LCBO VINTAGES September 30, 2017: Family Matters + Sangiovese + Thanksgiving

The next release into LCBO VINTAGES on September 30, 2017 features 6 top wineries where "Family Matters" as its main theme. The mini-themes in this release focus on the Sangiovese grape varietal and fine wines for Thanksgiving. New wines will be on shelves this coming Saturday. We'll begin with the feature titled "Family Matters", where the focus is on six winemaking families...

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Rodney Strong Blending Seminar with Winemaker Rick Sayre

In July, I had the pleasure of attending a Blending Seminar with Winemaker Rick Sayre of Rodney Strong Vineyards at Restaurant Bosk inside the Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Toronto. This was my first such experience, so I was honestly very excited to be part of this fascinating event. After Rick provided a brief introduction of himself and some of the history of Rodney...

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Catena High Mountain Vines Malbec 2015 (Argentina) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a VINTAGES Essential and is always available in the VINTAGES section at many LCBO outlets across the province. And because this red wine always available, it does go on promotion from time to time with either Bonus Air Miles or a couple of dollars off the regular retail price. This wine has been produced by Bodega Catena Zapata for many years now, going...

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La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2015 (California) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine is a sneak preview of a nice Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast that will be in LCBO VINTAGES on September 16th. I had the opportunity to taste (and enjoy) both the 2013 La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and 2014 La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir last year and have similar expectations for this latest vintage from La Crema. The 2015 vintage was a bit of a challenge...

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LCBO VINTAGES September 16, 2017: Local Wines

The upcoming release in LCBO VINTAGES on September 16 is a mono-thematic release focusing on Local Wines from Ontario. New wines from this release will be on shelves at LCBO outlets across Ontario this Saturday. The feature on Local Wines is titled "Crafted from the Ground Up" and touches upon the various aspects of winemaking that help produce fine wines. It starts with...

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Catena High Mountain Vines Chardonnay 2016 (Argentina) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a recent arrival to the LCBO, as it was released into LCBO VINTAGES on August 5th. It was featured as part of the theme on high altitude wines from Argentina. This white wine is produced by the legendary Bodega Catena Zapata. Founded in 1902 by Nicolás Catena Zapata, this winery is known for its pioneering role in resurrecting Malbec and in discovering extreme...

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Hecht & Bannier Côtes du Roussillon-Villages 2008 (Midi) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine to end a busy Summer is this red wine blend from one of my favourite producers in the Languedoc - Hecht & Bannier. I had the pleasure of meeting one of the founders of this winery, Gregory Hecht, a few years ago and will likely meet him again this Fall. This wine was purchased from a VINTAGES Release in March 2012. Newer vintages have periodically shown...

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