The sparkling wine Champagne is named after the northern region of France where it’s produced. Other regions of France, as well as other countries, make sparkling wine, but only those from Champagne may be called Champagne. You’ll find my most recent Champagne reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Champagne: 1. Supposedly the eighteenth-century blind Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon, accidentally discovered how to put the bubbles in Champagne when his wines started fermenting again in the spring after the cold winter had stopped them. Other records attribute this discovery to the British scientist Christopher Merret thirty years before Pérignon. […]
Taste Wine
How to Read a Wine List, Vertical Tastings and Sommelier Sips
Ryan Campbell, formerly sommelier at Toronto’s Crush Wine Bar, now works with the wine lists at the parent company, Vintage Hotels in Niagara. Wine is such a big part of your restaurant, how do you ensure that your staff, who aren’t sommeliers, are still knowledgeable? We hold an informal “wine school” once a month for about 15 staff members. For the last class, we focused on chardonnay with a vertical tasting. Vertical tastings mean one type of wine, like chardonnay, from different producers, but all from the same vintage. A horizontal tasting would be, say chardonnays, all from one producer, […]
Mandela Wines: South African Free Trade Wines Toast with Madiba Label
By Melissa Pulvermacher When someone says Nelson Mandela – what do you think of? Political prominence, humanity, social brilliance and revolutionary philanthropy are only some of the things that come to mind for me. After one afternoon spent at the iYellow Wine Cave, I now add the word ‘wine’ to that list. Yes, that’s right. House of Mandela Wine exists and is not only a great product, but is Free Trade guaranteed and carries through the legacy of Nelson and his family while supporting a thriving industry in South Africa contributing to the country’s economic prosperity. Who knew a great […]
Australian First Families of Wine: Seduction Speed Tasting
Photo Credit: Kristy Gardner By Kristy Gardner, Wine Writer, Photographer, Designer I’ve never been to Australia. But hot damn, after the Australian First Families of Wine (AFFW) Unlock Tour de Force event in Vancouver this week, I want to go. The setting: 22 wines, 60 minutes, and some pretty epic “coming-of-age” stories later, Robert Hill-Smith of Yalumba Family Vignerons c. 1849 – and the 11 other family owned wineries belonging to the AFF – welcomed us with a generous sampling of some of best wines Australia has fermented. Presenting hand selected, flagship wines ranging in varietals from the lesser known […]
Marco de Grazia: Coaxing Wine from Contradiction (and Lava)
Part 2: Sicily’s Volcanic Wines Sicily is also known as mezzogiorno, “the land of the midday sun”—and of the midday nap. This April afternoon is so warm that I decide to take la pausa before my next visit. I love that notion of an afternoon pause: it doesn’t sound lazy, just meditative. I retreat to my dark hotel room and flop on the cool bed sheets, mesmerized by my ceiling fan as its breeze evaporates the sweat on my arms and legs. Outside, a dog barks, someone laughs, a door slams. Then quiet. After several hours of drugged sleep, I […]
Avondale Winery: South African Wine With its Ducks in a Row
By Priya & Alex, A Vine Romance When you think of South African wines, several prominent names may come to mind, but there is more to this region than just a few well-known wineries. We learned this the easy way—by meeting one of the remarkable winemakers who is producing wines of exceptional quality. That winemaker is Jonathan Grieve and the winery is Avondale. The invite we received to join Jonathan at a winemakers lunch had us a bit skeptical. What could we expect from a man who holds a duck in his arms in a promo shot? Well, we learned […]
Gerard Bertrand Wine Tasting: Diversity of Southern France Wines
On a glorious April morning, a small group of wine journalists gathered at Restaurant Daniel on New York City’s upper east side for a tasting with winemaker Gerard Bertrand (pictured above). Click on the arrow to play the short video. Gérard Bertrand Côte Des Roses Rosé 2014 Languedoc, Midi A.P., France This lovely southern French rosé is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah grapes. It’s elegant, yet full-bodied for rosé and very satisfying. Freshness is everything in this wine. Grenache is ideal for rosé because it matures easily and quickly, has vibrant aromatics, yet keeps its zesty acidity for food. […]
First Families of Wine Tasting: Primum Familiae Vini Bring Family and Place to the Glass
By Mymi Myriam At 11:30 a.m. on a windy Thursday, I walked into a sumptuous room at the Four Seasons Hotel. Immaculately decorated, it had high ceilings and an incredible view of Toronto’s affluent Yorkville neighbourhood. In the center of the room was a very large and beautifully dressed… dining room table! I was at the right place: the long-awaited Primum Familiae Vini (PFV) luncheon. The PFV is an international association of some of the world’s finest wine producing families from France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. It was created in 1992 by Robert Drouhin and Miguel Torres as they […]
Tasting from the Tank: Barrel Samples and Wine Reviews
Most of the wines that I taste are bottled and on the liquor store shelves, or about to be there. However, when I attend a tasting with a winemaker who is visiting my city or when I travel to wine regions, I am often tasting tank or barrel samples. Sometimes, these samples get sent to my office in a generic wine bottle with a hand-written sticker telling me when the wine will be bottled, which is a future date. This is because the winemaker is keen to show you his or her new baby, even if that child is still […]
Moet & Chandon Champagne Tasting 2006 Vintage Rosé Wine
By Melissa Pulvermacher Moët & Chandon is one of the world’s leading producers of Champagne. Moët produces more than 26,000,000 bottles of Champagne on an annual basis. Elise Losfelt, one of the 10 winemakers of Moët & Chandon, joined a group of tasters in Toronto, Ontario to introduce the new release of the 2006 Rosé in Canada in December, 2015. Elise helped the tasters understand that behind the label and well-recognized brand, there is a product and that the winemakers are extremely dedicated to achieving the expected style, while exceeding quality and expectations of its consumers. The tasting began with […]
