Sam Roberts says he learns about wine through Volume. The Wine Diva says this list is all about BC’s best. A year ago Richard Parsons was talking about his top end Italian wines. Now he’s been asked to bring the LA Clippers back to respectability. And we finish with The Best weekend party this summer on the Coast. Hawksworth/Pino/Ed Robertson BNL/Ann Lindsay/ John Skinner Painted Rock/Torsten Allander @ Foxtrot and two..count them..Two Cuddys. Jim and Devon. All at the sensational  Clayoquot Wilderness Resort.   

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THE SHOW

The Sam Roberts Band released their new album Lo-Fantasy in February. Sam Roberts  is a huge wine fan. When Jason Priestley and I were shooting HollywoodandVinesTV in Ribera del Duero Spain, we were deep into the Neo cellar and we found a barrel signed by Sam Roberts. I’ve been waiting 5 years to ask him how that barrel came to be.

Sam’s parents moved from South Africa to Montreal where Sam was born months later. He attended McGill and then hustled the music scene through various bands until he found the right song and the right band. The song was “Brother Down” and the band became The Sam Roberts Band. This was fun!!  Enjoy.   www.samrobertsband.com   [divider] Daenna van Mulligen presents her best of BC Wine List. The Diva takes great care to taste and recommend these wines.

Kettle Valley Viognier, Okanagan Valley BC Upper Bench Estate Winery Pinot Blanc, Okanagan Valley BC Lake Breeze Vineyards ‘Seven Poplars’ Merlot, Okanagan Valley BC Fort Berens Estate Winery ‘White Gold’ Reserve, British Columbia Haywire Gamay Noir, Okanagan Valley BC, 2011 Mission Hill ‘Oculus’ Okanagan Valley BC, 2009 Burrowing Owl Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Okanagan Valley BC, 2009 Clos du Soleil ‘Signature’, British Columbia, 2010 McWatters Collection Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley BC, 2011 Black Hills Estate Winery “Nota Bene”, Okanagan Valley BC Painted Rock Syrah, Okanagan Valley BC Stoneboat Vineyards ‘Chorus’, Okanagan Valley BC, 2011   www.winediva.ca   [divider]   Richard Parsons  New CEO of the LA Clippers  

A year ago I had the pleasure of sitting and talking with retired business executive Richard Parsons about his Italian Winery. Neither one of us would have any idea that today Richard is truly back in the spotlight..as the new CEO of The LA Clippers. The team is in the middle of a huge press storm and the NBA Playoffs. It takes a very solid individual to step into that mess and make it better. I thought you’d like to get a sense of the man, his life and his wine. Former Citigroup Inc.  Chairman Richard Parsons, whose career in banking and media saw him at the helm of the industries’ biggest companies, is betting he can make money in retirement in the wine-rich Tuscan hills. Twelve years after buying Il Palazzone, a Montalcino vineyard perched on the ancient trail to Rome, Parsons is getting serious about winemaking, turning a hobby into a business. He’s built a new cellar he inaugurated with this year’s harvest and plans to double production of his finest wine, Brunello, turning Il Palazzone into a profitable activity within five years. Despite its name, il Palazzone, or “the big palace” is actually quite a small winery making less than 1,000 cases of Brunello di Montalcino annually. While the estate is roughly 20 acres, the vineyard area authorized for the production of Brunello di Montalcino is a mere 10 acres. Il Palazzone recently completed construction of a new cellar, designed to blend beautifully into the landscape and minimize its carbon footprint. While the cellar utilizes the best of modern technology, the vineyard still creates its Brunello in the traditional method by aging the wine in large, Slavonian oak barrels for nearly four years. Great story this.

1. ilpalazzone.com

[divider]   Let’s go Glamping!!         Today’s guests are:   John Caton – Managing Director CWR Tim Cormode – Exec Director/Founder of Power to be Tereza Roux – CWR Wine Director 

Once again I’m delighted to  host Canadian singer and song writer Jim Cuddy, his son Devon, Ed Robertson from Bare Naked Ladies, Anne Lindsay,  John Skinner from Painted  Rock, Torsten Allander from the legendary Foxtrot vineyards on the Naramata Bench plus two of the most awarded chefs in Canada David Hawksworth and Pino Posteraro. All helping to launch the 2014 (June – September) season of the award winning Clayoquot Wilderness Resort. Partial proceeds  raised go to  www.powertobe.ca  Surrounded by glacial mountains and lush rain forest, Clayoquot Wilderness Resort is located in British Columbia’s fragile Clayoquot Sound UNESCO World Biosphere reserve, right at the mouth of the Bedwell River, approximately 40 minutes outside of Tofino, BC. Tickets for the event June 19 – June 22 are $12,000 per couple, with room for 12 couples. This includes return floatplane flights from Vancouver International Airport (approx. 1.hr) or water taxi pick up at the docks in downtown Tofino (approx. 40 minutes), welcome reception, wine and food pairings with presentations from the wine makers, guest chefs and the resort’s Executive Chef Ryan Orr, as well as tasting notes from Sommelier Tereza Roux, … and performances from Jim Cuddy, Devon Cuddy, Anne Lindsay, Ed Robertson and the resort’s own house band. .


A Canadian Tourism Commission Signature Experience, Clayoquot Wilderness Resort has helped define the experience of ‘glamping’, camping deep in the Canadian wilderness yet offering all the creature comforts like warm, soft beds in romantic large white canvas tents, antique furniture, hot showers, gourmet dining, an unbeatable wine cellar, spa treatments and a wide array of outdoor experiences that showcase the spectacular scenery deep in the heart of a west coast rainforest and on the edge of the ocean. All of the resort’s activities including deep sea salmon fishing, horseback riding, hiking, whale watching, bear watching, kayaking both flat water and swift water, archery, shooting, stand-up-paddle boarding, and spa!! For more information and to book the Wilderness Wine, Music and Adventure Weekend, visit www.wildretreat.com  or call 1-888-333-5405.

 

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STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:

  3 day tour of the Okanagan Argentina Tour Part 2 (Patagonia/Mendoza) New Zealand Tour Part 2 (Hawkes Bay/Gimblett Gravels/Marlborough) The Naramata Bench pours in Vancouver Wine Tour of Oregon David Lebovitz / My Paris Kitchen Lisa Ahier / The Sobo Cookbook