Iris Vineyards.
Our recent visit to Iris Vineyards, just outside of Eugene, OR, was quite a revelation. Iris claims as its foundation the ancient Grecian concept of “areté”. Don’t feel sheepish if you don’t know the meaning of the term; it is hardly used in modern English. The ancient Greeks used the term to mean excellence or virtue in your purpose. I was surprised when I heard the people at Iris use the term since I had not heard it used since taking a course on Aristotle when I was at university.
Areté to Aristotle, we were taught, was not a theoretical concept, but a practical implementation of maximum effectiveness at a chosen goal. Areté in winemaking, to use a concrete example, is different than areté in cooking. Both have a similar philosophical underpinning, but each is a distinct form of areté. The concept of areté is abundantly present in all of the endeavours at Iris that we encountered: from how they grow the grapes to how they vinify the wine to how they offer it to their customers.
Read More
Every year on March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD) is recognized globally as a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
March 8th.
The theme for 2023 is: “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.” With so many challenges facing the wine industry that touch on this theme, we reached out to some of our favourite women in wine worldwide to get their perspective on the state of the industry and what advice they’d give to women looking for a career in wine.
Read More
Olivier Horiot & Allison [Photo: Jeremy Shaw]
When people think of Champagne, it typically evokes visions of well-known houses with historical names that represent a sense of formality and grandeur. Our recent visit there certainly provided plenty of that, but we were most intrigued by Olivier Horiot, a winemaker who is working on the very edge of the region, both literally and figuratively.
Read More
Our tasting lineup.
For almost a century and a half, the Drouhin family has been a mainstay in the heart of Beaune representing some of the best wines of Burgundy. In today’s wine world, it’s a rarity to find larger reputable houses that are still in family hands, however Maison Joseph Drouhin has managed to buck the trend with respect to its longevity, while simultaneously maintaining an impressively consistent level of quality throughout that time.
Read More
A reputation for quality & consistency.
For wine lovers, Burgundy can conjure up a wide spectrum of notions ranging from reverence to pretention, and for many, utter confusion. It is a region that has its own parameters and identifiers that are complicated, but reward those that are patient with some of the most sought-after wines in the world. Maison Louis Jadot is a Burgundian winery that can be relied on year after year for producing consistently high-quality wines, many of which are accessible to those without a collector’s budget.
Read More
Recent Comments