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 […]
Best Wines
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 […]
Wine Events and Tastings in Canada
Here is my Top 10 List of Wine Shows in Canada: 1. Vancouver Playhouse Festival: January 2016 2. La Grande Dégustation de Montréal: November 5-7, 2015 Montreal, Quebec 3. World Wine & Food Expo: October 30 – November 7, 2015 Moncton 4. Californian Wine Fair (5 cities): April-May 2016 5. Winnipeg Wine Festival 6. Port of Wines Festival: Halifax Dates change, so register online with the event to get alerts on the most current information. You’ll find tips on getting the most from wine shows here. I find that the larger shows that attract 20,000+ attendees are designed more […]
LCBO Best Wines: Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon, Morgan Chardonnay, Burrowing Owl Syrah: November 9 Vintages
Here are my top wine picks from the November 9 Vintages Release, the most quoted Canadian source of reviews in the magazine. VIP Members can access all 79 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. Stock numbers are usually posted online a day or two before the release based on the LCBO doing so. You can also see my reviews for the October 26 LCBO Vintages Release or take a sneak peak at the November 23 LCBO Vintages […]
Taste Ontario Features Great Wines: Thirty Bench, East Dell
By Kristy Gardner Out of all the fantastic wines at Taste Ontario this year, the biggest highlight for me is the vintages of Thirty Bench wines. The staff are friendly, ready to talk shop and most importantly, excited to have us taste their wines. While their 2011 Small lot Chardonnay is surprisingly fresh and fruit forward with notes of lemon and spice, and the 2011 Winemaker’s Red – a blend of cab sauv, cab merlot and cab franc – is well balanced, juicy, bold and smooth, it’s their 2006 Small Lot Wood Post Riesling that really impresses me. This […]
Wine and Truffles in Italy: Chef Massimo Capra
In the video above, Chef Massimo Capra talks about his most memorable wine during a truffle dinner on a hillside in Italy. He also talks about the Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival and a special wine on auction, Tignanello. You can watch part one of our wine chat here. Antinori 2009 Tignanello Massimo has chosen to taste one of the wines that will be featured at the Grand Cru Festival Auction this year: Tignanello is produced exclusively from the vineyard of the same name, a parcel of some 140 acres (57 hectares) at 1150-1325 feet (350-400 meters) […]
Twitter’s Profound Impact on Wine Purchases
Twitter has a powerful influence on the way make buying decisions, according to a new study published this week. The research firm DB5, which conducts studies regularly about Facebook, Google and other social media companies, found that: – 55% of people discuss gift ideas on Twitter, including wine, books and electronics – 66% of respondents said they learned about new brands on Twitter – 64% said they have bought a product because of something they saw on Twitter – 50% of survey responders said they check Twitter while in a retail store The Infographic below is a compelling visual representation […]
Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival: Vintage Pleasure
The Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival is Canada’s largest wine and culinary fundraiser for medical research, raising more than $11.4 million since it started in 2005. In the video below, chef Massimo Capra, who writes a column for the Globe & Mail and has appeared on the Food Network, is one of the celebrity chefs who will be cooking a special dinner this year. He reveals the details of this special meal in the video. You can also watch our second wine video chat here. Chef Massimo Capra has been involved with Grand Cru since it began in 2005, and […]
