Mission Hill - 2013 Winery of the Year - WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada Celebration

On September 16th, I had the pleasure of attending an invite-only celebration at Joey Eaton Centre to honour Mission Hill Family Estate's Winery of the Year Award at the inaugural WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada competition. This award used to be part of the Canadian Wine Awards, which was run by WineAccess Magazine, until the magazine was abruptly shut down earlier...

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Sept. 28 Wine Picks: Tuscany + Chile + Thanksgiving

The upcoming LCBO Vintages release will be on shelves this Saturday, September 28th. The main feature in this release focuses on premium-quality wines from Tuscany, which range in price from $15.95 to $48.95. In all, there are 16 wines featured, and 3 made my list of wine picks below. It just so happens that all three are north of $20. The Frassinello is an IGT wine that...

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iYellow Summer Wine Jam - Review

On August 29, I attended iYellow Wine Club's Summer Wine Jam, which has held at Airship 37 near The Distillery District. The venue allowed for both indoor and outdoor imbibing, which was perfect for this fine summer night. I arrived there just after 7 p.m. and the place was filling up across the 2 rooms and the outdoor area quite nicely. Over 70 wines from around the world...

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Kingston Family Vineyards Tobiano Pinot Noir 2009 (Chile) - Wine Review

This red wine is from the March 16th Vintages release and was gifted to me. It was opened on the weekend, knowing that my afternoon guest would surely enjoy this - and he did! I've had mixed emotions with Pinot in the recent past, and this is the first Chilean Pinot I've tasted in a while (perhaps since last year's Wines of Chile event) and I was pleasantly delighted with...

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Sept. 14 LCBO Wine Picks: Ontario Wines

The next Vintages release will be on LCBO shelves on Saturday, September 14. This edition is titled "Shine ON" and focuses on Ontario wines that shine brightly on the world stage. It appears to be somewhat of an annual event as last September there was a special release including strictly only Ontario wines. This year, the celebration begins with over 130 restaurants across...

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Bodegas Valdemar Inspiración Valdemar 2005 (Rioja) - Wine Review

Purchased this red wine from a Vintages release back in May of 2010 and obviously no longer available for purchase. However, the 2008 came out in Vintages in last March and is still available in select Vintages stores. BODEGAS VALDEMAR INSPIRACIÓN VALDEMAR 2005 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#166512) (XD) - $19.95 Tasting Note: Blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano. Oak...

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Loan Wines Unwooded Special Reserve Semillon 2004 (Barossa) - Wine Review

Purchased this organic white wine earlier this year from the April 27 release. At 9 years old, you would think this is well passed its prime, but it definitely is not! Hopefully you picked this up when I recommended it back in April, because it's no longer available. LOAN WINES UNWOODED SPECIAL RESERVE SEMILLON 2004 - Barossa Valley, South Australia (#301127) (D) - $15.95 Tasting...

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