For this year one thing I will be adding to www.andrewinereview.ca are expanded tastings from my visits to wine country. I am very pleased to have Hidden Bench be the first winery to be profiled. The owner of the winery is Harald Thiel. I have had the pleasure of bumping...
2012 Red House Wine Co Cabernet Shiraz – LCBO 219030 – $12.95 – This is a very good easy drinking red blend from the very hot 2012 Summer. This is not something you have to worry about cellaring, aging or storing just open and serve. Very fruit dominant with lots...
The 2013-14 winter was brutal in Ontario. Many vineyards lost Syrah and Merlot and my heart goes out to the wineries who lost vines. The light at the end of the tunnel is that events like that cold winter will continue to help define the Ontario wine industry as a...
I had the chance to visit Château Laroze in November of 2014. It is a Grand Cru Classé winery located in Saint Émillion. We had an opportunity to sit down with the owner of the winery Guy Meslin to go through some of his wines and history of the winery....
3 weekends, 58 wineries, 15 events… this is Icewine in January in Niagara. Everything you need to plan your visit can be found at www.niagarachilled.com. The weather this week dipped below the magic number of -8°C when winemakers descend into the vineyards to harvest the frozen berries to extract their...
I have long wrestled with whether or not to score my wines. I haven’t scored my wines up til now because frankly I haven’t felt the need to do so. I have had a hard time deciding what system to use because wine essentially falls into two categories for me...
2012 Flamboyant Red – $17.95 – Loaded with bright red fruit and tannin on the finish that isn’t overbearing. This bottle isn’t just a flashy label… but let’s face it the artwork on both the White and the Red are fantastic. This Red blend is well worth the price of...
I was recently asked by a friend what Sparkling wine should I get for New Years… I have a sixty dollar budget. The great news about a sixty dollar budget is there are A LOT of options on what you can pick up. Champagne can get quite expensive. A bottle...
Coming from the killer 2012 vintage this trio of reserve wines from Reif are all worth picking up. These are the kinds of wines that need a good hour or two in a decanter or a few years on the wine rack to really unlock the awesomeness in the bottles....
There is more to holiday entertaining than serving great wine. Sometimes you have to mix it up (see what I did there!). In case you didn’t know you can make a fantastic Caesar using Gin. I’m a big fan of the Gin they make at Dillon’s Distillery which is located right...
The Five Minute Wine Book by Tony Aspler – The fact that the first story in this collection of writings describes a fishing trip in Northern Saskatchewan will explain to everyone why I got hooked on the book immediately (in case you didn’t know I am originally from Regina, and...
Everything you need for the perfect Icewine Appetizer – Foie Gras, Mini Toasts and Onion Confit. It is the time of year when we go to the wine rack and blow the dust off the bottle of Icewine that we got last year and get ready to either re-wrap and...
