Aug. 30 LCBO Wine Picks: 90+ + Washington + Oregon + Champagne

The next LCBO Vintages release will be in stores this Saturday, August 30th. This is the annual 90+ point wine release, along with features on the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon) and some of the biggest names in Champagne. We'll begin with the Pacific Northwest, where eight rather ho-hum wines are featured and none made my LCBO wine picks. It seems to almost always...

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Napa Valley Tasting - June 2014

On June 16th, I visited Napa Valley for the second time in the last 2 years. After visiting quite a few wineries along the Silverado Trail during my first visit, I decided that I wanted to visit more wineries off the trail this time around. The first stop on this hot and sunny Monday was The Hess Collection Winery, located within the Mount Veeder sub-appellation within...

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Wine Reviews - August 16th Birthday Party

Here are wine reviews of some of the wines we enjoyed yesterday at my 1-year-old daughter's 1st birthday party. The big winners among guests were definitely the Minervois and the Crianza as I received lots of positive comments about both of those red wines. Tasting Notes: KÖNIGSCHAFFHAUSER VULKANFELSEN PINOT NOIR ROSÉ TROCKEN 2013 - Qualitätswein, Baden, Germany (#168237)...

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Aug. 16 LCBO Wine Picks: Southern Belles + Malbec

The next Vintages release will be in LCBO outlets across Ontario on Saturday, August 16th. The major theme of this release highlights wines from the South of France, a region frequently referred to as Midi or Languedoc, while the second theme focuses on Argentina's signature grape - Malbec. I was surprised to see only 12 wines listed in the South of France feature as it's...

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Emiliana Novas Gran Reserva Petit Verdot 2011 (Chile) - Wine Review

Tonight's organic red wine is a lovely Petit Verdot that I heard was specially crafted for the LCBO and was purchased from the September 14, 2013 Vintages release. As it's completely sold out, I wouldn't be surprised to see it show up in Vintages again later this year. If you have this bottle, you may want to open it soon. EMILIANA NOVAS GRAN RESERVA PETIT VERDOT 2011 - Colchagua...

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Ice House Slushies Cabernet Sauvignon (Ontario) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is this delicious dessert wine made by The Ice House Winery, located in Niagara-on-the-Lake. I picked up this bottle last January during the Icewine Festival. It's worth noting even though it is a sweet, dessert wine, it is not VQA, nor is it labelled as Icewine. Regardless, those who prefer sweet wines will enjoy this one. ICE HOUSE SLUSHIES CABERNET SAUVIGNON...

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Hauller Muenchberg Riesling 2011 (Alsace) - Wine Review

Purchased this delicious Grand Cru from a Vintages release last November and opened it last night to celebrate my daughter's 1st birthday. Amazingly, there are still a few bottles kicking around GTA LCBO outlets - get it if you enjoy sweeter wine. HAULLER MUENCHBERG RIESLING 2011 - AC Alsace Grand Cru, France (#360370) (D) - $19.95 Tasting Note: Apple, mineral and melon...

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