Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 90/100

Andrew Peller Estates Private Reserve Chardonnay 2019 is perfect for Sunday night dinner paired with an equally juicy pork tenderloin grilled to perfection. Produced from Chardonnay grapes sourced from the Niagara Peninsula wine region, the Chardonnay is fragrant with white florals and is crisp and clean on the palate with bright apple, pear and lemon-lime zest flavours. Fresh and easy to enjoy. Tasted October 2021.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 94/100

Oh my, my, this Sandhill Estate Single Vineyard Small Lots Program Barbera (13 barrels) is a real beauty. Deep ruby and delicious, a powerhouse red, elegant with liquid dark cherry, plum, smoked bacon, grilled meats, cracked pepper spice, savoury herbs, well-integrated oak spice meaty and soul satisfying with a vibrant, long dark cherry finish. The wine is dry, medium-plus-bodied, same with acidity and tannins that are rich and completely velvety. An Amazing Barbera from Sandhill drinking beautifully now! Very food versatile, decant this wine for two hours prior to pouring with roast pheasant or a juicy, meaty deep-dish pizza. The Barbera grapes for this wine were planted at the base of the estate vineyard’s cliff and are kept sheltered and warmed by the cliff allowing the grapes to fully ripen. The wine is aged in a mix of new and neutral American and French oak barrels for 20 months. Produced by winemaker, Sandy Leier. Tasted November 2021.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 92/100

McWatters Collection Meritage 2018 is an elegant and beautifully balanced red Meritage blend of 52% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. Dry, full bodied with ripe red berry, dark cherry, cassis, bramble leaf and a kiss of pepper spice with balanced acidity and indeed soft, velvety tannins. Perfect for anything from the grill and ready to drink now but could easily hold to 2028. The grapes for this vintage were sourced from Desert Valley, Adega, Haynes Creek and Gold Hill Vineyards and the wine was matured in French oak for 18 months. Tasted November 2021.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 92/100

Domaine de la Chaise Touraine Chenonceaux is an elegant, vegan-friendly and estate bottled Sauvignon Blanc from the Touraine, Loire wine region. Fragrant with fresh white florals, lemon zest aromas, this is a dry, medium-plus-bodied, mouth-watering, eye-winking Sauvignon Blanc elegant, silky and mouth-coating with bright apple, dried lemon peel, white pepper, anise and flinty mineral notes finishing long on the palate. Good now, but the wine can easily cellar for three years to develop some more interesting tertiary characteristics, as well as to tame some of that amazing acidity. Tasted November 2021.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 90/100

Harper’s Trail Field Blend White 2020 is a zesty, medium-bodied white wine blend of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Gewurztraminer. Fresh is the word here, both on the nose and palate. Fragrant with bright apple, pear, ginger and pepper spice aromas, on the palate the wine is dry, medium-bodied and creamy with bright apple, pear, white peach, green herbs, rose petal, honeysuckle, soft spices balanced with vibrant acidity and finishing lemon zesty on a mineral note. Good, balanced and very quaffable, enjoy this juicy white blend while it is still young with salads and sushi. Tasted November 2021.