An End of an Era. Not! (for me)

When I heard about Gary Vaynerchuk stopping his Daily Grape program I watched his last episode and then thought about it.
I watched for a while (WLTV) but I grew tired of his schtick and got turned off by what I considered childish behaviour. Specifically coming on with first growth Boredeaux and pretending like he was going to open it up and review it and then stopping the episode.
As far as I can see he never made any direct money from WLTV and Daily Grape but he established a brand for himself that opened up ancillary opportunities.
Specifically books, speaking engagements, Vayner Media consulting, he has an agent that handles only A list entertainment personalities. I'm sure all this lets him command 7 figure compensation from these alone.
Yes he is a natural talent and yes he would have been successful otherwise but the fact remains he worked for his fathers business and had access to opportunities in the industry that most people would not have.
If he has had some setbacks like Cork'D they don't take away from his ancillary successes (which make him a winner already).
I don't mean to say that Gary didn't work his butt off, he did, but his successes don't impress me as much as someone like Mark Fusco 1337 Wine who started out with next to nothing (in knowledge and resources).
You see Vaynerchuk did what came naturally for him and although he put in a hell of a lot of work it was within "his comfort zone". I watched Mark from the beginning and it was obvious he was outside what was comfortable for him but he worked and got better at it.
So Gary Vaynerchuk, you are extremely talented and a hell of a worker, you deserve everything you have earned but the podcasts I have done Wine Dining Review and World Wine review are directly inspired from 1337 Wine.

Possibly Ontario's next wine region on it's West Coast

I don't agree with the term West Coast for the same reasons mentioned in the Ontario Southcoast entry but I do support the area to become a wine region. I am talking about Huron County. Studies have concluded that the terroir is suitable for grapes and the County is thus looking for potential entrepreneurs who might wish to make a go of it in the wine industry. Click the title of this entry if you want to read the article. If this come to fruition I will have to nickname Huron County "the County 2" since Prince Edward County has the nickname.
In the meantime, I've posted a couple of videos so you can what the area looks like.

OWC Tourism Report - JULY 2011 from Huron County on Vimeo.

Mike Weir Purchases EastDell Winery in Niagara

Pro Golfer Mike Weir has purchased the site of EastDell winery. I have been to this winery a number of times for lunch and have always had a good experience. The restaurant has a great view and and was matched with friendly service  and good, resonably priced food and wine.
A part of me wishes that Mike Weir could have built a brand new winery from scratch because I am going to miss the experience of going to East Dell. The new owner is going to have to really work at  maintaining the great ambiance and yet make the experience unique to him. I wish him well.
Click the title of this entry if you want to read the article

Canada's South Coast Wine Region

I came across this article that states that a study is under way by the  Ontario South coast Wineries and Growers Association  to catalogue the current and potential wine industry activity from London/ St Thomas east towards Brantford  west of Welland.  The ideas is to eventually justify application for it to become another Designated Viticultural Area under the  V.Q.A.
Don't get me wrong I am all for the area to get recognition  but does it have to be called the South Coast.
A coast line of a country denotes an area of  significant size that backs onto a large body of water (and I mean large like an ocean.) When you are are their it can pass visually for a shoreline onto an ocean but it is not. Most of Canada's southern border is land locked and to say this area is a south coast may have some academic accuracy but it practically isn't in my view. ( and saying it backs on to the St Lawrence and the Great lakes doesn't cut it IMO)
I think a name like Erie East North Shore would be more appropriate or how about making this area part of an expanded Lake Erie North Shore region.
The article is interesting anyway. If you want to read it click the title of this entry

Wine Spirit Education Trust adds Flavour Balancing to its curriculum

I watched Tim Hanni discuss the concept of Flavour Balancing on a local TV progran Called The New World Wine Tour back in 1998 for the first time. Seeing his demonstrations and the facts that he used to back up what he said gave me a gut feel of someone who is proclaiming that the world is round in an environment where a flat earth is the established norm.
He broke wine and food matching down to a simple core truth, sweet foods make a wine taste stronger and sour foods make a wine taste milder. It was so impressive, I added Umami and salt to the mix and adopted it as the creed to follow. This concept has always been the foundation from which I have written and will continue to in the future.
In Canada there was some acknowledgement that there was something to this, specifically from Tony Aspler in an article he wrote when Tim Hanni cooked dinner for him (click the title of this entry if you want to read it)
After actually getting to speak to Tim a long time ago I mentioned how I heard that protein can beat back bitterness. He very quickly stated out that this was not the case. I found out for myself when  trying a barbecued steak with a tannic Cabernet Sauvignon without salt.  I also found that sweeter wine was a match with unsalted steak.
His research and development of the SQ (sensitivity quotient) over the last few years has completed the circle in my view and  now opens many doors for producers consumers and media to talk about wine in ways that allows everyone in the taste spectrum to participate from "their point of view" in the discussion. The announcement that Food Balancing will be taught as part of the curriculum for the Advanced Certificate of WSET is a coming of age for these concepts and a great feather in Tim's cap.
If you want to read more go to the link to Tim's blog, Swami of Umami on the other side of this entry.
Wine Dining is proud to have played a small supportive role  in helping this to come about.
If you want to read more go to the link to Tim's blog, Swami of Umami on the other side of this entry.

Where I think V.Q.A. stores should be located

I have been reading around the web recently and there has been some discussion about possibly setting up V.Q.A. stores in Ontario. I am all for it but the current politcal climate isn't friendly towards the idea.
The provincial Conservatives would like to set up stores like this and that is fine but I am not in favour of simply privatizing the LCBO and opening up sales to private vendors. I know we pay higher prices because of monopoly markups and high taxes on product but this money goes into Government coffers and we (as a society) have more control over what these funds are used for. The potential for using funds for the benefit of us all is far greater than letting it line the pockets of a few individuals that would own the disribution outlets (after privatization) and after a period of time certain vendors would rise to the top and come to dominate the market by beating out the competition. This means concentration of market share and no real free market. If you look at any of our major sectors in the economy, the industry cycle starts with many competitors and a very real free market. As time passes businesses compete and innovate with the result of winners and losers. The winners drive out or merge with the losers and the number of competing entities in the industry decreases and oligopolies form and true free markets disappear. Just look at personal computers, operating systems, automobiles, energy, radio, Tv and telecommunictions to name a few. So in my view the LCBO should stay and the problems associated with it should be tackled with regulation change and not outright deregulation.
Having said all this I think that V.Q.A stores should take the form of Kiosks like they do with the big wineries that can distribute their product with grand fathered licenses  outside the winery. They could be located in the middle of customer thoroughfares in malls or in  supermarket chains like Loblaws Sobeys or Metro (and in the same stores as the large winery kiosks) or in big box store outlets like Walmart or even Home Depot (if Harvey's or Mc Donalds can sell there so can a V.Q.A. store).
 The LCBO could be mandated to run these stores (and regulated in how they operate so that small family and boutique wineries get a fair shake in acess to them.) or it could be some kind of industry partnership (with regulation to ensure access to the small players). Lets get this done as a start,  then we can look at the bigger issues of large scale private distribution (like wine and beer sold at Macs Milk) 

An unforseen hand in the Ontario winery industry gets his own wine

Larry Patterson wasn't a household name in the news media when it came to Ontario wine but he was a tireless force behind the promotion and growth of the Ontario wine industry. He was a front line employee with the LCBO but you wouldn't know it by how he was on a first name basis with industry leaders.  When I found out about Larry's passing I was not surprised because I knew he was very ill but I was none the less very saddened.  Got a chance to see first hand what he did. Larry (aka Little Fat Wino) first contacted me a decade ago when he found my Wine Dining site on a much younger and less mature Internet. He indicated his desire in wanting to meet me because my site specialized in Ontario wine. I went to one of his tastings at his home and many of his guests were known names in Ontario wine that I had read about in the media.
I brought him a couple bottles of wine as a gift and he insisted on giving me some other wines of equal value in return. He had no interest in personal gain and pursued his wine activities with an energy that made you tired by just watching him.
He helped organize the Fiesta Buckhorn wine and food show and the Ontario Viticulture Association and was involved in a number of wine related charity functions. At an Association meeting I watched Larry run around getting things organized and then on the way home I saw him load his trunk with boxes of dirty glasses that needed to be washed
One year he arranged for me to have a table at Fiesta Buckhorn to promote my website and he introduced me to Klaus Reif. I had already been introduced to wine writer Richard Best. He told people that he spent almost as much time on my website as he did on his and mentioned my site to many. For this I will always be grateful to Larry
Larry's site Little Fat Wino.com was unbelievably popular and was noted for being very critical of the LCBO for what he saw as a lack of attention to Ontario wines but also had comparisons in tastings of offshore and local wines.
Posthumously, Stony Ridge winery will be making a red in Larry's name called Radical Red a blend of Merlot and French hybrid Landot. A batch of 300 battles will be sold with the proceeds donated to charities designated by Larry's wife. (there is no one better deserving of this)
Calumus Estate Winery will be holding a memorial tasting in his memory on June 12.
Larry's site LittleFat Wino.com is still online and as long as it is, Wine Dining will be linked to it.
For more details on Larry's activities there is a good article at Wines in Niagara .com. Just click the title of this entry to see it