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Posts with category ‘Sparkling’

Heat-Busting Bargain Bubbly

Posted on July 10, 2007

Wine of the Week
Jacob’s Creek NV Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut ($13.95, 88 points, 562991)
South Eastern Australia
A chardonnay pinot noir blend in the Champagne tradition, this was among my favourites when tasted blind in the under $25 International Value Wine Awards in Calgary last month. Not nearly as tropical, soft and sweet as you might expect from Australia. Very Champagne-like bouquet is lightly toasty and biscuity, with apple-pear, lemon fruit and chalk dust minerality. It’s mid-weight, firm and dry with a bead of tart refreshing acidity that lights up the wine.

Prince Edward County bubbly is born

Posted on February 6, 2008

A couple of milestones were celebrated during last Friday’s snowstorm, with the pop of a single cork at Huff Estate Winery in Prince Edward County. It was the first pouring of the first sparkling wine made in Canada’s newest VQA region, and the debut of Ontario’s most expensive sparkling wine to date (not counting sparkling icewine). Its proper name is Huff Estate 2004 Cuvée Peter F. Huff, named in honour of proprietor Lanny Huff’s late son. The price is $49.95—right up there with the many basic French champagnes that it dares emulate.

Nova Scotia’s New Eden

Posted on April 17, 2008

Nova Scotia might soon be a remarkable source of high-quality, expensive sparkling wine—the Champagne of North America.

David Lawrason

David Lawrason

David Lawrason has worked full time as one of Canada's leading, independent wine writers and educators for over 20 years. He was the founder of Wine Access magazine and Globe and Mail wine columnist for 13 years before becoming resident wine guy at Toronto Life, where he pens a monthly column and writes an exhaustive review of LCBO general listings for the annual Food and Wine Guide. As a wine educator he has taught sommelier programs at George Brown, Humber and Niagara Colleges, and has run popular public courses in Toronto since 1988. He has visited every major wine major producing country in the world, while focusing recently on the booming Canadian wine scene, as founder of the Canadian Wine Awards program, and Canadian wine columnist for Wine Access.

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