Mar. 3 Wine Picks: Made in France + Carmenère

The next LCBO Vintages release is on March 3 and there are lots of great buys. I am big fan of French wines, and the major feature in this release focuses on 13 benchmark-setting grapes from wines Made in France. Of the French wines that made my list, the Moulin-à-Vent is made using the Gamay grape, which you see quite commonly planted here in Ontario, but is actually not...

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Concha y Toro Winemaker's Lot 54 Syrah 2008 (Chile) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine was purchased from the October 29 Vintages release and opened tonight with the idea that it would still evolve and taste pretty good on the second day. Why the second day? Because the food pairing on Sunday night will match better than what's on the menu tonight, coupled with the fact that I haven't had a sip of wine since Tuesday. :) CONCHA Y TORO...

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Belje Grasevina 2009 (Croatia) - Wine Review

To celebrate my birthday weekend, I wanted to remind myself that even though I am a year older, it's important to continue to try new things - wine-related or not. Life is too short! As such, I've chosen an off-dry white wine that originates from Croatia. This will be my first time trying a white wine from Croatia - looking through my database I see that I did taste a red...

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Feb. 18 Wine Picks: Customer Favourites + Tasting Terroir + Kosher Wines

The next Vintages release is nearly upon us and will be in LCBO outlets across Ontario on February 18. The main feature of this release is "22 Customer Favourites" and is quite self-explanatory. I honestly didn't find anything too exciting in this part of the magazine and, so, moved to the sub-feature titled "Tasting Terroir". The Bachelder series of Chardonnays from 3...

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Red Knot Shiraz 2008 (Australia) - Wine Review

Received this one last November and was surprised to see the unique cap. Very interesting top with a string-like wrap that you peel off before you simply pull out the re-sealable plastic cork. I've never seen a cap like this! RED KNOT SHIRAZ 2008 - South Australia, Australia (#619395) - $15.95 (on sale now) Tasting Note: Interesting resin cork. Ripe raspberry, herbal...

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Wine Reviews from 2012 Niagara Icewine Festival

During the 2012 Niagara Icewine Festival, I had the opportunity to taste many wines. Most of them were (obviously) sweet, but I was able to taste a few dry table red wines and white wines. Below, you will find  tasting notes of some of the wines I tasted. The best Icewine of the bunch was, by far, the Chateau des Charmes Riesling Icewine. Among dry wines, I look forward to getting my hands on the Legends Estate Shiraz and serving with goat...

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Henry of Pelham Reserve Off-Dry Riesling 2009 (Ontario) - Wine Review

This off-dry white wine is a perennial favourite of mine, as I've purchased the 2007 vintage 3 times (twice in 2008, once in 2009) and enjoyed it each and every time. Purchased recently from the Jan 21 LCBO Vintages release, this promises to be just as good... HENRY OF PELHAM RESERVE OFF-DRY RIESLING 2009 - VQA Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#557165)...

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