EastDell Estates Black Label Viognier 2014 (Ontario) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a delicious Ontario Viognier that is already available at the winery, but will also be released into VINTAGES on April 2nd. EastDell Estates was founded in 1999 and sold to current owner, Diamond Estates, in 2005. The EastDell logo depicts a blue heron, which has a natural migration path across their vineyards. I'm generally not one to comment on labels,...

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April 2 VINTAGES Release: Europe vs New World

The mono-themed April 2, 2016 VINTAGES Release will be on LCBO shelves across Ontario this coming Saturday. It is titled "Double Exposure" and compares the original European wines with their New World renditions. Of the 18 wines featured, 6 wines are included among my wine picks and the majority of these are (somewhat surprising to me) from the New World. First up is a...

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Domaine Millet Chablis 2014 (Burgundy) - Wine Review

Opened up this clean, delicious Chablis (Chardonnay) last night and it paired well with one of my favourite Indian dishes - large shrimp with onions and tomatoes. The story of Domaine Millet begins when farmer Philippe Millet settled a piece of land called "la Ferme de Marcault" in the mid-1960's and since some of those lots where he cultivated cereals were eligible for AOC...

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Seriously Cool Red 2012 and Seriously Cool Chardonnay 2015 (Ontario) - Wine Reviews

Southbrook Vineyards is proud to launch these two new wines produced by internationally-acclaimed winemaker Ann Sperling. Created from Niagara-grown grapes that followed Sustainable Winemaking Ontario standards, these Seriously Cool wines also support the local economy by using bottles made in Ontario using recycled glass. The labels are also designed and printed locally. As...

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Niagara Icewine Festival Review 2016 - Day 1

On January 23rd, I had the pleasure of visiting Niagara to take in the 21st annual Niagara Icewine Festival. In order to fully appreciate the winery offerings of Icewine paired with delectable culinary creations, we opted to spend the night near The Falls and tour more Niagara wineries the following day. A review of Sunday's activities will be posted in a few days is available...

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La Crema Pinot Noir 2013 (Sonoma) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a follow-up to the lovely 2014 La Crema Pinot Noir that I enjoyed last week. This red wine will be on LCBO shelves this coming Saturday as part of the March 19th VINTAGES Release. It was interesting to taste the 2013 and 2014 back-to-back. The style is essentially the same, but you can see that the 2013 has had some evolution in the bottle with the softer,...

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March 19 VINTAGES Release: Italy + Israel + Easter

The upcoming March 19, 2016 LCBO VINTAGES Release will be on shelves this Saturday and features classic wines from Italy as its main feature. The mini-theme features wines from Israel, while the Ontario theme features wines for Easter. For the second consecutive release, Italy is one of the feature themes. This time, there are quite a few amazing wines that wine enthusiasts...

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La Crema Pinot Noir 2014 (Sonoma) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a sneak preview of a wine that will be released in LCBO VINTAGES later this year in Fall/Winter 2016. La Crema was founded in 1979 and was family-owned and operated while concentrating on cool-climate appellations. The winery emphasizes boutique, small-batch winemaking with a commitment to sustainability and a philosophy of gentle handling of fruit to produce...

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Nals Margreid Baron Salvadori Riserva Chardonnay 2012 (Alto Adige) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a delightful follow-up to the 2013 Nals Margreid Pinot Noir that I opened up in January. From Winery Nals Margreid top-of-the-line Baron Salvadori Selection series, the grapes for this Chardonnay come from the Margreid Vineyard in the lower west part of the valley. It has limestone gravel soils and was aged in 12 months tonneaux large casks. This opulent...

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March 5 VINTAGES Release: Classic California + 2010 Brunello

The upcoming Saturday, March 5th VINTAGES Release features classic, collectible wines from California as its main theme, while the small secondary thematic highlights Brunello's from the great 2010 vintage. From the main theme, 3 of the 13 wines from California made my list of wine picks. Among them them is a Cali Cabernet Sauvignon from the Mount Veeder AVA, as well as...

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