By Alex and Priya, A Vine Romance Move over Niagara, Prince Edward County is coming of age as a wine country area in Ontario! Whether it’s the big names like Norm Hardie, Closson Chase and Karlo Estates, or the smaller ones like Domaine Darius or Trail Estates, we’ve spent many a weekend exploring the wineries of this region and wanted to share some of our favourite spots with you. Priya: First things first is finding a great home base for all your County experiences. We were lucky to get a spot at The Ferg, a beautiful boutique property co-owned by our very good […]
Canadian Wines
Tale of Two Niagara Wineries: Reif Winery Makes Big Impression
As a photographer, I capture many wonderful moments in life, with no two moments ever being quite the same. This weekend, I found out in my travels to the Niagara Region, the same can be said for its wonderful abundance of world-class wineries. This is my story about visiting two wineries in the Niagara region at opposite ends of the spectrum, one small and one large, to see just how different they really were with respect to service style, approachability, ambiance and overall experience. In Part One of Tale of Two Wineries, I wrote about my experience visiting Ravine, considered to most as […]
Red, White and Blue Rodeo: Jim Cuddy launches his own Wine with Tawse Winery
Jim Cuddy, lead singer and guitarist of the band Blue Rodeo, didn’t grow up in a wine-drinking family. In fact, his first alcoholic drink of choice was beer. “When you start playing in bars, you get paid in beer,” Cuddy explains. “At first, I was excited: free beer! But after five years, I couldn’t take any more beer. That’s when I got into wine.” And into it he is. Cuddy has partnered with Niagara’s Tawse Winery to create a new wine brand, Cuddy by Tawse. “Moray and Joanne Tawse are friends of mine,” Cuddy says. “I had played at their winery […]
A Tale of Two Niagara Wineries: Ravine Wines Have Deep Roots
By Trish Kroeger As a relatively new lifestyle and travel photographer, the opportunities I’m about to embark on while visiting far away destinations and delightful wineries will undoubtedly be the envy of many wine connoisseurs. Luckily for me as a proud Canadian, I will never have to venture too far away from home to experience the thrill of visiting world class wineries and meeting passionate and inspirational people along the way. So it made perfect sense to me, with the imminent end of summer fast approaching, that I grab my camera and head off to the most picturesque place I […]
How to Buy the Perfect Summer Wine
In this episode of our wine education video series, we look at to buy a terrific summer wine, whether it’s for fresh seafood, barbecued meats or crisp salad. Also find out why you should take another look at rose wine this summer. What’s your favourite warm weather wine? Post with permission of Canadian Press (CP). So, this summer I think it is a great time to crack open a bottle of Canadian wine. Whether you’re grilling meats on the barbecue or you’re having some fresh seafood this summer, or even field green summer salads, the range of styles here […]
Garden Variety Wines: The Best Bottles for Outdoor Dining
By Rebecca Meïr-Liebman of Chef & Somm Spring and summer means outdoor parties – casual barbecues to white-glove garden soirées – and there’s a perfect wine for every al fresco occasion. Flip Flops and Fine Wine – The BBQ When food is smoky and beefy, you might automatically think of an oaky Cabernet Sauvignon, but let’s not forget how hot and humid it can be, so a nicely chilled, oaky white wine or slightly chilled lighter red – may be just the thing! An oaky white – think Norman Hardie Chardonnay or La Crema Chardonnay will complement smoky, grilled chicken, […]
Rediscover Riesling: The World’s Most Versatile Varietal
By Melissa Pulvermacher The number one question I receive is: “What is your favourite wine”? I could give a long-winded answer about how it all depends on the situation, the people I’m with, the food I have or don’t have, the weather, my mood and several other ridiculous factors that would probably influence what my favourite would be in that exact moment, but if forced to answer simply, I would choose a varietal that I admire most. Of course, I have off and on romances, newly discovered lust and evenings with old flames, but if I had to settle down and […]
Taste Ontario! Defies Wine Stereotypes
Two Taste Ontario! events featured large tastings of Ontario wine recently. There wa strong representation of provincial wineries pouring a wide range of styles largely from the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Ontario Vintages. You’ll find 100+ wine reviews from our team here, along with which stores have the wines in stock now. You’ll get a sense of the strong attendance and energy in the room from the video below (click on the arrow to play it). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mm2l6sp94g I was particularly impressed with the riesling, chardonnay and viognier wines I tasted. Meanwhile, Ontario Pinot Noir may have its best […]
Best LCBO Wine Reviews: Vintages Ratings February 20
You can access the 112 wines that I reviewed for February 20 as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. You can also see my wine reviews for February 6. If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. These are just some of the benefits of supporting out wine community as a Paid Member. Inventory stock numbers are usually posted online a day […]
How to Get the Most from a Wine Show? 17 Insider Tips
You’ll find my Top 10 Wine Shows in Canada list, as well as a tongue-in-cheek story of attending a show. And here are my top tips on how to get the most from a wine show: 1. To build your stamina in the weeks leading up to the show, walk around Price Club during the weekends. Eat lots of the cheese-doodles and toothpick wieners. And be nice to the Demo Lady: she may well be pouring your sample at the show. 2. Eat before you come to the show even though there are often lots of food exhibitors. A full […]
