By Susan Desjardins While working as a high-tech executive, Eugene Roman was also developing his skills as a master beekeeper and dreaming big about creating a winery and meadery in Niagara. In 2000, he and his wife Renata purchased 40 acres on the Beamsville Bench, an ideal site for producing cool-climate wines, and backing onto the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. A further 45 acres was subsequently purchased in Jordan. Construction of the winery began in 2005, the design of the building reflecting the family’s European heritage, as do the Renaissance-style parterres and exquisite rose gardens. 2006 marked […]
Wine Picks
Italy’s Verdicchio: A Country with a Grape for Everyone
By Holly Bruns It’s hard to believe that with hundreds of indigenous grapes, Italy is not the birthplace of winemaking. Thus far that credit goes to Georgia where along the slopes of the Caucasian Mountains, perhaps, there was one mother of a vine that gave life to the multitudes of grapes that now grow worldwide. When exactly Vitis Vinifera were transplanted to the Italian peninsula is not known exactly, but Greek traders back in 800 BC certainly helped the process along. Today, as the wine industry in Italy continues to go through a renaissance, the shelves of Pinot Grigio and […]
Ribera del Duero, Vina Tarapaca, Capraia Classico Riserva: Best Cellar Wines in LCBO Vintages Release September 1
By Gaby Israel Here’s my best cellar wines list for this release as a shopping list that you can print and will show you LCBO stock availability. Spain – Ribera del Duero – 2008 Legon Crianza (276089)-$15.95 This is my #1 GPCi choice of the Sep 1st, 2012 release. 2008 was a very good vintage in Ribera del Duoro region (wait for the 2009 wines – they are even better!). RP gave this Legon Crianza 90 with a 8 year cellaring window (until 2020), which makes the GPCi almost par with 2 (remember, any GPCi below 3.5 is a good […]
Verbena Brunello De Montalcino, Domaine Roche Cairannie, Bosquet Des Papes: Best Cellar Wines in LCBO Vintages Release August 18
By Gaby Israel Here’s my best cellar wines list for this release as a shopping list that you can print and will show you LCBO stock availability. Spain – Montsant – Celler Besllum Besllum 2008 (283515) – $15.95 My #1 “must try” wine of this 8/18 release. RP gave it 93 and its GPCi is “crazy” (1.45!) – can be cellared until 2023. I was looking for the meaning of the word Besllum and found two interesting definitions: 1 – Besllum is a Catalan word with no literal translation meaning ‘imperfect, uncertain understanding of something’ 2 – Besllum means “a […]
Mer Soleil Chardonnay, Maculan Pinot Grigio, Wakefield Cabernet Sauvignon: Top LCBO Wines Vintages Release August 18
Here are my top picks from the August 18 Vintages Release. You can also get all 82 of my Best Value Wines and Top Rated Wines for red, white, rose, sparkling and dessert wines that encompass many price points, styles and regions. You can add my wine picks to your shopping list by clicking on the little shopping cart icon. You can also create a custom list just for this release that will be saved in your account. Print a text-only version of the reviews. 2010 Maculan Pinot Grigio, Veneto, Italy Vibrant and zesty pinot grigio that I […]
Spanish Wines Scoring 97 Points at Incredible Prices
By: Travis Oke Week one of my own version of Euro 2012. This one involves my family and I eating our way through Spain and France. We are in Malaga, an historic city on the Costa del Sol in Spain. What is silly about this country is the price of wine. At the local grocery store – Mercadona – my brother found a Comportillo Rioja Gran Reserva 2005 for 8 Euro. This vintage year is rated a 97 by a certain Robert Parker Jr – but the vintage has still not reached its maturity date. That didn’t really concern me. […]
Pairing Wine and Dessert with a Sommelier and Wine Importer
Andrew von Teichman This interview was published in a recent edition of my column in Homefront Maagzine. Andrew von Teichman, Toronto sommelier, winemaker and wine importer, talks about wines to pair with summer desserts. You’re a sommelier by training, but now own a winery and wine agency. Why did you go into those fields? My father was a co-founder of Pelee Island Winery in southwestern Ontario, so I had a chance to work in the vineyards and cellar during high school summers. I wasn’t forced to do this; I just decided to apply for a job there one summer and […]
Benjamin Bridge Nova 7, LA Cetto Petite Sirah, Schlumberger Sparkling Wine: Top LCBO Wines Vintages Release August 4
Here are my top picks from the August 4 Vintages Release. You can also get all 65 of my Best Value Wines and Top Rated Wines for red, white, rose, sparkling and dessert wines that encompass many price points, styles and regions. You can add my wine picks to your shopping list by clicking on the little shopping cart icon. You can also create a custom list just for this release that will be saved in your account. Print a text-only version of the reviews. 2010 Benjamin Bridge Nova 7, Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada Celebrate life! Wow […]
Patrizi Barolo, Benmarco Cabernet Sauvignon, McManis Family Vineyards Viognier: Best Cellar Wines in LCBO Vintages Release August 4
By Gaby Israel Here’s my best cellar wines list for this release as a shopping list that you can print. Italy – Piedmont – 2008 Patrizi Barolo (653527) – $23.95 Barolo for $24? My #1 choice for this Aug 4th release. The Manfredi Family has a long history with wine. In the Second World War, they delivered wine by wagon. 2008 was an outstanding vintage in Piedmont – RP rated it 93 indicating that the wines are age worthy. Argentina – Mendoza – 2004 Cicchitti Gran Reserva Malbec (155713) – $21.95 My #2 choice of this release. Yuval, this wine […]
A Rose of a Wine from Navan, Ontario
By: Holly Bruns Navan, Ontario is a small village in the Ottawa Valley. It’s an area of the world where the wind blows and temperatures drop to well below freezing in winter, but heat and humidity can bolster the thermometer to the mid-30s in summer. This is farming country and it’s an everyday agrarian landscape that greets the eye: rather flat with a few gently rolling hills, a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees, a patchwork of fields. But something is happening in those fields. It’s a slow event, and only discernible to those who are paying attention, but grapevines […]
