Not enough rain to douse northern Quebec wildfires, temperatures expected to rise

Gillingham in lead with decided voters

A cloud of uncertainty is hanging over Winnipeg as October’s municipal election nears.

Three months after a poll showed more than 40 per cent of Winnipeggers wanted to see someone other than current mayor Scott Gillingham elected, a new Abacus Data poll indicates more than half of Winnipeg voters are undecided heading into next month’s civic election.

Of decided voters, 55 per cent favour Gillingham compared to 23 per cent for former councillor and provincial cabinet minister Kevin Klein and 11 per cent for funeral director Mike Vogiatzakis.

Of all respondents, just over 50 per cent said they were unsure while 13 per cent said they will not vote.

Cabernet Sauvignon star of wine festival

The Winnipeg Wine Festival will celebrate the king of red wine grapes next weekend — the theme of this year’s festival, which takes place Sept. 25 and 26 at the RBC Convention Centre, is Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cab Sauv, as it’s also known, is the world’s most widely planted wine grape of any colour, first coming to prominence in the 1800s in France’s Bordeaux region, where the grape is still popular. Rather than single-variety wines, Bordeaux reds tend to be blends, with those coming from the left bank of the Gironde estuary being Cabernet-dominant, while right-bank wines are Merlot-dominant, with Cabernet Sauvignon playing a supporting role. Cabernet and Merlot work well together and many other countries have followed suit in blending the two.

A team at University of California Davis put Cabernet Sauvignon through a DNA test in 1996 and discovered its parent grapes are Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc — it’s likely that at some point the two varieties, planted next to each other in some vineyard, crossed and mutated and became the grape we know today. (Someone growing grapes in the 19th century must have had an inkling of what was up, as the grape has been called Cabernet Sauvignon since long before the DNA test.)

Flavour-wise, most Cabernet Sauvignon wines are big and bold, with a core of deep dark berry flavours, some graphite and spice notes and relatively bright acidity. It’s a grape that is well-suited to barrel aging, with most examples seeing at least some time in wood.

Serious crash at West Kildonan intersection known for collisions

Residents in West Kildonan say an intersection that was the site of a serious car crash Sunday morning is notoriously dangerous.

Rob Lick heard a loud bang around 7 a.m. and rushed out of his home on Leila to see what the commotion was. He saw two crushed SUVs, a white and black one, in the intersection. Police vehicles arrived shortly after.

“It sounded like when (garbage trucks) drop a big dumpster,” he said. “I heard somebody crying or wailing, they were standing by the vehicle so I don’t know who exactly it was or if someone was injured.”

The sound of sirens followed shortly after when emergency crews came to the scene. The intersection was immediately blocked off.

Klein has burned bridges with PM, Gillingham says

One mayoral candidate accused another of writing a column so critical it could compromise his ability to work with the federal government.

National Black Canadians Summit celebrates culture, combats racism

Despite the event’s name — the National Black Canadians Summit — Bruce Miller felt he should attend.

He booked a ticket. And so, this weekend, the Indigenous Manitoban joined roughly 1,500 people flocking to the RBC Convention Centre.

It’s a full schedule — addresses from a former Canadian governor general, sessions on Black mental health and anti-Black racism.

The annual event draws politicians, artists and other professionals from across the country.