Goalposts to define normal wine vintage keep moving

The 2026 grape-growing vintage in the northern hemisphere is done and dusted, with producers in most wine-producing countries having to navigate a growing season that was, to put it mildly, volatile.

European producers in particular struggled with a growing season plagued by a lengthy heat wave, wildfires and hail.

Some producers in Bordeaux, for example, started picking wine grapes for both white and red grapes in August, weeks ahead of when the fruit would normally be brought in from the vineyards. Drought-like conditions resulted in the region’s viticultural regulatory body giving permission to wineries in some sub-regions to irrigate, which they’re not normally allowed to do, and a mid-July hail storm wreaked havoc on grapes.

The region was also devastated by wildfires over the summer, which saw thousands flee the region but which mostly spared vineyards, although the effect of smoke may find its way into some wines.

Processing potential long way from reality

There are times in life when you want to be wrong — like when you walk into the doctor’s office believing your ailment will be the death of you.

It’s the same sort of feeling I get wading through the pile of newly released reports extolling the unrealized “potential” for more value-added processing in Canadian agriculture. There’s this little voice inside my head saying: “I’m from Manitoba. Show me.”

There are jaw-dropping numbers bandied about in various reports from Food and Beverage Canada, the Canadian Chambers of Commerce/PwC and the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. For example, more processing could add $75 billion on top of the $188 billion the sector already generates, create hundreds of thousands more jobs and a bigger domestic market for farmers. The list goes on.

Not to discount the solid analysis behind these efforts. Overall, it all sounds great, although notably missing is any mention of the growing concerns over ultra-processed foods and how that might affect future market growth.

Building generational equity

Ayobimpe Omisore is a Winnipeg single mother of four who knows all too well about working just to make the rent.

A little more than a year ago, she was struggling to pay $2,400 a month for a two-bedroom unit in St. Norbert.

She picked up extra shifts whenever she could as a health-care aide to keep up with the costs.

“I was lamenting about it at work one day, and a colleague said, ‘If you’re paying this much on rent, I think you can afford a mortgage,’” says Omisore, who came to Canada four years ago from Nigeria where she worked as a logistics manager.

What $4 pumpkin can teach us about workplace culture

There are few things more revealing about a workplace than what happens when someone suggests a little fun.

Put a pumpkin on the reception desk, announce a Halloween costume day or suggest that everyone take 20 minutes to enjoy some candy and you may discover that your organization falls into one of two camps.

There are those who embrace the opportunity to do something different and those who immediately begin calculating the cost of lost productivity.

Somewhere, a manager is currently wondering whether the employee who spent 15 minutes decorating their office door could have used that time to answer three emails. Another is worried allowing costumes will somehow lead to a complete collapse of professional standards. A third is quietly trying to figure out whether a bowl of miniature chocolate bars can be claimed as a business expense.

El Clásico has become spectacle of hatred between Barcelona and Real Madrid

El Clásico is more than a match. That is, the encounters between Barcelona and Real Madrid, while ostensibly about football, tend to collect all manner of drama, controversy and animus before — and after — the 90 minutes played twice per season in La Liga.

And yet, even by its typical standards, the build-up to Sunday’s showdown at Camp Nou (3 p.m., TSN) has been especially rancorous. From organized labour to name-dropping Joseph Goebbels, there’s not much this Clásico hasn’t touched on, and it’s still some time away.

Rather importantly, it should be noted that, yes, the two sides will actually face one another as scheduled. This was only confirmed Thursday, when it was determined that a workers’ strike would not prevent the game going ahead.

Approximately 60 of Barcelona’s seasonal employees are participating in the action, which began midnight Friday and will extend into Monday. They’re concerned about worsening conditions and task overload caused by understaffing. It’s just the latest organizational issue at a club that seems to lurch from one to the next.

Ottawa must parlay sports gambling boom into addiction supports

I watch a lot of sports on television, mostly hockey, baseball and football. And it’s getting harder to watch a game without being bombarded with gambling advertisements.

The betting industry hasn’t just bought commercial time. It has woven itself into the broadcasts, becoming part of the game itself.

Gambling logos plaster the boards around hockey rinks, appear on players’ jerseys and helmets, and pop up during commercial breaks. Broadcasters talk about betting odds, promote wagers and remind viewers how they can put money on the action unfolding in front of them.

It doesn’t affect me personally. I don’t gamble. But I think it’s ruining sports broadcasts. What was once about enjoying a game has increasingly become an opportunity to sell viewers another way to lose their money.

A bigger police force won’t guarantee less crime

Public safety was front and centre at two Winnipeg mayoral debates Wednesday, with candidates promising more police officers, tougher responses to crime and a safer city.

But while there was plenty of talk about adding cops, there was less discussion about a more complicated question: will hiring more police officers actually reduce crime?

It’s an important distinction for voters to consider as they head to the polls Oct. 28.

Winnipeg needs more police officers. The number of officers per capita has fallen significantly over the past decade, and the police service needs adequate staffing to respond to calls, investigate offences and hold criminals accountable.

Rich get richer as NDP policy shifts leave opponents in dust

Last week, Finance Minister Adrien Sala made two announcements that showed why the NDP will remain the party to beat in the next provincial election.

Separation is dead, now Canada must unite

The overwhelming majority of Albertans sent a message that should put any serious campaign to break up the country on the back burner for a very long time.

Monday’s referendum was a resounding endorsement of Confederation, with roughly 75 per cent of voters rejecting the call for a second, binding referendum on separation. Only about 25 per cent supported taking the next step toward leaving Canada.

That’s not a close call. It’s a thumping of the separatist movement in Alberta.

There will always be a small minority of Albertans who want out of Canada, just as there will always be a minority of Quebecers who want to separate.

Surprising announcement opens door slightly for accountability in police HQ saga

Early Monday afternoon, it looked as if former Mayor Sam Katz, former chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl and contractor Armik Babakhanians were going to finally and successfully escape the long arm of the law for their roles in the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters scandal.

Missing the days of yore in Alberta

EDMONTON — Outside the Alberta legislature, a sea of deep blue flags snaps in the stiff October wind, held aloft by a crowd of about 1,100 people that has gathered for one last hype-up hurrah together before Monday’s referendum. Most of the flags bear the province’s crest; many are emblazoned with a variety of slogans, all of them defiant.

“Send A Message to Ottawa.” “Live Free or Die.” “We’re Done — Alberta First.”

On the steps of the grand Beaux-Arts building, which looks not unlike Manitoba’s, separatist influencer Adam Derges, host of a podcast called The Army of Great Men, is giving a speech. Some people talk a lot about the costs of separation, he says, but not enough about the rewards. Or: the values of the people gathered here are not in line with rest of Canada.

“I don’t know about you, but I miss the good ol’ days,” he declares.

New chapter for Yellowquill University College

Sometimes, a milestone is about much more than a degree. It is about opportunity, recognition and the doors that open for the people who come next.

Yellowquill University College reached a historic milestone on Oct. 1, when new Manitoba legislation came into effect formally recognizing the institution within the province’s post-secondary education system and granting it authority to award degrees.

Established in 1984, Yellowquill is now Manitoba’s first fully recognized First Nations-owned and operated post-secondary institution with degree-granting authority.

It is an achievement worth celebrating, not only for Yellowquill and the communities it serves, but also for what it represents about education, career development and the future of Manitoba’s workforce.

Women wearing appropriate clothes to gym not asking for men’s opinions

Prior to last Saturday, I was the blissful sort of person who could say “who is that, again?” when I heard the name Shane Gillis.

Now, I know him as the comedian who said “women just dress like whores now” at the gym during his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live — a show that fired him in 2019, by the way, for being racist and homophobic on a podcast yet continues to invite him back as a host for some reason.

Gillis also likened women’s short shorts (the kind one might wear to lift weights, say) to neon fishing lures.

“And don’t look. You’re not allowed to look. For real, don’t look, because they are filming,” he said.

Diesel bill adds to cost-price squeeze on farm

Blessed with a week of good weather, most Manitoba farmers are now in the home stretch of harvest and beginning to assess whether their crop will earn enough to cover the cost of growing it.

Commodity market prices have surged well above the numbers used to prepare production budgets earlier this year, with the price of top-quality milling wheat up 27 per cent over a year ago. Canola and soybeans are up 36 per cent and oats by 14 per cent.

That’s a significant boost for the crops harvested in good shape before rainy weather shut down operations for a couple of weeks during the critical harvesting window. However, upwards of half of the province’s crop overall was affected by the bad weather, resulting in yet-to-be calculated yield and quality losses.

Then there’s the cost side of the balance sheet.

Increasingly cited financial term, ‘nut,’ is worth knowing, says best-selling author

It’s nuts. That might be some folks’ reaction if they knew their “nut” in the financial sense of the word.

If that stirs visions of squirrels fighting over acorns, you are not far off.

Nut is increasingly used in popular culture, especially in the United States as the struggle increases for millions of consumers with each passing day.

A couple of high-profile TV examples are South Park and Your Friends & Neighbors, where the nut is discussed in the context of what someone’s spend rate is based on their lifestyle.