pulling great out of seemingly nowhere When was the last time you sought out a wine from Abruzzo, never mind kept some at-the-ready? The truth is, it’s never been a default drinking option beyond satisfying a curiosity or including it in an educational tasting. The closest it’s come to staplehood are some fairly mass bottlings […]
PRODUTTORI DEL BARBARESCO SHOWS CO-OPS DON’T HAVE TO SUCK BY DEFAULT
A lot has been written about Produttori and their superb wines. More than that, they’ve done it in the cooperative model which is infamous for medium- to low-quality wine. But Produttori del Barbaresco shows co-ops don’t have to suck by default. How? The short answer is “intention”. But it goes much deeper than that. First, […]