Neal McLennan

Sep 6, 2024 | l8r.it | Neal McLennan

Wine peeps are among the secretly most judgy folks around. The big Cab folks make jokes about the flaws the natty wine kids endure, the Burgundy lovers are dismissive of the boldness of Cali Pinot, the low intervention group shudder at the high intervention of Argentine Malbec. Oh and Meoimi – you’re either hard for or hard against. But one of the few things everyone who cares about wine can agree on—the greatness of Krug. Seriously.

Aug 15, 2024 | l8r.it | Neal McLennan

You know the rub: after months of back-and-forth the big deal has closed and the boss wants you to choose a spot to celebrate; or maybe you’ve been working late for weeks and your anniversary has suddenly crept up on you.

Jul 25, 2024 | l8r.it | Neal McLennan

Let’s start with the bad news: British Columbians live in a terrible jurisdiction for collecting wine. The combination of our high taxes and a government monopoly means we have the double whammy of limited selection and steep prices—not exactly Warren Buffett territory. And your ability to bring wine into the province from more liberal wine neighbours to the south is curtailed by insanely punitive duty‚ the highest in Canada.

Jul 17, 2024 | l8r.it | Neal McLennan

Having a civilized drink in public should not be a source of shame. How many of us have returned from a European sojourn and marvelled at how our Italian counterparts don’t suddenly erupt into mass chaos because they can have a glass of verdicchio while strolling on the Via Corso?

May 2, 2024 | l8r.it | Neal McLennan

There are as many opinions on that as there are people tending the vines, but here’s a metric that I like: what wine do industry people pour for international winemakers to show the potential of our terroir? It’s riesling. Other varietals aren’t even close.