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January feels like the longest month of the year. The holidays are over, the decorations all packed up and the bank balance is hurting. We’ve been mired in a weeks-long deep freeze, having to layer up big time at the painful prospect of leaving the house. Perhaps you’ve also decided to partake in Dry January, making the month seem that much longer…
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January feels like the longest month of the year. The holidays are over, the decorations all packed up and the bank balance is hurting. We’ve been mired in a weeks-long deep freeze, having to layer up big time at the painful prospect of leaving the house. Perhaps you’ve also decided to partake in Dry January, making the month seem that much longer…
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/01/2026 (228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
January feels like the longest month of the year. The holidays are over, the decorations all packed up and the bank balance is hurting. We’ve been mired in a weeks-long deep freeze, having to layer up big time at the painful prospect of leaving the house. Perhaps you’ve also decided to partake in Dry January, making the month seem that much longer…
Thankfully, the month is nearly over, the mercury is slated to tick up slightly and there are plenty of drinks-related events on the horizon to help you forget the slog that was January…
First up is Good Neighbour Brewing Co.’s Brûlée Fest, which takes place Jan. 31 from 3 to 10 p.m. at the brewery (110 Sherbrook St.). Essentially you buy a mug of beer (usually a stout or porter), and one of the folks at Good Neighbour stick a red-hot poker in your brew, which caramelizes the beer and gives it a richer, creamier texture. It’s a whole experience, well worth trying. In addition to a whole bunch of small-batch stouts and porters, the brewery will have non-alcoholic beers available for brûlée service (in the event you’re finishing up Dry January), while adjacent restaurant Next Door (116 Sherbrook St.) is serving up hot cocktails and featuring a fondue special.
The crew at Low Life Barrel House (398 Daly St. N) and Snack Häus, the brewery’s in-house eatery, are serving up slider-sized fat boy burgers Feb. 1 from 1 to 7 p.m. (or until they sell out) for the second volume of Häus Party. The party will feature special guest Richard Caron, also known as the guy behind the Instagram account @fortheloveofallfatboys, where he posts video reviews of fat boy burgers from all corners of the province. (He’s well worth a follow.)
If you’re already thinking ahead to Valentine’s Day, a number of drinks-related events are on offer, no matter what you’re looking to do with your sweetie (or solo). On Wednesday, Feb. 11, Jones & Company is teaming up with Forum & Bistro for a four-course dinner at the Southeast Event Centre (321 Elmdale St. in Steinbach). The Amore e Vino event gets underway at 6:30 p.m. — tickets are $135 (including tax and tip) and are available online.
On Valentine’s Day proper, Sookram’s Brewing Co. (479-B Warsaw Ave.) is hosting a Raw Bar Oyster Company pop-up, which runs from 2 to 5 p.m. and will see the brewery tapping some small-batch brews for the event. Then in the evening, Sookram’s hosts a ticketed three-course lobster dinner, with two seatings (6 p.m. and 8 p.m.). Tickets are $100 and are available online for the 6 p.m. slot or the 8 p.m. slot.
Up in Gimli, Interlake Brewing Co. (72-A 1 Ave.) has a special four-course Valentine’s Day menu featuring the culinary stylings of guest chef Brad Joyce and music by Steffa Fridfinnson from 7 to 9 p.m. Dinner is $70 per person; while there aren’t tickets for the event, reservations are encouraged by calling 204-642-8313.
If Valentine’s Day really isn’t your thing, Patent 5 Distillery (108 Alexander Ave.) is teaming up with jeweler Silver and Stone for the “Charms for the Un-Charmed” charm bracelet workshop on Feb. 14. The event runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the distillery, and includes supplies to make your own bracelet (with more than 400 charms to choose from), guidance on how to craft your bracelet, and a cocktail. Tickets are $84 (tax included) and are available online.
Later in February, Bordeaux winemaker Pierre-Charles Dartier returns to Winnipeg for a masterclass tasting of his Château Cailleteau Bergeron and Clos Mansio wines. The event takes place Friday, Feb. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Piedmont Room at Piazza De Nardi (1360 Taylor Ave.). Tickets are $27, or $20 for members of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS). To get yours visit this website.
Last call: Saturday, Jan. 31, is the last day to get early-bird pricing for tickets to the Winnipeg Whisky Festival before prices go up. The fest takes place March 6 and 7 at the RBC Convention Centre (375 York Ave.), and this year is featuring Canadian craft spirits producers.
First call: Tickets for the annual (and always excellent) Beer Is Art tasting, which features most of the province’s breweries, are now on sale. The event takes place Thursday, April 2, from 7 to 10 p.m. at WAG-Qaumajuq (300 Memorial Blvd.). Tickets are $65 plus fees, include all samples (and access to galleries), and are available online.
Wines of the week
Miguel Torres 2024 Gran ViñaSol Chardonnay on Lees
(Catalunya, Spain —$17.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)
This organic, vegan Spanish Chardonnay is pale straw in appearance, with lush peach, red apple and melon notes along with lemon meringue, bread dough and chalky notes on the nose.
It’s dry and light-plus-bodied, with a lovely creamy texture (thanks to the aging on the lees, the spent yeast cells) that comes with the red apple, peach and lemon-lime component.
If there’s oak, it’s minimal, while the acidity is modest and the 13 per cent finish offers decent length. Offers impressive complexity for the price. 4/5
Allan Scott 2023 Pinot Noir
(Marlborough, New Zealand — $21.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)
Reddish brick in appearance, this New Zealand Pinot Noir brings earth, cherry, plum, forest floor and black tea aromas.
It’s light-plus-bodied and dry, with juicy cherry and raspberry flavours coming with red licorice, white pepper, black tea and earthy notes, a hint of cola, medium acidity and, at 13.5 per cent, a modest bit of warmth on the finish.
Another wine that offers both ripeness and complexity at a good price. 4/5
Amatria 2024 Despistao Garnacha
(around $23, private wine stores)
This sustainably produced Spanish red is medium garnet in appearance, with blueberry, plum, ripe cherry, strawberry and subtle herbal notes.
It’s a medium-bodied, juicy red, with a decent dollop of acidity that delivers vibrant, slightly tart red fruit and a blueberry component that comes with a black tea note, while hints of white pepper arrive with the soft tannins before the medium-length finish (it’s 13.5 per cent alcohol).
Chill this lively, fresh red for 10-15 minutes and try with charcuterie, olives and cheeses. Available at Calabria Market, Kenaston Wine Market, G.J. Andrews and The Pourium. 4/5
winnipegfreepress.com/bensigurdson
Ben Sigurdson Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Sigurdson Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
A safer downtown is not much use if people are still afraid to walk there.
That is the uncomfortable message from Winnipeg’s latest police citizen survey, and one city council should take seriously.
Downtown crime has fallen this year, according to the most recent police statistics. Violent crime is down even more. But for most Winnipeggers, the downtown still feels like a place to avoid, particularly after dark.
Only 44 per cent of survey respondents said they feel very or reasonably safe walking alone downtown during the day. At night, that number plunges to just eight per cent. Among women, it is an appalling three per cent, compared with 14 per cent of men.
Morgan Modjeski4 minute readYesterday at 2:01 AM CDT
The safety of Winnipeg Transit drivers was front and centre Monday as the first mayoral debate of the 2026 election focused on public transit.
Kevin Klein, the most experienced of the 10 candidates at the Amalgamated Transit Union 1505-hosted debate, said the time for partial safety shields has passed.
“The partial shields have failed drivers. That’s why we need change,” the former PC MLA and city councillor said, adding driver safety is not a staffing issue, but a “protection failure.”
If elected, Klein said he will bring in full-shield implementation across the city within two years and start a nine-bus pilot project immediately.
Well before playwright Rafaella Marcus’ words have the chance to entangle us in the stickiness of Sap, the performance space initiates the task in director Elio Zarrillo’s staging of this discomfiting and affecting story of restraint and liberation.
Shortly after the audience takes its seats in four segments surrounding a central channel — a shimmering tunnel containing cellist Grace Morningstar — it becomes clear as actors Hera Nalam and Liz Whitbread make their way around the tight corners of David Oro and Hazel Venzon’s set that certain actions will go unseen unless viewers keeps their heads on a swivel: in a production meant to uproot understanding, a fixed perspective will never do.
In this vulnerable and powerful production from Theatre by the River (105 minutes) the actors meet the excellence of Marcus’s twisty script, which calls for emotionally draining and jolting depictions of a relationship headed down a rocky road.
Nalam plays a young communications pro for a women’s aid charity whose dating life is a work in progress. She’s bright and optimistic, taking notice of elements of nature that nobody else seems to recognize. On her daily commute, she looks out from the bus window in awe of a home overflowing with branches and leaves.
Dean Pritchard5 minute readYesterday at 2:01 AM CDT
Alexander Beaton finished serving a two-year jail sentence for criminally harassing six women and didn’t last two days in the community before he was back at it, sending unwanted obscene messages and videos to a dozen women.
Now prosecutors are seeking a seven-year prison sentence for the 30-year-old Winnipeg man, whose latest string of victims includes a police officer who investigated his earlier crimes.
“He essentially continued (offending) unabated,” Crown attorney Brett Rach told provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald at a sentencing hearing Friday. “It caused more than a nuisance to these victims — it caused them to fear for their safety.”
Beaton pleaded guilty to 14 charges of criminal harassment, sending indecent communications and breaching court orders for a campaign of harassment waged between 2015 and 2025.
A North Dakota man faces a string of charges after police say he fled the Emerson border crossing, leading RCMP on a pursuit along Highway 75.
Emerson RCMP were notified just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday that a man entering Canada from North Dakota had sped away from the port of entry after Canada Border Services Agency officers flagged him for a secondary screening.
Officers from several RCMP detachments and the Integrated Border Enforcement Team were sent to Highway 75.
Police said Morris RCMP tried unsuccessfully to stop the vehicle south of the town. Police later blocked Highway 75 at Provincial Road 210, but said the driver went around police vehicles, drove through a ditch and narrowly missed an officer before continuing north toward Winnipeg.
The Federal Court has ordered Ottawa pay Opaskwayak Cree Nation $27 million over damages suffered due to the construction of the Grand Rapids hydro dam in the 1960s.
In a decision dated Sept. 3, Federal Court Justice Sébastien Grammond says the federal government had a fiduciary duty to protect the community from the impacts of the dam.
“When the Crown exercises a discretionary power over an Indigenous interest, it has a fiduciary duty and it must exercise the discretion in the best interests of the Indigenous group,” the ruling said. “Canada breached its fiduciary duty to OCN because it approved the (project) without ensuring that the impacts of the Grand Rapids dam on OCN’s traditional way of life were mitigated or compensated.”
The First Nation took the federal government to court in February over impacts on the community after the dam, located about 145 kilometres southeast of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, was installed on the Saskatchewan River in 1964. The case was heard over 14 days in a judge-alone trial in Winnipeg.
