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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Niagara Wine Festival 2012 - A Review

During the last weekend of September, I had the pleasure of visiting the Niagara Peninsula for the 61st Annual Grape and Wine Festival that celebrated this year's vintage harvest. This was my first time attending the big harvest festival in about 8 years, so I was excited to see what's changed during my absence. Discovery Pass in hand, we started off at Fielding Estate...

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Oct. 13 LCBO Wine Picks: Australia + Chile

The next Vintages wine release will be in LCBO outlets across Ontario on Saturday, October 13. The main feature in this release is on five impressive artisanal wineries from Australia. Four of these wineries have wines among my picks in this release. Australia is known for its Shiraz. But these four wines show that they are more than capable of producing outstanding wines...

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Casa Castillo Monastrell 2010 (Spain) - Wine Review

Purchased this red wine last week from the September 29th Vintages release. Made from Monastrell (as it's known in Spain), this varietal also known as Mataró or Mourvèdre in other wine regions. CASA CASTILLO MONASTRELL 2010 - DO Jumilla, Spain (#165621) (XD) - $13.95 Tasting Note: Meaty and fleshy plum aromas from the cork. Aromas of blackberry, violet, cedar oak, and...

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Rubaiyat Koshu Sur Lie 2009 (Japan) - Wine Review

This white wine is my first time tasting a wine from Japan and was acquired during the spring. It is meant to be opened young and can be purchased via private order from Savia Wine. RUBAIYAT KOSHU SUR LIE 2009 - Japan (XD) - $42 Tasting Note: Made with 100% Koshu fermented on the lees. Mild clean fruit aromas from the cork. Soft floral, lavender aromatics from the glass...

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