Not-So-Serious Stuff
Aren't most great ideas the result of a bottle of wine...or two?
WineDiva™ is Daenna Van Mulligen, an honest-to-goodness, pretense free wine lover, who has been honing her palate, practicing her spitting technique and swinging her pink saber for 20 years. Daenna loves to write about virtually anything she can swirl, gulp or otherwise legally consume. And, she doesn't mind taking the stance of the wine opposition. She is a wine writer and wine reviewer who habitually drones on about her favorite topic. She’s also known for her quirky, casual and humorous approach to all things related to fermented grape juice and doesn't mind if you throw her in front of a crowd with a mic.
(Photo credit: Joe Borrelli)
WineDiva.ca is a snob-free zone
Serious Stuff
Residing in the beautiful city of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, WineDiva™ unapologetically doles out her trivial and non-trivial bits of wine information on the unsuspecting public via her bi-weekly (that would be twice monthly), internationally read newsletters.
WineDiva™ is not a machine, she is is a one-woman show. All tasting notes, reviews, publishing and articles as well as social media postings are done by Daenna Van Mulligen.
Daenna is an accredited sommelier and has traveled extensively internationally and to virtually every major winemaking country in the world.
Italy: Abruzzo, Friuli, Marche, Tuscany, Veneto, Umbria, Sardinia, Piedmont, Sicily. Germany: Nahe, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, the Pfalz Canada: Okanagan Valley, Fraser Valley, Similkameen Valley in BC, Niagara Peninsula in Ontario.
South Africa: Constantia, Elgin, Elim, Walker Bay, Paarl, Swartland and Stellenbosch. Portugal: Bairrada, Dao, Estremadura, Lisboa, Douro, Vinho Verde and Alentejo. Chile: Aconcagua, Maipo, Casablanca, Cachapoal, Colchagua, Curico, Elqui and Maule. USA: Napa Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sonoma County in California, Oregon and Washington States. Australia: Hunter Valley, Riverina, Barossa, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, Yarra Valley and Clare Valley. Spain: Catalunya regions of Penedes - Cava and Priorat, Ribera del Duero, Rioja, Jerez in Andalusia, La Mancha,Valencia, Utiel-Requena, Malaga, Galicia/Rias Baixas. Argentina: the main winegrowing region of Cuyo (includes Mendoza) and Rio Negro and Neuquen in Patagonia. France: Alsace (north to south), Burgundy (north to south), the Rhone Valley (north to south), Champagne, Loire Valley, Languedoc, Roussillon. New Zealand: Central Otago, Waipara, Marlborough, Wairarapa/Martinborough, Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, Nelson, Auckland and Waiheke Island.
Wine Judging
VinItaly: one of the world's largest wine fairs and wine competitions.
Cornucopia: Whistler's annual wine & food event. Top 25 wine competition (all consecutive ten years)
InterVin: Vine's Magazine's annual wine awards. Panel leader and judge all consecutive nine years.
Okanagan Wine Festivals: fall wine awards
Vinipax: southern Portugal's wine fair
Presenting & Public Appearances
Among a number of other public and private speaking engagements, Daenna has been a presenter and a panelist at Whistler's well known international wine festival Cornucopia since 2007 and at The Vancouver International Wine Festival for a number of years.
• She has spoken for peers in the wine trade and media on Portugal for ViniPortugal.
• Educational speaker on the Wines of South Africa for BCLDB staff
• She was the host on the wine, beer & spirits stage for 10 years at EAT!Vancouver
• She hosted her namesake 'Diva's at the Met' for four consecutive years during the Vancouver International Wine Festival
• A keynote speaker at the Uva d'Ouro wine conference in Oporto, Portugal 2014
• One of the world's leading wine experts speaking at the inaugural International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration in Marlborough, New Zealand, February 2016
• One of the first 7 graduates of the Valpolicella Education Program in 2018: a Valpolicella wines expert.
•Recipient of a 2018 Fellowship to the Professional Wine Writers Symposium.
Daenna is now in her 16th year of publishing WineDiva™ and 11th year of publishing WineScores.ca - these sister sites are two of the most visited independent wine review websites in Canada.
How does WineDiva review wines? Why doesn't she charge readers for content and reviews? I'll tell you here
Other Print & Media
Vines Magazine: Daenna has been a regular contributor and a tasting panel member of the Canada's Vines Magazine since 2008
TASTE Magazine: Since 2008, she has also been a consistent contributor to BC Liquor Stores TASTE Magazine
Montecristo Magazine: since 2016. Montecristo
Vitis Magazine: Since its inception in 2018
Past: Daenna was the sole wine columnist for Infamous Magazine, while in print for two years. She has also contributed to Wine Trails among others.
►Read all of Daenna's articles for Vines Magazine, TASTE, Montecristo Magazine & More here
Radio
For seven years, Daenna was the wine voice heard weekly on the Tasting Room Radio
Television
Daenna has also made numerous appearances on CityTV as well as on Global BC and has been interviewed by Fanny Kiefer on Studio 4 watch here and on Urban Rush watch here
Visit
WineDiva's sister website WineScores.ca for more in-depth articles and wine scores!
Merchandise
WineDiva™ has available branded merchandise (clothing, cards, coffee mugs etc.).
If you are interested in WineDiva™ branded merchandise, please contact her via her contact page.
*WineDiva is a Registered TradeMark and the use of WineDiva™ in any form, without consent is prohibited. Use of any content on WineDiva.ca and WineScores.ca (including but not restricted to: reviews, photos, articles...) is prohibited. All content is the copyright of Daenna Van Mulligen and cannot be used without written permission and attribution.
What others have to say...
CityFood Magazine November 7th 2006
"Now, I know that Daenna likes to spin the “I’m just a girlie girl” line, and to come across as pink and lightweight as cotton floss in the breeze, but aside from that being a clever branding device – a way of making herself stand out by contrast from the dour seriousness of the old boys who dominate the wine scene - it also serves as a smoke screen to distract those same boys from noticing that she is entirely capable of strutting in on high heels, and stealing their bottle of post-banquet congratulatory Port right off the club table --- and then quaffing it all down with a box of bonbons.
Yeah guys, she’s ditsy like a fox allright..."
-Rhonda May-Editor, CityFood Magazine
London Free Press - Worlds of Wine by Christopher Waters "There are also a bevy of informative websites and magazines that speak to all facets of wine appreciation. Some, like Ontario-based Billy Munnelly’s Billy’s Best Bottles (billysbestbottles.com) or Vancouver wine writer Daenna Van Mulligen’s Wine Diva (winediva.ca), are blessedly idiosyncratic, which makes for fun reading."
Michelle Leroux Whistler is awesome.com "Daenna is truly a professional wine drinker, tasting over 2,200 wines a year and reviewing around 1,000 of them on her tongue in cheek website www.winediva.ca."
MorethanMerlot.com - Great information on Argentine Wines... "I really like the Wine Diva’s style! She shares articles in other wine-related forums such as VinesMag.com, where I found a great little post on the wines of Argentina..."
Granville Magazine GranvilleOnLine.ca - Wine, Women and Stories... "I love a good story. And, for me, besides the very real sensual experience, the story of a wine constitutes much of the enjoyment. Tuesday evening's Diva(s) at the Met event—hosted by the Wine Diva herself, Ms. Deanna Van Mulligen...
Winnipeg Free Press - Uncorked - Wine Arts, Manitobans bring their expertise to the Industry... "Daenna Van Mulligen's lack of pretension and genuine enthusiasm for wine was evident at the tastings I attended with her in Germany last year. It came as little surprise, then, when I learned that she was born and raised in Brandon. Now based out of Vancouver, this successful sommelier and writer administers two hugely popular wine websites..."
TheseBoots.travel - Eat/Drink - WineDiva's 2009 Top 50 under 50..."I can tell you that if this woman says you should put it in a glass and drink it, you should definitely pay attention..."
WineCouver - IVSA November 9 the whites..."For Daenna traveling has been intense recently and between flying, events and writing for her website, there is little time for anything else. As usual she was fun, friendly and looking spectacular..."
Poivre Media - Wine Festival: Diva's at the Met "Last night, I felt as if I were part of a women's rally..."
Let's Talk About Food - LettuceTalkAboutFood - "You name it, and this wine writer, wine educator, accredited sommelier, and Vancouverite has probably done it. In addition to regularly contributing to Canada's Vines Magazine, the BC Liquor Stores' Taste Magazine, and..."
More by WineDiva™ (aka Daenna Van Mulligen) here
