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This is the second Sipster's Summer Flashback with episodes from my Wine Country BC podcast that began in 2009. This conversation is from an episode released in June 2010 and features Mike Nierychlo and Mike Rathjen. At the time, they were passionate about wine and made videos about it on YouTube. It was only a few years later that they both opened wineries on Vancouver Island. Mike Nierychlo opened Emandare Wines in Duncan, BC and Mike Rathjen started Rathjen Cellars in Saanich, BC.

Mike Nierychlo Online YouTube Channel

Emandare Vineyards

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This is the first Sipster's Summer Flashback series with episodes from my Wine Country BC podcast that began in 2009. Tonight’s conversation is from an episode released in April of 2010 and features John Skinner, owner of Painted Rock winery right before he’d even opened the doors on a temporary wine shop (a home depot shack). It’s a cool conversation that shows the beginnings of a winery that has now become a Grand Cru of the Okanagan valley.

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This is part 2 of the whiskey tasting with Paul Henbury.

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It's a Sipster gathering around a small basement table with one of my oldest friends Paul Henbury. Paul has been in the hospitality industry and worked at wineries in the Okanagan Valley so he knows his way around a wine tasting. When he mentioned his favour way to taste whisky in a discussion a few weeks back, I knew it would be perfect for a podcast.

This is part 1 of 2. Part 2 which is coming out next week.

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Finally, it's my turn to stump the gang with a slightly obscure wine to most people (but not if you've read a Sipster's book or listened to a podcast recently...). This one has twists and turns, mayhem and excitement, thrills and spills...

Ok, no spills. No wine was harmed in the making of this podcast.

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Blind tasting can be a lot of fun but it can get competitive. The best players are the ones that know what information to give at all times, even in the small talk leading up to a tasting. Sipsters are less competitive but still like the challenge of a blind tasting for the fun of it. Karen's reveal shows that's she's not only a strategic blind wine taster, but also an elite-level Sipster.

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Ok, mostly me. but this was a fun one for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that this situation will be part of wine tasting in BC for years going forward. Is that a good thing? We'll see.

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This week’s podcast features a chat with Dr. Don Livermore. Though you are unlikely to know who he is, it is entirely likely that you have had products that he has overseen in his nearly 30 years at the Hiram-Walker distillery and the brand in question today - J.P. Wiser's, which is Canada’s longest running brand of whisky. Wiser's is older than Canada, if that gives you some indication

Dr. Don is, on paper, a Master Blender, but in reality, he’s a virtuoso performer in that roll. He is the first Canadian to win Master Blender of the Year in the world at the World Whisky Awards. He developed the Canadian Whisky Flavour Wheel, a comprehensive and must-have resource for anyone interested in learning more about flavours in Canadian whisky.

More than anything though, he is an amazing ambassador for Canadian whisky and is willing to take time to talk about the history, the chemistry, and art of making whisky. I really hope to have him on the podcast again in the future to learn more about the history of whisky in Canada.

So here it I, my conversation with Dr. Don Livermore from JP Wiser’s. Cheers everyone!

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