Southbrook Organic Vidal Icewine 2014 (Niagara) - Wine Review (Dec. 2020)

To celebrate the holiday season, tonight's wine review is this gorgeous organic Vidal Icewine from Niagara that showed up in LCBO VINTAGES on November 10, 2018. While the 2014 is mostly sold out - six bottles actually still remain at LCBO locations - the 2015 vintage is available through the winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake and online through their web store.It is produced by...

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Southbrook Poetica Chardonnay 2012 (Niagara) - Wine Review (Bottle 2)

Tonight's wine review is a lovely organic and biodynamic Chardonnay from Niagara-on-the-Lake's Southbrook Vineyards. I last enjoyed the 2012 Southbrook Poetica Chardonnay in December 2015 and wrote that it should evolve nicely over the next 5-6 years. The story of Southbrook Vineyards begins in 1941 when William Redelmeier (current owner Bill Redelmeier's grandfather) purchased...

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Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2013 (Niagara) - Wine Review (Bottle 2)

I first enjoyed the organic, biodynamic and vegan-friendly 2013 Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Wild Ferment Chardonnay back in 2015 and mentioned at the time that it should improve in a couple of years, so tonight I am opening the 2nd bottle, 4 years later, to see how it has evolved. Southbrook Vineyards, a family-owned winery based in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is a leader...

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Southbrook Triomphe Cabernet Merlot 2014 (Niagara) - Wine Review (Bottle 2)

I last enjoyed 2014 Southbrook Triomphe Cabernet Merlot back in December 2015, and tonight I am opening the 2nd bottle that I have in my possession. This red wine blend is produced by Southbrook Vineyards with grapes coming from the Saunders Vineyard in Niagara. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks and ageing occurred in neutral oak barrels. This certified...

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Southbrook Laundry Vineyard Wines

I had the opportunity to taste these three lovely wines from Southbrook Organic Vineyards recently and am pleased to report that all of them are delicious! Southbrook recently launched a new tier of "Single Vineyard" wines with a focus on grapes from single sub-appellations, highlighting their dedicated organic growers. The winery is known for their Connect, Triomphe, Estate,...

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Southbrook Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2017 (Niagara) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is an organic and biodynamic Chardonnay from Niagara that is also suitable for vegans and vegetarians. I enjoyed the 2013 Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Wild Ferment Chardonnay almost 3 years ago to the date (and still have another bottle in the cellar), so I am curious to see how this latest version will be. This delicious white wine is produced...

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Southbrook Vidal Skin Fermented White Orange Wine 2017 (Niagara) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a very interesting natural, organic and biodynamic orange wine produced by Southbrook Vineyards. Technically, orange wines are now known as a skin-fermented white wines. Southbrook has produced this style of wine under the guiding hands of winemaker Ann Sperling for several years now, with latest rendition being the 2017 vintage that was bottled in January...

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Southbrook Organic Triomphe Chardonnay 2016 (Niagara) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is a nice, organic Chardonnay from Southbrook Vineyards, one of the leading producer of organic and biodynamic wines in Niagara. This white wine is also suitable for vegans and vegetarians. It is available for purchase through the winery and in LCBO VINTAGES. Founded in 1991, Southbrook Vineyards is the epitome and evolution of co-owners Marilyn and...

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Wine Tasting in Niagara-on-the-Lake - August 2017

In late August, I toured Niagara-on-the-Lake and visited a some fine wineries with a few friends. It was a day trip, and with fine weather in tow, this was a fantastic day of wine tasting! We visited four wineries in all, beginning at Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery - a family-run organic and biodynamic winery for a tasting of some of their very fine, premium wines. They also...

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Southbrook Whimsy! The Anniversary (Niagara) - Wine Review

I opened up this delicious Fortified wine tonight to celebrate it's recent Gold Medal at the 2017 National Wine Awards of Canada (NWAC). Looking at the results from this competition, this is the top Fortified wine in Canada! This wine is produced by Southbrook Vineyards, and is one of many Southbrook wines I've tasted from a winery that is Canada's first certified organic...

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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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Southbrook Connect Organic White 2014 (Ontario) - Wine Review (Bottle 2)

I first tried tonight's organic white wine from Southbrook Vineyards just over a year ago. And tonight, I am opening the second bottle with an expectation that it has matured a little. This wine is bottled under Stelvin screw cap, so I am expecting only subtle changes, if any at all. If you're interested in purchasing this wine, there may be some 2014s left at the LCBO, but...

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Southbrook Organic Triomphe Chardonnay 2015 (Niagara) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine was bottled last July, but only released by the winery for home delivery across Canada a few weeks ago. This small batch organic Chardonnay has been produced by Southbrook Vineyards for many years now. I've tasted the previous 3 vintages (2014, 2013 and 2012), which were all delicious, and I expect the 2015 to also be delicious, while continuing to be suitable...

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Southbrook Organic Triomphe Pinot Noir 2015 (Niagara) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is something we haven't seen in many, many years - a Triomphe Pinot Noir from Southbrook Vineyards. Since moving to Niagara and starting their own organic production, only organically grown grapes are chosen for Southbrook's Triomphe line of wines. And since they didn't plant any Pinot Noir (or Riesling) at their site in Four Mile Creek (in Niagara-on-the-Lake),...

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Seriously Cool Red 2013 (Ontario) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a General List product at the LCBO and widely available throughout Ontario. You may have noticed that this bottle is on the cover of LCBO's current fall catalogue. The 2012 Seriously Cool Red was a Gamay-based blend that I tasted in the Spring, while this latest vintage is Pinot Noir dominated. It continues to be suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Produced...

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Southbrook Organic Triomphe Cabernet Franc 2013 (Niagara) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine returns to VINTAGES soon and will be on shelves at the LCBO as part of the upcoming VINTAGES Release on October 15th. I tasted this organic wine produced by Southbrook Vineyards previously at the epic Ontario Cabernet Franc tasting in June, 2015. It's now had more than a year in bottle to soften any hard edges and comes across as quite smooth today, as noted...

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Southbrook Organic Triomphe Chardonnay 2014 (Niagara) - Wine Review

I opened up this nice organic Chardonnay last night to pair with rotisserie chicken - and it paired very well indeed! This white wine is the latest vintage of Southbrook Vineyards' Triomphe Chardonnay and is included as part of the LCBO VINTAGES Release on October 1st. Having tasted both the 2013 and 2012 vintages of this wine, this latest vintage comes across as quite reductive...

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Southbrook Triomphe Organic Cabernet Franc Rosé 2015 (Niagara) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a sneak preview of a dry rosé that will be available at the LCBO as part of the VINTAGES Release on June 25. This wine is 100% Cabernet Franc, from grapes grown organically at the Estate, as well as from the Saunders and Sabourin Vineyards. Tasting Note: SOUTHBROOK TRIOMPHE ORGANIC CABERNET FRANC ROSÉ 2015 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#279117)...

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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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Southbrook Poetica Red 2012 (Niagara) - Wine Review

The final instalment of wines from Southbrook Vineyards is the Southbrook Poetica Red from their top-of-the-line "Poetica" collection. I wrote a brief introduction about this collection of wines during my review of their 2012 Poetica Chardonnay. Featured on the label once again is an excerpt from a lovely poem by Chief Dan George. "Words to a Grandchild" speaks to the role...

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