The Sipster's Podcast

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . Two wineries, both alike in dignity, In fair Okanagan, where we lay our scene, From ancient ground break to new maturity, Where civil grapes make civil presses unclean. Where are we going with this Shakespearean dibble dabble? Jesse and Luke are joined by special guest Jennifer Tocher with a very unique...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . This one is a bit controversial in some ways. One of the criticisms I've heard levelled against the industry in the Okanagan is that a lot of us have 'cellar palate'. In my travels across Canada, I have not noticed this topic in conversation as much in Ontario as I have noticed in British...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . A few thoughts at the end of 2025 to welcome in 2026. Happy New Year Sipsters! Welcome to the Sipsters Podcast! Thank you for listening to the Sipster's Podcast. Find us online at sipsters.ca.  Support the show Purchase copies of “The Sipsters Pocket Guides” here ! Support Sipsters by subscribing !...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . This is a special tribute episode for my brother in wine, Aaron Olfert. It's been ten years since he left this world. This is a flashback to some of his great podcast moments as well as new stories from his best friends.  This podcast took a long time to produce but I hope it is a fitting tribute t...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . Alison Moyes loves Pinot Noir and it's clear that it's mutual. Working with this grape for the past 15 years, she has met the challenges of the most finicky of grapes variety in three different wineries in three different sub-regions with apparent ease. She's curious, thoughtful, and well...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . Veronica Woodruff's Blind Drunk: A Sober Look at our Boozy Culture is exactly the commentary on the culture of alcohol we need right now. I’ve written about cavalier attitudes towards alcohol before in blogs and even in parts of the Sipster’s books but I was thrilled to see a full-length book about...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . OMG, it's finally the start of the 4th season of the Sipter's Podcast!! Where have we been?  Working. Hard. And a lot. Jess and I have both been busy but were glad to take some time out to do something we both love doing - tasting wine and recording podcasts. In this episode, we dive into the...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . Clos du Soleil invited me to their annual vertical tasting in the fall of 2012 and I gladly attended this exclusive outdoor event. Listening back to it now, things seemed a little more innocent. Few people knew that any wines from BC could actually age and many wineries were on the hook to prove it. Clo...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . The fourth Summer Flashback has a story that goes back beyond the original April 2011 release of this episode. Ted Kane and I talk about his wines and the beautiful site on which he chose to plant his vineyard. Welcome to the Sipsters Podcast! Thank you for listening to the Sipster's Podcast. Find us on...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . This interview is an interesting timepiece for me because of the situation. Recorded in the fall of 2011, it was at a time in my life where I was constantly meeting people who had history to share. Jennifer 's family had history on this property and interviews like this started me down a path to be...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . 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....

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . 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 wi...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . This is part 2 of the whiskey tasting with Paul Henbury.  Welcome to the Sipsters Podcast! Thank you for listening to the Sipster's Podcast. Find us online at sipsters.ca.  Support the show Purchase copies of “The Sipsters Pocket Guides” here ! Support Sipsters by subscribing ! Contact me at sipste...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . 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 fe...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . 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 o...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . 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 revea...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . 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.  Welcome to the Sipsters Podcast! Thank you for listening to the Sipster's Podcast. Find us online a...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . 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 longes...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . Blind tastings are a fun way to hone your skills. In this episode, I have assembled a team of amazing tasters to help solve the mystery wine. Will anyone get it right? Is that the point? Find out as we taste through a wine that Blair shared with us.  Welcome to the Sipsters Podcast! Thank you for listen...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . What does it really mean to buy local? Has that changed for us Canadians with all of the political things happening in the US? Is it a stretch to call a Mexican wine local?  Jess and I delve into this topic over two 'local' wines that aren't from BC.  Welcome to the Sipsters Podcast! Than...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . In her never-ending quest to provide amazing experiences for her tour guests, Farm to Glass Wine Tour owner Jessie Hopwood re-reads Valleys of Wine, the only comprehensive history of BC's wine industry. In this special podcasts, she interviews the author and finds out how much he remembers with an...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . Ever wondered about wine competitions? Where do wines get their gold and silver awards? What do they mean?? Jess and I tackle this controversial topic.  But wait, there's more! The wine word of the day - or is it week - is Punt. Do you prefer a bottle with out or without? Do you know what it is? We...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . We're back! Jess joins me from her flex space (aka the Podcast Closet) for this quick chat about the possibility of adding video to the Sipster's Podcast. What do you think? Is it worth it? Are we really that awesome looking? Send us an email or a comment somewhere and let us know.  We also di...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . This episode is a chat with Jillian Hillier, better known online as @faretheewellbychefjill . Chef Jill has a lot to say about eating healthy and all of those dietary restrictions that everybody seems to have these days. I met her last November at the Crushable Club Wine Studio in Toronto, run by wine m...

Text us your wine questions, craziest wine experiences, or if you just have a comment for us. . This week’s podcast is a revisit with Jennifer Carleton. We recorded her previous podcast last spring over a video call when we were both in the Okanagan Valley. She invited me to visit her amazing wine room at her home in Peterborough, Ontario at some point if I was ever there and, last November, I was...