Burrowing Owl (British Columbia) Wine Tasting

In late November, I was invited to a very special tasting of wines by British Columbia's Burrow Owl Estate Winery. This tasting was hosted by their agent here in Ontario - Le Sommelier - and held at the Fine Wine Reserve. Founder Jim Wyse had no intention of starting a winery when he began replanting vineyards in 1993 - his goal was to produce world class, premium quality...

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San Raffaele Monte Tabor Soave 2013 (Veneto) - Wine Review

Opened this crisp and refreshing white wine Sunday night. Monte Tabor has been cultivating vines organically since 1970. In 2006, Monte Tabor began managing another 50 hectares of Soave vineyards in Illasi. Today, viticulturalists and oenologists collaborate on the production of organic wines from these vineyards with the Fasoli family - a family that has been organic producers...

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Feb. 7 LCBO Wine Picks: Italy + Southern Hemisphere

The next LCBO VINTAGES release will be on shelves across Ontario on Saturday, February 7, 2015. The major feature of this release highlights 11 native grapes found in Italy, while the mini-feature highlights wines from the 5 major winemaking powers in the Southern Hemisphere - Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Italy has many native grape varieties...

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Niagara Icewine Festival Review 2015

On the weekend of January 17-18, I visited Niagara as part of the 20th Annual Icewine Festival and a new initiative called Niagara Chilled. This new initiative combined all the events - Gala, Icewine Village in Niagara-on-the-Lake, special events at wineries and restaurants, Discovery Pass, and an indoor/outdoor food, wine and live entertainment extravaganza in Niagara Falls...

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Jan. 24 LCBO Wine Picks: Spain + Chile + Argentina

The next LCBO VINTAGES release will be on shelves across Ontario on Saturday, January 24th. The major theme of this release is on new value wines from Spain, while the mini-theme highlights wines from South America's two wine superpowers - Argentina and Chile. Out of 22 Spanish wines featured, 6 made my list of wine picks - all are red wines. Four of these wines are made...

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Southbrook Vineyards Wine Reviews

Tonight's pair of wines are from Canada's first certified organic and biodynamic winery - Southbrook Vineyards. Both are quite easy-drinking and are suitable for gatherings with friends and family. SOUTHBROOK TRIOMPHE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2012 - VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (#193573) (XD) - $22.95 $20.45 Tasting Note: Stelvin screw cap. Medium intensity nose...

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Jan. 10 LCBO Wine Picks: Smart Buys

The new year is upon us and, as such, we have the annual "Smart Buys" release from VINTAGES that arrives on LCBO shelves this Saturday, January 10th. The magazine is quite noticeably lighter than the massive releases we had in November and December leading up to the busy holiday season. The secondary mini-feature in this VINTAGES release highlights a few Scotches to salute...

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