For many of us, the first glass of wine we enjoyed was served at a chain restaurant. Frankly, that’s a pretty good place to start a wine education. Earls, Cactus Club and JOEY have all invested in talented sommeliers who are training the palates of a generation of servers and consumers. In our feature “Chain Reaction,” writers Gail Johnson and Tim Pawsey tell those top somms’ stories—and make us nostalgic for a nine-ounce pour of Rascal of the Vineyard.
Also in this issue: After months of staying close to home, we’re excited to explore wine regions from Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley to Lake Country in the
North Okanagan to Ventoux, the mountainous appellation in the Southern Rhône that is showing so much promise. We follow the “tortilla trail” of Mexican restaurants that have popped up in the South Okanagan. We check in with Emily Walker at the newly re-opened Naramata Inn, where she plays with every vintage in B.C. and beyond.
