Friends,

Another illustrious year of wine comes to a close. Here’s list of 100 things I am grateful for over the last 10 years. The list is by no means exhaustive!

1. 1.
   My wife Janalyn who talked me into this
2. 2.
   My partners who put up with me
3. 3.
   The great team at oenopole who works hard day in, day out to get that job done just right
4. 4.
   Our amazing producers who trust us with their fermented juice
5. 5.
   Our wonderful clients who make all this happen
6. 6.
   The SAQ employees that let me call them “Bro”
7. 7.
   My resto clients who let me call them “Bro”
8. 8.
   The chalky soils of Champagne that give life to that exquisite nectar with bubbles
9. 9.
   The Mistral that blows across the Rhone Valley and ruffles the Grenache bush vines
10. 10.
    The slopes of the Langhe that cradle the king of grapes, Nebbiolo
11. 11.
    The volcano of Santorini that in spite of destroying the island thousands of years ago, gave birth to the most singular terroir of the Mediterranean
12. 12.
    The mountain vineyards of Northern Italy which produce cool wines with electricity
13. 13.
    The hard, calloused hands of vignerons who pick the grapes for us
14. 14.
    The sound of a cork popping off a bottle of white wine after a long day of work
15. 15.
    Selling Greek wine to non-Greek restaurants
16. 16.
    Carbonic Maceration
17. 17.
    Semi-Carbonic Maceration
18. 18.
    Having children who love wine
19. 19.
    The roar of laughter that ensues after you have opened the third Jero of Nuits d’Ivresse
20. 20.
    Unsulfured wine that smells like weed
21. 21.
    Skin contact wines from Friuli
22. 22.
    Wines with 11% alc./vol.
23. 23.
    120 year-old Carignan in Roussillon tended by Cyril Fhal
24. 24.
    Wine that was made before you were born that you drink with your family
25. 25.
    Real Marsala from the De Bartoli family
26. 26.
    Pet Nat after midnight
27. 27.
    Anything from Bruno Schueller
28. 28.
    Pinot Noir without new oak
29. 29.
    Tasting white wines before 10 am
30. 30.
    Gamay on granite soils
31. 31.
    Drinking Chamonard’s Morgon with 20 years of bottle age for Bojo Pas Nouvo
32. 32.
    The view from Yianni Economou’s vineyard on a late spring day
33. 33.
    The first wine fair I went to in Greece in 2005
34. 34.
    Vladis Sclavos pouring me a glass of wine
35. 35.
    Tasting from barrel in Bandol with Danel Ravier at Tempier
36. 36.
    Sipping Retsina by the sea with a plateful of grilled octopus
37. 37.
    Hooking up with Martin Labelle, Labelle Bouteille
38. 38.
    Montreal wine bars
39. 39.
    Ungrafted Robola vines on Cephalonia
40. 40.
    Barolo, you sexy beast
41. 41.
    Barbaresco, my Queen
42. 42.
    Etna, with a plume of smoke hovering over the Nerello Mascalese
43. 43.
    Drinking Julien Labet’s wines after smoking hashish
44. 44.
    Sipping Muscadet with oysters, for hours
45. 45.
    Meeting Yorgos Ioannidis in Greece, he opened my eyes
46. 46.
    Guzzling Rosé with a couple of years bottle age while grilling bavette
47. 47.
    Roasting whole lamb on the spit while sipping unsulfured Xynomavro
48. 48.
    Prime Rib and Chateauneuf-du-Pape made by Jean-Paul Daumen
49. 49.
    Michelle Marek and Seth Gabrielse cooking for us on the terrace of the SAT Foodlab with a gang of Greek winemakers visiting Montreal
50. 50.
    Having Haridimos Hatzidakis walk you through the myriad of vineyards of Santorini, explaining every possible detail and nuance
51. 51.
    Tasting wine with Sam Chevalier, whose insight is always on point
52. 52.
    Meeting Veronique Dalle at the ITHQ, she opened up my palate
53. 53.
    My son Sebastien calling me up asking for advice on buying wine
54. 54.
    Visiting the Mercouri Estate for the first time
55. 55.
    Elena Pantaleone’s smile
56. 56.
    Giusto Occhipinti’s laughter
57. 57.
    Arianna Occhipinti’s eyes
58. 58.
    Landing Joe Beef and Toqué! as my first resto clients
59. 59.
    Travelling through the Loire Valley with my daughter Cezanne, who did all the driving
60. 60.
    Meeting Beppe Rinaldi
61. 61.
    Eating lamb chops and drinking Savatiano with Vassili and Tonia Papagiannakos at Lakis’ tavern in Kouvara
62. 62.
    Watching Yiannis Argyros draw 50 year-old Vinsanto from barrel
63. 63.
    Late night tastings with Cassady
64. 64.
    Being served at the bar of Nora Gray by Ryan
65. 65.
    James opening up anything at Liverpool House
66. 66.
    Vanya Filipovic coming at ya with a bottle and smile, and saying “try this”
67. 67.
    Visiting the hills of Mantinia the first time with Yiannis Tselepos
68. 68.
    Eating dinner and talking Naoussa with Stergios and Apostolos Thymiopoulos
69. 69.
    Surviving near alcohol poisoning with Karim Vionnet
70. 70.
    Natural wines from Tuscany
71. 71.
    Pouring magnums
72. 72.
    Drinking magnums
73. 73.
    Smoking a cigarette with Dave McMillan outside of Vin Papillon
74. 74.
    Presenting new wines at a Salon with a winemaker next to me
75. 75.
    Eating wild boar with Alain Pascal at his winery, Domaine du Gros Noré
76. 76.
    Drinking Prosecco in Verona
77. 77.
    Tasting Valentini’s wines for the first time
78. 78.
    Eating veal sweetbreads with Claire Naudin’s Pinot
79. 79.
    Tasting Xynomavro with Kosti Dalamara and his dad, Yianni
80. 80.
    Meeting Tom Lubbe
81. 81.
    The way my hand trembles when I open a Barolo from Bartolo Mascarello
82. 82.
    The light bouncing of the Aegean
83. 83.
    Slurping sea urchins on rocks by a beach in Mani with a bottle of Assyrtico
84. 84.
    The smell of summer mountain air in Crete
85. 85.
    Eating souvlaki and drinking plonk in Monasteraki, Athens
86. 86.
    Hanging out with Manu Lassaigne
87. 87.
    The immense pleasure of banging my head on the cellar door when I go downstairs to fetch another bottle for dinner with friends and family
88. 88.
    Ordering “Brajol” at Boucherie Chez Vito to pair with a funky bottle of Del Prete Negroamaro
89. 89.
    Spending the day with Panayiotis of Tetramythos at a beachside tavern in the Peloponnese drinking Roditis
90. 90.
    Watching a very excited Theo Lerikos clean his shrooms at Tuck Shop
91. 91.
    Tasting with Jon Cercone at Tavern on the Square while (not) eating pineapple pizza
92. 92.
    Trying a Brunello from Paradiso di Manfredi for the first time
93. 93.
    Tasting Argyros Vinsanto with Dave Ward, at SAM and telling him the best pairing is “Spliff”
94. 94.
    Drinking and smoking with my co-workers after a busy shift at Le Club Chasse et Pêche
95. 95.
    Reading Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route
96. 96.
    Eating wild asparagus risotto with Filippo Filippi at his family’s 15th century home in the hills of Castelcerino
97. 97.
    Cooking and drinking with Craig
98. 98.
    Opening an aged bottle of Yianni’s Liatiko to anyone who has never tried wine from Crete
99. 99.
    Cappellano’s Chinato for breakfast on Christmas day
100. 100.
     Going to bed thinking: there is so much more to discover

Happy Holidaze everyone, and don’t forget to be grateful for what you’ve got.

Cheers!

Theo