Sinatra with Mia Farrow, Jackie O and Aristotle and my friends the Fab Four! They may all be just dead or just about there but they live at The Plaza!
RKS 2023 Wine: What is Going on at the Second Annual Wine and Travel Week in Porto?
What is the annual Wine and Travel Week? A conference and a key wine tourism event bringing together influential professionals and decision makers from around the world. It is a week of intense networking for vendors seeking to sell wine tourism products and buyers that are in the market to buy wine tourism products. It is expected there will be some 30 journalists present with proven wine tourism experience including knowledge of the global wine tourism market. Appreciation and the understanding of gastronomy is essential.
Where and when? The 2024 Wine and Travel Week will be held in Porto, Portugal on 18-25 February.
There will be a Wine and Travel Week Talk. There will be an internationally recognized expert who will address a topical issue pertaining to the wine tourism business and debate it with exhibitors, buyers and the media.
There will be wine and food experiences: There will be lunches, dinners and parties in Porto 18-20 February. The goal is bonding and networking. Expect food prepared by top Portuguese chefs and at least 10 Portuguese wines per meal.
There will be B2B Meetings: International exhibitors and buyers will be set up for 40 pre-scheduled meetings. All those responsible for wine tourism projects, agents and tour operators, tourist entertainment companies, specialists, associations and other professionals in the field will be able to participate. Special care has been taken regarding hosting of visitors, the choice of venues and selection of attendees, making this a global event dedicated to luxury wine tourism perfect for positioning projects and brands.
There will be post Porto tours of Portugal’s wine tourism centres: Planned in detail with Portuguese wine tourism regions these programmes explore the cross-selling between wine and activities that mark the identity of each region. Choices between The Azores, Alentejano, The Algarve, Central Region, Lisbon, Porto and North Portugal and Madeira. Prepare yourself for an intense experience that transcends a glass of wine. A tremendous opportunity to network and bond and meet tourism and regulatory officials, chefs, tour operators, media representatives and visit cultural sites. Buyers and media representatives will be asked to make two choices as to their preferred destination. If you are going to the Azores as I did last year be prepared for several flights but you will be rewarded to lush and spectacular scenery, luxury accommodations and seafood excellence. The “side trip” will be 2-3 days and will be conducted with small groups. There were 10 in mine.
There will be a massive wine show called Essência do Vinho in Porto from 23-25 February: Essência do Vinho predates Wine and Travel Week held since 2004 this event brings together producers from all of Portugal’s wine regions, promoting a programme of 40 plus themed masterclasses and experiences bringing an international delegation of on and off trade professionals to Porto’s Palácio da Bolsa a UNESCO World Heritage site and perhaps one of Porto’s most emblematic building. I was enthroned in a ceremony here becoming a knight in the Order of Brotherhood and where I learnt that Vintage Port paired with Portuguese ox should be shared with the world! The general public may attend by paying admission.
Media invitation requires registration: Some 30 media representatives will be selected to cover the event. Journalists who have an absolute passion for the world of travel and travel linked to wine tourism particularly experiential travel have a leg up to be “accepted”. This would be considered a press trip with flights, meals and accommodations provided at no cost to a media representative. If you have been on wine-based press trips you realize no amount of money can buy an experience like this. You will have access to B2B meetings, lunches, dinners and parties. Accommodation included. You will also be able to book meetings directly with exhibitors and buyers, have presence on app lists with links to your website (s). You may also have access to the massive Essência wine show in Porto on 23-24 February.
Wine tourism buyers require registration: Basically entitled to same benefits as media representatives.
Wine tourism vendors require registration: Vendors who can offer products with character and culturally immersive moments based on territory, heritage, wine and gastronomy.
Wine tourism exhibitors require registration: A fee is payable of 2,600€. Access to B2B meetings, lunches, dinners and parties with special hotel rates offered.
For my article on what wine tourism is you can check it out herehttps://www.winetravelweek.com/article/o-que-e-o-enoturismo-en .
For more information check the Wine and Travel website https://www.winetravelweek.com/
RKS 2023 Wine: Canadian Wine Tourism Falling Behind the Pack: Inattentive Guys Finish Last
The concept of wine tourism involves more than simply visiting a winery sampling wines and perhaps taking a tour of the vineyard and the cellars. Pardon my triteness but if you visited a few wineries have you visited them all? Terribly boring and repetitive after a time. Wine tourism necessitates businesses, tourist authorities, restaurants, wineries, providers of accommodation and governments work in tandem in order that these separate components firstly realize they must work together to create a symbiotic relationship and then draw up and execute an action plan. For example you visit a winery what better way to truly discover wines than consume wine with food. Does the winery have a restaurant, bistro or some light snack area? Are there restaurants close to the winery offering a gastronomic experience? Are there recognized “tourist sites” nearby? Are the wineries offering experiences such as musical events or offering specially catered events prepared by local chefs. Yoga or painting classes in the vineyard? Virtual cooking lessons including pairing of wines with the food being prepared? Each one of the gastronomic, touristic, governmental and winery components are in a symbiotic relationship as each benefits from wine tourism.
I attended the initial Wine and Travel Week in Porto, Portugal last February and had the opportunity to see how wine tourism works in theory and practice. There were regional Portuguese and international exhibitors. The concept of wine tourism is simplistic isn’t it! The difficult part is to establish it and that requires vision, a will to work in a symbiotic relationship and governmental funding.
Upon my return from Porto when visiting winery websites in the EU, Chile and Argentina I noticed many wineries have a tab to click “Wine Tourism” where they describe what wine, gastronomy and accommodations are available at the winery or nearby. They may offer linkages to tours of the area or offer them to patrons. I fail to see that tab in any convincing fashion in Canadian winery websites. The wineries are aware of the advantages of symbiotic touristic relationships but is there any vision to drive awareness into a unified approach?
And I don’t hear much about provincial or federal governments providing much funding to promote Canadian wineries abroad. Niagara wineries in Ontario are proximate to Niagara Falls, gastronomic establishments and numerous historical sites all solid selling points. At Wine and Travel Week I was taken in a group of 10 from Porto to Pico Island in the Azores. Eight were tour operators who looked at me in a puzzled fashion as I took notes on wines tried at Pico Island wineries. They happily drank (no spitting!) the wine. All they were interested in was there local wine and what were the local sites and what quality were the accommodations and what was a tourist to do to have fun! They asked why if Canada has such tremendous sights and a significant amount of wineries why weren’t there any Canadian exhibitors taking advantage of a rich base of tour operators to sell Canadian wine tourism. I ask myself why it is easier for me as a wine writer in Toronto to secure press trips to the EU to discover Euro wine tourism than it is to secure a funded invitation to the Okanagan a fantastic wine producing region. The answer I received, “No money”.
Perhaps my next step is to determine what funding is available to Canadian wineries from governmental authorities to promote Canadian wine tourism abroad.
RKS 2023 Film: “The Job of Songs”: A Beautifully Layered Documentary
Seeing the promo material for “The Job of Songs” and the words “traditional Irish music” I experienced very Canadian flashbacks of television shows “Don Messer’s Jubilee” and “The Pig and Whistle”. Teen PTSD!
Forcing myself to watch this Irish documentary was not easy. It took me three days of “yes watch” and “no watch”. As the credits rolled it was more like “glad I watched”.
The documentary focuses on the music and musicians of Doolin, County Clare in Western Ireland a picturesque small town situated near the famous Cliffs of Moher. Initially minutes with interesting musicians and that awful foot tapping of what the uninitiated may label as “Irish Pub Music”. However the musicians of Doolin go beyond what I dare say most ignorantly but from the heart this is music addressed to the many tourists that visit the Cliffs of Moher sort of like a bus tour of Americans in from Dublin.
Thankfully the music shifts from rollicking pub music to a more soulful style of music and we hear fascinating story of the musician’s memories, aspirations, and fears. Music is music isn’t it? Well sort of right? These Irish musicians could be members of The Grateful Dead in human terms. What comes out of their mouths and from their instruments may be different but in a soulful impact to their audience the job of music weaves its spell. Given a different musical bent I can easily picture Jimmy Hendrix playing the acoustic guitar in a Doolin County Clare pub. Am I confusing you? If I am not confusing you then you will transcend musical styles and penetrate the soul of musicians. And if you love Irish music revel in this film.
Although many talented and insightful music rolls toward you one number knocked me right over somewhat like the extreme left wing of Irish “traditional music” was a ballad by Katie Theasby. Move over Adele and Petula Clark be aware Katie has arrived in town. Pure Irish soul! Papa’s Got a Brand-New Flute!
This skillfully layered documentary was directed by Lila Schmitz and Anika Kan Grevstad.
You can see the trailer here https://vimeo.com/859646993
The doc will be released on digital platforms 21November2023.
RKS 2023 Film Rating: 90/100.
RKS Literature: Pain and Humour (Ken Kesey)
“Because he knows you have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy. He knows there is a painful side: he knows my thumb smarts and his girlfriend has a bruised breast and the doctor is losing his glasses, but he won’t let the pain blot out the humor no more’n he’ll let the humor blot out the pain”.
Ken Kesey, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, 1962.
RKS 2023 Film: “Rose”: Danish Epic Film Exhausts: Travels with a Schizophrenic
The Danish film “Rose” is an epic physical and spiritual journey of Inger (Sofie Gråbøl) on a bus trip from Denmark to Paris. Inger is institutionalized with schizophrenia but she is sufficiently functional (if not driven) to travel with her sister Ellen (Lene Marie Christensen) and husband Vagn (Anders W. Berthelsen) on a group coach tour to Paris from Denmark.
What follows on the screen is a riveting journey of mystery, suspense and disappointment for Ellen, Inger, Vagn and the entire group of coach passengers. The louder your anguish manifests itself near the conclusion of the film the more successful it is and considering the director is Niels Anders Oplev of The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo success is not surprising. You will be up and down with a full range of emotions to the point you must concede this film, just under two hours, is indeed an epic.
Inger’s mental illness is accepted by just about all the coach passengers except for the prig Andreas (Soren Malling) a tiresome, misguided and weak moralizer. But Inger can be charming and witty at times and paranoid at other times. Sofie Gråbøl delivers a masterful performance as Inger.
Learn about what triggered Inger’s schizophrenia. See sisterly love clash with an overbearing and protective mother. Question why children may accept mental illness and try and pierce it and form a bond with a mentally ill fellow human being. Who exactly is Rose in the film and is she killed off by the demon Goldensun? And finally the obsession of Vagn to visit Princess Di’s underpass crash is crucial to the fate of Inger.
And finally enjoy the sights of Paris. On my last two visits to Paris I stayed at a friend’s condo just around the corner from the Pont de l’Alma underpass where Princess Di uttered her last words. Having been to all the tourist spots in Paris and of course Versailles I felt strangely at home in a Paris outside the tourist enclaves and the film has me aching to return.
Theatrical release in Canada on 24November2023.
RKS 2023 Film Rating: 96/100.
RKS Literature: Aggravate Your Adversaries (Ken Kesey)
“Even McMurphy doesn’t seem to know he has been fogged in. If he does, he makes sure not to let on that he’s bothered by it. He’s making sure none of the staff see him bothered by anything: he knows that there’s no better way in the world to aggravate somebody who’s trying to make it hard for you than by acting like you’re not bothered.”
Ken Kesey, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, 1962.
RKS 2023 Wine: Bachelder Wismer Foxcroft 2021 Gamay Noir: Ontario Gamay Noir Establishing Itself in Ontario
I encountered Thomas Bachelder last Sunday at Toronto Hot Docs Theatre for a showing of “Crush; Message in a Bottle” and we exchanged brief pleasantries. Bachelder, Kelly Mason, Shiraz Mottiar and Anne-Marie Saunders were expressing their views as to growing grapes and making wine in the Niagara region of Ontario. I expressed my agreement with Balchelder’s comments made in the documentary Ontario winemaking is in in its infancy. It was only in the 1970’s that Ontario became serious about moving on from Baby Duck to something more serious. After all it took the monks of Burgundy hundreds of years to “perfect” Pinot Noir. So when I try a Niagara Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and even for many Pinot Noirs I wince. Growing pains?
Bachelder has made his mark in France, Oregon and Ontario with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and now with Gamay Noir. My views as to Niagara red wine is that Gamay and Cabernet Franc are in the game for Ontario wine excellence. Perhaps Gamay is behind Cabernet Franc in this game but not that far behind. Kudos to Shiraz Mottiar and Martin Malivoire of Malivoire Wines in Ontario for championing and experimenting with Gamay. Mottiar has the nickname of the King of Gamay in Ontario.
Now what about Bachelder Wismer Foxcroft 2021 Gamay Noir?
Aroma: Clean and pure is the name of the game here. Is this the Bachelder philosophy of wild yeast and low intervention speaking to us? In addition to the bright red cherry, blackberry, red currant, root beer and a gentle waft of healing smudge.
Palate: A bit of clinging minerality and acidity entangled with white pepper. Acidity in my book in red wine should be discrete and a backroom player like a quiet and wise investor banking and betting on this wine. However Bachelder may escape my early warning acidity system perhaps because of the counter balance of tannins boosted by 33% whole cluster composition. Blackberry and raspberry. Long spicy finish.
Personality: This writer has noted my acidity but I hope he understands that acidity is a natural component of all wine and that not all wine is meant to be consumed on its own. My acidity suits certain foods. I urge the writer here to not confuse acidity with minerality.
Food Match: The wine has spoken! A “foodie wine”. I’d pair with sauces made with local field tomatoes such as a Lasagna replacing the meat with Cremini mushrooms and Ontario Swiss Chard. As field tomatoes are no longer in season I would replace non-existent field tomatoes with Ontario canned tomatoes as opposed to less acidic Italian tomatoes.
Cellarbility: Sorry the acidity has me a bit worried and perhaps my sensitivity to it should be disclosed here! But could the acidity be more minerality than acidity! Bachelder recommends consuming between 2024-29. I say consume by the end of 2025. I respect Bachelder tremendously but the acidity (or minerality) has me concerned.
Price: $29.95 CDN (Ontario).
RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 87/100. Rick VanSickle 94.
(Bachelder Single Vineyard Wismer Foxcroft Vineyard 2021 33% Whole Cluster Gamay Noir, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Bachelder, Beamsville, Ontario, 750 mL, 12.5%).
Keith Haring’s “Art is For Everybody” at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario
Fotini Stephen (Toronto, 9November2023)
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has collaborated with the Broad Los Angeles to assemble a major exhibition of Keith Haring’s work. The exhibit displays a broad range of Haring’s work created in the short and highly prolific 10-year period in which he painted. The last AGO exhibit of his work was 25 years ago.
Keith Haring lived and worked in New York City in the 1980’s and emerged contemporaneously with other well known artists who lived and worked in New York City such as fellow artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, pop singer Madonna, performer and model Grace Jones and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
Many of these artists created art that reflected the rebellion of 1980’s urban youth. Although the artists may have captured a feeling and moment in time, their work continues to be relevant and has withstood the test of time. Keith Haring’s work is certainly no exception and in fact continues to grow in popularity since his death in 1990 at age 33, of AIDS related illnesses. One wonders what additional contributions and directions Haring would have taken had he lived longer.
The AGO exhibit focuses on Haring’s concept that “Art is for Everybody” which for Haring meant that art is essential in creating a better world and should therefore be accessible to everybody. This point of view also reflects Haring’s activism on a broad range of social issues, including apartheid, nuclear disarmament, UNICEF and AIDS.
The exhibit is divided into a number of sections including: Finding his Line, From Street Drawing to Gallery Walls, Party of Life, Monumental, Day-Glow, AIDS Activism, and Pop Shop Anti Capitalism. The latter referring to Haring’s pop shop opened in 1985 as a response to the theft of the public pictures he painted over blank and expired advertisements in the NYC subway.
The AGO has put together a fabulous exhibit of Keith Haring’s art focusing on the various stages of his life and art. It is a must-see exhibit for those who admire Keith Haring’s art but also for anyone looking to discover his art for the first time. People who have not grown up with Keith Haring’s art may be surprised to discover that a favourite T-shirt may actually contain a Keith Haring graphic.
Keith Haring, “Art is for Everybody” opens at the AGO from November 8, 2023 – March 17, 2024.
Keith Haring at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Exhibit “Art is For Everybody”: Behind the Scenes
One of the perks of membership in the arts media is “the sneak preview” and in this case it was with the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto on 7November2023 which included a panel discussion and then a leisurely and uncrowded walk through the exhibits for the Haring exhibition, “Art is for Everybody” the first major Haring exhibit in Canada in 25 years running its only Canadian stop at the AGO which runs from 8November2023 to 17March2024.
Keith Haring was born in 1958 and grew up in Kutztown, Pennsylvania where his father taught him to draw cartoons from Walt Disney and Dr. Seuss. In 1978 he moved to New York City to attend The School of Visual Arts. It was here that he embraced his homosexuality and soaked in the emerging hip hop and graffiti scene. He developed his visual style alongside the artists Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Haring died of complications from AIDS in 1990 at age 33.
The AGO panel consisted of;
- Gil Vazquez (Executive Director, Keith Haring Foundation)
- Sarah Loyer (Curator and Exhibitions Manager, The Broad, Los Angeles)
- Georgiana Uhlyarik (Fredrik S. Eaton, Curator of Canadian Art, AGO)
Vazquez met Haring at 18 years of age and later became Executive Director of the Keith Haring Foundation. Vazquez noted the amazing energy, warmth and generosity of Haring. Haring wanted art for everybody and not the New York cloistered art world. An example of art being for everybody was Haring’s subway murals bringing the art gallery to those who were not art gallery frequenters. Haring thought it was the responsibility of the artist to reach out to the people. Haring established the Foundation so that his art could be carried on to future generations. The Foundation focuses on children and the struggle of those afflicted with AIDS.
Loyer of The Broad in Los Angeles was responsible for organizing “Art is For Everybody”. Loyer noted that Haring addressed global events in his art using images from around the globe including indigenous art. In 1986 he opened the Pop Shop a retail art shop which was a reaction to the capitalist art world. It was founded after his subway drawing period ended in 1985. Apparently his subway drawings were being stolen right after he finished them.
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