Valentine's Day Wine Picks (2025)

Celebrating Valentine's Day, Galentine's Day, or cozying up for a quiet evening alone at home on February 14th? Here are a few wine recommendations to treat yourself or that special someone in your life. All three wines are versatile enough that they can be enjoyed on their own, or paired with food at the dinner table, and will provide immense pleasure.Sparkling wine is always...

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Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages 2017 (Sonoma) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine reviews is an excellent Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Sonoma County that arrived at the LCBO as part of the August LCBO VINTAGES Cellar Collection Release and is now available at several stores across Ontario. It will make a fine gift for the holidays or a nice addition to your cellar.It is produced by Chateau St. Jean, an iconic Chateau that dates back...

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Rodney Strong Symmetry 2017 (Sonoma) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is an excellent red blend from Sonoma County that I was first introduced to back in 2017 during a very interesting Rodney Strong Blending Seminar with Winemaker Rick Sayre. The latest vintage of Symmetry arrived at the LCBO last month, as part of the August 19 LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection.It is produced by the pioneering and well-respected...

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Davis Bynum Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2018 (California) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is a beautiful Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley that arrived at the LCBO as a Summer Smart Buy in the August 19th LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection.It is produced by Davis Bynum Winery - the original Russian River Valley Pinot Noir wine producer. The story begins in 1973, when Davis Bynum released his first small lot single vineyard Pinot...

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Rodney Strong Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (California) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma County, California, that arrived at the LCBO last month. It was featured as part of the theme on California wines in the January 21st LCBO VINTAGES Release, and while the magazine and LCBO website list the 2018 vintage, it's actually the 2019 that arrived and widely available across...

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California Sommelier Sessions: Cakebread Cellars + St. Francis + Sequoia Grove

I received this tasting kit recently containing samples of three delightful wines from California. These three wines were featured in the latest California Sommelier Sessions virtual tasting series with representatives from each winery joining the tasting last week.Joining us for this virtual tasting were Stephanie Jacobsen of Cakebread Cellars, Kate Madigan of St. Francis,...

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Vanderpump Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 and Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2018 (California) - Wine Reviews

Tonight's wine reviews are a pair of lovely wines from Sonoma - a California Cabernet Sauvignon and California Chardonnay. Both of these wines are new to the LCBO and arrived on VINTAGES shelves across Ontario this weekend as part of the July 10 LCBO VINTAGES Release.With many decades in the hospitality industry worldwide, the Vanderpump family developed a passion for outstanding...

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Copain Wines Tasting (California) 2019

I recently had the pleasure of tasting some of the latest fine wines from California's Copain Wines. Founded in 1999, Copain, meaning ‘friend’ or ‘buddy’ in French, embodies their philosophy that wine enhances life’s most joyous occasions, and is an experience best shared with friends and family. The winery is perched on a hillside overlooking the Russian River Valley and...

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VINTAGES Release March 31, 2018: Sonoma + Aged Wines

The upcoming LCBO VINTAGES Release on March 31, 2018 features wines from Sonoma as its main theme, while the mini-theme focuses on aged wines. All of these fine wines will be on VINTAGES shelves across Ontario this Saturday. We'll begin with the main theme on wines from Sonoma. In case you didn't know, Sonoma is California's first fine wine region, with winemaking roots...

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VINTAGES Release Nov. 25, 2017: California Wines for Holiday Wish Lists

The next release into LCBO VINTAGES on November 25, 2017 is a mono-thematic release featuring top California wines for holiday wish lists. All of these wines will be on LCBO VINTAGES shelves across Ontario this coming Saturday. This is the second to last release of 2017, and it's a thick one, so you'll want to begin stocking up for the holidays from this release and the...

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Rodney Strong Blending Seminar with Winemaker Rick Sayre

In July, I had the pleasure of attending a Blending Seminar with Winemaker Rick Sayre of Rodney Strong Vineyards at Restaurant Bosk inside the Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Toronto. This was my first such experience, so I was honestly very excited to be part of this fascinating event. After Rick provided a brief introduction of himself and some of the history of Rodney...

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