June 30, 2022 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Online Exclusives

The June 30, 2022 LCBO VINTAGES Online Exclusives Release features forty-four wines, of which sixteen are included among my top wine picks. All of these wines will be available for purchase exclusively online at lcbo.com beginning this Thursday. As usual, there is no theme to these Online Exclusives Releases, but there are a bunch of fine, high-quality wines.We begin with...

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Cabriz Colheita Selecionada 2019 and Rosé 2020 (Portugal) - Wine Reviews

Tonight's wine reviews are a pair of delicious, budget-friendly wines from Cabriz of Portugal. Both wines arrived at the LCBO recently as part of the June 18 LCBO VINTAGES Release.Cabriz wines are part of Global Wines and are one of the leading brands and best-selling wines from the Dão wine region in Portugal. Quinta de Cabriz is located in the heart of Dão in Carregal do...

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Killibinbin The Shadow Shiraz/Cabernet 2016 (Australia) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is this lovely Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon blend that is new to the LCBO and arrived on shelves across Ontario last weekend as part of the June 18 LCBO VINTAGES Release.Launched in 2010, Killibinbin is one of a number of ranges wines produced by Brothers in Arms, a family-owned winery located in Langhorne Creek, South Australia. Although Brothers...

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Castelo do Mar Albariño 2020 (Spain) - Wine Review

Tonight's white wine review is this lovely Albariño from Spain. I enjoyed the 2018 Castelo do Mar Albariño in December 2020 and am delighted to see the latest vintage arrive in Ontario as part of the weekend's June 18 LCBO VINTAGES Release.Winery Veiga da Princesa produces this white wine and is part of Grupo Pazo do Mar. The winery is located in Arbo, Pontevedra, in Galicia...

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June 18, 2022 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Southern Hemisphere

The lone in-store release of the month is the June 18 LCBO VINTAGES Release and it focuses on wines from countries in the Southern Hemisphere - namely Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, and South Africa. Included in the catalogue also is a sneak preview of the next Online Exclusives Release (June 30th). Wines from the in-store release should be on shelves across Ontario...

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Wakefield Jaraman Shiraz 2020 (Australia) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is the latest vintage of a consistently well-made Australian Shiraz that arrives at the LCBO this weekend as part of theme on Southern Hemisphere wines in the June 18th LCBO VINTAGES Release.Wakefield Wines was founded in Clare Valley in 1969 by Bill Taylor Sr. and his two sons with the goal of producing estate wines. Today, Wakefield is owned and...

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Filare Italia Wine Tasting Dinner (May 2022)

On May 9th, I had the pleasure (and finally felt somewhat comfortable) attending my first wine tasting dinner since the start of the pandemic. The dinner was hosted by Caliber Fine Wines & Spirits with wines from Filare Italia and held at Posticino Ristorante in Etobicoke. Joining us from the company that produced these wines were Marco Tam and Vincenzo Castana who talked...

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La Posta Malbec Rosé 2021 (Argentina) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is this lovely rosé wine that's new to LCBO and coming to shelves across Ontario this weekend as part of the June 18th LCBO VINTAGES Release.La Posta Vineyards wines are the Catena family's entry-level range of wines which were first created at the turn of the century when Dr. Laura Catena discovered a handful of growers who consistently showed impressive...

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Domaine Hamelin Beauroy Chablis 1er Cru 2019 (Burgundy) - Wine Review

Tonight's white wine review is the latest vintage of this excellent Chablis Premier Cru that landed at the LCBO as an Online Exclusive in the June 2nd LCBO VINTAGES Release.Domaine Hamelin has a long history that begins in 1840 when Gustave Hamelin planted 2 hectares of vines alongside his mixed farm. In 1880, Pierre Hamelin grew 3 hectares of vines and used mules to help...

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Bottega Pinot Grigio Rosé 2021 (Venezie) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is this deliciously dry rosé wine made with Pinot Grigio from Italy that is coming to LCBO VINTAGES on June 18.The story of Bottega S.p.A. begins in 1635 when the forefather, Andrea, was cultivating vines in the hills near Molinetto della Croda in Refrontolo, a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Veneto wine region. The Bottega family were originally...

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Emerging California Master Class (Apr. 2022)

Last month was California Wine Month and one afternoon in April I had the pleasure of attending a virtual zoom Master Class on "Emerging California". This master class was put on by California Wines and led by leading wine critic, journalist, and educator Elaine Chukan Brown.Winegrowing activities in California began in the mid-1800's. Since that time, California has emerged...

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June 2, 2022 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Online Exclusives

Here's my top wine picks from the June 2, 2022 LCBO VINTAGES Online Exclusives Release. Of the thirty-two wines included as part of this small-ish release, ten are including among my top wine picks. There is no theme to this release, but Australia had a particularly high number of recommendations. All of the wines from this Online Exclusives release will be available for purchase...

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