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”
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”
Like many tipplers, our wine scribe Jim Walker has long adored the wines of Burgundy. But, when he began his wine importing business, he never imagined that one day he might represent a winery from that storied land of Bacchus. Yet, as improbable as it might seem, he eventually had not one but three Burgundy producers in his vinous stable. This is a story about one of them. Continue reading “A BURGUNDY GAMBAL”
Gentlemans Portion 