Trialto Fall Wine Tasting

Towards the end of last month, I was invited to attend the Trialto Wine Group's Fall Tasting event held at their (relatively new) offices in downtown Toronto. In all, there were 18 wines available for tasting along with a selection of cheeses and smoked salmon on crackers. Many of these wines are readily available from either the General List or the Vintages section at...

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Wine Reviews - 2012 Gourmet Food & Wine Expo

Here are my wine reviews from the 2012 Gourmet Food & Wine Expo that was held last month at the Metro Convention Centre in downtown Toronto. To see my full review of the event, go here. At the K&S Wine Imports booth, located in the VINES Fine Wine and Intervin Lounge, I tasted two wines from Dreissigacker. It's a shame that neither of these wines are available at...

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Castellani Sommavite Santovino (Italy) - Wine Review

Baking almond biscotti today, I decided to open this Vin Santo that was purchased from the May 5th release way back in 2009. Unfortunately, like many of my other dessert wines, I tend to forget about them and then realize that I should have opened them years ago. CASTELLANI SOMMAVITE SANTOVINO N.V. - Tuscany, Italy (#000927) (S) (500 mL) - $10.95 Tasting Note: Plum and...

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Dec. 8 Wine Picks: Festive Get-Togethers

The next LCBO Vintages wine release will be in stores across Ontario on December 8. This is the final release of 2012. So, if you haven't been stocking up for the holidays from previous releases, now is your last chance to do so. This release is titled "Joys of the Season" and focuses on Fine Wines and Sparkling Wines for Festive Get-Togethers. I will skip the Sparklers...

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Domaine du Petit Souper Bourgueil 2008 (Loire) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine to celebrate the 100th Grey Cup is a red wine that is made with Cabernet Franc - a varietal which Ontario does quite well. It was purchased way back in July of 2010 and is drinking superbly right now. DOMAINE DU PETIT SOUPER BOURGUEIL 2008 - Cuvée La Godinière, AC, Loire, France (#169672) (XD) - $13.95 Tasting Note: Mix of grape-oak aromas from the cork....

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Vieil Armand Médaille Gewurztraminer 2010 (Alsace) - Wine Review

Even though I opened this last week, I simply HAD to post and share my review for this fabulous white wine. This wine was purchased from the latest release (Nov 10). In general, Alsace makes the best Gewurztraminer out there, and knowing that this particular version would be really good, I decided to open this last week to celebrate our Hindu New Year. Suffice to say, it...

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Nov. 24 LCBO Wine Picks: Our Finest

In the next Vintages release, the LCBO brings out "Our Finest Wines & Spirits for the Holidays" on Saturday, November 24. To me, this means expensive wines, and there are lots of them in this release. Many would impress as nice gifts for the holidays. Of the 26 wines that are featured, we've got a few reds that I believe you will enjoy. The Elderton Shiraz is one to...

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Gourmet Food and Wine Expo 2012

On Thursday, November 15, I attended the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo VIP Preview Night. I arrived just after the show opened at 6 p.m. and the place was buzzing with lengthy lineups for sample tickets. Once I got upstairs to the main pavilion, I noticed the first few aisles were busy, while the rest of the venue was relatively quiet. I quickly seeked and found one of the...

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Falernia Reserva Syrah 2009 (Chile) - Wine Review

This very nice Syrah from Chile was purchased from the October 13 Vintages Release and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. If you're interested, this red wine is still available in the Vintages section at the LCBO. FALERNIA RESERVA SYRAH 2009 - Elquí Valley, Chile (#208371) (XD) - $16.95 Tasting Note: Intense aromas of blueberry, raspberry, vanilla and hints of coffee. Medium-bodied...

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Rosewood Estates Tasting at The Chef's House

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the Rosewood Estates Winery Portfolio tasting hosted at The Chef's House in downtown Toronto. Rosewood is a family-operated winery and meadery based in Beamsville Bench. Leading the Sales & Marketing for Rosewood and presenting the afternoon's event was Krystina Roman. Given Rosewood's family roots in beekeeping,...

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Nov. 10 Wine Picks: Holidays + Piedmont

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, so I have to keep this short with the release just a couple of days away. The next Vintages wine release will be in LCBO outlets on across Ontario on Saturday, November 10. The main feature in this release is on wines for the holidays, such as for festive family dinners and gift-giving. The secondary feature is on wines from Piedmont,...

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Château de Galifay Cairanne 2010 (France) - Wine Review

This red wine is from the fabulous 2010 Southern Rhône vintage and consists of approx. 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah. It was purchased from the Sept. 1 Vintages release. CHÂTEAU DE GALIFAY CAIRANNE CÔTES DU RHÔNE-VILLAGES 2010 - AC, Rhône, France (#290080) (XD) - $17.00 Tasting Note: Plum and cherry wood aromas from cork. Very nice lavender, violet and toasty wood and licorice...

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Oct. 10 - Cheese & Wine Tasting with Natalie MacLean

On the evening of October 10, I had the pleasure of tasting some fabulous Canadian cheeses and pairing them with Ontario wine. Hosted by Natalie MacLean on Google+ Hangouts, I was joined by 9 others where we discussed the various cheeses and wines. Here is the video recording: Details of the cheese, wine and participants can be found here. Here are my impressions of...

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Oct. 27 LCBO Wine Picks: 2009 Bordeaux

The next Vintages release will be in LCBO outlets across Ontario on Saturday, October 27. The main feature in this release is on the critically-acclaimed 2009 Bordeaux vintage - once hailed as the "Vintage of the Century". However, looking at the 16 red Bordeaux wines in this release, I was a little underwhelmed with the offerings - I was expecting greatness! I was more...

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Wine Reviews - 2012 Niagara Wine Festival

Here are my wine reviews from my recent visit to the Niagara Peninsula for the 2012 Niagara Grape & Wine Festival. As usual, I tasted some very tasty and exciting wines. Some of the highlights were Fielding's Chosen Few, Vineland's St. Urban Elevation, nearly everything from Niagara College Teaching Winery, Featherstone's 2011 Cab Franc and Onyx, and Tawse's Chardonnays and Cab Franc Icewine. Some of these wines can be found at the LCBO, while...

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