Going to South Africa

Rod Phillips, the Dork, often pulls back the veil on the “bureaucracy of booze” in this province. It turns out the B.C. government plans to recreate that same system when recreational cannabis is legalized in 2018. Rod critiques the decision.

Also, a bit of wine. The Pick of the Week is a sparking wine, which you’ll find in private liquor stores for $11 or $12, the Jean Louis Couve Brut.

Rod also busts the show’s usual price cap for his birthday: The Domaine Antonin Guyon Chorey-les-Beaune from Burgundy.

Vintage Veracity

November 30, 2017Argentina, Beer, Chile, Cono Sur, France, Italy, La Mancha, Languedoc, Malbec, Okanagan, Pinot Noir, Portugal, SpainB.C., BC, bcpoli, beer, British Columbia, CFAX, CFAX 1070, Rod Phillips, Ryan Price, Vancouver Island, Victoria, VQA, winedorkuncorked

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:45 — 29.6MB) | Embed

Rod breaks down which wine regions see a lot of variation from year to year and which ones don’t. Here are a few wine regions discussed that produce consistent wines year after year (with the caveat that there are always exceptions):

Italy: Calabria, Sicily and Puglia
France: Languedoc, Provence
Spain: La Mancha
Portugal: Anything from the Douro Valley and further south
Chile: Anything
Argentina: Anything
South Africa: Anyting

A few of the specific wines discussed:

Lopez de Haro Crianza (Spain), Cal y Canto Tempranillo/Merlot/Syrah (Spain) and the Pick of the Week is the Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir from Chile, which you should find for around $10.99.

We also start the show with a review of the entry level Alamos Malbec from Chile.

Beer format predictions. Plus French Malbec and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

November 23, 2017Argentina, Chianti, France, Italy, Malbec, Malbec, New Zealand, Sauvignon blancB.C., BC, beer, British Columbia, CFAX, CFAX 1070, Rod Phillips, Ryan Price, Vancouver Island, Victoria, VQA, winedorkuncorked

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:22 — 29.3MB) | Embed

In this episode:

•Rod predicts the next packaging trend for craft beer.

•We dive into the difference between French and Argentinian Malbec. We discuss the Clos Troteligotte K-or from the Cohors region of France and the Alamos from Argentinian.

•Explaining the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc scene. We compare Kim Crawford and Stoneleigh and conclude that — the Seven Terraces Sauvignon Blanc is better than both.

•Pick of the Week: 2016 Gabbiano Chianti from Italy.

Winter Beer Review with the Thirsty Writer, Joe Wiebe

November 16, 2017Beer, Special GuestB.C., BC, beer, British Columbia, CFAX, CFAX 1070, Rod Phillips, Ryan Price, Vancouver Island, Victoria, winedorkuncorked

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:17 — 29.3MB) | Embed

A beer episode with special guest Joe Wiebe. We look at what’s new in local craft beer as we shift into winter brews, update the local industry as more breweries prepare to open, and discuss coming beer related events.

The special guest “Pick of the Week”: The Oktoberfest Flammenbeer, which is a collaboration between Swans Brewery and White Sails Brewing that was winner of the BC Beer Award’s Best in Show Award. It’s a special brew and might be hard to find, so don’t wait. Bonus pick – Vancouver Island Breweries Hermannator is out for the Christmas season.

The Portugal Show

November 4, 2017Douro, Portugal, Vinho VerdeB.C., BC, bcpoli, British Columbia, CFAX, CFAX 1070, Rod Phillips, Ryan Price, Vancouver Island, winedorkuncorked

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:41 — 29.6MB) | Embed

The long promised examination of Portuguese wines, a wine country we talk about all the time because if its great wines at amazing values.

The Portugal themed Pick of the Week: Aveleda Vinho Verde. Find it at some private liquor stores around Victoria for approximately $14:99. Try it with white fish.

As a bonus, we discussed a few of our other favs from this part of the world: Periquita Red, the Casal Garcia Rosé, Dão, Paxis Red Blend, Pedras do Monte, and Ramos Pinto. Watch for all those names when you start exploring Portugal.