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Phil’s Extended French Wine Vacation
Tasting Chablis at the top of a vineyard overlooking Chablis Grand Crus. My wife, Goretti, and I spent a three-week vacation in France in October 2025. Â Two of those weeks were with the Vinfluence Group for a wine tour of Burgundy and Rhone. Â Then we spent an extra four days in Provence on our own in a small historical town named Arles. Â We finished off in Paris for another two days before returning home to Calgary. My regular readers would have noticed that this is my fourth
Phil Lo
3 minutes ago4 min read
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Phil’s Extended French Wine Vacation: Tasting Notes
My tasting notes on the wines which impressed me the most during this trip. Read about my trip here! In Champagne At Tattinger 2014 Comtes de Champagne Grands Crus – Blanc de Blancs Golden colour.  Very fine fizz.  Nice complex and attractive nose of honey, toast, yeast, citrus and stewed fruit.  Surprisingly youthful for its age.  Still opening up.  Nice long finish. However, this is a quite expensive wine at 250 Euro. At Tienot 2015 Cuvee Origine Pale straw colour.  Nice
Phil Lo
5 minutes ago6 min read
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Newsletter - September 2025
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Tara Glumac Dear Friends, As summer’s golden glow gives way to the crisp embrace of autumn, I hope this message finds...
FOV Board
Sep 165 min read
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Phil Lo’s Wine Journey with Friends of the Vine
PROLOGUE I was born and raised in Hong Kong when it was under British rule. Â Wine is not part of our culture nor in my family upbringing....
Phil Lo
Sep 168 min read
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Albanian Wine: Europe’s Hidden Gem in a Glass
Albania may not be the first country that comes to mind when thinking about wine, but that’s changing—and fast. Nestled in the heart of...
JC Cornell
Sep 34 min read
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What Temperature Is Your Wine?
Last Friday night we hosted a very special dinner at our place with some very special wines from our cellar and those of our guests. That...
Phil Lo
Aug 253 min read
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Three Common Wine Confusions
In my almost 5 decade of wine exploration journey, I have come across a few confusions. But none took more time than the three below to...
Phil Lo
Jun 134 min read
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How to: Festival-style wine tastings
Hey Doug! How do you do ‘festival-style’ tastings like the FOV BBQ? First - with lots of wines, pre-arranging transportation home is...
Doug Crapo
Jun 42 min read
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Newsletter - May 2025
PAST-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Ray Todd As I reflect on my time serving as President of Friends of the Vine for the last two years, I am filled...
FOV Board
May 206 min read
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