Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 90/100

I love sparkling wine. Period. And it doesn’t have to be showy or expensive, but it does have to be good. Like this Rosado Metodo Tradicional NV Cava from Cataluña. Marques de Lares is a well-balanced, fruity and fresh 100% Grenache sparkling rosé with wild strawberry, cherry, cranberry and baked pastry aromas on the nose, medium-bodied and just barely off-dry with ripe fresh cherry, raspberry, soft peach, pink grapefruit and soft orange flavours with refreshing acidity on a persistent mousse. Excellent value on this anytime Cava Rosado. Chill and enjoy on its own or pour with cured meats, creamy cheeses and seafood ceviche. Tasted often. Last tasted January 2021.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 92/100

From Uruguay, Garzon Albarino is my new fav Albarino. Fresh and intense on the nose with peach, lemon-lime citrus, grassy and mineral aromas, the wine is dry, brilliant and mouth-watering with fine herb, lemon-lime citrus, stone fruit and clean, crisp mineral flavours finishing long on the palate with amazing acidity for food. Pour with salads, quiches and grilled seafood dishes. The winery suggests a Peruvian ceviche, or a fresh tuna salad. Bodega Garzón is located 11 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, the estate has more than 1,000 small vineyard blocks on hillside slopes with maximum exposure to the sun. The 2015 vintage spent three to six months on its lees in stainless-steel tank. Tasted December 2020.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 91/100

I love trying new wines, particularly from other wine regions just to see what they’re up to. In Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, winemakers are doing amazing things with Syrah. This one is a fresh and bright, medium-plus-bodied beauty with ripe, fresh red cherry, cracked pepper, raspberry, black currant, fresh blackberry, red plum, mocha, with a gamut of baking spices - anise, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger. Totally fresh and zesty all the way through with beautifully-balanced acidity and easy tannins. Poured with a venison meat fondue. Tasted February 2021. The picture of the Flying Boatship is part of a bunch of diagrams that have been etched into the tabletops in Left Field Taverns along with other creative engravings and scratchings of limericks, plans and contraptions. The Flying Boatship “Mrs. Lufty” was said to be skippered by weather watchers and grape spotters with seriously off-key ballads to fend of pests and vermin in the vineyards.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 93/100

Amazing… that’s all I’ve got. This is a full-bodied, muscular, spot-on balanced 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 4% Malbec classic Bordeaux-style, red blend from Cassini Cellars. Rich and intense on the palate mirroring its nose of juicy black currant, black pepper, strawberry fruit leather, vanilla, cocoa and sweet dried tobacco leaf never more prevalent than what I’ve tasted on this wine. Dry, savoury and mouth-filling finishing long with well-integrated oak spice, balanced acidity and fine-grained, rich tannins. Pour with grilled lamb, venison or beef. We Poured it with venison roulades. Tasted January 2021.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 92/100

Great Northern Vineyards is located on the bench above the Similkameen River in Cawston. British Columbia. The soils are predominately rocky in the Similkameen Valley retaining the heat in the vineyards during the valley’s cool nights. The rocks and mineral soils also add to the complexity of the wines from here and this is one is an excellent, zesty and beautiful Viognier from the valley. Floral on the nose with warm white blossoms, ginger, soft orange citrus aromas, the 2018 Viognier is dry, medium-bodied, beautifully balanced and mouth-filling with ripe spiced pear, peach, honeyed quince, soft citrus flavours finishing zesty with food-friendly acidity and silky on the palate. An amazing Viognier from a great vintage with a fabulous price point and not a lot left of it either. Grapes were hand-harvested at 23.2 brix for this vintage. A portion of the wine was barrel-fermented in previous-use French oak barrels prior to being blended with wine fermented in stainless-steel tank. Tasted many times – last tasting was January 2021.