Audio

November 26th, 2022-Meet the Makers

November 25, 2022 Tasting Room Radio 00:50:11

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Proudly Sponsored by Harbour Air

Meet the Makers

Culmina & Laughing Stock

 

THE SHOW

It was just another Friday morning when the happy invitation came in from the delightful  Lindsay Kelm.

Come celebrate the harvest season with Culmina Family Estate and Laughing Stock Vineyards.

Join Winemakers Jean-Marc Enixon and Sandy Leier for an elegant afternoon sampling their latest releases and chatting about the 2022 harvest. We also have a couple of special sneak peeks in store, including the unreleased 2020 vintage of Laughing Stock’s signature Portfolio, and 2017 vintage of Culmina’s flagship Bordeaux blend, Hypothesis

 

Sandy Leier–Winemaker Laughing Stock (Naramata)

Here’s what I knew. I hadn’t spoken to Sandy Leier for years. At the time she was working with the legend Howard Soon at Sandhill and Calona. In 2018, after 15 years as a great team,  she took over from the departing  Howard.  Then a series of projects with Andrew Peller, Gray Monk and Gretzky Wines. Then, this year, a major move to Senior Winemaker at Laughing Stock on the Naramata Bench.  It’s the home of seriously great wines including a Syrah that makes hearts flutter and their red blend Portfolio.  Sandy brings six wines to taste and discover.

(List below)

 

(tdm and Sandy Leier)

Jean-Marc Enixon – Culmina Winemaker – (Oliver)

(tdm and Jean-Marc)

 

Jean-Marc Enixon’s wine career took flight in Toulouse, France. JM gained international experience in Sonoma County, China, then  back to France at Chateau Puy Guilhem in  Saillans as senior winemaking director.

At the suggestion of his wife saying something to the effect of   “how about making some new world wine”

Jean-Marc joined the Culmina Team  as Vineyard Manager and Winemaker in 2016.  Today he pours 7 wines.

As good as he is, perhaps his greatest accomplishment is welcoming two new children to the family while in the Okanagan.

“they’re taking French and I’m taking English”

 Sandy, Jean-Marc and I  tasted and talked about Laughing Stock Vineyards.

2021 Viognier

2020 Chardonnay

2020 Pinot Noir

2019 Syrah (new release)

2019 Portofino (new release)

2020 Portofino (unreleased)

 

Culmina Family Estate Winery

2019 Decora

2021 Unicus

2018 Dilemma

2019 Malbec

2018 Cabernet Sauvignon

2016 Hypothesis

2017 Hypothesis (unreleased)

 

www.laughingstock.ca

www.culmina.ca

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

 

Hester Creek

Sipster’s Pocket Guide

Holiday wine gifts

(for you and maybe someone else)

The launch of Q&A Wine.

Tony Stewart and Winemaker Jaime Dowell  Lake Sonoma & Plume

EP 232 | Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo)

November 19, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

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Jim Cuddy joins us at the top of the second hour.

 

That’s today 6 PM Mtn.

 Just about then Blue Rodeo will be backstage at the  Northern Alberta Jube prepping for the second of two nights on that stage.  There’s a nervous energy, that’s to be expected. While that never really goes away, remember that this is Blue Rodeo.  Been touring since 1984.  16 or more studio albums, four live. A truckload of awards. So, backstage there’s a lot of laughs, storytelling, small acoustic jams, great food and wines, friends and family.

Blue Rodeo bring with them their latest album Many a Mile.

As always,  Jim brings with him great  stories

From the studio

From lockdown

From ”the road”

And from inside the band.

From their latest album Many a Mile, Jim says he and Greg Keelor have different views of the road.

Jim’s is I think about you. The Yin and Yang about leaving home to make music.

In Opening Act Greg writes about his love/hate relationship of the road.

And it all works.

 That’s the very dynamic that keeps this band active and totally interesting.

 Enjoy!!

Nov 19th, 2022 JAK Meyer & Meyer Family Vineyards release new Chardonnays  

November 18, 2022 Tasting Room Radio 00:36:18

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Proudly Sponsored by Harbour Air

Our Guest is JAK Meyer Co-owner of Meyer Family Vineyard.

(just in time for Holiday Cheer weekend in OKFalls/Skaha Lake)

“We’ve been nearly sold out of many of our current vintage Chardonnays for quite some time now, so with much anticipation, we’re pleased to release four single-vineyard Chards from the 2021 vintage.

While 2021 was a low-yielding vintage due to extreme summer temps, our winemaker Chris Carson believes that it could be one of the most flavourful in recent memory. We hope that you find something you love!”  Jak Meyer. MFV

 

When you contact Meyer Family Vineyards, what catches your eye is a list. Not just any list but a National Wine Awards list of the best Small Wineries of Canada. It goes like this –

Meyer family

Meyer Family Vineyards

 

#2 Small Winery in Canada 2021 at the National Wine Awards
#10 Small Winery in Canada 2019 at the National Wine Awards
#4 Small Winery in Canada 2018 at the National Wine Awards
#2 Small Winery in Canada 2017 at the National Wine Awards
#3 Small Winery in Canada 2016 at the National Wine Awards

 

That’s called consistency.  That’s also what they achieve with their chardonnays.  Congratulations to Winemaker Chris Carson and his entire team

Each and every year Meyer Family present award-winning Chardonnays that set standards for all of Canada.

 

JAK Meyer, the co-founder, and co-owner of Meyer Family Vineyards (with his wife Janice Stevens-Meyer) joins us to walk and talk us through their chardonnay.

TDM with JAK & Janice Meyer

Here’s the second list that caught my eye – Their current Chardonnay Releases.

 

2021 Okanagan Valley Chardonnay – 400 cases. $23 A blend of various locations and a great place to start your Meyer Chardonnay journey.

2021  Stevens Block Chardonnay – 230 cases. $28 Clones 4/5 from the fantastic Old Main Road Vineyard in Naramata  – Chablis style!  Clean!

2021 Anarchist Chardonnay Dekleva Clone – 175 cases. $35 Grown at 1700 ft. Unknown Original clone. A suitcase wine. Planted 1985. Some new oak.

2021 McLean Creek Chardonnay – 500 cases. $35 Outside their Tasting Room. Planted 1994. 11 months in barrel/22% new.

2021 Old Main Road  Chardonnay – 533 cases. $35 (formerly Tribute Series) Vines planted 26 years ago on Naramata Bench. 22% new Oak. Cellar 7-10 years.

2020 Micro Cuvee Chardonnay – 200 cases. $70 Best fruit. Best barrels. From McLean Creek Vineyards. 100% French Oak/40 New  Unfined. Coarse Filter. Cellar 8-10 yrs.

These delightful wines range from fabulous entry-level, Chablis clean, to lightly oaked and fully oaked classic Chardonnays.  Winners all!

HEADS UP…

This weekend The Wineries of OK Falls and Skaha Lake are celebrating Holiday Cheer!!

All 15 wineries will be welcoming visitors. Here’s what to expect at Meyer Family Vineyards and Mayhem

 

Meyer Family Vineyards

Our event will be ticketed-only, no drop-ins. Four food and wine pairing stations around the property. Tickets will be $30 and available on our website!

Mayhem Wines

Drop in, no appointment in the new tasting room. $10 tasting fee donated to SOWINS. Or bring an unwrapped toy for a child. The tasting includes ice cream and Fortified Gewurztraminer.

 

See the complete Holiday Cheer winery list at www.theheartofwinecountry.ca

www.mfvwines.com

www.mayhemwines.com

 

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:

Hester Creek

Culmina @Meet the Makers

Laughing Stock @Meet the Makers

Lake Sonoma and Plume

Holiday Wines for gifting and pouring

 

EP 231 | Rebecca and Megan Lovell – Larkin Poe

November 12, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

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Rebecca and Megan Lovell are Larkin Poe  –  “we are students of the blues”

Georgia Born – Nashville Based.

Friday they released their 6th studio album Blood Harmony

When I hear the title,  I think of the sound of their voices – together!

Just like all of the great ones…

The Every Brothers

The Beach Boys

Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart

Neville Brothers.

Wood Brothers

Staple Singers.

Bros. Landreth

Brothers Gibb

What they all have in common is family and the blood ties that go with it.

Sisters and Brothers have always made exceptional music – usually because they started as kids in grade school and worked at their harmonies as they grew up.  It’s second nature – like breathing.

The bonus with Larkin Poe is they play like they sing..and walk a fine line between roots, blues, rock, and gospel.

Rebecca and Megan bring with them stories and kind words about Canadian festivals and audiences.

After all, they talk about being True North in their music. When explained that those words are in the Canadian Anthem, they celebrate the connection.

Complete interview on Mulligan Stew Podcast and video version on Terry David Mulligan YouTube Channel

FRESH new music from Larkin Poe.

November 12th, 2022 Every Chef Needs a Farmer- Every Farmer Needs a Chef!  

November 11, 2022 Tasting Room Radio 00:49:19

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Proudly Sponsored by Harbour Air

Every Chef Needs a Farmer   Every Farmer Needs a Chef!

 The SHOW  

We were invited to the third annual Chef/Farmer gathering.  This week at Church and State Winery in Central Saanich.

It was presented by Buy BC.

The entire concept was created by Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture and Food. It’s a great fit because she WAS a farmer when the idea came to her. As Minister, she oversees the  Buy BC program.

It continues to highlight the many unique and engaging products coming from our own backyards. It’s a direct link between consumers and the creators behind each and every label.

(Lana Popham)

Our pal Chef Ned Bell is the chef ambassador for Buy BC.  As long as I’ve known Ned, he’s always been pushing the boundaries between Kitchens and Farmers.  There’s nothing he likes more than uniting and collaborating with other chefs, fishers, farmers, and influencers. The man is a game-changer.

If you’ve ever dined at his Naramata Inn, you’ll know that he’s also one of our very best chefs. His panel was titled – The Future of Food; Sustainable, Indigenous, Farmed, and Wild.

(Ned Bell and TDM)

 

NOTE:  We couldn’t possibly interview all the Farmers. I think there were over 20 in the room but we will reconnect and do stories on many of them – over the Winter.

Our Special Guests this week are:

 Robert Belcham – Chef’s Table Society. Chef and Owner Popina

Shawn Dirksen – Owner Northstar Organics. His panel was Selling Food to Our City. Small-Scale Diversified Organic Farming.

Jared Qwustenuxun Williams – Indigenous Foods Chef, Writer, and Storyteller

(Jared Qwustenuxun Williams)

Ian Tostenson – President and CEO, BC Restaurant and Food Services Assn

Ian Tostenson and Terry

Michael Verbrugge and Victoria Lake  – Canadian Seafood Processing

Chef Ned Bell – Naramata Inn

Lana Popham – Minister of Agriculture and Food

www.buybc.gov.bc.ca

@EatDrinkBuyBC

#buyBC

#everychefneedsafarmer

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Meyer Family Chardonnay

Hester Creek

Winemakers Cut

What’s Brad Royal up to?

 

 

 

 

 

EP 230 | Director Teresa Alfeld and original Slug Simon Kendall-Doug and the Slugs and Me Documentary

November 5, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

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The film is a documentary Doug and the Slugs and Me.  The Me is Teresa.

The doc is working its way through film festivals and will eventually appear on CBC Gem.

It’s been said if there was no Doug and the Slugs there would have been no BareNaked Ladies.

Led by the charming and clever writer/artist man Doug Bennett, The Slugs cut a swath through a sea of really average 80’s bands to become the darlings of Canada’s music charts. Lots of hits. One after the other.

They sold out all 40 of their Commodore Ballroom gigs.

So….what happened to The Slugs and Doug Bennett?  That’s the bittersweet and complex story of this film.

Doug Bennett died at age 52 in 2004. The music lives on.

 

Appearing in the doc are:

  • Sir Bob Geldof
  • Ed the Sock
  • Bif Naked
  • Ron Sexsmith
  • Steven Paige
  • And yours truly.

October 29th, 2022 -New wines and Spirits at IVSA Victoria

October 28, 2022 Tasting Room Radio 00:33:54

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New wines and Spirits at IVSA Victoria

Proudly Sponsored by Harbour Air

THE SHOW

Got my semi-annual invite from IVSA – The Import Vintners and Spirits Association..one of the largest representative bodies of beverage alcohol import agents in Canada.

The very people who seek out great winemakers and distillers and then represent them to our liquor industry and down the line- you the customer.

Sara Parkes

They’re not really set up for media, but I have always found the room to be filled with new wines and spirits that I know we’ll be talking about later in the year or next year. Best of all , they let me walk around and interview reps, who are mid-pour and telling the story behind the pour.

I can’t talk to everyone.  For one thing, every table is filled with new releases and everyone has questions.. The reps have the answers.

But I do find friends in the room and they point out a table and say something like “check out those guys over there. Thats a rock and roll table:”

And it WAS…

So let’s take a walk around the room..at Delta Ocean Point, Victoria.

CAM DUKE – Representing Vintage West and Coastal Craft..

We talk about 2020 Ridge Three Valleys Zin

Justin Cab 2019  from Paso Robles

Boutinot whites

Bread and Butter Prosecco

Ben Marco  2020 Malbec

Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin

And Nemiroff Ukrainian Vodka, with the “can’t miss” distinctive national flag on the bottle.

In November, A portion of the sale of Nemiroff Vodka goes to United Way to support local Ukrainians.

 www.coastalcraft.ca

https://vwwinemarketing.com

 

Peter Crews – New World Wines

“for those who seek boutique”

 Peter was featuring:

Ancien Wines – Pinot Noir (Carneros)

Domaine Juliette Avril  2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Red

Sheridan Vineyards  2019 Cabernet   (Yakima Valley)

Chateau Clamens  2021 Julie Rose (Fronton, France) WoW

www.newworldwines.ca

 

Kim Hewitt  – Hewitt Brand Ambassador Services

 Kim had a table full of “everything” but two bottles caught my eye

Papalote Mezcal – ( Papa-low-tay) The Brand Ambassador is Cheech Marin – Cheech and Chong.  Tres Papalote is made in Oaxaca, of course!

Santo  – a collaboration between Sammy Hagar and Guy Fieri.  Three different Tequilas (Blanco, Reposado & Mezquila)

[email protected]

 

Kyle Murphy – The Drinks List (VI Territory manager)

Celine Clarac – Caves de Rauzan, (France)  6 glasses of Rauzan wine are consumed every second. They have 312 Winegrowers.

Kyle Murphy & Celine Clerac

Celeine poured a 2021 Augey Red. It costs around $13.00 and received a 90 score from Decanter.

Also displaying and pouring  Fleur, Augey White, Rose, Red, Chateau Haut Bascia, Chateau Haut – Mazieres Rouge

She teased a wine coming in the Spring called L’Agassant.  Meaning troublemaker, impertinent, rebellious.

Meant to break the very strict rules of Bordeaux.

www.cavesderauzan.com

www.thedrinkslist.ca

www.ivsa.ca

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Benjamin Bridge – Nova Scotia

Meyer Family Vineyards – The New Chards

Hester Creek

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EP 229 | HOLDEN: After and Before The story, The book, The podcast.

October 28, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

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It took me the whole of Summer 2022 to read and complete Tara McGuire’s book Holden After and Before.

I’ve known and really liked Tara for a long time.

We were in radio together and apart but – in radio. It’s a small community,  at times.

I’ve written and said publicly that this was the hardest book to read and toughest interview in memory but that’s because of my friendship with Tara. I felt tied to the story and a cloak of guilt that I didn’t know what she was going through – after and before.

But that’s just me – please don’t let me steer anyone away from seeking out the wisdom of this book.

When her beloved Holden died from an overdose, she collapsed and it took many many months for her to stand up and just breathe. Then she decided to commit herself to tell this story but going back through Holden’s friends, reconnecting his texts and emails. Imagining how he handled certain situations and dealing with the guilt that came like a wave.

If you’re a Mother,  or dream of being a parent or you currently are a parent, you will find yourself wondering “what would I have done?”

I did. For a whole Summer.

Holden After and Before is a brave, honest, unspeakably painful but simultaneously beautiful attempt by a ‘mother who was a light bulb striking pavement’ to come to terms with her young son’s life and death. Once I began reading, I could not tear myself from this account, which offers a rich tapestry of memoir and fiction – basically, anything Tara McGuire could recall, discover or imagine – about her son Holden, who died accidentally at age twenty-one after he ingested a toxic mix of alcohol and heroin. As I read, Tara McGuire enveloped me with her empathy, her desperate hunger to make sense of the senseless, and her humanity. She inspired me with her courageous and unflinching journey – in the wake of any parent’s worst nightmare – to become a writer as a means of honouring her lost son. –Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes

EP 228 | Susan Tedeschi/Tedeschi Trucks New Album ‘lam The Moon’

October 22, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

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Susan Tedeschi co-partner with  Derek Trucks in life and music is our guest this week.

We first talked to Susan in May when the first Moon album,  Crescent was released. This  is the rest of the story

Tedeschi Trucks Band has created “one of those albums” that will become the standard by which all other such albums are created.

It’s an amazing story and we are thrilled to have Susan share it with us.  It’s our complete 30-minute interview – with the tracks from the first album.

The concept behind I Am The Moon, the GRAMMY-winning band’s fifth studio recording, was suggested by TTB vocalist Mike Mattison in May 2020, two months after the band was forced off the road by the pandemic.

The 12th-century poem Layla & Majnun by Persian poet, Nizami Ganjavi, was the title inspiration for Eric Clapton’s 1970 double-LP with Derek and the Dominos, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs – an influential album for Tedeschi Trucks Band.  Interestingly,  Ganjavi’s source material resonated with Mattison and the rest of the band in an altogether different way. Finding complex themes and storylines that inspired their creative process, they forged a new, modern interpretation of the vast 100-page poem.

The thought that started the project was “Instead of Majnun, let’s see this story through Layla’s eyes.

Operatic in scope, Tedeschi Trucks Band explores romantic relationships, collective struggle, faith, and the human experience on I Am The Moon.

“It’s amazing,” Trucks says, “because we wrote most of this music in a pretty short time span. There are even chord changes that mirror other tunes on the albums – themes and variations, lyrical allusions, that pop back up.” He continues: “You always want to do something bigger and thematic. This is the first time it happened naturally.”

 

The decision to sequence and release I Am The Moon in four distinct episodes came “when we started thinking of records we love,” Derek says, citing Axis: Bold as Love, the 1967 LP by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

“It’s 36 minutes long. That’s the way to digest a record.”

With that approach in mind, TTB will also present I Am The Moon: The Film, immersive visual companions to each album. The corresponding films will debut three days prior to each audio release, offering fans an early opportunity to digest each album in its entirety as a communal listening and viewing experience via the band’s YouTube channel.

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND – I AM THE MOON: ALBUM + FILM RELEASE DATES:

I Am The Moon: I. Crescent
Film Premiere: May 31
Album Release: June 3

I Am The Moon: II. Ascension
Film Premiere: June 28
Album Release: July 1

I Am The Moon: III. The Fall
Film Premiere: July 26
Album Release: July 29

I Am The Moon: IV. Farewell
Film Premiere: August 23
Album Release: August 26

I Am The Moon – All Vinyl Configurations: individual LPs + the 4-LP Deluxe Box  now available

Tedeschi Trucks Band tour:

October 21 – Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene
October 22 – Stockholm, SE – Cirkus
October 25  – Berlin, DE – Verti Music Hall
October 26 – Hamburg, DE – Edel-optics.de Arena
October 27 – Prague, CZ – Forum Karlin
October 30 – Rotterdam, NL – RTM Stage
November 2 – Dublin, IE – The Helix
November 4 – London, UK – The London Palladium
November 5 – London, UK – The London Palladium
November 6 – London, UK – The London Palladium
November 9 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Academy
November 10 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy Glasgow
November 12 – Paris, FR – Le Trianon
November 13 – Paris, FR – Le Trianon
November 15 – Paris, FR – Bataclan

EP 227 | Harrison Kennedy

October 15, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

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HARRISON KENNEDY was awarded the 2016 “Blues Album of the Year” JUNO for his album “This Is From Here”.  This was the 6th nomination for the Hamilton, ON. based artist.

Now comes his latest album Thanks for Tomorrow

Harrison Kennedy was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario.  His family had roots in New Orleans and Tennessee,[ Kennedy sang in the Stewart Memorial Church Choir as a boy, when childhood trips took him over the border to visit relations in Arkansas, Rogersville, Tennessee,[9] and Detroit, Illinois, United States, and all these experiences expanded his love of music.,  The other border his family crossed was the Canadian border. They decided to stay and live there.
Harrison grew up in a house filled with music and famous visitors such as Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Lonnie Johnson. In 1969 he took a hiatus from college to become a founding member of the million-selling Detroit Soul Super Group “The Chairmen of the Board” with whom he toured the world, as well as appearing on Soul Train, American Bandstand, and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Harrison Kennedy has released almost a dozen internationally acclaimed albums and developed into one of the 21st century’s most insightful and original Blues singer/songwriters.

To quote my friend Tom Coxworth

 

For anyone not familiar with Harrison Kennedy, he has been nominated for
12 Maple Blues awards and 4 Junos and was touted by BB King as Canada’s
premier Blues performer

We’re going to talk to Harrison about his family, his spirituality and his music!!