2014 Back 10 Cellars Start from Scratch Chardonnay – Winery Only – $27.94 – ****1/2 – I hesitate while I write these notes… because there isn’t a lot of this wine made. This wine is for the hardcore locavore. Canadian Oak and Indigenous Yeast make this as truly Canadian as...
Trius Brut Rosé – Vintages 184309 – $29.95 – ****+ – I’m so excited about this wine I’m not sure where to start. First, it’s very dry with perfectly balanced acidity so it is everything you would expect from a good high quality sparkling Rosé. That being said it’s loaded...
2014 Vineland Cabernet Franc – LCBO 594127 – $14.95 – **** – Winemaker Brian Schmidt is some kind of Wizard when it comes to working with Cabernet Franc. This wine is great and textbook cabernet franc. The fact that it is only fifteen dollars is an added bonus. The nose...
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...
We have a few celebrities who threw their hat into the ring early when it came to making Canadian wine. The main three were Wayne Gretzky, Mike Weir, and Dan Akroyd. I don’t doubt for one minute that there is a passion from these individuals to making wine. A couple...
Both of these wines are approachable and easy drinking. Made to pair with food and unpretentious. I realize I have been saying this a lot lately but not all wines are meant for the cellar sometimes you just want something crowd pleasing and affordable. Lot 74 fits the bill. 2014...
2027 Cellars Queenston Road Vineyard – Vintages 421370 – ****1/2 – $35.00 – I won’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of 2027 Cellars. The Virtual label is operating out of Featherstone and making some amazing wines. I recently tasted their Chardonnay and spent an afternoon all over town tracking...
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...
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...
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...
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....
