Our wine correspondent Jim Walker is well known for combining fine dining with his wining. “They go together like a horse and carriage, love and marriage and flotsam and jetsam,” Jim explains. Below we see what he means as he and wife Hélène explore the restaurant scene on a recent trip to Nice, France.
Continue reading “NOSHING IN NICE IS NICE, N’EST-CE PAS?”
Our wine correspondent Jim Walker and his wife Hélène Buisson recently visited Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in southern France to bid a fond adieu to their vinous mentor and a couple of their vintners. You see, they had decided to wind down their participation in the wild, wacky and wonderful world of wine and they wanted to say goodbye to those who had made it all possible.
Continue reading “BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN”
There are times when one finds something splendid in the most unexpected place. Such was the case when our wine scribe Jim Walker and his wife Hélène stopped for the night on a recent journey. Drool along as he tells us all about this serendipitous experience.
Continue reading “LITTLE FALLS, BIG SURPRISE”
Our wine scribe Jim Walker and his wife Hélène have been visiting Provence and other areas of southern France at least annually (except for the last two plague-infested anni horribiles) for more than 30 years. To absolutely no-one’s surprise, they have spent a considerable amount of time during those sojourns sampling the local fare and vinous offerings. Jim comments on his gustatory observations and experiences in his latest contribution to Gentleman’s Portion.
Continue reading “WINING AND DINING GRACEFULLY IN SOUTHERN FRANCE”
It all started with the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau – the third Thursday of November.
Continue reading “LE VRAI COQ AU VIN”
It was with great fanfare that the LCBO announced the opening of its French wine boutique in Ottawa. Our wine scribe Jim Walker saw an opportunity to forge a mutually beneficial working relationship with the staff at the fledgling purveyor of French tipples. So, he and his wife Hélène decided to pay them a visit. To say it was an interesting experience would be an understatement.
Continue reading “A WEE MEASURE OF FRANCE IN OTTAWA”
They did it! It took 16 years, but they finally did it. Our wine scribe Jim Walker relates in bone-chilling detail how the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, after inflicting many near-mortal wounds over the years, delivered the death blow to his once thriving Arthur’s Cellar Wine Club.
Continue reading “THE SUN SETS ON ARTHUR’S CELLAR”
Helen Keller once remarked, “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” That’s what our wine scribe Jim Walker thought when he decided to take on a partner.
Continue reading “A PARTICULARLY PERNICIOUS PARTNERSHIP”
There are those who think that a wine agent’s life is a great big bowl of cherries – slurping the finest wines, visiting exotic locales and dining in utter splendor. But nature loves symmetry. So, to even things out, she sent us the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Jim Walker, our wine scribe tells us about the joys of picking up his wine from the LCBO warehouse in Toronto.
Continue reading “SITTIN’ ON THE DOCK OF THE … LCBO WAREHOUSE”
Here our wine scribe Jim Walker recounts his first wine tasting experience that had real consequences. It wasn’t exactly a pretty sight, but the outcome was both favourable and flavourful.
Continue reading “WHO KNEW COT, NÉGRETTE AND TANNAT?”
Gentlemans Portion 