Torres Viña Esmeralda Semi Dry White 2013 (Spain) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a white blend featuring two very elegant and aromatic grapes - Moscatel and Gewürztraminer. Both of these grapes hail from a mountainous area of the Upper Penedès. This is an LCBO General List products and readily available. TORRES VIÑA ESMERALDA SEMI DRY WHITE 2013 - DO Catalunya, Spain (#377465) (D) - $13.95 Tasting Note: Screw cap. Blend of 85%...

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Hermanos Lurton Tempranillo 2011 (Spain) - Wine Review

Opened this juicy, red wine last night. It's from the Toro region of Spain, located in the northwestern part of country and is a General List product and readily available at the LCBO. HERMANOS LURTON TEMPRANILLO 2011 - DO Toro, Spain (#372342) (D) - $16.90 Tasting Note: Woodsy and vanilla aromas from the cork. Cherry, bitter chocolate, dark currant and hints of...

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2014 Gourmet Food & Wine Expo

I arrived Thursday evening for the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo VIP Night at the Metro Convention Centre, where it has always been held since as far back as I can remember, checked in at the Trade & Media booth to get my badge and wristband, and then proceeded down the hall to first attend a seminar on Wine Faults. This was a very interesting seminar, as we learned...

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Southbrook Triomphe Chardonnay 2013 (Niagara) - Wine Review

While the 2012 Southbrook Triomphe Chardonnay was classified as VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake, the 2013 edition is VQA Niagara Peninsula. It is certified organic and vegan friendly, with grapes sourced from 5 different vineyards within the Niagara Peninsula: Laundry, Southbrook, Sabourin, Reimer and Saunders vineyards. This delicious white wine was opened over the weekend and will...

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Nov. 22 LCBO Wine Picks: Top Wines for the Holidays

Wines from the next LCBO VINTAGES release will be on shelves this Saturday, November 22 and essentially continues the theme from the last release - fine wines for the holidays. This is another massive release, as you will see from my wine picks below. I have split up the red wine picks into three groups - value-based wines, premium wines, and super premium wines for those...

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Creekside Estate Winery Wine Tasting

I received these delicious wine samples from Creekside Estate Winery recently and opened them up a couple of weeks ago on a crisp, Fall Saturday. Creekside has been making premium wine since 1997, when owner Laura McCain pursued a passion for wine by purchasing a 15-acre vineyard and winery on Fourth Avenue in Jordan. The darlings of their portfolio at the time were Sauvignon...

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Herederos Del Marqués de Riscal (Spain) - Wine Reviews

Tonight's wines are a pair of Spanish wines from Marqués de Riscal. Founded in 1858, Marques de Riscal is one of the oldest wineries in all of Rioja. Their first wines were bottled four years later, in 1862, and won numerous awards over the years. Fast forward to 1972, when Marqués de Riscal produced their first white wines in Rueda. This winery continued it's innovative and...

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Juvé y Camps Cinta Purpura Reserva Brut Cava 2010 (Spain) - Wine Review

One normally opens a Sparkling Wine to mark a celebration. So, last Sunday I decided to open this lovely Cava to celebrate... for no reason! This delicious Cava is made with local grape varietals Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada, using the traditional method. The 2009 vintage of this Cava was among my VINTAGES wine picks last December. I expect this 2010 version will be in...

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Nov. 8 LCBO Wine Picks: Fine Holiday Wines + Ports

The next LCBO VINTAGES release will be in stores across Ontario this weekend - on Saturday, November 8th. As we get into the holiday season, the releases seem to getting bigger and feature more higher priced wines - this release is no exception. This release is titled "Uncork the Season" and features many fine holiday wines as part of the major theme. The secondary theme...

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A Vintage Harvest - 2014 Niagara Wine Festival Review

The 63rd Annual Niagara Wine Festival returned last month, running for three weekends from September 13 to 28. I usually attend one of the first two weekends, but this time decided to attend the final weekend of the festival. Considering the bad luck we had with weather and the annual Fall closing of the Gardiner Expressway last year, I was a little worried what might happen...

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