Wakefield Jaraman Shiraz 2020 (Australia) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is the latest vintage of a consistently well-made Australian Shiraz that arrives at the LCBO this weekend as part of theme on Southern Hemisphere wines in the June 18th LCBO VINTAGES Release.Wakefield Wines was founded in Clare Valley in 1969 by Bill Taylor Sr. and his two sons with the goal of producing estate wines. Today, Wakefield is owned and...

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Filare Italia Wine Tasting Dinner (May 2022)

On May 9th, I had the pleasure (and finally felt somewhat comfortable) attending my first wine tasting dinner since the start of the pandemic. The dinner was hosted by Caliber Fine Wines & Spirits with wines from Filare Italia and held at Posticino Ristorante in Etobicoke. Joining us from the company that produced these wines were Marco Tam and Vincenzo Castana who talked...

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La Posta Malbec Rosé 2021 (Argentina) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is this lovely rosé wine that's new to LCBO and coming to shelves across Ontario this weekend as part of the June 18th LCBO VINTAGES Release.La Posta Vineyards wines are the Catena family's entry-level range of wines which were first created at the turn of the century when Dr. Laura Catena discovered a handful of growers who consistently showed impressive...

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Domaine Hamelin Beauroy Chablis 1er Cru 2019 (Burgundy) - Wine Review

Tonight's white wine review is the latest vintage of this excellent Chablis Premier Cru that landed at the LCBO as an Online Exclusive in the June 2nd LCBO VINTAGES Release.Domaine Hamelin has a long history that begins in 1840 when Gustave Hamelin planted 2 hectares of vines alongside his mixed farm. In 1880, Pierre Hamelin grew 3 hectares of vines and used mules to help...

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Bottega Pinot Grigio Rosé 2021 (Venezie) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is this deliciously dry rosé wine made with Pinot Grigio from Italy that is coming to LCBO VINTAGES on June 18.The story of Bottega S.p.A. begins in 1635 when the forefather, Andrea, was cultivating vines in the hills near Molinetto della Croda in Refrontolo, a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Veneto wine region. The Bottega family were originally...

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Emerging California Master Class (Apr. 2022)

Last month was California Wine Month and one afternoon in April I had the pleasure of attending a virtual zoom Master Class on "Emerging California". This master class was put on by California Wines and led by leading wine critic, journalist, and educator Elaine Chukan Brown.Winegrowing activities in California began in the mid-1800's. Since that time, California has emerged...

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June 2, 2022 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Online Exclusives

Here's my top wine picks from the June 2, 2022 LCBO VINTAGES Online Exclusives Release. Of the thirty-two wines included as part of this small-ish release, ten are including among my top wine picks. There is no theme to this release, but Australia had a particularly high number of recommendations. All of the wines from this Online Exclusives release will be available for purchase...

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