Jan. 4 LCBO Wine Picks: Smart Buys

This is the first LCBO Vintages release of 2014 and, as always, is the annual "Smart Buys" release. New wines will be on shelves across Ontario on Saturday, January 4. There are 27 wines featured in the "Smart Buys" section and 8 made my list. For some (strange?) reason, it's extremely rare that a "Wine of the Month" makes my list of wine picks, but this time it did. Perhaps...

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Remhoogte Estate Wine 2006 (South Africa) - Wine Review

I thought it would be appropriate to finally open this wine last night as a tribute to Nelson Mandela, on the day of his memorial. Ironically, this winery began its new life when current owners Murray and Juliet Boustred purchased the land in 1994, the year that apartheid ended in South Africa. This red wine was purchased earlier this year from the February 2nd LCBO Vintages...

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Aimery Grand Cuvée 1531 Crémant De Limoux (Southwest) - Wine Review

This is the second wine sample from the fine folks at Philippe Dandurand, and just in time for the peak season of sparkling wines. It is not widely known that in 1531 the Limoux region was the first to create sparkling wine - a full one century prior to Dom Perignon - using what is now known as the "Traditional Method". The Grande Cuvée 1531 is a tribute to that first wine...

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Dec. 7 Wine Picks: Festive Gatherings + Sparkling Wines

The final release of 2013 will arrive on LCBO shelves on Saturday, December 7th. No surprise that this Vintages release focuses on "Fine Wines for Festive Gatherings", while the sub-focus highlights 20 Sparkling Wines for celebrations. We'll begin with the Sparkling Wine section as three wines from this feature made my list of wine picks below. All three were picked with...

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Les Vignes Bila-Haut Côtes du Roussillon-Villages 2011 (Midi) - Wine Review

Received this wine a couple of weeks ago courtesy of the fine folks at Philippe Dandurand Wines. It is from the June 8th release earlier this year and pretty much completely sold out at the LCBO. Not surprising as it's very nice at this price point. Recommended buy if you can find it. Keep an eye out for the 2012 vintage. LES VIGNES BILA-HAUT CÔTES DU ROUSSILLON-VILLAGES...

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Nov. 23 LCBO Wine Picks: The Best for the Holidays

"Our finest wines and spirits for the holidays" is the theme of the next LCBO Vintages release, which will be on shelves across Ontario on Saturday, November 23rd. It looks as though the LCBO went the extra mile with this release as the Vintages logo on the cover received the special gold foil treatment, while inside the magazine there are many, many very nice (and pricey)...

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2013 Gourmet Food & Wine Expo - Review

On November 14th, I attended the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo VIP night. The show returned for its 19th year, and this is the 3rd consecutive year (4th overall) that I attended. I always find the event to be super-busy for a Thursday night. However, it did seem like there were fewer people this year. Or, perhaps it only felt more spacious because they moved the event to...

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