“Humbled in the age of the Anthrocene” - Nick Cave

“Humbled in the age of the Anthrocene” - Nick Cave

At this very moment, Time must be seized, and in a less tentative, much more lusty way than the solid advice of Carpe Diem. Day after day, the grounds shifts and we must do what humans have proven themselves capable of doing over millennia: adapt to survive. But we are creatures that need nourishment of the mind and spirit as well.

So seize the moment to work from home if you can, walk down the now quiet streets, safely wandering into the previously forbidden lanes of the automobile. Listen to sounds that come out of a quieted city; you may not have ever heard them before.

Voting for the Future

Voting for the Future

“It is Time to get drunk! If you are not to be the martyred slaves of Time, be perpetually drunk! With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you please.”
Charles Baudelaire


If this pandemic continues long enough to exhaust useful Baudelaire quotes, we're all in serious trouble. 150 years after they were written, his words resound with wisdom; although as much as we all love poetry, we've noticed that it takes a considerable amount to achieve drunkenness. In idle, isolated times, and while fleeing the tyrannical pursuit of one's thoughts, wine is an indispensable ally.

We're Still Here For You...You Just Can't Come In.

We're Still Here For You...You Just Can't Come In.

We love wine. We care about it deeply - it is more than our livelihood, it is a comforting constant in our daily lives. We also love to share it with you, but in this new world order, we all need to act responsibly and show that we can adapt, survive and work towards a future where we thrive.


Current realities cannot be ignored. We will be moving to a pick-up and delivery operation only with the following new hours:

Monday to Saturday 10am - 6pm and Sunday noon - 5pm*.

Neither Rain nor Snow nor International Pandemics...

Neither Rain nor Snow nor International Pandemics...

Our primary concern is the health and safety of our customers and colleagues, but we also recognize that these bewildering times would be even more daunting without the access to good wine. For the time being, we will remain open for business, abiding our usual hours of operation. We have always maintained high standards of hygiene, but can assure you that in light of the current situation, we have become even more conscious of the essentials therein (we won't bore you with the details). That being said, we understand and respect your potential preference for social distancing, and perhaps the avoidance of retail spaces. If this is the case, we can still serve you.

Introducing Schätzel Riesling

Introducing Schätzel Riesling

Early on in my wine career, I was briefly employed by a regrettably commercial wine agency who was in the process of purging their portfolio of interesting wine. Commissioned with the task of liquidating a few lingering cases of 2005 Gunderloch Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Auslese, I naturally took advantage of the situation to pull the cork on a bottle. This precipitated a veritable revelation; the wine didn't just solidify my love for German wine, it turned me into a lifelong Riesling lunatic. Thus, one of my pivotal Riesling epiphanies was catalyzed by a bottle from the Rheinhessen's Rheinfront, or Roter Hang (Red Slope).

The Old School Barber

The Old School Barber

I sat down in the barber chair and Joe draped the gown around me. He’s an elderly but hale Italian man who’s been lowering ears at Elveden House Barber Shop since the early 1960s. Usually very talkative, Joe was uncharacteristically laconic on this particular occasion so I took the opportunity to ask a question that had been on my mind for several years:

“Say, Joe? How'd you end up in Calgary?”

It was as simple as that, and I didn't really say another word for the next hour as Joe's story unfolded. (My haircuts usually take less than 30 minutes, but Joe often stopped to gesticulate, ponder a date or silently reminisce).

Canine Wisdom

Canine Wisdom

My wife and I said farewell to our elderly dog, Nika, last week. She was at least 16 years old, and I had the pleasure of spending the last 12 years with her. Her passing inspired me to dig up the following, which I wrote earlier this year and now wish to share with you:

Nika rests while I write this. As she gruntingly exhales and stirs into deeper realms of comfort, I marvel at the simplicity of her methods to improve lives, and the dissonance between the innate, instinctive wellspring of joy that she inspires versus the debilitating “wisdom” that our society has proliferated for centuries.

No! No Nouveau!

No! No Nouveau!

Hey, Hey- don’t get me wrong... I have an immense fondness, nay, outright love for Beaujolais! I am a freakin’ John the B level evangelist for this region’s wine! But I have a very strong belief that the only way Beaujolais Nouveau tastes good is on a long, drunken stroll through the streets, bistros and bouchons of Lyon on a chilly November night.

Metrovino Loves Sherry

Metrovino Loves Sherry

“Sherry is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing wines to ever grace my palate. It is simultaneously meditative and transcendental, possessing intrinsic flavour complexities and managing to fantastically pair with virtually anything that you’re eating. Sherry is your best friend and your lover; just when you think you understand all of its nuances, it reveals a new facet of itself that you didn't know existed... you thereupon fall even deeper in love, continually captivated and curious…”

Earth's Satisfied Exhalation

Earth's Satisfied Exhalation

Autumn is earth's satisfied exhalation. It's a season of strong character but it’s also precarious, often threatening an early segue into the tyranny of winter. If spring is spontaneous, autumn is pensive. If summer is frivolous, autumn is sentimental. If winter is dormant, autumn is a wise acquiescence of finality. In autumn, passions crackle like leaves underfoot, and when they take shape on still mornings, they hold form with stubborn, overwhelming clarity.