Tag Archives: Vancouver

Fancy Cars and “Select” Wines

Posted by Megan on December 12, 2009 No comments

Warning: When tasting delectable wines in a Mercedes-Benz showroom, spit as much as humanly possible. At the end of the night, you’re walking out with at least a case of wine… oh, and look: it comes in the truck of a shiny new S65 AMG Sedan. How did that happen? (Oddly, I now know what a S65 AMG Sedan is.)

Select Wines has it going on. As a pre-holiday tasting event, the Canada-wide agency held a customer appreciation night this week in Vancouver at the Mercedes Benz dealership in Kits. Oo-la-la. Smart move. What else gets you in the mood to pick up a case or 2 other than flashy hot-rods, a shiny black grand piano crankin’ out not-sick-of-them-yet Christmas tunes and several stations of big reds, crisp whites and happy bubbly to keep the room buzzing for hours? This was a great event. Small, casual and nicely orchestrated by the fine people of Select who kept those glasses full…

They had a selection of about 15 wines in total. We were greeted at the door with a little bubbly to kick it off – their Piper-Heidieck Brut Reserve ($55.98 | #462432) – excellent start to the evening. After we wandered through the dangerously available for spontaneous radical purchasing autos, we hit the whites and enjoyed a classic Riesling, 07 from Hugel, Alsace ($24.99 | #365486), the Wither Hills straight-down-the-middle classic Kiwi Sauvy B. ($18.99 | #493619 ), and the seemingly more trendy wine of 2009: a 07 Grüner Veltliner from Austria’s Salomon Undhof ($26.99 | #843045) – nuts and honey, fantastic mouth-feel.

Moving into the reds, there were 10 on hand and we of course tasted a healthy portion of each one. Here were a few of my big-body fav’s:

06 Sicilian Merlot Collezione di Famiglia. Full body, chocolatey, balanced, smooth, smooth, smooth. Nice to discover from the south of Italy. Great for any heavy sauce or meaty Christmas dish ($19.99 | #760223)
05 Barbaresco Ricossa – Great value for this big-bodied, complex guy ($21.99 | #929406)
07 Firesteed Pinot Noir – One of the better valued new world Pinots under $25, thanks to those Oregon winemakers who know a thing or two on old world Pinot style ($22.99 | #361782)
06 Shiraz Viognier from Yering Station in Oz – this was my favourite of the night. A great find. It’s got a pleasantly unsuspecting mouth feel and an intensity from different directions, giving way for varying flavours. A must try. ($26.99 | #699785)

Thankfully, plenty of wine and hours later, we didn’t end up with a car. We did however end up with a Christmas mixed case of great wines. Thanks to everyone at Select, especially Risha, and to the Mercedes crew for a very memorable night.

IVSA: So Many Wines… You Know The Rest

Posted by Megan on November 12, 2009 No comments

So *this* is where all the kids hang out. IVSA (Import Vintners & Spirits Association of BC) in Vancouver was a good time had by all at the Four Seasons downtown. If you are in the wine industry, you should consider joining the mobs of wine agents and buyers. If you’re not, you should find a way to get there next time around.

Roaming the room, taking it all in and chatting with familiar and new faces, you couldn’t help notice the serious on-a-mission tasters for wine columns, blogs, party recommendations, surrounded by the not-so-serious having a grand ol’ time, not spitting. Everyone was in great spirits and it felt a bit like Christmas in early November.

I met some lovely people, tasted some doozy wines, but there was no hope you could even dream of tasting half of the room in the 3 short hours, so I tried to stick to some bubbly plus a few bonus tracks for the holidays:

Bastianich Flor Prosecco – $19.99 – easy to drink and your fills the mouth with florals and light, lovely bubbles
Codorniu Pinot Noir Sparkling Brut, Cava, $19.99 – full of zest and soft mouthfeel, with a pinky-orange hue for all of you pink fans out there
Nicolas Feuillatte Particuliere Brut, Champagne, $59.99 – Gismondi 90 pts.
Champagne Moutardier Carte d’Or, $58.99 – unique 85% Pinot Meunier must try – 90 pts Burghound

Bonus Tracks:

Penfolds Grandfather Port, $84.99 – nutty and rich, melts in your mouth and hangs around for a long time, but not long enough!
Chateau d’Orignac Pineau des Charentes, $39.99 – Wow. Two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, one-third Cognac and ten years to produce – think thick, rich honey in a beautiful wine. Excellent value.
Blue Raspberry Vodka, $23.75 – And why not add a little fun bubble-gum-esque blue vodka into the Christmas stocking? Goes with every typical mix I’d imagine or on its own on the rocks.

Thanks to Catherine at Rare Finds and Risha at Select Wines for making certain I made it out.

My Week In France

Posted by Megan on November 9, 2009 No comments

… in Vancouver.

What to do when you can’t jet off to France every other month? Seek France out in a hotel or community centre near you.

Last week I stopped into two local tasting events. The first, an industry tasting of Bordeaux reds and whites at the Roundhouse called Bordeaux Under One Roof. The second, the Rhône Valley at the Four Seasons Hotel at an event called Warm Winter Rhône – a benefit for the Children’s Hospital.

Great thing about my “afternoon in Bordeaux”: all wines presented were under $30. Beat that. Pretty decent value. It was a quiet room of just nine local agencies which made it easy to meet and greet and move around.

Before the tasting got started, it was optional to slip into the theatre adjacent to the tasting room and listen to an hour on Bordeaux from Montrealer and Bordeaux expert Nick Hamilton. It was a basic 101 on the region, terroir, grapes and wines, but served as very informative if you knew zero to very little.

Bordeaux wines are the true art of blending.
— Nick Hamilton

A Few Bordeaux Picks:

Red: Chateau Mayne-Vieil 2005, $27.99 – rich, full body, lovely tannins, balanced and drinkable now / Merlot, Cab Franc
White: Dourthe No 1 Sauvignon Blanc, $16.99 – Holy New Zealand! Very typical flare of a Sauvy B from NZ – citrus, grapefruit, fresh, zesty, yum – from France.
Best deal of the day: Chateau Loupiac Gaudiet 2003, $17.99 (375ml) – sweet gem you could sip on all afternoon!

Across town and two days later, my “evening in the Rhône Valley” was splendid. This night was a benefit for the Children’s Hospital, so wonderful to see a packed room with eager note-takers and the “occasional” no-spitters… always entertaining. It was an easy room to try most wines, and that I did, along with my very-happy-to-taste-at-anytime-fellow-wine-enthusiast Tracey. Definitely found it easier to taste with one other person along for the ride, rather than a solo trek or a +1 +1 +1 etc. You can block out some crowds and get down to the task at hand with a second nose and set of taste buds.

Treats From The Rhône:

Le Compagnie Rhodanienne 206 Les Combelles, $13.49 – easy drinking, light tannins and body with a nice balance – perfect entry into Rhône wine.
Chapoutier 2005 Muscat Beaumes de Venise – other than the small twang of *slight* high alcohol at 15.5%, really, really lovely.
Perrin Les Christins 2007 Vacqueyras, $26.99 – their marketing says it better than I: “rock-solid”.

Bringing Napa Home To You

Posted by Megan on November 1, 2009 No comments

Vancouver played host to Napa Valley at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel this month as part of “Wine Arts”, an event hosted by Arts Umbrella. Lucky me got to join and transport myself from bad lighting and industrial carpeting to some of the Greats from Calistoga, St. Helena and Rutherford.

In speaking with some of the winemakers, winery owners and reps and local agents, the wines fell under categories of a. available in Vancouver, b. never going to be available in Vancouver and c. “We’ve been trying for years to get into Vancouver!”. So good luck finding them. Locally, try the private wine shops first. If nothing else, head down to Napa and try them all in person.

My Highlight Reel:

Trefethen 2003 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – deep purple, dark fruits, beautifully balanced, long smokey finish.
2006 Diamond Creek “Gravelly Meadow” Cabernet Sauvignon – most expensive wine of the night and one of the best.
2007 Laird Family Estate Cold Creek Ranch Chardonnay – just the way you’d expect a full-bodied, toasty, buttery Cali Chardonnay. This one was a treat.
2006 Quintessa (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, & 1% Carmenere) – A lot going on with this rich and beautiful wine with black fruits and plenty of spice. This one needs some meat or put it away for down the road.
Heitz Cellars Ink Grade Port – Holy Purple! This is one smoooooth porto. From Portuguese varietals Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Sausao, Tinta Cao, Tinta Bairada, Tinta Madeira, Tinta Amarela, Bastardo – These read something like Russian for the rookie, alas Heitz Cellars says it perfectly: “The perfect reason to linger over dinner.”.

Last Chance For VinoCamp CheeseCamp Tickets

Posted by Megan on August 4, 2009 No comments

vinocamp cheesecamp
[Update: Wow! What a day – from all accounts, everyone had an amazing time, plenty of wine and cheese was had by all, we learned a ton, met new people and enjoyed a civilized ad-hoc afternoon. Thanks to all of our sponsors – check the Flickr Pool for photos of our day (thanks to one of Vancouver’s best photographers), our Tweets and tags and hash tags #vinocamp and #vccc09 for all the updates. Thank-you to everyone who helped (especially the MAG team) and to all of our speakers and participants. See you next year…]

There just might be RAIN this Saturday in Vancouver. We need it. But even if it doesn’t rain, I say after all of this heat wave, it’s the perfect timing for the perfect pairing and staying inside to taste (drink) fine wines, eat delectable cheeses, learn from the best in the business and, if you are so inclined on the “geekery” side of things, going tech with what you are taking in – blogging, flickring, tweeting all of your new wine and cheese knowledge and experiences, all day.
Check out the line-up of amazing Speakers and the Schedule and Sessions – including a few lightening talks in the breaks and a Live Twitter Tasting with Stag’s Hallow.

Hope to see you there – Keynote with Dr. Donna Senese begins at 12:30pm.

Follow @vinocampvan
Official Tags: vccc09 | vinocampvan09 | vinocamp | cheesecamp

Chicks Who Click: In Vancouver!

Posted by Megan on June 18, 2009 No comments

~~EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS TOMORROW!~~ JUST GO AND REGISTER NOW

OK Vancouver: This new conference, born out of Boulder, Colorado (in case you didn’t know, a tech hub you need to get to know) is hitting a mere FIVE cities across the continent on tour this year and Vancouver is the ONLY Canadian stop! Take advantage of these precious 1.5 days with ladies who tech, Chicks Who Click. (The other gender is of course most welcome. I like the reverse odds for you guys, kinda like a BlogHer – and to all the dudes out there: you will like these odds. And… for those of you with women as your target market, or if you need the support of or want to connect with the top female social media evangelists, this is a not-to-be-missed 2009 event.)

Want to be enpowered? Want to participate at a tech event surrounded by your peers – brilliant and fabulous women? You need to read all about it here and then register now and join us on June 26th and be the chick who clicks that you really are, or at least, be inspired by some great insight, conversation and practical knowledge.

I am speaking on a panel with Victoria Revay (skyping in live from Nunavut – totally random, completely awesome) and with the lovely Alex Samuel from Social Signal. We’re speaking about women in tech entrepreneurship, the glass ceiling that’s still relevant, or is it?, being in the Tech Startup land Dude-Fest, the challenges, the differences, the advice given, good and bad, the path, good and bad, the successes, the inspirations, everything we’ve learned as female entrepreneurs in technology – we want to pass it all along and start a smart and healthy conversation around it.

Erica at Ahimsa did a great little post on CWC last week and nicely broke it down for you.

See you next weekend!

Quick Links:
Follow the Conference on Twitter and tag all of your content #CWC09
Follow Denise Smith (organizer) on Twitter @Deetells
Become a fan on Facebook
Read the CWC Blog at chickswhoclickblog.net

Vancouver Digital Week – Get Involved.

Posted by Megan on April 27, 2009 1 comment

Yet another example of how Vancouver is a Digital Media Mecca: Vancouver Digital Week May 11 – 14 / 09.
Sign up, join the convo, submit your company for Pop Vox. Here are a few channels to get you into the mix and a lovely little vid from our friends and yours at Giant Ant from last years Digi week:
VanDigWeek Twitter
PopVoxAwards Twitter
Submit to PopVox
All of your Van Digi Week INFO
IPF

Help Me Climb 48 Storeys For Clean Air

Posted by Megan on February 16, 2009 No comments

The BC Lung Association is holding their 8th annual Climb The Wall: StairClimb For Clean Air next week and I need donations to be able to participate. Please help me get there – I only need $100, but it would be fantastic to help raise money for this organization that does so much tireless work to help us all live a healthier, cleaner life.

DONATE HERE. It’s very easy, just a few clicks away: name, address and credit card and your receipt (for taxes) gets delivered right to you.

I am also thinking of recording it, maybe. The climb itself should take about 10 minutes, or so I’ve been told… Could be a painfully tedious video, but wouldn’t you like to see someone climb a staircase for 48 floors? Compelling content.

Thanks for your help and support for helping me get to the top of Vancouver, and thanks for helping all of those people who need support in medical research, asthma education, clean air initiatives, and programs to help young people live tobacco free.

Update: I ran it in 8:18. (under Mallen not Cole for the record) Wasn’t that bad, even after all of that red wine…

Web Impact – A Very Much Needed Workshop For Professionals

Posted by Megan on October 14, 2008 No comments

I am helping the Centre For Digital Media produce a Professional workshop Oct 24-26, “Web Impact: Master Your Domain – a professional web marketing workshop”.

This truly is a must. Web impact will provide participants with a practical understanding and knowledge of all things web marketing: advertising, user experience, social media, analytics. At the end of this course, you’ll finally get it. I promise. You’ll be able to head back to your brand, business, company and rock your online marketing world. Vancouver’s top industry leaders are heading the workshop sessions, sharing all of their work expertise, experience and secrets with you. The sessions are all in an intimate classroom setting, with a sponsored networking lunch and top successful businesses in Vancouver in attendance. Space is limited so I’d advise you to sign up the sooner the better!

Upcoming Event Listing

All event details found here – session and speaker breakdown and REGISTRATION.

Hope to see you there!

Vancouver Staging and Rental Company: The Perfect Home Ingredient

Posted by Megan on September 27, 2008 4 comments

To stage or not to stage. For those of us who have staged a home or have seen a home that has had a major decorative face-lift, the answer is obvious: a big, fat, resounding “Yes” to staging.

I have recently discovered this new service called ‘staging’. At first, I thought it was some sort of means to ‘act out a pretend house’ – it has something to do with theatre, right? Looking further into exactly what staging a home really means, I thought, “I don’t need that – my taste is just fine. I can sell this house as-is with my own keen eye.” Then I saw a home that had undergone the magical transformation of staging. Wow, what a difference a service like this can make to selling (or purchasing) a home.

Andrea Foxman, CEO of “Home Ingredients” has been staging homes for over a year. Design and Interior Decorating are her passion and this naturally successful entrepreneur (she started, ran, and grew a highly successful talent agency business for 10 years prior to this endeavor) has the knack for good business, and more importantly, she knows how to make a home aesthetically brilliant.

A little known housing market fact: Homes that are staged sell up to 5-7% more. As Andrea sees it,

“It’s like detailing your car when you want to sell it…. a little curb appeal, rearranging your furniture and the flow of the house could make a big difference in your sale.”

Most home sellers don’t want to take the time and money to spiff up their homes. 5-7% more seals the deal for me. If you’re selling a home, “Home Ingredients” enables the seller a very large leg up when selling a home and provides the buyer the vision and incentive to purchase that perfect home. And they do it all: scope the project, bring in the goods, the set up, the strike down – et voila, a sold home!

Andrea has some unbelievable pieces in her jam-packed warehouse on the west side in Vancouver. Her unique and creative style is not the only aspect that gives her an advantage on her competitors – “Home Ingredients” rents furniture as well. So if you are a professional stager, you’d go to Andrea for her fine selection of rentals. Calling all Realtors and developers: you need this woman’s expert assistance!

My artistic ego has taken a hit: there’s plenty of good proof and reason to leave this role to the professionals and have Andrea continue to do what she delivers so brilliantly.

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