Luke Whittall's Books

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 Must-Try BC Wines: Volume 2

By: Luke Whittall

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 Must-Try BC Wines: Volume 2

By: Luke Whittall

The eagerly awaited second installment in the offbeat BC wine guide the Vancouver Sun calls “the perfect go-to.” Following on the popularity of Volume 1, which the Vancouver Sun called “the perfect go-to guide,” the second installment of The Sipster’s Pocket Guide brings the same offbeat, lateral thinking and experiential focus to a whole new batch of BC wines. Wine expert and educator Luke Whittall shares his love of and sense of humour about the industry as he presents his top 50 wines under $50 (including many under $30). With food and activity pairings that range from romantic to radical (berry-laced desserts and long-distance relationships, poached salmon and puns, hot dogs and off-grid living), and an index of attitudes that let you choose a wine based on your mood (be it drill sergeant or rancher, pastoral or paisley), the Sipster’s guides are anything but stuffy. Divided into chapters on sparkling, white, rosé, red, and dessert wines, the book finishes up with a beginner’s guide to grape varieties in BC and a primer on the grand cru designation and how it pertains to our province. Sipster’s Volume 2 is the perfect companion for that on-the-fly wine purchase and for those who want to dig a little deeper. Learn about classics like Pinot Grigio, how Chardonnay in BC almost went the way of Merlot post-Sideways, and how to not only find but also pronounce a great Siegerrebe.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

125

Publisher

TouchWood Editions

Published Date

ISBN 10

1771513950

ISBN 13

9781771513951

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 Must-Try BC Wines: Volume 1

By: Luke Whittall

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 Must-Try BC Wines: Volume 1

By: Luke Whittall

A perfect pocket guide that collects 50 of the most seek-worthy wines in BC from the wine expert who’s tried them all. In this handy portable guide to the top 50 British Columbia wines under $50 a bottle, wine expert Luke Whittall abandons the usual language of tasting notes in favour of a more personalized, approachable style, focusing on experiences, good company, and where a wine might take your thoughts. As a wine industry professional, Whittall found himself inspired more by the way non-professionals talk about wine than the “hints of fresh cherries, dried herbs, and soupçons of eucalyptus” style often favoured in traditional wine writing. Sipster’s Pocket Guide describes the experiences bound up in the tasting of 50 of the most amazing wines this province has produced, including reds, whites, rosés, sparkling, and dessert wines. With its emphasis on affordability and personal experience, rather than vintner and vintage specifics, Whittall’s guide reads less like the average wine fare and more like tips from a funny, candid friend. Before you head to the liquor store to deliberate over your next sip, take a glance through Sipster’s.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

148

Publisher

TouchWood Editions

Published Date

ISBN 10

1771513616

ISBN 13

9781771513616

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 More Must-Try BC Wines: Volume 3

By: Luke Whittall

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 More Must-Try BC Wines: Volume 3

By: Luke Whittall

The eagerly awaited third volume in the offbeat BC wine guide the Vancouver Sun calls “the perfect go-to.” In the third volume in the popular, offbeat Sipster’s Pocket Guide series, wine expert and educator Luke Whittall presents his latest top 50 British Columbia wines under $50 (including many under $30) and along the way shares his thoughts on wine country and common misconceptions about certain grapes, and offers up tangents on everything from scented candles to middle children to sweatshirt weather. With food and activity pairings that range from Thai noodles and pool noodles to Schubert and hootenannies, and an index of attitudes that lets you choose a wine based on your mood, the Sipster’s guides are equal parts freewheeling and focused. Divided into chapters on sparkling, white, rosé, red, and dessert wines, the latest volume of Sipster’s will snap you out of a catatonic funk in the liquor store and stick around for a quiet evening paging through a book—perhaps this book and perhaps there’s even a wine for that. Welcome to Volume 3, where a Viognier can be a lot like a bouncy castle, the right red blend can have you busting out your best cravat, and an adventurous evening calls for a certain Trebianno (not the guy from Friends . . . but then again, maybe?).

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

121

Publisher

TouchWood Editions

Published Date

ISBN 10

1771514426

ISBN 13

9781771514422

The Okanagan Wine Tour Guide

By: John Schreiner,Luke Whittall

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Okanagan Wine Tour Guide

By: John Schreiner,Luke Whittall

The definitive guide to Interior BC wineries, covering the Okanagan, Similkameen, Thompson and Kootenays. With updated maps and travel tips, it’s your ultimate glove-box guide, now in a newly expanded and updated edition. For nearly fifteen years Okanagan Wine Tour Guide has been the definitive companion for travelling the winding roads of BC’s Interior wine region. In this, the 6th edition, John Schreiner and his new co-author—wine writer, podcaster, and instructor Luke Whittall—chart the latest developments at the oldest wineries and the very first vintages from the newest startups in a region that stretches along Okanagan Lake, west to the Similkameen, north to the Thompson, and east to the Kootenays. This edition includes 240 wineries (that’s over 40 openings in five years!), revised and updated maps, contact information, tasting room information, and recommendations. From pioneers like Quail’s Gate on Mount Boucherie to the newest arrivals like Cliff & Gorge in Lillooet, these stories are as varied as the personalities of the wines themselves—a few vines planted as a retirement project, a few acres purchased on a whim, or a gala grand opening underpinned by years of planning and consultation. What emerges across the guide is the sense of community and the room for wildly different philosophies on everything from growing to fermenting to naming. Whether you’re paging through the aisles of the local liquor store, sorting your Viogniers from your Syrahs, or relishing a family vineyard’s journey from its Quonset-hut years to international acclaim, John Schreiner’s Okanagan Wine Tour is the ultimate guide to and celebration of Interior BC wine.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

521

Publisher

TouchWood Editions

Published Date

ISBN 10

177151325X

ISBN 13

9781771513258

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 Must-Try Ontario Wines: Volume 1

By: Luke Whittall

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 Must-Try Ontario Wines: Volume 1

By: Luke Whittall

A handy, decidedly un-stuffy guide to 50 of the best Ontario wines under $50 a bottle. In this handy portable guide to the top 50 Ontario wines under $50 a bottle, wine expert and educator Luke Whittall abandons the usual language of tasting notes in favour of a more personalized, approachable style, focusing on experiences, good company, and where a wine might take your thoughts. As a wine industry professional, Whittall has often found himself inspired more by the way non-professionals talk about wine than the “hints of fresh cherries, dried herbs, and soupçons of eucalyptus” style typical of traditional wine writing. Sipster’s Pocket Guide describes the experiences bound up in the tasting of 50 of the most amazing wines this province has produced, including reds, whites, rosés, sparkling, and dessert wines. With offbeat pairings that leapfrog from Frank Sinatra to truffle brie, digital detox to charcuterie, and an index of attitudes that lets you choose a wine based on your mood (be it cottage country or campus house party, accessible or argumentative) it’s anything but stuffy. Before you head to the liquor store to deliberate over your next sip, take a glance through Sipster’s.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

140

Publisher

TouchWood Editions

Published Date

ISBN 10

1771514221

ISBN 13

9781771514224

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 More Must-Try Ontario Wines: Volume 2

By: Luke Whittall

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Sipster's Pocket Guide to 50 More Must-Try Ontario Wines: Volume 2

By: Luke Whittall

An all-new volume in the handy, offbeat Sipster’s Pocket Guide series: 50 more Ontario wines under $50! In the second installment in his series of offbeat guides to Ontario wines under $50 a bottle, wine expert and educator Luke Whittall offers 50 more personalized, approachable recommendations that ditch the usual wine-speak and focus instead on experiences, good company, and where a wine might take your thoughts . . . like The Simpsons and why we can’t stop trying to outsmart spellcheck, the low-maintenance joy of Merlot and why Fumé Blanc is the car with all the extra options. Divided into chapters on sparkling, white, rosé, red, and dessert wines, the latest volume of Sipster’s is there for you in your moment of panic at the liquor store and when you need something to pair with that old Rheostatics album or a rope swing or the latest outburst of crocodile tears at your toddler’s birthday party. With all that plus some introductory remarks on wine writing as a separate beast from reviewing, and an outro that addresses the neo-temperance movement and what it has to offer the thoughtful sipster, Volume 2 hits a little different.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

142

Publisher

TouchWood Editions

Published Date

ISBN 10

1771514442

ISBN 13

9781771514446

The Art of Losing

Why the Proteas Choke at the Cricket World Cup

By: Luke Alfred

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Art of Losing

Why the Proteas Choke at the Cricket World Cup

By: Luke Alfred

Since South Africa’s readmission to world cricket in 1991, the Proteas have played in six World Cups (and four World T20 tournaments) and have been knocked out in all of them. The reasons range from the weather and misreading the Duckworth–Lewis table to being outwitted on the field itself. In the most recent tournaments, though, they have shown a scandalous lack of nerve in the pressure-cooker of international knockout cricket. Drawing from interviews with the major protagonists and behind-the-scenes officials, The Art of Losing recreates the drama of these matches. With fresh anecdotes, stories and insights, it also attempts to explain why World Cup failure has become a habit. Does the problem lie with coaching, with communication issues, or with a lack of independent thinking among the players? Is it the product of a pampered professional environment, or of the South African schooling system? The Art of Losing will ruffle feathers but will also attempt to explain the ‘choker’ tag that has become so widespread. Is it fair? The Proteas, after all, win a high proportion of their one-day matches and have some of the best cricketers in the world. Why, then, do they invariably fail to clear that final hurdle?

Average ratings

N/A