I spent the greater part of recent sunny and warm Saturday wandering around various parts of Calgary. It's been a few years since I've set foot within the "Heart of The New West", and Cow Town has certainly become more trendy and expensive. And it doesn't hurt there's a boom cycle going on in the Energy sector.
One of my favourite personal measures of a metropolitan area's success is the number of specialty wine stores sprinkled about. Alberta got rid of their state store system long ago, which has unleashed a lot of creativity regarding adult beverages. This is definitely not Manitoba or Pennsylvania.
I wandered into Metrovino after coming out of Brûlée Patisserie, ambling into Cookbook Co. and then finding Metrovino on the back end of the Builder's Block. This place is the real deal wine wise and I felt like a kid in a candy shop as I was admiring the well considered choices among many price points. Actually, the selection reminds my of Kermit Lynch as it's very specialized and Euro-centric choices. When I mentioned that to the Owner, he immediately perked up and went into a long positive tribute to this Berkeley Wine Shop which he has visited and of which he considers Kermit to be a mentor.
I know enough about wine to talk a good game and be dangerous in my selections. In this case, the very nice and extremely knowledgeable Owner took me for more than that and proceeded into wine and grape discussions that were a bit over my head. It was still a lot a fun as this is a place that loves wine and engages in it with gusto and surprisingly little pretense. I left with a very nice bottle of Port and an intention to come back for a wine tasting where I could really learn something.