Pure Chablis National Final at Bent Restaurant

On the evening of April 3, I had the pleasure of attending the Pure Chablis National Final at Bent Restaurant in downtown Toronto. This event pitted three individuals against each other, with the task of trying to best pair Chablis with  special culinary creations prepared by Hong Kong-American celebrity Master Chef Susur Lee. Each person was given a description of...

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VINTAGES Release April 29, 2017: Oregon + Washington + Germany + Rosé

The upcoming LCBO VINTAGES Release on April 29, 2017 will be on shelves this coming Saturday and features the wines from Washington and Oregon as its main theme. The mini-themes highlight the wines from Germany, as well as a fresh crop of Rosé wines for Spring sipping. We'll begin with the feature on wines from the U.S. Pacific Northwest States of Oregon and Washington....

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Jean-Max Roger La Grange Dîmière Sancerre Rosé 2016 (France) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is something new to VINTAGES and will be available on LCBO shelves across Ontario as part of the upcoming VINTAGES Release on April 29th. This rose wine is produced by Jean-Max Roger, a family from the village of Bué with winegrowing traditions dating back to the 17th century. This winery produces white wines from Sauvignon Blanc and red and rosé wines from...

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Bel Echo Pinot Noir 2012 (New Zealand) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine was purchased back in 2014 from the July 5 LCBO VINTAGES Release, where "Summery New Zealand Wines" were featured as the main release and this wine was listed as the Benchmark/Wine of the Month. Produced by Clos Henri, a French family from Sancerre whose roots in winemaking go back 10 generations. The grapes for this wine are grown predominantly on their free...

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Southbrook Vineyards Wine Tasting - March 2017

Last month, I was invited to a wine tasting by André Proulx to taste through some of the latest wines from Southbrook Vineyards - a winery that pursues organic and biodynamic viticulture that I've featured many times on this blog. There were 13 wines available for tasting, including the 2015 Southbrook Organic Triomphe Pinot Noir and 2015 Southbrook Organic Triomphe...

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VINTAGES Release April 15, 2017: Mediterranean + Aussie Whites

The upcoming LCBO VINTAGES Release on April 15, 2017 will be on shelves this coming Saturday and features wines that basked in the Mediterranean Sun as its main theme, while the mini-theme highlights 3 styles of Aussie white wines perfect for Spring sipping. We'll begin with the main feature on wines from sunny Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece and Croatia....

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Domaine Tournon Mathilda Shiraz 2011 (Australia) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a lovely Shiraz made by the visionary Michel Chapoutier. It was purchased nearly three years ago from the June 7 LCBO VINTAGES Release, and, obviously, not currently available at the LCBO, but does periodically show up in VINTAGES. As luck would have it, the 2013 vintage will be on VINTAGES shelves on April 29. Tasting Note: DOMAINE TOURNON MATHILDA...

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Vineland Estates Wine Tasting at Opus Restaurant

In late-November, I was invited by Halpern Enterprises to an exclusive tasting of Vineland Estates wines at the elegant Opus Restaurant in the Bloor-Yorkville Area in downtown Toronto. It was a small-ish tasting, featuring 13 wines from their Classic, Elevation, and Reserve Series, with a focus more on licensees as most of the wines presented were only available for purchase...

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