Margaret Swaine’s Wine Picks: Made in Ontario

Margaret Swaine

Impress your visitors from away with these three well-priced, made in Ontario beauties. Find them via WineAlign.com/MargaretsPicks.

Flat Rock Riddled Sparking 2008
LCBO No. 187377; $29.95 (91 Points)
Made from grapes grown in Niagara’s Twenty Mile Bench area, this sparkler boasts a modern, non-traditional crown cap. A great Champagne alternative for a lot less money, it has a toasty biscuity bouquet taht carries through on the palate. Medium bodied with good fruit, it’s a refreshing way to start a meal.

Chateau des Charmes Old Vine Riesling 2008
LCBO No. 277228; $16.95 (91 Points)
Its wins — Ontario Wine Awards white wine of the year, best in show at Toronto Gold Medal plates — are well deserved. This riesling from the winery’s most mature vineyards is forward, fruity with great minerality and a touch of classic fusils. Its tangy lemon, lime and mineral flavours are rounded nicely by a bit of sweetness. Perfect for Thai, Indian or other exotic spiced dishes.

Inniskillin Winemaker’s Series Montague Pinot Noir
LCBO No. 997353; $24.95 (90 Points)
Inniskillin’s Montague Vineyard pinot noir is an excellent value, well-made red that rarely disappoints. Grown in Niagara’s Four Mile Creek area, it’s medium bodied with supple tannins. Cherry aromas and flavours, well-integrated oak and a fine acidity make it an all-round pleaser for lighter meats, duck or goose.

Filed under: Appetizer, Wine, Margaret Swaine, Ontario, VQA

Lawrason’s Take on Vintages Sept 10th Ontario Release – Sparkling Success, 2009 Pinots, Fine Unoaked Chardonnay, 2010 Rieslings, Baffling Red Blends and Ontario Wine Events

David Lawrason

Ontario wines take over the LCBO’s promotional cycle this month under the Go Local banner, so Vintages has prepared a special mini-release of 20 wines on September 10.  Actually, many stores have released the wines already so you may not need to wait until Saturday. Check availability at your local store via WineAlign.

This release is taking place amid a provincial election campaign at a time of growing public and political pressure for Ontario to expand the distribution network for Ontario’s increasingly numerous and improving wines.  PC leader Tim Hudak, MPP Niagara West-Glanbrook, is a vocal proponent.  It says right there on page 10 of the Conservative’s platform called ChangeBook that “we will increase market access for Ontario VQA wines”.

I’m all for that, but at the very least Ontario needs private stores that sell only Ontario wine – just as has successfully been done in British Columbia for years.  And while we’re at it, how about an equal number of private stores for international wines, again as in B.C.  I want complete price and selection freedom for all wines, and Ontario VQA stores are a first step in the right direction, a toe in the door.  Government should not be in the business of selecting which brands we can buy, where we can buy them, or at what price. Its only roles should be licensing, taxation, product safety and label integrity. But until that fine day…

Vintages mini-release takes a good run at presenting very good (two excellent) Ontario wines that snuggle in Vintages comfort zone of $15 to $30.  Ontario’s very best cost more than that. The selection is however an accurate snapshot of where Niagara stands (no PEC or LENS wines this time) in terms of price/quality ratio, styles and important grape varieties. It is also a good reflection of what might be considered a typical span of Ontario vintages, with a difficult rainy year (2008), a high acid, cool year (2009) and a hot, dry year (2010).  Each vintage favours some varieties and styles, and makes others less appealing. It’s complicated out there, so stayed tuned.

Sparkling Success

At the end of August I judged the Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards in Halifax. The results are weeks away but I can tell you that there was true excitement among the judges over the evolving quality of Canadian sparkling wine. And my excitement is reflected by all three wines on this release.  Ontario has the right climate (cool), soils (limestone) and grape varieties (chardonnay and pinot noir) to make fine sparklers – just like Champagne in France.  Ontario bubblies are finding true energy, vitality and finesse, with increasing flavour depth and complexity as vines and winemaking mature. 13TH STREET PREMIER CUVÉE ($29.95) is the excellent work of one of the industry leaders. Although now guided by the hand of J.P. Colas, this winery first started making serious, traditional method sparkling wine over a decade ago.  I was also impressed by the quality attained in VINELAND RESERVE BRUT ($19.95) by using the cheaper charmat method, wherein the second fermentation occurs in a capped, pressurized tank instead of in the bottle.  And the delicate ANGELS GATE ARCHANGEL PINOT NOIR BRUT ROSÉ ($25.00) demonstrates that our field of sparkling expertise is widening, with veteran winemaker Philip Dowell now in the arena as well.
    

Impressive 2009 Pinot Noirs 

The long, cool 2009 growing season proved difficult for later-ripening red grape varieties, but earlier ripening pinot noir fared well.  I have tasted most of Ontario’s 2009 pinots by now and I am quite impressed. Not by their weight or ripeness, but by their tension, elegance and what I call their classic cool climate cran-cherry fruit profiles.  They are highly strung to be sure thanks to 2009’s acid levels, but I suspect that they will live long. There are four 2009 pinots in this release and all are worth exploring.  LE CLOS JORDANNE 2009 VILLAGE RESERVE PINOT NOIR ($30.00) is the one to consider for the cellar; about as ripe and well stuffed as you will find in 2009 although edgy and a tad green indeed on the finish. This is the first glimpse of the long awaited 2009 Le Clos Jordanne pinots, with at least five more to come this fall from specific vineyard sites. With the Village Reserve is a barometer, I expect they will all crack the 90 point level. Other very good pinots on the release in include the intense COYOTE’S RUN 2009 RED PAW VINEYARD PINOT NOIR ($24.95) and cellar worthy LAILEY 2009 PINOT NOIR ($25.00)
   

Fine Unoaked Chardonnay 

Given the prominence of chardonnay in Ontario I would have expected more chardonnay on this release. But perhaps it was felt chardonnay already had its turn during the special International Cool Climate Chardonnay event and sale in July.  Anyway, it was a chardonnay that got me most excited, and I was even more impressed that it was an unoaked edition selling for only $16 - LAILEY 2010 UNOAKED CHARDONNAY.  Generally unoaked chardonnay is boring in Ontario, due to a selection – I think – of less good fruit and less ripe fruit with the better material going into the top dog barrel fermented chardonnays.  Winemaker Derek Barnett’s take is exactly what I am looking for in the genre – balance and richness combined with ripe, distinctive and distinguished chardonnay fruit character.  It could be that 2010 vintage is also responsible, but after years of tasting Derek’s wines I also know that few winemakers have a better sense of harmony.  Often this talent is masked by liberal use of oak, but here it stands in plain sight.

Riesling in 2010

Riesling and other aromatic, unoaked whites are usually the first wines released in any given vintage. In what is being hailed as another excellent, warm, dry and ripe year, I am not ecstatic with the rieslings so far. They are plenty powerful, complex and ripe, but they are also a bit thick, soft, sweet and sometimes lazy.  Riesling should be like a marathoner, not a couch potato, so to me 2009 was a better riesling year.  That said FIELDING 2010 RIESLING  ($18.95) is a very good example, having a sense of tenderness, polish and purity I have come to expect from winemaker Richie Roberts. Actually the style has been evident through three winemakers at Fielding, but Roberts has honed it best. It is the kind of riesling that will sip on the patio (not the couch) then carry to the table.

Baffling Red Blends

Two things baffle me about the avalanche of new lower-priced, concept and lifestyle blends now breeding like bunnies in Ontario wine country. (It’s like Australia’s critter phase).  The first is why people buy them when the price/quality ratio is average.  In reality most are leftover stews not works of dazzling creativity. I know, I know – the younger generation to whom they are pitched can’t afford more expensive wines, and they are more likely to buy a label concept than a grape variety.  Which leads me to bafflement number two.  What in the name of common sense are some of this labels saying?  Take VINTAGE INK MARK OF PASSION 2009 MERLOT/CABERNET ($17.95), which is a new concept blend by Vincor Canada. I don’t get the ink to wine connection at all – both liquids maybe?  Or is that very lack of connection actually the selling feature – like naming a rock band?  So maybe I should just stick to what’s in the bottle. In this case, this is a well made 2009 Ontario red, but a sour-edged 2009 red nonetheless, despite efforts to mollify the acidity with gentle oak and fairly well polished tannin.  A decent value at $13.95 wine, not $17.95.  And it’s the same story with Henry of Pelham’s new Family Tree 2009 Red, also priced at $17.95.

Wine Country Ontario Comes to the Ritz September 19

Looking for a chance to sift through these wines, and hundreds more, for yourself?  The annual Taste Ontario event comes to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Monday, September 19 with an afternoon trade event (registration required) and a public evening event (tickets required).  Over 150 wines will be poured by over 50 wineries from Niagara, Prince Edward County and Lake Erie North Shore. Go to www.vintages.com/tasteontario

A Pinot Affair October 15-16

Wherein eight Niagara pinot noir producers present eight different winery-based events focused entirely on pinot noir.  A $40 Passport ticket gets you into a variety of pinot experiences from the vineyard and winemaking, to barrel blending, to horizontal single vineyard tastings to vertical tastings. Wineries involved are Coyote’s Run, Hidden Bench, Inniskillin, Lailey, Le Clos Jordanne, Malivoire, Rosewood and Tawse.  For programs and tickets go to www.thepinotaffair.com.

Sip and Savour Ontario at Steam Whistle October 19

If you can’t make the Taste Ontario event in Sept you get another chance to dip into the Ontario wine pool at Sip and Savour Ontario, being held Wednesday, October 19 at the Steam Whistle Brewing Company at the foot of the CN Tower. This is the annual showcase of the Ontario Wine Awards that has usually been held in June. For tickets and info go to www.sipandsavourontario.ca .  This year it is also a fundraiser forwww.houselink.on.ca .
That’s it for now. Watch again next week for my take on Vintages, Sept 17th release with a focus on 2008 Bordeaux.
David Lawrason
VP of Wine

See all my reviews from September 10th here.

Cheers and enjoy, David

- David Lawrason, VP of Wine at WineAlign

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Filed under: Featured Articles, News, Wine, David Lawrason, Lawrasons Take, LCBO, Ontario, Vintages, VQA

Caroline Granger is a model winemaker

As a model, Caroline Granger’s first professional gig was a shoot for French Vogue with legendary photographer Arthur Elgort. These days, the model-turned-winemaker doesn’t get out of bed for less than 10,000 cases — that’s about how many of estate production wine The Grange of Prince Edward County, her family winery, produces annually.

Granger became a Ford model in 1978 at age 16 and had a successful career based in Paris for nearly a decade but she no longer counts calories; instead, she counts down the days until picking (13 — when they start harvesting the grapes for sparkling wine Sept. 20, a week later for the rest).

Filed under: Appetizer, Wine, prince edward county, The Grange, VQA

Steve’s Top Wine Values at LCBO – Focus on Ontario Wines

Steve Thurlow

WineAlign launched a new monthly report on September 1st: Top 50 Value wines from LCBO. We were delighted with the feedback we received; it seems everyone appreciates high quality wines at a low price. However we did hear from many Ontario wine lovers who wanted to know why local wines did not feature more prominently.

Since this month the LCBO is sponsoring the campaign Go Local, I thought I would search our database of reviews to find the best wine values from Ontario wineries. On launching Go Local, Wine Council of Ontario Chair Ed Madronich said “Ontario wines are really taking hold with consumers, thanks to LCBO’s support, the quality products being produced by our winemakers and more shoppers taking pride in supporting local producers,” he continues, “It’s great to see our wines front and centre at LCBO stores, including many wines from 2007, probably the best vintage ever for Ontario wines.”

There are many reasons for supporting local companies; they employ our friends and neighbours, contribute many dollars to our economy and drive a valuable tourism industry along with Ontario hotels and restaurants. Over the last ten years as a regular judge at the Canadian Wine Awards I have witnessed an unprecedented and rapid improvement to the quality of Ontario wines. This year at this competition there were many excellent wines vying to be the best  in every category and choices were more difficult than ever. Whereas five years ago there was usually a clear winner, this year many panels were spoilt for choice and opinions divided as to which was the best. This is so encouraging and Ontario wineries are rightly proud to have made this transformation.

The Ontario wine industry is, and will probably always be, tiny when compared to giants like France, Italy and Argentina, where economies of scale mean production costs are low.  So little of our country is suitable for grape growing, though global warming is increasing that area. As a result of advanced logistics, like containerisation, a packaged product such as wine can be shipped very inexpensively and efficiently from the other side of the world; today transportation costs form a small part of the price of a bottle in the LCBO’s stores.

Moreover wineries and grape growers in Ontario have to buy land at high prices since they compete with golf courses and real estate for the use of that land, plus they have to pay high labour costs to attract the best employees. As a result of these factors among others, it is a fact that wine production is a high cost business in Ontario and it is and will probably always be difficult to produce inexpensive wine that will compete with other low cost countries.

However there is value at all price points and Ontario is doing well at the higher quality levels. Our assessment of value is based on the ratio of quality, as measured by our subjective scores and the cost of the wine. We have a sophisticated mathematical model that compares the thousand or so wines at the LCBO and finds the best values. Our first report detailed 50 wines of average price around $9.50, a tough price point challenge for VQA wines.

Here are some value picks from Ontario wineries at LCBO: Wayne Gretzky Estates made some very good wines in the bumper 2007 vintage which are now in the stores, among these Wayne Gretzky Estates No 99 Cabernet Merlot 2007 VQA $15.95 is great wine at a good price with its lush red and black fruit, structure and length.  The Malivoire White 2008 VQA $13.95  is on sale at LCBO as a limited time offer (LTO) until October 10th and so is better value than usual. The Vineland Estates Dry Riesling 2008 VQA $13.95 is consistently, vintage to vintage, one of the best value rieslings from Ontario and the 2008 is especially good. A fourth good value wine Inniskillin Cabernet Merlot Varietal Series 2007 VQA $12.95, is also on LTO until Oct. 10th adding to its value appeal.

Given its high cost nature several Ontario wineries have developed a method for producing inexpensive wine. They import wine in bulk from low production cost countries and blend this with a proportion of locally made wine. These wines are designated Cellared in Canada (CIC) since they are indeed cellared here but usually have 70% foreign content, whereas VQA wines are 100% from locally grown grapes. The LCBO’s shelves are full of these products, now clearly separated from VQA wines and they form an important part of LCBO and ON winery revenue. So if you want cheap wine but also want to support local industry to an extent, this is a category to consider.

Here are a couple of CIC wines that are worth seeking, both are on LTO until Oct. 10th adding to their appeal. Pelee Island Shiraz 2009 CIC $8.95 comes to us from one of Ontario’s largest wineries. It is pure, fruity with good varietal character and is well structured with surprising length for such an inexpensive wine. Andrew Peller, the largest Canadian owned winery, is responsible for XOXO Shiraz Cabernet CIC $8.95  which is a fullbodied strongly flavoured red well extracted with very good length.

Look out for our monthly update to Top 50 Value Wines from the LCBO on Monday October 4th. Recently listed wines, new vintages, price changes and LTOs all combine such that the Top 50 is always changing.

Filed under: Wine, Go Local, Ontario, Steve Thurlow, Top Value Wines, VQA

John Szabo’s Vintages Preview – Sept 18th release – Ontario’s Signature Styles & Douro Reds

John Szabo, MS

I’ve written recently here on WineAlign about the Canadian Wine Awards and what I think are the signature styles emerging in Canada, and Ontario in particular, and, well, this Vintages release gets it spot on. Out of 18 Ontario wines on offer here, there are 4 rieslings, 4 chardonnays, 4 pinot noirs, 4 Icewines and 2 sparkling wines. While I may not agree with all of the particulars, I have to say that if LCBO head office had called me to plan an Ontario release (it has yet to snow in the underworld) and gave me 18 spots to fill I would likely have come up with the same plan-o-gram. These are the styles in which Ontario excels, which I buy, and which I drink with pleasure. Obviously there are many excellent wines in other categories, but if you’re talking signature, these are the categories to start with.

That Ontario is a world leader in Icewine there is no doubt. My personal view, however (not necessarily reflected by other WineAlign critics), is that the industry is too reliant on Icewine. There is too much produced, too much of dubious quality, and the market simply isn’t there. True, it’s our only significant export product and the international emblem of the Canadian wine industry, and when it sells the profit margins are extremely attractive, but I wonder how dumping poor quality Icewine in Asia and elsewhere will affect the industry long term. The rest of the world just doesn’t drink much of it; folks love it at the winery tasting bars when it’s free or very cheap, but I wager that the majority that’s actually purchased is destined to be a gift for someone else, or sits in the cellar waiting for that special day that hasn’t come yet. How many glasses of Icewine have you consumed in the last year? (please do comment on this posting and let me know. Maybe I’m dead wrong). At least in the restaurant market, I see sweet wine sales reports and they are not encouraging. Most is given away as a “comp” (not in the restaurants where I have a hand in the beverage program, ‘cause that’s illegal), or sales are tied in to desserts or tasting menus. Otherwise Icewine bottles collect dust.

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe that Icewine is and should be a signature style for Ontario. There are some glorious examples. But that’s the point. I’d love to see less of it made, more of it of top quality, and tighter controls on which bottles get the VQA seal of approval from the tasting panel. Make it truly the exclusive, prestigious, signature product it has always wanted to be.

All of this is really just my week attempt to justify the fact that I didn’t make it to taste the Icewines in this release. There was simply too much other good wine on which to focus. My top three Ontario picks are unsurprisingly all rieslings, led off by the outstanding 2008 CAVE SPRING CSV RIESLING VQA, Beamsville Bench, $29.95. Always a classic, this old vines wine achieves signature expression in 2008. Château des Charmes delivers the best value Ontario wine, with the killer 2007 CHÂTEAU DES CHARMES OLD VINES RIESLING VQA, Niagara-on-the-Lake, $16.95. This is one of the most compelling 2007 rieslings out there, mature but not tiring as many of the 07s are, delivering beautiful minerality and depth for under $17. Also superb but needing some time in the cellar is yet another ‘old vine’ Riesling,2008 VINELAND ESTATES ST. URBAN RIESLING VQA, Niagara Escarpment, $19.95.

Chardonnay, Ontario’s other signature white variety, puts in a good showing, filling up the next two spots in the top ten Ontario list. The really top stuff is missing from the release, likely due to questions of price or availability or both, but I definitely enjoyed the 2009 FLAT ROCK CELLARS UNPLUGGED CHARDONNAY VQA,Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, $15.95, a fresh, crisp, Chablis-esque example that goes down real easy, unplugged, unoaked and no batteries required. If you do prefer a little plugging into barrels, then you’ll enjoy the 2008 TAWSE SKETCHES OF NIAGARA CHARDONNAY VQA, Niagara Peninsula, $19.95. Le Clos Jordanne’s 2008 TALON RIDGE VINEYARD CHARDONNAY VQA, Niagara Peninsula, Vinemount Ridge $37.00 is the most ‘serious’ example, which needs another 2-3 years in the cellar to reach peak, I’d estimate.

The disappointment from the release is the selection of pinot noirs. There are some real beauties in Ontario as I have written earlier, but they’re not here, perhaps because of that price/availability thing again. The only one in the top ten is the 2008 NORMAN HARDIE COUNTY PINOT NOIR VQA, Prince Edward County, $35.20, which is a light, delicate, finessed style that’s highly drinkable overall, but lean and leafy at the end of the day. As most know I’m not a bigger-is-better drinker, but for $35 I expect a little more depth and complexity. I know that Hardie’s not pocketing fat margins at our expense – it’s costly to grow grapes in the County – the vines just need to grow older and the sun needs to shine a little more.

Have a perusal of the non-Ontario wines in the top ten smart buys list. I’ve included some higher-than-usual priced wines, but they still represent value. In particular, fans of Tuscan wines  can’t miss the astonishingly good 2006 MONTEPELOSO ENEO IGT, Toscana $44.95. This was my first encounter with Montepeloso (where have I been all these years?), and just when you rekon that the last thing the world needs is yet another expensive super Tuscan made by some well-heeled foreigner looking to live the Under-the-Tuscan-Sun dream (Montepeloso was purchased from Willi and Doris Neukom in 1998 by the quality-obsessed Swiss-Italian historian Fabio Chiarelotto), along comes this stunner. After a taste of this, I was struck as if by the Ebola virus, immediately and irremediably (although in a better way), and suddenly, I was dreaming of owning a Tuscan property with vines and writing a book. The Montepeloso estate is situated on what some consider to be one of the finest terroirs in Italy, on a gentle, chalky, gravel-clay hillside just above Tua Rita (another famed property) in Suvereto near the Tuscan coast. Eneo is not the top cuvee of the estate, but this montepulciano and sangiovese-dominated blend aged in 2nd and 3rd year barrels is a fantastically pure expression that oozes class at a mini-Tuscan price.

The other mini-theme of the release is Red Hot Douro reds, which merits a section of its own. There are so many outstanding table (dry) wines being produced in the Douro these days that it’s hard to keep track. In some cases the prices have crept above the $100 mark, but the selection here is definitely still in the value category. Even my top pick, the 2007 QUINTA DO CRASTO OLD VINES RESERVA DOC, Douro at $34.95 can be considered extraordinary value, considering the mixed ancient vines parcels on ultra-steep slate slopes where this hails, not too mention the quality of the wine itself. Look for my full article on the wines of the Douro to be posted shortly on WineAlign, originally written for the Sommelier’s Guide to Portuguese wines commissioned by ViniPortugal.

Click on the following to see my:
Top Ten Smart Buys
Top Ten Ontario Wines
Top Douro Reds
All Reviews

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

Filed under: Wine, Douro, John Szabo, Ontario, Ontario Wine, Portugal, Vintages, Vintages Preview, VQA

Top Value Banquet Wines – by John Szabo

John Szabo

Recently I tasted through about 70 100% VQA wines from across Canada in search of the country’s best value wines. The purpose was to select the top VQA examples that would be worthy of showcasing at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa for banquets and intermissions.

Since celebrity Chef Michael Blackie took over in the kitchen early last year, the NAC has seen significant changes on all levels and is on its way to becoming a premier dining destination in the nations’ capital. No longer is it an old-fashioned meat-and potatoes menu for quick, pre-theatre sustenance. Blackie has elevated the sophistication of the food to top standards with a very ambitious menu indeed. The wine program, evidently, needed significant revamping and updating to say the least, and I have been working with Chef Blackie and dining room manager Tegan Schioler to bring the beverage side of the operation, including service, to the same level. There is still much to be done, but I’m happy to report that it is going very well. If you haven’t been in a while, be sure to drop in, no theatre tickets required!

Having participated for the last 5 years as a judge in the Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards, The country’s best wines are certainly familiar to me. But what was most satisfying was the overall level of high quality and drinkability, knowing that these were all very reasonably priced. VQA wines are often knocked for their poor quality/price ratio relative to international stage, but this tasting belied that belief once again.

In order to select these wines, I sent out a call to tender to Canadian wineries, from which I pre-selected 70 or so samples to be tasted. It was hardly a comprehensive look at all of Canada, and many of the wines I would have liked to see were missing from the lineup, but it was still representative nonetheless. The wines were set up in flights and tasted blind, that is, I knew the style/varietal category and the wines that had been submitted, but not the order in which they were served. Not surprisingly, many of the classic good value Canadian producers emerged, along with a few unexpected surprises. In the end, a dozen whites and ten reds made the cut. Virtually all are under $15/bottles (licencee price), and many are even under $10. In the end it will be the banquet guests and intermission wine drinkers who win; you can bank on a good glass of wine at the NAC. Here are my top picks. Some are available at the LCBO, others are winery direct. If you’re looking for good ‘house wine’, this is a reliable list to start with.

White

2007 Riesling Off-Dry, Rosehall Run, VQA Ontario

2008 Chardonnay Unoaked, Palatine Hills, Niagara

2008 Chardonnay, Vineland Estates, Niagara

2007 Dry Riesling, Vineland Estates, Niagara

2008 Semi-Dry Riesling, Vineland Estates, Niagara

2008 Riesling Dry, Cave Spring, Niagara

2007 Chardonnay, Cave Spring, Niagara

2008 Sullyzwicker White, Rosehall Run, Prince Edward County

2008 Pinot Grigio ‘Ogopogo’s Lair, Prospect Winery, Okanagan Valley

2008 Sauvignon Blanc ‘Spotted Lake’, Prospect Winery, Okanagan Valley

2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Vineland Estates, Niagara

2007 Chardonnay Estate Bottled, Château des Charmes, Niagara

Rosé

2008 Huff Estates South bay Vineyards Rosé, Prince Edward County

Red

2008 Lakeshore Red, Palatine Hills, Niagara Lakeshore

2007 ‘Noirs’ (Pinot & Gamay), 13th Street, Niagara

2007 Gamay Noir, Estate Bottled, Château des Charmes, Niagara

2007 Cabernet Franc Varietal Series, Inniskillin, Niagara

2008 Pinot Noir Reserve, Pelee Island, VQA Ontario

2007 Pinot Noir Five Vineyards, Mission Hill, Okanagan Valley

2007 Cabernet-Shiraz, Dan Aykroyd, Niagara

2007 Rosewood Estate Renaceau Vineyard Merlot, Beamsville Bench

2008 Cabernet-Merlot, Pilliteri

2007 Cabernet- Merlot Five Vineyards, Mission Hill, Okanagan Valley

Filed under: News, Wine, "Top Values", John Szabo, VQA

Cellared In Canada Controversy

There has been lots of discussion recently about Cellared In Canada (CIC) wines. If you don’t know, there is a common international practice of making wine by mixing imported wine from different countries. In Canada there is some controversy around our current labeling standards and the potential for consumers to be confused between wines that are ‘Cellared’ In Canada (mainly foreign wine) and wines made with 100% Canadian grapes (VQA). In keeping with our mission of providing consumers with the most objective information possible, we have created a new Cellared In Canada region and have re-classified all CIC wines from Ontario and British Columbia in this new region. Wines classified as CIC will no longer be presented when you are searching for wines from Canada, Ontario, or BC.

Cellared In Canada Filter

Filed under: Featured Articles, News, Wine, "Cellared In Canada", BC, CIC, ON, VQA

Big Guns Arrive but the Party Is Over

“The Vintages Sept 26 release starts to trot out the iconic triple-digit wines for the Holiday silly season, particularly from Bordeaux and Napa Valley. I suspect they will move slowly. At a recent lunch with a highly placed Vintages employee, our table learned that Vintages has done very well, better than forecasted during the 2009 recession, with high-priced wines the only area to go flat. I love great wine as much as the next person, and understand it. But it’s really difficult to be sympathetic to the unfolding plight. By that I mean wines whose price soars beyond intrinsic value, as measured by quality. If flush enough with cash, I would actually pay $200 for a 98- to 100-point wine, or $100 for a 95 pointer, or $75 for a 93 pointer. This is a personal measure to be sure, and each has his own, but none of the offerings in this release hit these numbers; the closest being the gorgeous Ornellaia, which, at 94 points, sells for $174. I would love to buy it but I won’t, although I might consider seven bottles of Ornellaia’s peppy 90-point cousin, called Le Volte, for the same outlay. It’s easy to both hype very expensive wines and to harp on them. I just have a gut feeling that for the icons of the world the party is over, at least for the current generation. People are smarter now, and less wealthy, and there is just too much excellent wine being made for much less money. David’s Half Dozen selections in each release do often list very high quality, expensive wines, but this time all are spiffy buys are under $20″

- David Lawrason, VP of Wine at WineAlign

Click here to see ranked lists and reviews of close to 100 wines in this release.

David’s Half Dozen

Whites

Stocco Friulano Doc Friuli Grave
2008, Friuli, Italy $14.95  89pts

Ironstone Vineyards Obsession Symphony 2007, California  $14.95  89pts

Reds


Mas Des Bressades Cuvée Excellence 2007, Ac Costières De Nîmes, Rhone, France
$18.95  90pts

Grant Burge Miamba Shiraz 2007, Barossa, South Australia
$19.95  91pts

Terra Andina Reserva Carmenère 2007, Rapel Valley, Chile  $12.95  89pts

Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec 2006, Luján De Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina  $16.95  88pts

Filed under: Featured Articles, News, Wine, "Top Picks", "Top Values", Availability WineAlign, LCBO, Picks, release, Szabo, Vintages, VQA

Vincor launches Strut & Open Wines

Hot on the…ahem…heels of Vincor’s May launch of Strut Wines which include such fashionable names such as Chardonista (Chardonnay), Well‐Heeled White (Riesling and Gewürztraminer blend), Cab Couture (a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) and Red Over Heels (Merlot).  Vincor has now launched Open Wines which include another Riesling‐Gewürztraminer blend, Cab2‐Merlot (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend), and another Merlot.

Strut is clearly being marketed to women wine drinkers with fashion related names, label images and a tag line of “The wine with legs”.  Open wines are being targeted at a savvy “internet generation” with packaging that I quite like.  The concept of “open”(internet, data, goverment, social etc.) is a very hot topic that Vincor hopes to leverage.  Vincor is thus using social media tools for these two brands to reach their targeted demographics.  Both can be found on Twitter (@strutwines/@openwines) and Facebook (Strut/Open Wines).  Open wines also has its own blog.

Chardonista (Chardonnay), Well‐

Heeled White (a white blend of Riesling and Gewürztraminer), Cab Couture (a red blend of Cabernet

Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) and Red Over Heels (Merlot)

Both Strut & Open wines are 100% VQA wines (no Cellared in Canada here) and all are priced at $11.95.  All bottles are under Stelvin (screwcap) enclosures.  Strut can be had at Vincor-owned Wine Rack stores and Open is available at LCBO stores.  Of course, you can use WineAlign to check on stock at your local store.

Filed under: Featured Articles, News, Wine, "Wine Rack", LCBO, Ontario, Open, Strut, VQA, Wine