Author: Mel Priestley
Mel Priestley is a consulting astrologer and writer based in Edmonton, Alberta. She has been studying astrology for many years and completed the Fundamentals of Natal Astrology Certificate at Kepler College in 2021. She has been a professional freelance writer for over 15 years and has written extensively about wine, food, theatre and now, astrology. She currently serves on the executive committee of the Edmonton Astrological Society and is also co-lead of OPA’s Canadian satellite.
The Shiraz Effect
I’m so fucking sick of Malbec. I’ve been fucking sick of Malbec for a while now; in fact I published the original version of “The Shiraz Effect” on my old blog back in 2010. As […]
The Wine Epiphany
I have a confession to make: I never had a wine epiphany. No single bottle slapped me in the face and announced, “Nice of you to finally notice me. I will now dominate a large […]
Mega Purple? Mega No Thanks.
It was a shocking shade of purple and there was no way it was natural. Ever seen a wine that seemed to defy the laws of nature? Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon is one of them. It’s […]
Edmonton’s 2014 Food Year in Review & Predictions for 2015
You’ve seen enough annual year in review lists; here’s one more. I put together a collection of food trends over the past year, concentrated on local Edmonton stuff but with an eye to the greater […]
Christmas Wine Tasting at Color de Vino
I attended a tasting at Color de Vino this past Tuesday, one of the first done by this new Edmonton wine shop. (If you haven’t been, go visit them right away – it’s a wonderful […]
Offbeat Wine Countries
An Israeli wine made the Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2014. Bet you didn’t even know Israel made wine, did you? A little while ago I wrote a Vue wine column about a handful of […]
Edible Insects
I was psyched; I was ready; I actually wanted to eat this cricket. So reads the first line of an article I wrote about edible insects for Vue. I want you to imagine eating a […]
The Chocolate Issue
Humans have known that chocolate is awesome for millennia. This week’s Vue is The Chocolate Issue. It was my first feature issue as Dish editor, and I think it turned out pretty well if I […]
Exploring Biodynamic Wine with Benziger Family Winery
A ram’s horn filled with manure and buried under the full moon: it sounds like some kind of archaic ritual, but it’s actually a practice carried out by thousands of contemporary winemakers. Biodynamics is essentially […]
So you want to be a Sommelier?
When I tell people I’m a sommelier their typical reaction is usually one of both admiration and confusion. “A sommelier?” they ask. Then, “Wow! But what exactly does that mean?” (There was also that memorable […]
Wine Movie Reviews: from Sideways to SOMM
I’ve been marathoning wine movies over the last couple weeks and decided to write some capsule reviews of the better-known ones for this week’s Vue column. Here are the expanded versions: Sideways (I just wrote […]
Sideways: comparing Payne’s movie with Pickett’s book
“It’s very possible his film will be better than my book.”– Rex Pickett, referring to director Alexander Payne Truer words were never spoken. Sideways is one of those rare exceptions in which the movie is […]
