NewsTop Stories

It’s an Instagram world, folks … and here’s how it looked through various filters from 12 months of wine and food in Niagara

photo

Note: This was originally published in Wine Tidings, now called Quench, as a year-ender based on my Instagram feed. I know it’s kind of dated now, but decided to post here anyway.

I’m scanning through my Instagram feed from the year that was in wine, or at least how it was for this one guy. It is a vinous wasteland of too many half-drunk bottles of wine and witty (at least to me) little comments tailored to a Twitter audience of like-minded people.

When I am dead and gone, this will be my virtual epitaph, a litany of stained wine bottles interspersed with (not very good) shots of my food, vineyards, other people drinking wine and a handful of family photos that no one in my family really wants on my Instagram feed. Oh, and far too many shots of my hairy legs beside (what else??) a glass of wine while sitting poolside (what the hell was I thinking … I apologize and am right now deleting those photos).

When I look back on the feed I can see exactly how I spent my year. It was not always a pretty picture.

Yes, it’s an Instagram world, for better or worse; a world where you are judged more on the filter you use than the content you are providing. It’s a world where the measure of your relevance is expressed in likes and pithy comments left under your latest snapshot.

On the positive side, Instagram, Facebook, your blog, Twitter, Vine, Tumblr, LinkedIn and whatever else you dabble in on social media has replaced hand-written diaries and offer a handy snapshot back on exactly how you wasted your year.

For a wine writer, this is a good thing. When you get the call to write the year-end wrap up, such is the wont of magazine editors (I’m talking to you, Aldo!), all one has to do is cruise through the annals of social media and, poof!, it’s all there; the good, the bad and the ugly.

So, for the last Tidings edition of the year, I offer you The Year That Was In Wine Through the Filter of Instagram.

January: Icewine, Niagara Falls and No Love For Jura

january

• Key caption: “Wow! 93 Riesling Traminer Icewine from Konzelmann. A deal at $89.” (I still have a half bottle of this kicking around.)

• Kodak moment (based on most likes): A shot of Niagara Falls from my hotel window at the Niagara Icewine Festival (I was later dinged roaming charges after posting that photo, so I hope you enjoyed it).

• No love (based on least likes): Domaine Rolet Nature du Jura 2009 captioned “there’s something about Jura.” One lousy like just sucks. That’s it, no more Jura photos for you!

• Top wines consumed: Dominus Napa Valley 1996, Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Dry Riesling 2011, Fielding Estate Lot No. 17 Riesling 2009.

• Gratuitous food shot: Black cod soaked in maple served at Spencer’s At the Waterfront in Burlington.

• Awkward moment: A disintegrated cork on a magnum of Chateau Reynella 1996. The wine was pretty tasty though, just a little chunky.

February: Eccentric, Haywire, Racketeering

february

• Key caption: “My pre #leafs kicking the #sens butts wine tonight is from Alsace. Zind does it right.” I’m pretty sure the Sens kicked the Leafs’ butts, but the Zind Humbrecht Riesling was awesome!

• Kodak moment: A bottle of Megalomaniac Eccentric 2011 sitting on a rock at the winery. Go figure.

• No love: A bottle shot of Galevan Cotes du Rhone 2010. Zero likes, zero comments. Guess I should have gone No Filter on that one.

• Top wines consumed: Marchesi di Barolo Cannubi Barolo 1997, Joesph Voillot Volnay Les Fremiets 2009, Haywire The Bub 2011.

• Gratuitous food shot: Raclette made by Hidden Bench owner Harald Thiel.

• Awkward moment: The original caption for the raclette photo autocorrected “raclette” to “racketeering” for some odd reason. And when you put the owner’s name alongside racketeering, well, can imagine the virtual hilarity that ensued. I don’t think the owner was laughing though. I carefully edit my Instagram captions now and have my lawyer on speed dial.

March: Getting Corked, Chablis and Equuleus

march

• Key caption: “7 million @nomacorc corks are made a day here in North Carolina.” That’s right, it’s not all glamour in the wine writing biz. In March I found myself at North America’s largest synthetic cork manufacturing plant in Zebulon, N.C., to learn all about wine bottle closures. Great fried chicken in North Carolina.

• Kodak moment: A shot of Chateau des Charmes’ top wine, the Equuleus 2010.

• No love: A bottle and glass shot of Camus XO Reserve Cognac.

• Top wines consumed: Heitz Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1994, Domaine Costal Chablis “Les Truffieres” 2010, Vineland Estate Chardonnay Reserve 2009.

• Gratuitous food shot: Not one single morsel of food was snapped on Instgram in the month of March by me. Wow. Just wow.

• Awkward moment: In the caption about a magnum of Bolla Amarone della Valpolicella Millenium 1995 I called it a “little afternoon delight” … I lied. It wasn’t delightful at all and the more I drank the worse it got. And I still have another magnum to prove it.

April: Cheese Please, A Big Ooops, More Chablis

april

• Key caption: “There are many reasons NOT to seal wines in a wax topper. This is one of them. What a mess!” The photo shows bits of wax strewn about everywhere on the table after a gigantic struggle with the wax encased cork.

• Kodak moment: A photo of a sea of Cabernet Sauvignon while judging the Ontario Wine Awards.

• No love: A shot of Alvento Elige 2004. Sigh.

• Top wines consumed: Patrick Piuze Chablis Terroir de Courgis 2009, JoieFarm A Noble Blend 2012, King’s Court Wild Blueberry Wine 2010 (and I liked it!)

• Gratuitous food shot: A magnificent cheese plate from Treadwell Farm to Table at its former location in Port Dalhousie (I MISS YOU!). Its new location is in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

• Awkward moment: Proudly showing a bottle of 2007 Pillitteri Cabernet Franc with the caption: Remember this beauty @pellerVQA cab franc @lazza99? Trouble is, it wasn’t a Peller wine nor was it made by former Peller winemaker Lawrence Buhler. Ooops.

May: Napa, Hairy Legs, Meat

may

• Key caption: “Weird. First drink in Napa Valley is this.” Photo shows a cold glass of Farm To Bottle IPA shortly after arriving in the heart of Napa.

• Kodak moment: A shot of Niagara red wines from The Good Earth, Coyote’s Run and Chateau des Charmes.

• No love: Photo of an empty wine glass. What was I thinking? No wonder wine writers are such easy targets.

• Top wines consumed: Chateau de La Dauphine Fronsac 1989, Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 1998, County Cider A Tortured Path Cider.

• Gratuitous food shot: A shot of a juicy steak with the caption: “Ribeye Napa style with 1999 and 2009 @robertmondavi Cabernet Reserve. Yes!”

• Awkward moment: First hairy leg shot of the year beside a glass of cider with the caption: “A gorgeous evening for a pint of whatever makes you happy.” The pool cover wasn’t even off the pool. Sigh.

June: Nebuchadnezzar, Quincy, Salad

june

• Key caption: “12 hours later this Niagara Wismer Vineyard Fox Croft Chard is still a whole lot of awesomeness.”

• Kodak moment: “This 15 litre bottle of 2002 Family Reserve Trivalente @pillitteriwines is happening right now. Happy anniversary.”

• No love: Bottle shot of Inniskillin Pinot Gris Reserve 2012. Note to self: Don’t post photos at 3 a.m.

• Top wines consumed: Orofino Beleza 2008 (Okanagan red blend), Bachelder Lowrey Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011, Domaine Crotereau Quincy 2011.

• Gratuitous food shot: A shot of Graham Rennie’s homemade salad from the patio of his Beamsville Bench home with a bottle of Rennie Vineyards Pinot Noir 2010. Heavenly.

• Awkward moment: My first Instagram video catches winemaker Thomas Bachelder swearing (I only found out after watching the posted video days later).

July: Moscato, Cheese, Baby Duck

july

• Key caption: “Please don’t judge me. I’m sipping a $10 glass of Jacob’s Creek Moscato. #thatsalltheyhavehere #canadianopen

• Kodak moment: A shot of Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 (Nova Scotia).

• No love: A shot of Ruffino Modus 2010.

• Top wines consumed: The Old Third Cabernet Franc 2011, West Avenue Heritage Dry Cider, Hinterland Les Etoiles 2010.

• Gratuitous food shot: A plate of Fifth Town cheese and charcuterie from Prince Edward County served on a paper plate in a non-descript hotel room in the middle of nowhere. Best ever!

• Awkward moment: Taking a shot at the LCBO (where, apparently, you are not allowed to take photos) of a discounted magnum of Baby Duck (a yellow sticky note for a label) for sale at $9.95. Caption: “Hard to resist this deal at the #LCBO … but I did.”

August: Pichon, Venison, Over the Moon

august

• Key caption: “Enjoying this with my gorgeous sister (and Frank) @fishsaucekim overlooking Osoyoos Lake #atpeace.” The wine? A bottle of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 1989. Killer.

• Kodak moment: A shot of my old friend and wine lover Gerry Buchner at the Willow Park Wines and Spirits store in Calgary. Caption: “Wow! All Bordeaux and Burgundy. #privatewinestores #endthemonopoly

• No love: A quick video of a deer that came to our hotel patio window in Banff. I honestly thought it would go viral. How wrong I was.

• Top wines consumed: Salzburger Stiegl Radler (a beer-grapefruit blend that is simply awesome!), Le Clos Jordanne Le Clos Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007 (in magnum), Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1997.

• Gratuitous food shot: I refer you to the deer vid above (relax! Just a joke).

• Awkward moment: A shot from the gorgeous Miradoro restaurant at Oliver’s Tinhorn Creek winery. I mentioned @andrewmoon in the post. THAT Andrew Moon is an information security professional. @Andrew_Tinhorn is the vineyard manager of Tinhorn Creek. I’m such an idiot. And now some guy in the world with the name Andrew Moon thinks so too.

September: Groovy Gruner, Grgich, Pork

Sept

• Key caption: “I never tire of the view.” Taken from the back deck at Flat Rock Cellars in Niagara looking down on the vineyards, one of the most recognizable views in Ontario wine country.

• Kodak moment: A shot of Vineland Estate winemaker Brian Schmidt crouched beside his young Gruner Veltliner vines. He is obviously a “like” magnet.

• No love: Black and white photo of a bottle of California wine, Grgich Hills wine glass and Napa corkscrew. Caption: “Bit of a California jag going on here. Accidental synchronicity.”

• Top wines consumed: 2027 Cellars Wismer Vineyard Foxcroft Block Riesling 2012, Tinhorn Creek Oldfield Series Syrah 2010, Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (great value).

• Gratuitous food shot: A picture of a whole pig skewered and slow roasting on an open pit fire with the caption: “Good old fashioned pig roast going on @vinelandestate.”

• Awkward moment: “First Gruner in production in Niagara. @benchwineguy making a small production this year.” It’s NOT the first Gruner Veltline in Niagara. Inniskillin’s Karl Kaiser made some, decades ago. Ooops. My bad.

October, November, December:
More Jura, Twerking, Gaudy Lights

OK, here’s the thing. As I wrote this for a December deadline, it was only September, so instead of offering a bogus look back on the missing three months, I am going to give you some predictions (you can check my Instagram feed here to see if I was right)

photdfdfdo

• Key caption: Sometime between October and the end of December I am going to work in the word twerking into a wine photo and post it to Instagram (editor’s note … it never happened, couldn’t do it). I know, I’m a rebel.

• Kodak moment: I’m going to sneak in some shot of a gaudy Christmas light display from an unsuspecting neighbour (which I did). It will be liked a lot (which it wasn’t).

• No love: I’m going to up my Jura intake and live with being ignored (it’s still very tough to find Jura wines in Ontario). Sorry.

• Top wines consumed: Oh, there is Riesling in the forecast (there was, there is).

• Gratuitous food shot: Unfortunately, for you, there will be more (true!) … you’ll have to deal with it.

• Awkward moment: Only one sure thing: No more shots of me by the pool with a glass of wine and my hairy legs in the shot. I promise … at least until spring!