Updates from Tonia McArthur

Leave Your Suitcase At The Door

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 20:19:24 CDT

The Ultimate Pizza And Wine Pairing Blog!

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:49:58 CDT

Three Red Wine Gift Ideas This Christmas

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 14:11:02 CDT

The Dirt On Tempranillo

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 13:39:22 CDT

The Dirt On Cabernet Sauvignon

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 23:51:18 CDT

One of the world’s most planted and loved wines is made from a lovely grape called Cabernet Sauvignon. We know Cabernet Sauvignon as a household name and it’s also in so many gorgeous blends, namely Bordeaux and Bordeaux-style.

The Dirt On Gamay

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 20:11:00 CDT

There are a few really beautiful red wines perfect for summer drinking and Gamay Noir definitely belongs in that category. Gamay, while not exactly a household name, is grown all over the world. It is a light-skinned grape and thus lighter in style similar to Pinot Noir. In fact, one of the most famous places to find Gamay Noir is in Beaujolais which is just below Burgundy in France.

The Dirt On Merlot

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 13:05:00 CDT

Merlot is one of those grape varietals that is well known by almost any wine drinker. With easily detected flavours of cherries, chocolate, herbs, blackberries and vanilla (just to name a few), Merlots stand up well on their own or paired with other equally famous grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Dirt on Gewürztraminer

Sat, 20 Aug 2022 20:24:00 CDT

What a grape! It’s hard not to get excited about a varietal I have spent a lot of time with. Living in the Okanagan we are spoiled, having plenty of Gewürztraminer in some beautifully varying styles. When my husband and I head out to wine tastings we always try a Gew if it’s on the tasting menu and if it isn’t we tend to bring one home so we can give it a go.

Recently we went to the Naramata Bench and picked up a few bottles, one of which we scored in the High Five Wine Scoring System Facebook group recently.

The Dirt On Vermentino

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 18:29:00 CDT

Recently it came to my attention that, I seem to very much enjoy grape varietals that begin with the letter V.

Vermentino is no exception.

Italian wines have always been some of the most interesting and delicious I’ve had the pleasure of studying. Through my studies I can easily say I’ve spent the most time in Italy.

The Dirt On Syrah

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 17:47:00 CDT

There are some grape varietals in the world of wine that are so distinctive they set themselves apart from all others. Inky, deep, rich and highly regarded, Syrah or Shiraz is the 6th most planted grape in the world! With that sort of statistic it's no wonder we’re sampling and scoring this variety this week with the High Five Wine Scoring System.