A brief conversation: The month of love (for wine?!)

February is the month of love. Let’s celebrate. After all, we call ourselves ‘winelovers’.  Spreading the love of wine is natural. What about those who have found not only wine love but also life love? Meet Sharmian and Stephen Duke.​

The Duke’s were recently married in wine country and more recently
​moved to wine country. ​

That’s what I call passion. Sharmian is a recently retired health care professional with a degree from UC Davis in winemaking. Stephen is an entrepreneur and chef. Together they talk food, wine, cocktails, whisky and everything in between. They seem to thrive off each other’s energy and enthusiasm for life. They study, they taste, and they comment as active participants. Like a beautiful bottle of bubbles paired with a heaping bowl of hot truffle butter popcorn - they seem a perfect pairing.  This is our shout out to them for being a part of the Good Wine Gal community. We look forward to catching up with you both in wine country, your new home, when Covid 19 is behind us.​

When were you struck with cupid’s arrow Sharmian?

You might say it was love at first site. And while I tell people I fell in love with Stephen three weeks after we met, it was actually before that. I can’t remember exactly what we were sipping but it was definitely an interesting cocktail over which we talked for hours. Ok maybe a few cocktails. When he walked me home, he leaned in and I got a kiss. That was when I knew he liked me as much. He texted when he got to his place and we text flirted and planned our next date.​

Was wine a part of your romance?
Wine has played a huge role in our relationship. Stephen is a chef by training. Wine pairing and planning for our meals is a thing and has been from the beginning. When I started taking WSET classes, he joined me. We got married at a winery in the Okanagan Valley and for our honeymoon we tripped off to Spain to visit Priorat and Rioja. Our visit included an unforgettable visit to the Marqués de Riscal winery where the iconic hotel designed by Frank Gehry stands. Wine has shaped our life. ​

How did you find Good Wine Gal?
We met Barb through an event put on by the Metro Vancouver Wine Club. We continued to run into each other at various events but got to know her better through Zoom happy hours when we went into lockdown in March. We have also attended Thursday evening wine sessions with Mark Shipway which was helpful when I was preparing for my wine scholar exams. Learning can be so much fun.