deVine Thoughts

Author: Ed Fong

A big Thank You! to everyone who came out in support of the YWCA’s “Walk a Mile in her Shoes” fundraiser and wine tasting. Together, we raised and donated $1,625.00. Funds will be used for the YWCA’s Family Violence Prevention Programs.

Thank you to my fellow male teammates who were brave enough to don a pair of heels to make this event a success. From left to right are Chris Arnold in his black, patent heels, myself Ed Fong in 5 inch, pointy toed Italian Gianrico Mori stiletto pumps, Rick Langlois in mid-heeled strappy sandals (note the painted toe nails) and Dirk Chan in eye popping patent red stiletto court shoes. Not pictured is volunteer extraordinaire Bob Parsons. You guys displayed great sportsmanship and agility! Thankfully, no injuries were reported, except for the residual pain of aching calf muscles the following morning. Donalda, thanks for capturing this wonderful moment in time.

We would also like to thank our partnering wine importers who donated all the wonderful vino in support of this event. Bravo to you!

The main event for the Walk a Mile in her Shoes campaign takes place on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at Churchill Square. If you would like to participate or learn more about this event, please visit this page: http://payment.csfm.com/events/ywca_edmonton_pages/index.php

If you would like to make a donation towards my continuing fundraising efforts, please click this link: here..

With your generosity, I have now surpassed by personal goal of raising $2,000 for this very worthy cause. Thank you to all who donated their time, effort, encouragement and financial support.

All the best,

Ed (more…)

Author: Ed Fong

Each December, deVine Wines holds two sold out wine tasting events featuring some of the best value driven wines the team has recently discovered. We will be hosting a special session of Best Bang for the Buck tasting on Thursday, September 6th, in support of the YWCA’s Walk A Mile in Her Shoes Campaign. All gross proceeds will be donated to the YWCA in support of their Family Violence Prevention Programs.

In the spirit of this fundraiser, Ed Fong, Managing Partner of deVine Wines, will serve wine to you in heels that evening. Ed will be joined by his male co-workers “man enough” to walk in similarly attired footwear. As incentive, those men attending the event in women’s shoes will be offered an additional 2% discount (in addition to our regular 10% tasting discount) off the wines tasted. So please come out and show your support for a great cause.

Seven fantastic wines will be showcased at this event: a Prosecco to attenuate your taste buds and set the mood, two whites, three reds and a Vintage Port. Tickets to this fundraiser are $25 each. If you would like to register for this event or view the full menu, please click
here..

Reservations can also be secured by calling the store at 780.421.9463.

Our goal is to sell a minimum of 60 tickets to raise $1,500 for the YWCA (over 50 tickets sold already). In 2010, Ed donned his stiletto pumps and participated in the first Walk a Mile in her Shoes event in Churchill Square. Your support and donations of $1,200 enabled Ed to become the top individual fundraiser in the walk. If you cannot attend the event but would still like to make a donation, please follow this
link..

Your pledge to me will help me reach my personal fundraising goal of $2,000.

To learn more about the Walk a Mile in her Shoes Campaign, please visit the YWCA’s
webpage..

If you want to help break the cycle of family violence and help keep women and children safe, you too can register and join the walk at Churchill Square on September 11.

Lastly, I would like to challenge the men in my industry to take a stand against family violence. If you own a wine or liquor store, a licensed establishment or you are a liquor agent, please join me in this cause. I would love to see your male competitive spirit top my own fundraising goals. To you, I throw down the gauntlet! Are you man enough to stand up to me, in heels!

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Guest Author: Noreen Hoskins of TEC

TEC Edmonton is participating for the first time in Row for Kids – Hardy staff and incubator tenants at TEC Edmonton have formed a crew of eight to challenge other corporate crews in a bid to raise funds for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. Race day is on Saturday September 8, 2012.

Row for Kids is a joint fundraiser for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Edmonton Rowing Club. While PCL Construction Management Inc. initially conceived the program, Golder Associates LTD is the lead for Row for Kids in 2012.

Racing! – I feel the need – the need for speed… (from Top Gun – as if you didn’t know!)
Race Day is always a blast as corporate crews battle it out for the opportunity to raise their hands in victory forever immortalized (cue We Are the Champions). Telford Lake in Leduc, Alberta is the locale for head-to-head races on a 750-metre course. Face painting, Balloon characters, jumping castles – oh my! Bring the kids along because there’s a lot to do at this family-oriented event.

Meeting the fundraising challenge: TEC Edmonton’s WINE GRAB – What would be a race without handicaps? Teams earn three seconds off their race times (up to a maximum of 30 seconds) for each $1,000 they raise. TEC Edmonton is aiming to raise enough money to cushion their efforts – not that we need to, of course. Ergo: TEC Edmonton’s First Annual Wine Grab. Philanthropic wine-lovers can enter to win up to four cases of wine. The cash proceeds of the Wine Grab go directly to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. Here’s how it works:

1. Peeps pay a $25 entry fee to members of the TEC Edmonton Crew to participate in the Grab;

2. Participants also need to purchase a bottle of wine to donate to the Grab: Any wine donated to the growing pool of wine (the prizes for the Wine Grab draw) must be purchased from deVine Wines & Spirits.

3. With each entry participants will receive a card containing a purchase code: Participants receive a 10% discount when they purchase their “wine donation” in person (must present card) at deVine Wines & Spirits or on deVine’s website (must indicate purchase code in the ‘Customer Comments box’ to receive the discount) – devinewines.ca. Random draws will determine the winners of multiples of four cases (or partial for the last draw).

Please Note: A minimum purchase of $24.99 is required for the “wine donation”. All bottles purchased for the Wine Grab will be safely stored at Devine Wines after purchase (i.e. you purchase the wines at deVine Wines but you don’t take it with you). The more memberships you buy, the better odds of winning!

TEC Edmonton will have a table set up at deVine Wines on Saturday September 1, 2012 from 11am to 3pm. Come on down to purchase your tickets for the Wine Grab, and sample some wines in the process. Can’t make it? Contact the TEC Edmonton Crew by email at tecwinegrab@gmail.com to inquire about participating.

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Author: Ed Fong

Each December, deVine Wines holds two sold out wine tasting events featuring some of the best value driven wines the team has recently discovered. We will be hosting a special session of Best Bang for the Buck tasting on Thursday, September 6th, in support of the YWCA’s Walk A Mile in Her Shoes Campaign. All gross proceeds will be donated to the YWCA in support of their Family Violence Prevention Programs.

In the spirit of this fundraiser, Ed Fong, Managing Partner of deVine Wines, will serve wine to you in heels that evening. Hopefully, Ed will be joined by his male co-workers “man enough” to walk in similarly attired footwear. So please come out and show your support for a great cause.

Seven fantastic wines will be showcased at this event: a Prosecco to attenuate your taste buds and set the mood, two whites, three reds and a Vintage Port. Tickets to this fundraiser are $25 each. If you would like to register for this event or view the full menu, please click
here..

Reservations can also be secured by calling the store at 780.421.9463.

Our goal is to sell a minimum of 60 tickets to raise $1,500 for the YWCA. In 2010, Ed donned his stiletto pumps and participated in the first Walk a Mile in her Shoes event in Churchill Square. Your support and donations of $1,200 enabled Ed to become the top individual fundraiser in the walk. If you cannot attend the event but would still like to make a donation, please follow this
link..

Your pledge to me will help me reach my personal fundraising goal of $2,000.

To learn more about the Walk a Mile in her Shoes Campaign, please visit the YWCA’s
webpage..

If you want to help break the cycle of family violence and help keep women and children safe, you too can register and join the walk at Churchill Square on September 11.

Lastly, I would like to challenge the men in my industry to take a stand against family violence. If you own a wine or liquor store, a licensed establishment or you are a liquor agent, please join me in this cause. I would love to see your male competitive spirit top my own fundraising goals. To you, I throw down the gauntlet! Are you man enough to stand up to me, in heels!

(more…)

Author: Dirk Chan

Veuve Clicquot and its instantly recognizable Yellow Label is one of the most renowned French Champagne houses. The luxury Champagne house is famous for its innovative accessories for its Champagnes. Every year, Veuve rethinks its coolbox collection, in order to offer their motto of “freedom to consume champagne anytime, anywhere”.

And voila, new to the Alberta market is the new giftbox, the Veuve Clicquot Fridge. Designed by Denis Boudard of QSLD Paris, this new coolbox design was inspired by the fridges from the 1950’s. It will fit any of the Veuve Champagnes and will keep it cool and at ideal serving temperature for up to 2 hours.

Handy and aesthetically appealing, this re-usable, retro-chic and so very cool fridge box would be an ideal gift for any Champagne lover! It comes with a bottle of its famous Yellow Label NV Brut. This limited edition release will be in the market only briefly, so grab yours while supplies last.

Purchase it online here..

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Author: Dirk Chan

At deVine’s, we believe anytime is a good time for Sparkling Wines and Champagne, not just in the winter or for special celebratory occasions. They are amongst the most versatile food pairing wines available. Always have some bubbles in your fridge and you’ll be set for any emergency. Great as a starter to any event, try with chips, sushi, smoked salmon, goat cheese, KFC and other fried foods, caviar or by themselves.

Our very popular Summer Bubbles tasting returns on Saturday, August 11th at 7pm. Join us as we sample an array of sparkling wines from France (Loire Valley), Canada, New Zealand and Italy (Prosecco). Pinks, whites and sparkling reds will be in the mix not to mention the real thing, Champagne and perhaps a sweet Moscato d’Asti to finish.

Tickets are already selling quickly so don’t hesitate to avoid disappointment.. (only 34 seats for this sit-down event). Pre-register here..

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Author: Dirk Chan

The 2012 London Olympics start the end of this week, and as we’ve done in the past with other major sports events like the World Cup of Soccer and the Tour de France, we thought this time, it would be fun to do a tasting of ‘Olympic’ proportions.

So, on Thursday, August 2 at 7pm, at a week into the Summer Games, we will be doing a stand-up competitive tasting featuring seven red wines in the $25-$30 range from seven participating wine producing countries. The participating countries will be based on the availability of wines from the top medalling countries as of the Monday of the week of the event. Registered attendee’s are encouraged to come in their favourite countries flag colors.

At the end of the night, the participants will be the judges as we do a quick show of hands to award gold, silver and bronze medals to the wines tasted. The final lineup of wines will be revealed the week of the event on our website.

You can pre-register for The Wine Olympics here..

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Author: Dirk Chan

deVine’s did a special order of Lustau sherries at the beginning of the year and they’ve finally arrived. Given the shortage of Sherry producers represented in Alberta, here is a chance to acquire some choice selections from this ancient (dates back to 1896) and reliable house, located in Jerez de la Frontera near Cadiz in Andalusia, the main town for sherry producers.

We’ve brought in two main ranges of sherries – the Solera Reserva range (saving specific amounts of sherries year after year for the purpose of blending a final product) and the Almacenista range (from cellars of a local businesmen who ages the sherries as a hobby rather than a profession). As well, we’re offering a few limited release sherries.

For the novice, sherries are fortified wines made from the indigenous white grape Palomino – they come in various styles (dizzying in fact there are so many) ranging from dry, light (Fino) to darker and heavier versions (Oloroso) to something in between (Amontillado) to dessert sweet ones (made from Moscatel or Pedro Ximenez grapes). Alcohol ranges from 15% up.

Terribly underappreciated and thus very affordable, sherries are unbelievably great for food pairing. Different styles of sherries can match beautifully with salads, soups, seafood stew, to ravioli to fois gras, or pour over ice cream or most oftenly used as a digestif (served slightly chilled). Experiment with sherry and you’ll discover a door that swings wide open to mystery and amazement.

Listed below are links to currently available Lustau’s. These are limited so please grab them while they last:

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Author: Dirk Chan

Many thanks to the participants and the volunteers and organizers of the 4th Annual 104th-Street Block Party saturday, it was a fun indeed for all concerned. Al Fresco may be over, but the auction in support of the Zebra Child Protection Centre is not. The auction will continue all this week and ends this Saturday, June 16th at 6pm. If you really want an item, we suggest you be in the store to bid in person at this time.

However, if you can’t make it down to the store and want to place an absentee bid. All absentee bids must be to us by 3pm, Saturday, June 16th by sending an email to info@devinewines.ca. Please include item#, maximum bid, your contact info in the email and we will bid on your behalf in $10 increments up to your specified maximum.

Note we have given an extra week’s time for bidding so that the street artists’ works can gain their maximum exposure and bidding potential. These wonderful works are now on full display at the store, along with all the other auction items. Pictured right is Auction Item #82 – Al Fresco Art by Danskee, already fetching a high bid of $1000 – you need to view this in person to grasp the scope of the piece!

Winners will be contacted the week of June 18th – we’re asking the winners to come in to pickup and pay (only by cash or cheque made out to ‘Zebra Child Protection Centre’) for their winning items within 2 weeks of being contacted.

Please visit our online auction page now.
More street art after the jump..

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Author: Dirk Chan

The 104th-Street community is thrilled to present this coming Saturday, June 9, the 4th annual Al Fresco block party and fundraiser. So many people from the community have worked hard to plan this exciting day so we hope you can all join us for the festivities. Proceeds of numerous events will go towards this year’s charity of choice – the Zebra Child Protection Centre, a non-profit, community-based organization that was established in 2002 to improve the lives of children who have suffered abuse. Through Zebra’s community partnerships, the Centre is able to provide children and their families with essential social, medical and mental health services and supports. To find out more, please visit their website at http://www.zebracentre.ca

Below please find the schedule of events for Saturday, June 9th:

Schedule of Events:

8:30am – 11:00am – DECL Pancake Breakfast , on 102 Ave & 104 Street by Ric’s Grill – (a minimum $2 donation to Zebra Child Protection Centre)

9:00am – 3:00pm – Farmers Market

Noon – Pride Parade starts on 107 Street and 102 Ave & travels to Churchill Square

Noon – 8:00pm (last admittance 7:00pm) – Fine Wine, Beer & Spirits Tasting in the Melcor Parking Lot – $25 CASH ONLY donation to Zebra Child Protection Centre to access this area. (18 & over only)

5:00pm – 7:00pm – Melcor Kids Zone! (Pocket Park behind Sobeys)

5:00pm – 10:00pm – Extended Patios, , Fashion Alley and more from your favourite 104th Street Merchants!

5:00pm – 11:00pm – The biggest “What the Truck?!” event yet, on 104th St north of Jasper Avenue (10 food trucks – come hungry)

5:00pm – 11:00pm – Stage Performances, Fashion Show & Drag Queens!

Stage Perfomances (5:00pm – 11:00pm):

MitchMatic

Polyesterday

Axe & Smash

Fashion Show (approx 6:30pm)

Drag Queens

Dusty Grooves

Mass Choir

AllOut DJ’s

Souljah Fyah (approx 9:20pm)

Dane & Junior Brown

In the meantime our online auction is well under way – the auction is a major component of the fundraising for the Zebra Child Protection Centre. Over eighty items are now on display at deVine’s and bidding is accepted both at the store and online.

This year, the auction will end at 6pm, Saturday, June 16th (a week after Al Fresco day). The extra week is because we want to give more time for bidding of the masterworks created by the various street artists. These works will be on display at deVine’s the week following Al Fresco Day. All absentee bids must be in by 3pm, Saturday, June 16th by sending an email to info@devinewines.ca. Winners will be contacted the week of June 18th – we’re asking the winners to claim their wins within 2 weeks of being contacted.

Please visit our online auction page now.

How Can I Help?

Donate your time. The Al Fresco Planning Committee is always looking for eager volunteers to help us run this exciting event. If you would like to volunteer your time, please contact Caitlin McElhone at 780.761.6682 or email Caitlin here

As well, see the various related Shaw TV interviews about Al Fresco:

Barbara Spencer of the Zebra Child Protection Centre

Al Fresco with deVine’s Ed Fong

What the Truck?!

DJ Junior Brown

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