Thursday this week twenty wineries from Niagara head to Toronto to pour some wines and to help bring a piece of the harvest to the city. Believe it or not even at the beginning of November many wineries still have grapes hanging on the vines. We have been lucky to...
2012 Creekside Estate Laura’s Red – Vintages 117960 – $19.95 – ****+ – There is a little bit of everything you can grow in Niagara in this bottle, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Coming from the hot 2012 summer the nose is nice and fruity...
2014 Quinta Da Aveleda Vinho Verde – LCBO 89995 – $10.95 – Bright, crisp and easy very easy drinking. This wine has aromas of slight floral underneath pink grapefruit with lime. My favorite thing about this wine is the slightly oily texture that fills your mouth on the finish. I would...
I recently visited Peller estates because I got an invitation to check out the 10 Below Icewine Lounge. When I arrived at Peller I wasn’t sure what to expect. The word lounge conjoured up an image of a private tasting room with couches dedicated exclusively to Icewine. My mental picture...
2013 Featherstone Red Tail Merlot – Vintages 131540 – $19.95 – ***1/2+ – This is a little lighter than previous vintages of this wine, which is not a bad thing and indicative of the 2013 vintage. There is a touch of roasted herb on the nose but it is swallowed...
I have just finished tasting through some of the new wines from Flat Rock that will be hitting the shelves of Vintages in the near future. Seriously though, these are wines we should all be excited about. We have spend so much time talking about 2010 and 2012 as hot...
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to meet Aurelio Montes the winemaker at Montes wines in Chile. He is also making wines at Kaiken in Argentina. A Caiquen is a bird that migrates between Chile and Argentina by passing over the Andes. The wines I tasted in the spring...
2014 Hinterland Borealis Method Charmat Rosé – Vintages 431817 – $22.00 – **** – This rosé sparkler has captured the essence of Gamay. Walking on a tightrope of balance there is a little sweetness on the finish of this wine that line up perfectly with the bubbles and acidity. The nose...
2012 Hinterland Les Étoiles – $39.00 – Winery Only – ****1/2 – This is not going to last at the winery for long. Before reading this review any further go onto the Hinterland website (https://www.hinterlandwine.com/) and order a few bottles of this. Simply put this is the best vintage of...
I guess I should stop calling myself a Syrah doubter. I don’t think that everyone should make it, or have it planted in Niagara but there are a few wineries who are consistently doing it well. Kacaba would be one of those wineries. 2013 Silver Bridge Vineyard Syrah – $29.95 – ****+...
2013 Stratus Red Icewine – Vintages 56689 – $39.95 – ****+ – Red Icewine is still a well kept secret in the province. If you have never had the chance to taste Red Icewine you may as well set the bar high and go with a great producer like Stratus....
2011 Hinterland Blanc de Blanc – $39.00 – Winery Only – ****+ – On the Hinterland website you are asked to refrain from enjoying this wine for six months after September 4th, 2015 (so March 4th… I think). Frankly I didn’t have the patience. I wanted to see what this...
