I recently took some time to visit Sue-Ann Staff’s winery. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Brix – the friendliest door greeter at any winery in Niagara – and this fact is undisputed. It has been great to see the Fancy Farm Girl bottles on the shelves of local LCBO’s...
I try to sneak my way into Legends Estates a few times a summer to see what Derek Barnett is up to. He makes his Meldville wines here – and it’s always fun to taste through the wines with Derek. The portfolio is on solid footing with his Chardonnay and...
I recently got an email from a publicist talking about Bonterra wines and Earth Day. I last had a chance to taste through the Bonterra wines in 2015, but I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about them since then. Entry level for California is a tricky place...
2016 Featherstone Joy Premium Cuvée Sparkling Rosé – Vintages 450700 – $29.95 – ****+ – I had a chance to taste this earlier this year – so this was a re-visit for me when I tasted it recently. It delivered everything I enjoyed about this wine in the spring and...
As National Seafood Month comes to a close I am thinking about a dinner I attended last month. I was fortunate enough to have a dinner served by Chef Charlotte Langley with wines paired by Nobilo. I really don’t talk about wine and food often enough on this site –...
I really love the wines from Icellars. I look forward to stopping by whenever I get the chance. Simba, the golden retriever, and door greeter is quickly gaining notoriety to match Brix, the Bernese mountain dog and door greeter at Sue-Ann Staff’s winery. In short, this is one of the...
2016 13th Street Cabernet/merlot – Vintages 056598 – $19.95 – **** – Juicy and lush red fruit with very soft tannin. This is very easy drinking and a great reminder that not every bottle of red wine from a stellar vintage in Ontario needs to spend time in a cellar...
In early August I had an opportunity to pop in to Legends Estates to see what Derek Barnett has been working on for his Meldville label. The third edition bottles are making their way out, and there are more wines going into bottle in the fall. The Sauvignon Blanc continues...
2017 Featherstone Black Sheep Riesling – Vintages 80234 – $16.95 – ****+ – This continues to be benchmark for quality of Riesling from Ontario. Even though 2017 was by most accounts a challenging vintage, you certainly wouldn’t be able to guess by the flavours in this bottle. In your glass...
I had an opportunity to stop by Organized Crime Winery to chat with their new winemaker Greg Yemen. After recent discoveries of their 2012 PIpe Down and 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, I needed to see how the rest of the portfolio stacked up. This winery is going to be a regular...
2016 Hidden Bench Fumé Blanc – Vintages 68825 – $29.95 – **** – There is a subtlety, and restraint in this bottle. The aromas are passion fruit, and a nice note of mineral. On the palate this offers citrus, guava, and passionfruit. On the finish there is a slight smoky...
2017 Featherstone Four Feathers – Vintages 341586 – $14.95 – ***½+ – This is crushable, something that needs to be served next to grilled chicken, or at your next fish fry. The ideal way to serve this wine is going to be on a patio, dock, or outdoor setting with...
