I spent last weekend at the annual wine inundation known as Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival—an event that locals and winery visitors argue is the best of its kind in Canada. It’s actually not even arguable, in my opinion (even if some easterners feel bruised by this admission). One would think that Toronto should be able to mount a show of this calibre, yet it never has. Hogtown’s big shows are for-profit, commercial ventures that tend to cheapen the content and keep the LCBO at a distance. The government cannot be promoting any commercial interest other than its own, and the reason that other wine shows work across Canada, including Playhouse, is that they have the full support of provincial liquor boards. One might ask why the government is in the wine retail business at all, but that’s a topic for another day.
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Sweeping the pinot noir minefield
Every article I have ever read about pinot noir has noted that this is a grape that disappoints as often as it thrills—that it is necessary to be an adventurer, to be forgiving and able to get back in the saddle after forking out a substantial sum and finding the wine tart, mean or downright funky (especially when dealing with burgundy of lesser provenance) The red flag goes up again on March 1, when Vintages releases several burgundies from producers rarely seen here. There are a couple of winners, but overall the selection leaves me to ponder whether anyone is critically tasting these wines before they buy them. There is also a smattering from elsewhere, including Niagara, Oregon, California and B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, again with mixed results. As your minesweeper—and from the vantage point of pinot being my favourite variety—here is a review of every pinot I have tasted on this release, from best to worst:
Cabernet: Antidote to February
Cabernet sauvignon can do one job better than most wines: lift your spirits. And if Family Day didn’t quite cut it during this miserable February, may I recommend one of the following 90-points-plus cabernets sauvignons for the table one night this week. Buy some lamb from your favourite butcher, decant the wine the moment you get home, slip into your comfy duds, read the mail, start cooking, then breathe deeply. No other red grape is as capable of such soaring blackcurrant fragrance, such complexity, such power and elegance. At its best it combines true grit and symmetry.
Legendary Henschke wines are coming to the LCBO
In most winemaking nations, there are a handful of family-run wineries that have risen to the summit of success based on unswerving quality. There is actually an auspicious international association called Primum Familiae Vini that promotes this notion (and they will be celebrating themselves with tastings and dinners in Vancouver, March 9 to 11). Thus far, they have no Australian members, so I would like to nominate Stephen and Prue Henschke, guiding lights to the benefits of family winery ownership, especially when that family is endowed with great passion, intelligence and inquiring minds.
Prince Edward County bubbly is born
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.
Surprising Australians in Vintages’ new release
The upcoming March issue of Toronto Life (on newsstands February 7th) contains reviews of 10 wines from Vintages’ February 2nd release, all of which have been rated 90 points or higher by other writers. In the spirit of helping you critique the critics, my reviews in the magazine compare my impressions and ratings to theirs, but there are certainly more than 10 interesting wines on this release.
A Glimpse at the Bordeaux 2005s
Four hundred and fifty people jammed a Four Seasons Hotel ballroom Wednesday night (January 22) for a rare home-turf tasting of the famed Bordeaux 2005 vintage. Over 100 wines were poured by 75 châteaux from the Union des Grands Cru de Bordeaux, a trade organization currently on a North American tour to sell what many are calling an excellent and classic vintage.
Argentina’s Value Reds
On Saturday, January 19th, Vintages will release 20 new Argentine reds, with all but one priced between $13 and $20. The exception is Familia Mayol’s 2003 Cuatro Primos ($23.75), the best of the bunch. Argentine reds are hugely popular right now; they deliver ample ripeness, weight and presence for a decent price. The reason is a desert-like, yet water-managed climate that promotes both ripeness and huge production. This is what keeps prices moderate.
Organized Wine Crime
Many assume that the LCBO’s control of the wine business in Ontario is an outgrowth of the anti-alcohol movement in the ’30s—to protect us from demon alcohol. Not really. Government took control to take organized crime out of the booze business during Prohibition and reap the tax rewards for its citizens. Who knew that this monopoly would end up being obtrusive and demanding in the manufacture and purveyance of a legal product in Ontario—at least as perceived by many who toil to make a living in the wine business.
New Year’s bargain hunting
The flood of wine through Vintages stores doesn’t stop for an event as paltry as a New Year’s. With Monday’s Champagne fizz barely flat, the new release (out January 5) contains 85 new wines, many bundled for marketing purposes under a “What’s New” banner. There are entries from obscure regions like the Fronton near Toulouse in Southwest France, from Catalayud in Spain, and a fine sangiovese from Emilia-Romagna in Italy. More importantly for flattened wallets the vast majority are under $20, the silver lining of being unknown. Here are ten of the best buys from the January 5 release.
My favourite wine moments of 2007
1Hidden Bench 2005 Nuits Blanche, NiagaraMy head-spinning first tasting of a brilliant bordeaux-inspired white blend of sauvignon blanc and sémillon that went on to win white wine of the year at the Canadian Wine Awards. Hidden Bench opened in June and came out of nowhere to take runner-up for winery of the year.
Wine, Words and Wisdom
If you haven’t bought your special bottles for Christmas gifts you may be too late, as LCBO shelves will be emptying fast this week. Plan B? Nip into your local bookstore for a wine book.
Trophy Wines Sell Out
My Drink column in current issue of Toronto Life reviews ten very expensive, gifting wines released Saturday (December 8th) at Vintages, complete with a warning that you need to “step lively” to actually acquire them. I should have said set your alarm clock for 5 a.m. Within an hour or two of doors opening many of the trophy bottles were sold out.
The County Wassails
Last weekend the wineries of Prince Edward County were wassailing, reviving an English custom that is something of a post-harvest, pre-Christmas song and mulled wine fest. They have plenty to wassail about in 2007—the biggest and best harvest in the region’s short history, and its first harvest as an official VQA-designated vineyard area. The Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association estimates that over 679 tonnes of grapes were harvested in 2007 (about 600,000 bottles). On a global scale, this is less than a drop in the bucket; indeed, some international wineries make single brands that exceed this amount. But within a local context, it is five times the amount that the county harvested in 2005. And despite a drought summer that reduced quantities in Niagara, the county’s slightly more fluid season has exceeded 2006 by about 40 per cent. Not to mention that in both Niagara and Prince Edward County, grape quality for 2007 may be the highest yet recorded. With vines now buried under their earthen hills—to protect against the very cold winter Environment Canada is predicting—the wineries have time to catch their breath and celebrate the holidays. Here, some Prince Edward County wines recently tasted, which are newly released or still in stock. Order via the Internet or take a trip to the county; most wineries are open on the weekends leading up to Christmas.
Holiday Shopping at Vintages
As much as I personally like to drag my heels on the issue of Christmas shopping, it was clearly evident from the throngs in the LCBO’s Bloor and Royal York store last Saturday afternoon that the season has been flung upon us. (I hear Royal York sold out of their 132-bottle allotment of Le Clos Jordanne—see Nov. 23 blog—by noon.) The upcoming January edition of Toronto Life has some great tips (and I hope inspiration) about buying fine wine at Christmas and offers suggestions from Vintages’ impressive Dec. 8 release. For those driven to finish their shopping this weekend, here are 10 worthy gifts already on the shelf, with largest stock allocations shown as of Nov. 26. To find stock at the store nearest you plug the LCBO product number shown into the Product Search function at www.lcbo.com.
