The best wines in January are priced under $20, the the smart buy value wines that help us tighten our belts and wallets. The LCBO often features bargain-priced wines at this time of the year, right after the holidays when we’ve blown our budget with champagne and expensive gift wines. What is value when it comes to wine? That’s subjective, but many of these bottles hit above their price-point in quality. Even types of wines that are usually more expensive like pinot noir, chianti and port are represented well in this release. Here’s a sampling of my best wine […]
Best Wines
Get Out of Your Wine Rut in 2014: Try These Wines
What are the best wines to try in 2014? Want get out of your wine rut? That’s our wine topic on the CTV News video clip above. We looked at great wines to try based on what you already like, similar to how Amazon recommends books: if you like this one, then you might like that one. Let me know about a new wine that you discovered this year in the comments below. Get Out of Your Wine Rut in 2014: Try These Wines News Anchor: And now back to Leanne Cusack with a little more on the good […]
Ontario Wines Coming to Farmers Markets
The new law allowing Ontario VQA wines to be sold at farmers’ markets is our topic of discussion in the CBC Metro Morning clip below. The change affords Ontario VQA wines greater awareness among new customers, access to new markets and new streams of revenue. Click on the arrow above to listen to the clip. Access to farmers’ markets is especially important for the 100 smaller wineries that currently do not have wines sold in the LCBO liquor stores because they don’t produce enough to meet the requirements of that retail channel. Currently, the can only sell their wines at […]
Gorgeous Wine Book Maps Wine Regions and Grapes
Want to learn about wine without falling asleep? Want to engage your visual senses while you taste wines from around the world? The Wine Lover’s Coloring Book is a great place to start. In the video above, author Louise Wilson and I chat about how she conceived the idea while taking the International Sommelier Guild courses. While the book may sound like it’s for children, don’t be deceived (or have preconceived notions). It’s part of next evolution of wine books that engage our senses. Really? Yes. Currently, a scratch and sniff wine book by a master sommelier is #11 on […]
Whistler Cornucopia Wine Festival: BC Wines and Beyond
British Columbia Wines at the Cornucopia Wine Festival By Tania Thomas Early November is a perfect time to head to Whistler, a majestic resort town nestled in the Coastal Mountains of beautiful British Columbia, and take part in Cornucopia; an 11-day annual Fall Celebration of premier food and wine. This great event, 17 years running now, offers a great variety of interactive seminars, delectable winery dinners, gala wine tastings and those famous after-parties. It is an epicurean extravaganza not to be missed for locals and visitors alike. Friday events started with the BC Wine Institute’s, VQA Trade Seminar “Unmistakably Ours,” […]
Gnarly Head Zinfandel, Cave Spring Cabernet Franc, Benjamin Bridge Nova 7: LCBO Vintages Wines December 7
Here are my top wine picks from the December 7 Vintages Release, the most quoted Canadian source of reviews in the magazine. VIP Members can access all 103 wines that I reviewed as a text shopping list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches and the stock for each bottle in their closest LCBO stores. They can also add my wine picks to their custom shopping list with one click and access that list on their smartphone. This is one of the benefits of becoming a VIP Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two […]
LCBO Best Wines: Wynns Chardonnay, Versado Malbec, Hidden Bench Pinot Noir: November 23 Vintages
Here are my top wine picks from the November 23 Vintages Release, the most quoted Canadian source of reviews in the magazine. VIP Members can access all 103 wines that I reviewed as a text shopping list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches and the stock for each bottle in their closest LCBO stores. They can also add my wine picks to their custom shopping list with one click and access that list on their smartphone. This is one of the benefits of becoming a VIP Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two […]
Canadian Wine and the European Trade Deal
How will the new European trade deal affect the Canadian wine industry? Here are some excerpts quoted from a recent story by Dianne Buckner, host of CBC’s Dragon Den. The story ran on CBC, Reuters and Canadian Business magazine. Unlike Canada’s cheese-makers and fisheries who find themselves disadvantaged by the new deal, some in Canada’s wine industry are thrilled by the prospect of new customers. Just ask the president of the Canadian Vintners Association. “The agreement opens preferential market access to the EU’s more than 500 million consumers,” says Dan Paszkowski. “It creates new opportunities for Canadian wine exports to […]
Yalumba Wine Tasting: A Sensory Tour of Old & New World
By Jane Staples G’day, mate ! was the friendly greeting from Yalumba’s winemaker and storyteller, Jane Ferrari. As we chatted, I asked her how she feels about the concept of “terroir” and she answered emphatically that she believes in it. When visitors come to the Yalumba vineyard, she takes small groups out to 5 different vineyards, then pulls down the back of her truck and does a comparative tasting on the spot. Jane was recently named “Wine Communicator of the Year” in Australia. A trained winemaker, she now travels the world for Yalumba Wines. Canada and the US are the […]
Joy to the World Holiday Wine Match
You can help create the ultimate holiday wine shopping list in the Joy to the World Holiday Wine Match! Nominate and/or vote for your favourite wines from around the world under $25 to pair with holiday dishes. As the first people’s choice awards for holiday wines, the competition takes a grassroots, “bottoms up” approach to get us rallying behind our favourite bottles so that we can pour like Santa, but save like Scrooge. In the video above, three festive wine lovers and I get into the spirits of the season and chat about wines to pair with […]
