Taxes alone account for around 50% of the price of beer, 65% of the price of wine, and 75% of the price of spirits Everything is more expensive these days at the grocery store. We’ve also seen increases at the liquor store, or wherever you purchase your favourite alcoholic beverages. Well, these products are about…
The science behind COVID vaccines? Sacrosanct. The science behind the new alcohol consumption guidelines? Not so much I assume you are aware of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) having issued revised alcohol consumption guidelines. The new guidelines, released after a two-year research project funded by Health Canada, are shocking, which the…
Many Canadians will view the new drinking recommendations with great skepticism Looks like we all need to drink less alcohol. Last fall, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), a national organization that provides information and advice on substance use and addiction, shared recommendations that we should all drink no more than one…
Export sales drove the development of the industry, a feature as true today as it was three centuries ago
From the very beginning, the cognac industry was dominated by cognac houses that acted as intermediaries between the producers of eau de vie and their overseas markets. Many of the first cognac houses were founded by English and Irish entrepreneurs: Jean Martell was from Jersey, while Isaac Ransom, James Delamain and Richard Hennessy were all…
The deft hand of the master blender is critical to production
At first glance, cognac production seems straightforward. The local wine is distilled twice, aged in oak casks from a few years to decades and eventually bottled. In reality, it’s an exceedingly complex minuet where the subtle influences of terroir merge with the distiller’s art and ultimately flower under the deft hand of the master blender.…
The environment, including the chalky soil, is everything when it comes to producing the right grapes
Cognac begins as wine. Like any wine, it’s shaped in part by the environment in which it grows. Soil, aspect and climate, among other things, combine to create a unique environment, what the French call terroir. A wine, in turn, is a distinct expression of that terroir. In the Cognac region, terroir is, for the…
Our columnist's picks for Thanksgiving dinner wines
“Our life is frittered away by detail,” proclaimed Henry David Thoreau. “Simplify, simplify, simplify!” On Thanksgiving, many of us heed Thoreau’s advice and remind ourselves and our loved ones to stop fretting over little things and give thanks for the big things we too often take for granted. Yet, one area that seems to defy…
What is the difference between cognac and other types of brandy?
Cognac is a type of brandy produced in the Charente region of France, centred around the towns of Cognac and Jarnac, and stretching from the Île de Ré to the Gironde Estuary on the Atlantic coast, to Angoulême and the foothills of the Mastiff Central. The Cognac Delimited Region, the exclusive area where cognac can…
There is no better way to experience German culture at its most authentic than to attend a Weinfest
Wine enthusiasts love to travel – a pastime that the pandemic has rudely interrupted. As a result, many of us are hatching plans for future trips, or at least picturing ourselves in rugged Priorat or manicured Bordeaux as we refill our glasses with the eponymous wine. I find myself thinking a lot about Germany and…
All you need is a decent bottle of wine and a couple of friends with whom to share it
Many people assume wine is a passion for the rich. They picture Jay Gatsby toasting his Champagne coupe at a lavish party, or well-dressed couples stepping out of a limo at a winery tasting. Admission to the world of wine, it seems, comes at a price. For everyone else, there’s homebrew and boxed wine. It’s…