"The fool doth think he is wise..." - Billy Shakespeare

"The fool doth think he is wise..."  - Billy Shakespeare

I assure you that this will not be a year-end retrospective nor any shot at clairvoyance about the year ahead, no, really, I promise!

I just want to set you a task different than the English Sunday Times Holiday crossword (or the more easily obtained Globe & Mail version).


There's a wee book that was published nearly 15 years ago called Oberon Kant's Big Book of Wine. This very small tome is as rare as poultry dentures, and the god-like Amazon may well have to be invoked to obtain it.

Bottle to Mouth Transfer

Bottle to Mouth Transfer

The Soil to Glass Transfer (henceforth STGT) is a great term coined by legendary Rhône authority Jonathan Livingstone-Learmonth (henceforth JLL). He applies it to “wines that reflect a sense of place, or terroir, the expression of their sector and also the vintage style delivered by the year`s weather.” We love this kind of stuff at Metrovino.

Calgary's Top Wine Professionals Speak...

Calgary's Top Wine Professionals Speak...

...about Sherry.

“I love Sherry because when Magellan was preparing to circumnavigate the world he spent more on Sherry than weapons. I love Sherry because she sounds like a kind, wise and loving middle-aged woman. I love Sherry because I can buy and consume something older than myself. I love sherry because it makes almost any food better. I love Sherry because I can taste and smell Manzanilla right now without any being near me. I love sherry because it makes my hands sticky.”

- Kurt da Silva, Teatro

AJ Adam's Stunning 2015 Vintage

AJ Adam's Stunning 2015 Vintage

As for the 2015s, my friend Brad and I visited Weingut AJ Adam late in the afternoon of Saturday, April 16th. It was our 10th consecutive day tasting in Germany - we had already visited 26 other estates and tasted a few hundred Rieslings from the 2015 vintage. My palate was as much in the zone as it possibly can be and not only is this the most exciting collection of wines that I’ve ever tasted from AJ Adam, it was amongst the greatest lineups of Riesling of the entire trip. And we were tasting a great vintage at the very top addresses.