2011 Featherstone Joy Premium Cuvée Sparkling – Vintages 310334 – $34.95 – ****1/2 – Joy is a perfect name for a sparkling wine. Try to open a bottle and not smile, I dare you. Made purely from Chardonnay and sealed with a crown cap this is one of my favorite...
2012 Creekside Sauvignon Blanc Backyard Bubbly – $24.95 – Winery Only – ****+ – What I found most interesting about this wine was the texture. There is a nice creamy texture that takes over your mid palate … when you serve this wine right out of the fridge you might...
2013 Reif Estate Reserve Gewurztraminer – Vintages 360255 – $18.95 – ***1/2+ – This wine is definitely defined by its texture. This leans more towards an alsatian style of Gewurztraminer with a nice almost oily texture that grips the tongue. This varietal is one of my favorites in Ontario, it...
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...
I look forward to each vintage of the Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin. This is straight up one of the best Canadian wines on the market and every vintage has been exceptional value. I am not in a position where I can spend a couple hundred bucks on Premier Grand...
What I found most interesting about my visit to California has to do with their own identity as a wine growing region. Most wineries have put their Cabernet Sauvignon at their highest tier with Chardonnay somewhere behind it and Zinfandel on the bottom rung of the ladder. This is great...
The way some people talk about Zinfandel in California reminds me of how people talk about Icewine in Ontario. We do it well, people know us for it … but please come take a look at all these other Chardonnays and Cab Francs we are making… forget about the sweet...
This is the first of six posts about Californian wineries I had the opportunity to visit in August. It’s taken me a bit to digest everything I tasted and saw but needless to say that California is definitely worth a visit. My first stop was at Chateau Montelena. Shortly after...
2010 Excellence Chardonnay – $49.95 – ****1/2 – There shouldn’t be much left of this wine on the shelves of Stoney Ridge. Coming in just shy of fifty dollars I still think this is something that you should experience. Everything is perfectly in focus in this wine from the seductive...
I hosted a Cabernet Franc tasting earlier this year, and I am still sorting through my notes on 47 different wines from all over the province. I was fortunate to have the Bench Trial wines included in my panel. Currently operating as a virtual winery they have a 2010 and 2011...
I was really looking forward to my visit to Leaning Post. I had a chance to meet owners Ilya and Nadia Senchuk last summer at I4C. After that this winery has a bit of a buzz about them. I have a soft spot for Gamay and they have quickly joined...
The last time I was at Casa-Dea in Prince Edward County I was introduced to their first appassimento wine called Adamo. I had the opportunity to taste the white counterpart – Eva. It is always exciting to see what comes out of the doors of the winery when you have...
