Riesling grapes are indigenous to the Rhine and the Mosel, but not to the Okanagan. Pinots are indigenous to the Rhône, but not to the Similkameen or the Shuswap. It’s just the […]
Indigenous Life and Grapes
Voodoo Grapes in the Okanagan
Grape growing has its rituals. If you’re going to take a plant that roots itself as it tumbles down hot volcanic soils on river banks in humid Europe and move it around […]
A Teacher of Post Settlement Language
The name’s inadequate: Choke Cherry. Wild cherry. And “cherry”? Etymologically it might be from a lost language in Asia Minor. But, really, come on, it is a vocalization of the movement you […]
When Terroir is Terror
Isn’t it… … about time … … that the growing of … … wine grapes … … and the concept of terroir… … be separated … …completely and forever?
Do You Digest Your Food Outside Your Body?
Birds do. Here’s a clutch of haws that have used frost and sun to break their acids down into sugars. This is the time of year that birds will come for them […]
Getting Grounded in the Okanagan
Huckleberries are nature. The old benches at Bridgeport, their sage, orchards, cheatgrass and windbreaks, are all nature, as is the controlled Columbia River. The abandoned orchard in Grand Coulee below, and its […]
The Glory That is Paul Terbasket’s Apricot Tree
In 1915, Paul Terbasket of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band was jailed for disobeying a foolish court order and watering his orchard. One apricot tree remains. His land is leased out to […]
Indigenous and Non Indigenous Grape Growing
In the sandy Kaiserstuhl in Germany, where grapes are native and wine has been made since before the romans marched into town, wine growers have learned to use buckwheat to build up […]
Celtic, Greek and Earth-Based Creativity
Back in the old days that are still alive with us now … The Celtic Alps, over Lac Neuchâtel … people came from the East with the treasure of life … The […]
Why Wine Gives You a Buzz
In case you were wondering!
Okanagan Okanogan 