2011 Big Bluff Red – LCBO 404046 – $12.95 – ***1/2 – Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot and Merlot make for an interesting blend. The back of the bottle says the mission is “to Showcase the character and quality of Essex Region wines.” Priced very well you have a...
2012 Small Talk Vineyards Recap Syrah – Vintages 415612 – $24.95 – ***1/2 – Obviously the first thing you will notice about this wine is the label. Small Talk has done a great job making sure their bottles stand out on the shelf… but how does the wine stack up?...
I was lucky enough to get my hands on both of these bottles. I had to re-taste the Sémillon because when I tasted it on an Italian/Ontario panel this wine basically overpowered everything (read the full post here: https://andrewinereview.ca/?p=625). I wanted a chance to see how the wine holds up...
I recently had the chance to taste through some upcoming releases from Southbrook with winemaker Ann Sperling. You can consider this blog post to be your shopping list for the summer. The great news is that Southbrook frequently makes appearances at local farmers markets in Toronto (to keep tabs you...
2012 Vineland Elevation St. Urban Vineyard Riesling – Vintages 38117 – $19.95 – ****1/2 – This wine is as close to perfect as you might find in the vintages section whether you’re a wine noob or a hardened snob. First off – this wine is under twenty dollars a bottle....
There has been a bit of a buzz about the wine list at Barque smokehouse lately. You may know of Barque for it’s great food but there is a lot going on in the ways of beverages at the Roncesvalles restaurant. They are now pouring wine on tap. This means...
I traveled to France in November to check out the Beaujolais Nouveau release. After spending a few days hunting for Cabernet Franc in St Émillion I knew that I had to go to Beaujolais. Beaujolais, like Ontario, is currently take the long way up recovering from a bruised reputation stemming...
2012 Pondview Reserve Cabernet/Merlot – Vintages 307561 – $18.95 – ***1/2 – As the weather outside warms it’s time to start thinking about wines to eat with grilled meats. This is one that will do the trick. Fruit flavours in your glass will be Plum, Blackberry, and Blueberry with a nice...
2013 Lailey Unfiltered Cabernet Franc – ****+ – (Price TBD) – This is an elegant follow up to big 2012 vintage. This wine is made from a block of thirty year old vines and is only made in years that winemaker Derek Barnett feels worthy. There are layers of Raspberry,...
Vidal is not just for Icewine. Most people know Vidal for the rich honeyed icewines that are made from the juice of this grape. When it is vinified into table wine you end up with wines that are bright and crisp. It holds onto a lot of the floral qualities...
What exactly is dry farming? When I got my invitation to the Montes tasting hosted in Toronto on March 2, 2015 Three vintages of the Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon were presented. This was interesting because starting with the 2012 vintage we are seeing the results of “dry farming”. The long...
Welcome to Wine for Noobz! My intention with this podcast is to help make wine a little less pretentious for you reading it. I hope you will find it informative and entertaining. Our first episode focuses on how to read a wine label. I realize this may be putting the cart...
