Icewine Tales» Moscow

The Pragmatism of Business in Old Russia

Phil Cheevers — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:16:26 +0000

I met Joseph Smith in 1998 or so, in a first class seat doing a red eye flight from Calgary to Toronto, back in my Natural Gas executive days. We didn’t talk for the first hour and then I decided that Harvey Mackay was right, “Never Miss a... Read more

Icewine, Honey Men, and Business Allegories

Phil Cheevers — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:49:38 +0000

My friend Tim lives in Moscow and in his career he has been a school teacher in Sukhumi, a wine executive for a Georgian winery, a land developer in Moscow, and probably many other things I've yet to discover. Tim's English is excellent which is... Read more

Icewine Tasting at the United Nations Part 1

Phil Cheevers — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:31:21 +0000

Max is taking me for a tour of the main Sukhumi waterfront. For me this means a stroll along a closed road with a tropical park on the one side and a curious collection of buildings on the other. The buildings go from the fresh and shiny... Read more

Confessions of an Icewine Salesman in Moscow

Phil Cheevers — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:38:24 +0000

Notes from Moscow Day 5. The confusion continues. Little things like two golden arches under “Макдоналдс” give me an anchor that lets me know that not every symbol is foreign. I can’t help thinking that this might be how a... Read more

Icewine Jumps the Line

Phil Cheevers — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:28 +0000

Notes from Moscow Day 4 I had dinner last night at a fabulous new restaurant with two American ex-patriots and a most charming local lady who was a marketing manager for Vogue Russia. The restaurant had a relationship with Baccarat crystal and... Read more

Icewine Tasting In the Moscow Canadian Embassy

Phil Cheevers — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:28:27 +0000

I could type a whole lot of stuff about this event. The Canadian Ambassador, Ralph Lysysyn, was kind enough to open his doors to allow me to co-host the tasting in the private quarters of the Canadian Embassy. 55 of Moscow's top wine... Read more

On the Icewine Trail: London and Moscow

Phil Cheevers — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:32:41 +0000

Notes from Victory Park in Moscow I wasn’t prepared for the fatigue that set in in the short subway ride back to the apartment near Victory Park. Every symbol on every sigh is cryptic and the noise of the Cyrillic characters drowns out... Read more