Last December Blomidon Estate Winery released their much anticipated traditional method brut rosé. I was thrilled to receive a bottle as a gift the day before leaving on our European wine trip. Needless to say, I lacked the discipline to save it for our return, and thoroughly enjoyed it, with friends, on the eve of our departure. While sampling many spectacular Champagnes in Rheims my mind would occasionally drift back to that evening, the lovely sparkling rosé, and I think to myself that upon returning, I must have another bottle. I could no longer resist the siren call of this alluring salmon-coloured elixir in it's distinctively-shaped bottle and elegant minimalist complementarily coloured label.

On February 15, 2017, we celebrate Lupercalia, that pagan precusor to the modern Valentine’s Day celebration that was set to replace the former’s millenial celebration of pagan, sensual excess with one dedicated to more polite and chivalrous love on the previous day. Valentine’s Day is frequently composed of de rigeur gifting of heart-shaped chocolates, cards, long-stemmed roses,  and pink champagne to be consumed at a downtown restaurant where you booked a table many weeks in advance. 
​Today, we have wolves, wantonness, and, of course, wine, real Bacchic wine! I’ll take Lupercalia over Valentine’s Day anytime!

The Spritz is a famous cocktail of Venice and the Triveneto with origins that hark back to the 19th century when the region was occupied by the Austrian Hapsburgs.  Based on the Austrian spritzer of white wine and soda water, the Spritz we know and love today is a Venetian cocktail concoction, el spriss venessian. ​

One of my favourite things to do in Venice is to wine-bar-hop. The  notion of a wine bar, unfortunately, when transported to North-America becomes overly chic. In essence, the very notion of the Italian bacaro, is very far from this: there is very little sitting space, if any, instead there tends to be a long bar areas to lean on, and/or a couple of wine barrels to put your wine and snacks down. Furthermore, there is no traditional wine or food menu. There tend to be far too many wines to put together a proper wine list. The walls are covered with shelves of wines and much more is to be found in the cellar.  As far a food is concerned,  there is certainly no wannabe sophisticated minimalist obscure menu that lists what seems to be a series of ingredients rather than actual dishes, instead one will usually find a beautiful array of finger-food displayed under glass.