If you’re a Chardonnay lover, the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C) is the place to be! This year’s event was nothing short of spectacular, bringing together producers and enthusiasts from around the world to celebrate the versatility and brilliance of this beloved grape. From deep dives into climate change and winemaking techniques to exclusive tastings and unforgettable winery visits, here’s a recap of our incredible i4C 2024 experience.
We’re Honoured to Receive the 2024 Wine Marketing Association of Ontario Journalism Award!
We were absolutely honoured to receive the 2024 Wine Marketing Association of Ontario Journalism Award at the Ontario Wine Awards. When we started Sparkling Winos eight years ago, it began with a personal curiosity about wine, a desire to learn about the fascinating and dynamic wine industry, a love of all things local, and a wish to bring our own voice to the conversation.
The Coolest Chardonnay Celebration: Highlights from i4C 2022
The International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C) is always a highlight on the Wine Country Ontario calendar, and this year’s event was extra special—it marked the long-awaited return of in-person celebrations! Over the course of a jam-packed weekend, we immersed ourselves in the world of cool-climate Chardonnay, experiencing world-class wines, exceptional food, and insightful discussions with top winemakers and industry experts.
Ring in 2019 with 19 Sparkling Wines under $19 dollars for NYE!
That’s right, you heard it here. You can absolutely ring in 2018 with plenty of quality sparkling wines that won’t break the bank on New Years’ Eve.
A Sparkling Recap of VQA Into the Bubbles
If there’s one thing we love, it’s sparkling wine. We could talk your ear off about the diversity of the category, and not to mention blog about it all day long. If you’ve seen some of our ventures with the Sparkling Winos project – like, our Sparkling Wine Map of Ontario – you’d have noticed that not only are we passionate about bubbly, but we’re totally enamoured with what’s happening in our own backyard. So, it was with immense pleasure, excitement and gratitude that we took on hosting duties for Wine Country Ontario’s VQA Into the Bubbles event on September 26, 2018!
Celebrating Ontario for Dinner with the LCBO
It’s the most wonderful time of the year in Wine Country Ontario… harvest season! And this year, we have lots to celebrate, as 2018 marks 30 years of VQA (the Vitners Quality Alliance, the provincial regulatory authority that administers Ontario’s wine appellation system) and 25 years of the iconic Food & Drink Magazine. And this past week, we had the incredible opportunity to celebrate these milestones with local winemakers, representatives from the VQA, LCBO staff, the Food & Drink dream team, and some of the magazine’s super fans at an intimate dinner. One of the best parts about Ontario is …
We Sipped, We Stayed, and We Ate… at Adamo Estate!
As you may have gathered from our posts, wine is produced in a number of regions in Ontario – from Niagara to Prince Edward County – and in other parts of Canada. In our beautiful country, the embrace of cool climate viticulture has created not only wonderful wines, but a truly special wine destination. From the Pacific to the Atlantic Coast, and inland along major bodies of water, viticultural regions are thriving and we have some trailblazers and pioneers to thank; people who saw the potential in the land to produce some seriously cool wine. Mario Adamo is one individual …
When Cool Climate Sparkling Wine Meets Cool Climate Cuisine…
Did you know that sparkling wine is one of the most food friendly and versatile wine styles? That’s right! Forget “red or white?” with dinner. You should be thinking “red, white or sparkling?”! Don’t believe us? 🤔 Well, give us the benefit of the doubt and let us convince you… twelve times over! We’ll take you through an exceptional twelve course tasting menu, and give you twelve examples of how the dishes from Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Backhouse Restaurant paired perfectly with twelve
i4C 2018: Putting the “Cool” into “Cool Climate Chardonnay”
This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending the 2018 International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C) – and what a whirlwind it was! 😍 Not only did we get the chance to attend as Sparkling Winos (where, spoiler alert, we tasted some pretty spectacular Blanc de Blancs from around the world), but we also had the opportunity to capture and share the event through Wine Country Ontario’s social media channels which helped us to focus our time on the absolutely amazing things happening right here in our beautiful province. (Note: in case you missed our social media takeover, check …
A Weekend in Wine Country: Prince Edward County
We’ve been making our way out to Prince Edward County for almost a decade now, and it has been amazing to watch this corner of our beautiful province grow, with each passing year, into the incredible wine region that it is today. Every time we visit there are new experiences that “crop” up – from new wineries, to new restaurants and funky places to kick your feet up, to quirky shops and galleries – we can safely say that since our first trip back in 2009, Prince Edward County has really come into its own and developed some deep roots in the wine world!