Aug. 18 LCBO Wine Picks: 2010 Rhône + Pacific Northwest

The next batch of Vintages wines will be in LCBO outlets across Ontario on Saturday, August 18. In this release, the main feature is on the highly-praised 2010 vintage wines from Southern Rhône, in France.

I've always been a big fan of wines from Rhône and it is with delight I have a chosen a few for you to consume. First up is the Halos de Jupiter, made using 85% Grenache, 10% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre (i.e. a GSM blend) which you can drink now or cellar for 1-2 years. The Grands Bois Cuvée Philippine is another blend made up of equal parts Syrah and Grenache, and 15% Carignan. The third pick from Rhône is not cheap, but will delight for at least the next decade - the Siffrein Châteauneuf-du-Pape consisting of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre and 5% Cinsault.

The secondary feature in this release is on wines from the Pacific Northwest - British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Of the (just!) 6 wines that were featured, only the extra dry Pinot Gris from Oregon made my list of wine picks. I would prefer this region be the main feature in a future release with many more selections, as this region is terribly under-represented here in Ontario.

From the rest of the release, the Saumur-Champigny from Loire is made with Cabernet Franc. From Italy, we have a Chianti Classico made with 95% Sangiovese and 5% Colorino, while the Brunello di Montalcino is strictly Sangiovese.

In white wine, the Bosman Adama is a really interesting dry (i.e. slightly sweet) wine from South Africa that is blended using 60% Chenin Blanc, 20% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Gris, 6% Viognier and 4% Semillon. Also interesting is the NZ Southbank Chardonnay because it is oaked, but comes off as dry. Hope you enjoy my picks for this week! Cheers!


Red Wine:

• LES HALOS DE JUPITER CÔTES DU RHÔNE 2010 - AC, Rhône, France (#276956) (D) - $17.95
• DOMAINE LES GRANDS BOIS CUVÉE PHILIPPINE CÔTES DU RHÔNE-VILLAGES 2010 - AC, Rhône, France (#286344) (XD) - $17.95
• LES VIGNOBLES TERROIRS ET LIEU-DIEU DE LOIRE SAUMUR-CHAMPIGNY 2009 - AC, Loire, France (#662585) (XD) - $15.95
• CENNATOIO ORO CHIANTI CLASSICO 2009 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#121210) (XD) - $21.95
• CALERA PINOT NOIR 2009 - Central Coast, California, USA (#933044) (D) - $31.95
• DOMAINE DE SAINT SIFFREIN CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE 2010 - AC, Rhône, France (#169771) (D) - $39.95
• VERBENA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2007 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#165126) (XD) - $37.95

White Wine:

• BOSMAN ADAMA WHITE 2010 - WO Western Cape, South Africa (#282764) (D) - $18.95
• BOLLIG-LEHNERT TRITTENHEIMER APOTHEKE RIESLING KABINETT 2009 - Prädikatswein, Mosel, Germany (#284448) (M) - $17.95
• SOUTHBANK CHARDONNAY 2010 - Hawkes Bay, North Island, New Zealand (#278523) (D) - $17.95
• COQUENA TORRONTÉS 2011 - Tolombon, Cafayate Valley, Salta, Argentina (#287458) (D) - $19.95
• THE EYRIE VINEYARDS PINOT GRIS 2009 - Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA (#717421) (XD) - $21.95
• MACULAN PINOT GRIGIO 2010 - IGT Veneto, Italy (#734921) (XD) - $13.95

Sparkling Wine:

• CAVE DE LUGNY CUVÉE MILLÉSIME BRUT CRÉMANT DE BOURGOGNE 2009 - AC, Burgundy, France (#183764) (D) - $18.95

The rest of the wines from this release can be found here.

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Domaine Edmond Jacquin Roussette de Savoie Altesse 2010 (France) - Wine Review

This white wine is from the July 7 Vintages release that took us on a tour through France. I am very glad to have stopped in Savoie to sample the Altesse varietal (also sometimes known as Roussette). It's gorgeous and still available in stores! Here's my review:

DOMAINE EDMOND JACQUIN ALTESSE ROUSSETTE DE SAVOIE 2010 - AC, Savoie, France (#277335) (D) - $17.95

Tasting Note:
Notes of honey, apricot and melon aromas. Lovely light hints of apricot, peach, melon on the palate, along with some minerality. Some honey and spice come through on the long finish. Slightly off-dry. Medium bodied and very well-balanced. Tasty and highly recommended!

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Strewn Vidal Icewine 2006 (Ontario) - Wine Review

This was a spur-of-the-moment purchase while we were in Muskoka last weekend and wanted something sweet to finish off our Saturday night. This Icewine was the last bottle of its kind on the shelf and it showed when I opened the cork as some crust had developed. There was also some crust at the bottom of the bottle - not exactly sure how that would've happened.

STREWN VIDAL ICEWINE 2006 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#467746) (S) (200 mL) - $24.95

Tasting Note:
Aromas of peaches, apricot and honey. Palate has apricot, golden honey and some burnt orange notes. Finishes with hints of mulled spices. Medium-bodied with fine acidity that balances the sweetness. A very average Icewine that is past its prime. The 2002 vintage was opened 9 years later and tasted MUCH better than this vintage.

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Maycas del Limarí Reserva Especial Chardonnay 2010 (Chile) - Wine Review

Opened tonight is the first of two wines that I have in my cellar from Maycas del Limarí, a brand of wine produced by Concha Y Toro. This white wine was purchased from the June 9 VINTAGES wine release, where Chilean wine was the major theme.

MAYCAS DEL LIMARÍ RESERVA ESPECIAL CHARDONNAY 2010 - Limarí Valley, Chile (#162040) (XD) - $19.95

Tasting Note:
Citrus, apple and pear aromas from the cork. Toasty apple, buttered popcorn and pear aromas from the glass. On the palate, the bright acidity jumps at you, followed by layers of apple, pear, and spice. Medium-full bodied with a long finish. Extra dry. Will be enjoying this tonight with chicken biryani.

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Aug. 4 LCBO Wine Picks: Blockbusters + Single-Vineyard German Wines

The next Vintages wine release will be in LCBO outlets across Ontario on August 4. The major feature is titled "Blockbuster" wines and focuses on customers' all-time favourite wines. I have tasted and enjoyed many of these wines from previous vintages, but in this release just one wine made my list of wine picks. It's definitely on the pricey side, but the Pinino Brunello di Montalcino (100% Sangiovese) can be decanted and enjoyed now, or wait at least 2 years prior to opening.

The secondary feature in this release is on single-vineyard German wines. I love German Rieslings because many samples are medium in sweetness, complex and have balanced acidity. The Reinhold Haart Kabinett from the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard is one such example, while the more expensive Markus Molitor Spätlese (late harvest) from the Zeltinger Himmelreich vineyard is also very nice.

From the rest of the release, I look to South America for yet another lovely Argentinean Malbec and a Chilean Carmenère. The Langeudoc region in France always serves up great value wines, so the Syrah from Domaine Les Yeuses comes as no surprise - it's a steal at $13.95. A rosé from Provence is in a very fancy bottle and consists of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah. The Castellani Filicheto Montepulciano is made up of 90% Prugnolo Gentile (the regional name for Sangiovese in Tuscany) and 10% Canaiolo Nero. The aromatic Terre Dora is made with the Fiano varietal.

Within Canada, we've got a medium-sweet sparkler from... Nova Scotia! Also in this release is an oustanding oaked Chardonnay made by Inniskillin right here in Niagara, Ontario. Enjoy my picks for this week!


Red Wine:

• PASCUAL TOSO RESERVE MALBEC 2009 - Barrancas Vineyards, Mendoza, Argentina (#183897) (XD) - $19.95
• DOMAINE LES YEUSES LES ÉPICES SYRAH 2009 - IGP Pays d’Oc, Midi, France (#177584) (XD) - $13.95
• CONCHA Y TORO SERIE RIBERAS GRAN RESERVA CARMENÈRE 2009 - DO Peumo, Ribera del Cachapoal, Chile (#274043) (XD) - $16.95
• PININO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2006 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#032508) (XD) - $38.95
• CASTELLANI FILICHETO VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO 2009 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#184937) (XD) - $17.95
• SOTER VINEYARDS NORTH VALLEY PINOT NOIR 2009 - Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA (#289470) (D) - $37.95

White Wine:

• INNISKILLIN WINEMAKER’S SERIES MONTAGUE VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 2010 - VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#586347) (D) - $18.95
• REINHOLD HAART PIESPORTER GOLDTRÖPFCHEN RIESLING KABINETT 2009 - Prädikatswein, Mosel, Germany (#282335) (M) - $19.95
• CAPE POINT VINEYARDS SAUVIGNON BLANC 2010 - WO Cape Point, South Africa (#285221) (XD) - $18.95
• CLOS MARGUERITE SAUVIGNON BLANC 2010 - Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#281014) (XD) - $18.95
• TERRE DORA FIANO DI AVELLINO 2010 - DOCG, Campania, Italy (#120048) (XD) - $18.95
• MARKUS MOLITOR ZELTINGER HIMMELREICH RIESLING SPÄTLESE 2008 - Prädikatswein, Mosel, Germany (#282350) (M) - $26.95

Rosé Wine:

• CHÂTEAU DE L’AUMÉRADE CRU CLASSÉ CUVÉE MARIE CHRISTINE ROSÉ 2011 - AC Côtes de Provence, France (#282459) (D) - $15.95

Sparkling Wine:

• BENJAMIN BRIDGE NOVA 7 2011 - Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada (#256289) (M) - $25.95

The rest of the wines from this release can be found here.

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A History of Wine

Wine and the art of wine making has been part of human culture for eons. Indeed, archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest wine production came from sites in Georgia and Iran, dating from 6000 to 5000 BC. Evidence of the earliest European wine production has been uncovered at archaeological sites in Macedonia, dated to 6,500 years ago. Traces of wine dating from the second and first millennium BC have also been found in China. The history of people enjoying a good drop, therefore, stretches far into history, and far around the world.

Wine was also common in classical Greece and Rome, as you might expect with all the opulence, extravagance and sophistication of those societies. In addition, many of the major wine producing regions of Western Europe today were established with Phoenician and later-Roman plantations.

However, in medieval Europe, following the decline of Rome’s power and influence, there was a drop-off in widespread wine production. While the universal consumption of wine suffered a lull, wine production continued due to the fact the Christian church was a staunch supporter of the wine necessary for celebration of the Catholic Mass.

Similarly, whereas wine was forbidden in medieval Islamic cultures, Geber (a colossal figure in Persian science, alchemy, philosophy and geography) and other Muslim chemists pioneered the distillation of wine for medicinal purposes and its use in Christian libation was widely tolerated.

Wine production gradually got back on its feet in the West and its consumption became popularised from the 15th century onwards in Europe, surviving the devastating Phylloxera louse of the 1870s throughout the continent (a pest outbreak that nearly totally destroyed the wine plantations of France during this decade). After this, wine growing regions were established throughout the world, with wine production and the commercial nature of wine becoming recognizable as how we know it today.

Another particularly important development in the global wine trade was the expansion of production into the ‘New World’. In the USA, vineyards in Ohio were the innovators, before the industry firmly moved to California – American wine’s spiritual home to this day. Australia also picked up the slack in earnest in the late 19th century, while at the same time such things as port, sherry and fortified wines were becoming popular in Europe.

Other countries that have expanded wine production in the 20th century include South Africa, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Japan, Romania, Brazil, Uruguay, China and Canada.

Written by Julia Binkheart, a commentator and amateur wine enthusiast specializing in Wine Australia.

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Video Wine & Cheese with Natalie MacLean

On Wednesday, July 25th we tasted three Ontario VQA wines and paired them with six Canadian cheeses. This is part 2 of this edition of #CdnCheese and wine pairing (here is part 1). Here is the recording of our Live Video Chat using the Hangout feature on Google+. We had lots of fun doing this, as you will see when you watch the video. :)

JACKSON-TRIGGS ENTOURAGE SILVER SERIES BRUT MÉTHODE CLASSIQUE 2007 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#234161) (XD) - $22.95
Yeasty with hints of floral and citrus aromas. More citrus on the palate, followed by flower, biscuit, nutty, and toast on the palate. Not overly carbonated. Extra dry.

Paired well with the Niagara Gold and the Alfred Le Fermier, while the Maple Smoked Cheddar dominated the palate when paired with this sparkling wine. Both the Île-aux-Grues 1-year-old cheddar and the Avonlea  Clothbound Cheddar are versatile cheeses that also paired well.

LE CLOS JORDANNE VILLAGE RESERVE PINOT NOIR 2009 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#033894) (XD) - $30.00
Intense smoky, meat, pepper, and dark fruit aromas. Bitter, dark fruits, minerality on the palate, finishing with sour cherry and touch of pepper. Balanced, light- to medium-bodied, extra dry.

The Albert's Leap brie soaked up the smoky/meaty flavours, while the Île-aux-Grues lended it's creaminess to further balance this Pinot. The complex flavours of the Avonlea cheddar also paired well. Once again, the Maple Smoked was much too strong.

FLOURISH VIDAL ICEWINE 2008 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#222356) (S) (200 mL) - $17.95
A wine pick of mine from the February 4, 2012 Vintages release. Gorgeous honeycomb, peach, apricot aromas with loads of replays on the palate. Enough acidity to balance out the sweet flavours, not syrupy. Medium-bodied with a long finish. Yum!

The Avonlea cheddar and Alfred Le Fermier go really well with this Icewine. The sweet flavours in this Icewine go up well against the strong, smoky flavours of the Maple Smoked Cheddar.

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