Our wine scribe Jim Walker enjoys everything about wine – from the glorious places the grapes are grown to the truly marvellous people who farm the grapes and turn them into the elixirs he loves so well. But, there is one fly in his vinous ointment. Read on to find out what it is.
Continue reading “THAT WRETCHED CORK!”
We were curious to find out what our wine scribe Jim Walker had been drinking during the pandemic and thought it would make an interesting topic for his next Gentleman’s portion contribution. He was reluctant to tell us at first for fear that we, and our readers, would think he was being a bit braggy. However, he relented. Here’s what he’s uncorked. We are more than a little bit envious.
Continue reading “SO, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DRINKING?”
Way back in the mists of time when our wine scribe Jim Walker was contemplating wine importing, it not surprisingly occurred to him that he needed wineries to represent. But, what vintner in their right mind would expose their vinous treasures to a neophyte agent, let alone a recently retired banker? Astonishingly, Martine Sauvage and her Château Beauferan jumped fearlessly into the breach.
The pandemic has negatively affected many folks’ travel plans, but it doesn’t prevent us from dreaming of future peregrinations and making plans for when we can venture forth once again. Here are five destinations that beckon for our wine scribe Jim Walker.
A dear friend pulls up stakes and heads off to the West Coast. Our wine scribe Jim Walker reminisces about the many vinous adventures and good times they shared.
Domaine de Tara is magnificently situated at the foot of the picturesque ochre hillside village of Roussillon-en-Provence in the heart of the Lubéron Regional Natural Reserve in Provence, France. It faces the Monts de Vaucluse, Mont Ventoux and the precariously perched hilltop village of Gordes. This is truly spectacular countryside. But our wine scribe Jim Walker didn’t select this winery because of the views. It was for its wine, of course.
You can rest assured that no matter where his travels take him, our wine scribe Jim Walker will make plenty of time to visit the top wineries in the area (assuming there are any). But perhaps the most unique of them all was the one that he and his young family called on many years ago. That winery’s claim to fame? At the time their red wine was the most expensive vin du table in the world!
The town of Gigondas
More and more women are successfully taking control of wineries around the world. Such is the case at Domaine du Cayron. The difference, as our wine scribe Jim Walker discovered, is that this stellar Gigondas producer of the Southern Rhône is operated by three sisters – Delphine, Cendrine and Roseline Faraud.
Continue reading “THE FARAUD SISTERS AND THEIR GORGEOUS GIGONDAS”
One meets many interesting characters during the course of one’s endeavours. Such is certainly the case in the wine industry where rugged individualists battle the vagaries of nature and markets in order to survive. Our wine scribe Jim Walker has had the privilege to meet up with many of these folks as he has navigated the wild, wacky and wonderful world of wine. One of the most memorable was Jérôme Caillé of Château Robin.
Continue reading “MEET JÉROME FROM CHÂTEAU ROBIN”
Many strange things have occurred in the land of the Cathars, even in recent times. Something very odd happened to a shipment of wine that was produced there and wound up at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. And, what became of the nice lady who made that wine? Our wine scribe Jim Walker tells us all about the unusual goings on at Domaine l’Aiguelière in the heart of the Languedoc wine region of southern France. Continue reading “MYSTERIES IN THE LANGUEDOC”
Gentlemans Portion 