“Wine to me is passion.  It’s family and friends. It’s warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It’s culture. It’s the essence of civilization and the art of living.”
Robert Mondavi, “Harvests Of Joy,” Autobiography

Do you love wine? life? Each other?

Spend a weekend in the heart of South Okanagan Wine Country indulging your passionate side!

• Tour and taste some of the gems of the famed Black Sage Bench.
• Learn the nuances of food & wine pairing with our Sommelier.
• Enjoy an intimate gourmet dinner with local wine makers.
• Re-ignite the passion in your relationship with a certified life and relationship coach.

Located in the beautiful wine country of the South Okanagan, the retreat takes place at Spirit Ridge Resort & Spa, offering unparalleled luxury accomodation set against the backdrop of stunning desert landscape overlooking vineyards and Osoyoos Lake.

The date is November 20 - 22, 2009. Interested? Find out more at www.Life-Uncorked.com/Retreat or www.spiritridge.ca/passion.

1. Cold, spicy Gewürztraminer in a hot tub on a starry starry, night. Soft music or absolute silence. Alone or with the one you love. Ahhhh. Food for the soul.
2. After some rigorous winter sport, heat up a big mug of mulled plonk to enjoy while roasting hot dogs by a roaring bonfire. Sip and munch and laugh. Save the S’mores for the hot chocolate.
3. Sip a wonderfully crisp Rose on the patio on a warm summer afternoon, chat with your partner & occasionally throw the ball for the dog. Make everything take as L - O - N - G as you can. Sigh.
4. At a winery picnic table with some cheese, fresh baguette and your favorite from the wine tasting. (Hint: choose the wine to match the weather, not the cheese!)
5. Roast Turkey and stuffing at Christmas or Easter celebrated with lots of family and friends and a bottle or two of Sparkling Shiraz. (Sparkling Shiraz is getting more common outside of Australia, but try the Seaview - good, fun and cheap!)
6. A lazy Saturday night, a funny movie (Shrek anyone?), a big bowl of buttered popcorn, and a creamy barrel fermented Chardonnay. (If you’re from BC, See Ya Later Ranch has a tasty one - not too oaky) Snuggle up on the couch and laugh till it hurts!
7. Savour a big, juicy barbequed steak with a bunch of friends, potluck salads and a few bottles of gutsy Zinfandel.
8. Winding up a great meal with fresh strawberry shortcake accompanied by a lightly fizzy, slightly sweet Muscato D’Asti. Pure, simple flavours with the promise of springtime.
9. Oh, and chocolate. Really good chocolate can be one of life’s experiences all on its own, but crank it up a notch. To really splurge for a romantic evening, light the fire and feed each other tiny bites of the best dark chocolate you can find with tiny sips of luscious vintage port. Or, if it’s just to satisfy that craving, reach for the chocolate chips and Tawny!
10. Any impromptu occasion with good food, great company and whatever you have on hand!

I watched this 15 minute video, and it kept me smiling all day! Well worth the time.

5 New Year’s Resolutions for Wine Lovers

I am re-committing to these resolutions for 2009. I tried to live up to them last year, but I know I can do better! So here they are again….. Care to join me?

1. Drink less wine. I don’t know about you, but when I look back at this past year, I have drunk a lot of wine!! And, most of it has been generic, everyday wine for generic every day kind of days. Not much that has been notable. Often, I drink it without even really paying attention. This, when you think about it, is the way I spend a lot of my time. That’s wine and life passing me by! How about you? So, resolve to drink less wine, but to really pay attention and make every glass count.

2. Drink more, better wine. My theory is: if you going to drink less wine, you can afford to drink better wine! And, I know from my own experience that when I drink really good wine, I do slow down and savor every sip. Imagine if every glass of wine you had were an occasion to note. If every sniff and sip were worth making a memory?

3. Use your best glasses. I have a cupboard full of Riedel glasses. What good are they doing in the cupboard? If you are going to be drinking the best wine you can afford, doesn’t it just make sense to enhance the experience with wonderful glasses?

4. Expand you range. Make a point of trying wines from other regions or made from unfamiliar varietals. I know very little about Italian wines. So, this year I am going to make a point of discovering the world of Italian wines. Make it fun! Do some reading, do some tasting. You might just discover a new favorite!

5. Keep a journal. How many wines have you enjoyed and planned to buy again, only to find that you’ve forgotten what they were? I love the journals that have space to record the occasion and who you were with when you had that special wine. And, what fun to go back and re-live those memories later! The journals become treasuries of precious moments in our lives. Good wine, good food, good company….. does life get any better?

You pop the cork. Pour a stream of crimson fluid into your glass. Inhale deeply the aromas it offers up. Taste the richness and notice the complexity. Feel how it glides over your tongue towards your throat. Hold your glass to your ear. And, listen. Just listen.

This wine has a message for you.

I was contemplating wine the other day (ya think?). And, I was wondering what messages it might have to impart to us. What does the wine have to say to you and me?

I think it says: Stop. Pay attention. Savour the experience. Really tune into the moments in your life.

I think it says: Celebrate! Life is good. Enjoy what you have and rejoice in the small successes that are offered up every day.

I think the message is: Take care. Take care of yourself. Take care of the place you live. Be careful to nourish your body and soul. After all, what is wine without the soil, water and sun?

I think it says: revel in diversity. Enjoy the differences. Just as wines come in different colours and flavors, so do people. Appreciate the variety of the human race.

And, I hear something about changing, and growing. And, the process. Creating something beautiful.

I hear: Cheers! The importance of family and friends, being in good company. Choosing to be “cheer”ful and bring cheer to others.

Am I hearing things? Maybe I need another glass!

A wine soaked weekend….

Well, the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival is upon us! Hundreds of events celebrating everything red, white, pink and in a bottle!

On Friday, my husband and I spent the day touring the spectacularly beautiful Naramata Bench. Naramata has some of my favourite Okanagan wineries. We stopped and sampled at La Frenz, Laughing Stock, and Marichel Vineyards. Then we enjoyed a relaxing lunch of fresh baked hearth bread, cheese and pate, on the patio of the Naramata Heritage Inn. It was an idyllic way to spend the day!

Saturday afternoon saw us attending Tinhorn Creek’s Crush Club Release party. Just down the street from our house, Tinhorn sports a spectacular view, and some very nice wines! They served up hamburgers and their newly released red vintages to over 500 Crush Club members.

AND! On Sunday, my favourite event of the festival: Festival of the Grape. This outdoor event hosts over 3000 people from near and far. The wine tents have 40 or so local wineries sampling their newest releases; there was a plethora of food vendors to suit even the wildest tastes from Greek to home made fries to ice-cream; a whack of crafters and vendors of other fine stuff, and an art show to boot! The kids were all kept busy with various games, face painting and entertainment, while the adults enjoyed watching the grape stomp and the great music of The Powder Blues Band (as well as the wine

I love this event partly because it allows me to compare the wines of many different wineries against each other. Where else can you have the opportunity to taste 8 different Pinot Gris side-by-side? Since this is my new “fav” varietal, that’s exactly what I did! And, I found some very juicy ones!!

After my palate tired of Pinot Gris, I switched to big reds and discovered a few new favourites! I loved the Seven Stones Meritage. And, for $32, I think it’s a steal. I must go to Cawston to visit the winery and get me some! The other big red I was really impressed by was a Pinotage by Stoneboat Vineyards. This is an uncommon varietal for our area, but I loved big smoky, fruit flavours! This will be one for my winter drinking list.

Whew! And this is only the first weekend of the Festival! Just think how the winery operators feel when they have to put the whole thing on right in the middle of crush? Thanks, guys!

Here’s to the corkscrew!

“A useful key to unlock the storehouse of wit, the treasury of laughter, the front door of fellowship, and the gate of pleasant folly.”

 I love it! I’m not sure where it came from, but it was displayed on a blackboard in the restaurant at Hillside Cellars Estate Winery on the Naramata Bench, B.C.

Cheers!