http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/b_macphee Most recent (7 days) columns en-gb Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:30:26 CDT When you've got more money than you know what to do with, why not buy a winery? Such must have been the thinking when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie purchased the $60-million Ch¢teau Miraval in France in 2008. The power couple's first vintage as proprietors, a 6,000-bottle run of a 2012 dry... Sat, 15 Jun 2013 08:54:56 CDT Anyone who has enjoyed a beer has likely at some point tasted an India Pale Ale, or IPA as it is often called today. Here in Canada, most beer drinkers first try an IPA via the Alexander Keith's version of the stuff. The Labatt-owned brewery's IPA is far and away the most popular of its Sat, 8 Jun 2013 10:59:51 CDT CONSIDERING our harsh winter climate, it's amazing to see how many Manitobans work in the wine biz (although, of course, most of them have moved elsewhere to do so). From critics to winemakers to Masters of Wine, most have a cool story to tell, and few forget their Manitoba roots. Wes Pearson Sat, 1 Jun 2013 18:38:12 CDT Every year around this time, I mull over whether to write once again about dry rosés. It’s tough to do without sounding like a broken record — they’re an underappreciated, food-friendly category of wines that are perfect for the patio and that both red and white wine Mon, 27 May 2013 09:21:25 CDT Whether you're chilling out in your backyard/balcony or heading to the cottage this long weekend, there's no such thing as having too much wine on hand. You never know when you might get an impromptu invitation to a barbecue or have guests that pop by your place. So here's a May long weekend Sat, 18 May 2013 13:05:31 CDT The 12th Winnipeg Wine Festival has once again come and gone, and by all accounts was a huge success. From the Media Grape Stomp that kicked off the fest to the last pour of Saturday night's public tastings, hundreds of wines were sampled by more than 7,000 attendees over the course of 10 Sat, 11 May 2013 08:23:22 CDT In the past I've offered some tips and tricks on navigating the Winnipeg Wine Festival's public tastings (May 3 and 4), and the wine festival's website (www.winnipegwinefestival.com) and program guide (available at Liquor Marts) do a good job of the same. But in mulling over said program guide, I Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:26:52 CDT Last week's column on Malbec focused mainly on Argentina, one of the two theme regions at this year's Winnipeg Wine Festival. Malbec remains far and away the South American country's flagship grape variety. The other of the two theme regions at this year's festival is New Zealand, another Sat, 20 Apr 2013 03:18:48 CDT The Internet has given us all sorts of fun, quirky and sometimes annoying trends: laughing goat videos, Harlem shakes, angry cat memes and the classic, Gangnam Style. In the drinks world, many have recently taken to declaring certain dates in honour of specific sippables. March 27, for Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:14:29 CDT More than ever, people are looking for authenticity in their food, be it 100-mile diets, diverse restaurants with flavours from all over the globe or increasingly available exotic ingredients for cooking. There's been a push for similarly global-but-regional emphasis in wine. Australia ran a Sat, 6 Apr 2013 08:33:05 CDT