Anne-Marie Jennings
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 14/98) - One reason Barbara Leslie is spending her time in Yellowknife is because her son moved here first.

"My son got a job in Yellowknife, I thought it would be nice to come visit him," she says. "I then called Wendy (Colpitts, representative of the NWT chapter of the Opimian Society) and asked her if she would be interested in having a guest speaker for an event."

Leslie is the publisher of Winetidings, a national magazine which deals with wine appreciation and news from around the wine making world. The magazine is included in the membership package of members of the Opimian Society.

The Opimian Society was established more than 25 years ago to serve as a wine-buying cooperative for its members and works in a fashion similar to the liquor control boards in the provinces. For Leslie, the task of educating people about how to better appreciate fine wines has become easier with the increase in the availability of information on wines and wine tasting.

"People have become more knowledgeable about wine," Leslie says. "They understand more about soil types and what conditions are best for growing which grapes.

"In the past, people saw that grapes grew in a patch of soil, and the result was a very good wine. Now, they see that grapes grow well in a patch of soil, but they better understand why."

The process of winemaking has also become more widespread, with people now turning to making their own wines and more people understanding the conditions needed to make good wine.

"There's more known about the science of winemaking. Not everything is fully understood about it, but that's good.

"There is still a bit of mystery to the science."

Leslie says she has her preferences, and is a strong supporter of Canadian-based wineries.

"I like the Ontario Chardonnay, but I also like the Cabernet-Franc, which is not as well known as some wines, but is growing in popularity."

Leslie says the wines currently being made in Canada are getting better every year, but that few Canadians have the opportunity to taste the wines from other provinces.

"Each province has their own wines. The unfortunate thing is that very few are available right across the country."

The wine tasting event she participated in while here was quite unique, in that it was held aboard the M.S. Norweta.

"In general, there is always an instructional aspect to a wine tasting," Leslie says. "But since we will not be in one place, this event will be much more casual."

Leslie says that while she doesn't write for the magazine, she is still thinking about the wines.

"I'm always making notes about the new wines I'm tasting. Each year, we put out a review of wines we've tried in our magazine.

"There are times when I just enjoy the wine."

She has her preferences, but Leslie says she has been tasting wines for a number of years, and that her work as a journalist gave her an added advantage.

"I was able to taste the wines before actually buying them," she says. "So when I bought a new wine, I knew what it would taste like."

But don't expect to find Leslie making her own wine at home, nor does she have an extensive wine cellar at her disposal. Both require a considerable amount of space -- something which Leslie does not have in Montreal.

"I think if I were to make my own wine, I would want to do things right," she says. "I don't think I could devote the time necessary to that right now."