Chakana Estate Selection Red Blend 2014 (Argentina) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine is mostly Malbec and will be available at the LCBO soon as part of the VINTAGES Release on April 1st. This wine is produced by Chakana Wines, a winery founded in 2002 by an Italian family whose winemaking roots go back to the 19th century in Valtelina, Italy. The name "Chakana" evokes the symbol represented by the Incas to the Southern Cross constellation...

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Boutari Wine Tasting and Dinner at ONE Restaurant

In mid-October, I was invited to a very special and exclusive tasting of the fine wines from the Boutari portfolio. These Greek wines were paired with gourmet fare at Mark McEwan's ONE Restaurant in Yorkville, downtown Toronto. The guest speaker for the evening was Dr. Yannis Voyatzis, CEO & General Manager at Boutari, and one of the leading Oenologists in Greece. He...

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Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay 2015 (California) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a VINTAGES Essential and is always available in the VINTAGES section at the LCBO. This year, this wine celebrates its milestone 25th year as America's number one selling Chardonnay and is also the fastest growing Chardonnay at the LCBO at present. This white wine is produced by Kendall-Jackson, a winery that has been committed to producing fine wines from...

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Le Fils des Gras Moutons Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie 2015 (Loire) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a nice little sipper ideal for oysters or as an apertif. This white wine will be on LCBO VINTAGES shelves this weekend as part of the March 18 LCBO VINTAGES Release. It is produced by Domaine la Haute Févrie, a winery located southeast of Nantes, in the heart of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine DO, in the western end of the Loire Valley. The estate's 30 hectares...

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VINTAGES Release March 18: California Stars

The upcoming LCBO VINTAGES on March 18th will be on shelves this coming Saturday and is a mono-thematic release titled "California Stars" featuring the first-class wines from 16 top producers in California. From the "California Stars" thematic, 17 wines were featured and 4 are included among my top wine picks. Single-varietal wines include a Sonoma Mountain single vineyard...

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Aniello 006 Merlot 2014 (Argentina) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a new arrival to the LCBO and will be on shelves as part of the March 18 LCBO VINTAGES Release. Even though this wine is new to VINTAGES, Bodega Aniello is a winery that was originally built in 1927. This small estate winery began with 1 hectare of old vineyards planted in 1932, and growing to 4 hectares in 1947. Today, the winery continues to explore the...

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Jean-Max Roger Cuvée Genèse Sancerre 2015 (Loire) - Wine Review

I opened up this delicious white wine tonight ahead of it's release into LCBO VINTAGES on March 18th. Recent vintages of this wine have been excellent, including the 2014 vintage that I tasted in November 2015 and showed up in VINTAGES on November 28 that same year. For the 2015 vintage, this wine has undergone a name change - from Cuvée G.C. to Cuvée Genèse - to reflect...

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