This weekend, the shelves at LCBO Vintages will be overflowing with light whites, dry rosés & bold red wines.  With Canada Day quickly approaching (is it July already?!?!?), there is a selection of wines from Niagara and British Columbia to toast our national holiday.  Also Canadians can raise a glass to toast the passing of Bill C-311 in Parliament that will soon make wines from coast to coast more accessible to all of us.

At this time of year, picnics and outdoor gatherings are on our mind (and our social calendars!), so we offer some wine recommendations that are crowd pleasers. Here are my wine recommendations that won’t break bank…and some extras worth considering as summertime sippers.

Cheers & Enjoy!

Debbie

Featherstone Gewurztraminer VQA 2011, Ontario

LCBO#64592
$19.95
Winemaker David Johnson, nicknames this ‘G Wine’.  It is a refreshing white wine with aromas & tastes of stone fruit (think pear, peach, apricot) along with some pineapple too.  Nice on its own or with spicy Mexican or Thai food.

Vrede en lust White Mischief, South Africa

LCBO#280156
$16.95
A unique blend of 5 different grapes – Chenin Blanc, Semillion, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc & Viognier, create an easy drinking dry white wine that’s loaded with white grapefruit & cantaloupe aromas & tastes. The zippy acidity makes this an impressive wine from South Africa.  Enjoy with seafood, picnics or sip on its own.

Quail’s Gate Rosé VQA 2011, British Columbia

LCBO#275842
$17.95
The light pink colour of this wine resembles a sunset in your glass. Light bodied with crisp, refreshing aromas & tastes of rhubarb, pink grapefruit with a kick of lime & mint.  As an easy drinking wine, don’t be surprised how quickly you’ll finish the bottle!

Alta Vista Premium Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Argentina

LCBO#129957
$14.95
Fire up the BBQ! This BIG bold wine will accompany anything off the grill - steak, burgers, sausages, tenderloin & grilled veggies -  Loaded with pronounced aromas of vanilla, black licorice, black cherries & dark chocolate with light tannins that smooth out with each bite of food. And with this price tag, why not make it your house wine this summer?

Chateau Tanunda Barossa Tower Shiraz/Primitivo, Australia

LCBO#281048
$18.95
The fact that this wine is from a chateau in Australia, will undoubtedly make it a conversation piece as soon as the bottle is placed on the table. Declared as Australian Producer of the Year in 2010, this wine is outstanding. Everything about this wine is black - almost black in colour with overripe blackberry, black plums, figs aromas & tastes with warm spices of black pepper, cinnamon and balsamic.  This wine won’t disappoint. Great with anything off the grill.

Like Australia wines?  Join us for 'Unwind Downunder' wine tasting featuring Australian wines.  Email us to be the first to receive an invitation.  Stay tuned as the event details are finalized!

 GRAND TOTAL: $88.75

Other wines worth the splurge:

Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscato d’Asti, Italy

LCBO#942888
$16.95
When a bottle of Moscato d’Asti is popped (it’s cork is not mushroom shaped like sparkling wine, but it does pop!) it is always one of my sure signs that summer has arrived.  At 5% alcohol, this refreshing medium bodied wine has light mousse (winespeak: bubbles) with aromas and tastes of honey, daisy and citrus.  A great wine to serve with brunch, as an aperitif or to relax with after a meal.

Nessa Albariño 2010, Spain

LCBO#282558
$15.95
Looking for a different refreshing white wine? This one won’t disappoint.   Albariño wines are a signature of the Rías Baixas region of southern Spain.  From time to time, you will find one on the Vintages shelves.  Usually priced less than $20,  this style of wine is worth experimenting with.  Super light with lemon/lime, honeydew & fresh gingerroot aromas that continues into the taste.  The zippy acidity makes it perfect to serve with a picnic.

Lucien Albretch Reserve Pinot Gris 2010, Alsace France 

LCBO#281394
$17.95
Not your typical pinot gris wine.  Light to medium bodied with beeswax aromas that turns into tastes of honey and floral with an edgy finish that smooths out and lingers forever.  Great with grilled shrimp or a big bowl of steamed mussles.

Zonte’s Footsteps Baron Von Nemesis Shiraz, Australia

LCBO #212936
$17.95
This wine needs no food, just sit back & relax.  Notes of cherry pie filling, blueberry jam, a well balanced & easy drinking red wine.

If I only had $100, I would buy . . .
LCBO Vintages Release as of Saturday, March 19, 2011

The wines of the Iberian peninsula are featured in the March 19 LCBO Vintages release, including wines from Portugal’s Douro, Ribatejo and Alentejo appellations,  the well-known Rioja of Spain, as well as less familiar Spanish regions such as Rías Baixas and Toro. I found that there are some intense flavourful value-laden wines from both countries. Iconic wines of California are also featured, including such legends as Opus One, Dominus, and Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon – wines to contemplate and to cellar. A personal favorite is Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon – I had the opportunity to hear him speak about his philosophy of winemaking, and appreciate his focus on varietal character and terroir.

The main release includes a couple of fine wines from Ontario’s great 2007 vintage, some tasty Shiraz from Australia, a great Cabernet/Carmenère blend from Chile, as well as a very flavourful Perrin & Fils from the Rhône. I couldn’t resist adding an optional wine from B.C., Mission Hill’s Quatrain. An embarrassment of riches, but we’ve stayed within (just) our self-imposed limit of $100. I hope you enjoy my wine recommendations.
 
Cheers,
Susan

Cistus Reserva 2007
DOC Douro, Portugal
$18.95 (Vintages #145052) 14.5% alcohol
Aged 15 months in French, American and Hungarian oak, this is an old-vines blend of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional. Enjoy lifted aromas of sun-ripened berries, plums and notes of toffee and licorice. Approachable yet structured, harmonious and flavourful, this is a dry, delectable, medium-bodied wine displaying sweet ripe berry fruit, spice box and vanilla. Delightful notes of sweet cocoa and toast ripple through the fruity finish. To be savoured with hard cheeses or with robust meat dishes.

Leira Albariño 2009
DO Rías Baixas, Spain
$17.95 (Vintages #115816) 13.0% alcohol
A pale golden-green gem, this varietal of the Spanish northwest displays lovely fragrance—floral, citrus, mineral, and nuances of sweet stone fruit. Sweet stone fruit and citrus predominate on entry, the soft silky texture in counterpoint to lively acidity. Dry, medium bodied and tangy, the lasting finish offers a faint refreshing note of pithy citrus rind. Enjoy it with paella.

East Dell Sauvignon Blanc ‘Reserve’2009
VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
$17.95 (Vintages #222174) 12.5% alcohol
Here’s an appealing, fresh, vibrant wine, offering lifted aromas of citrus, tree fruit, tropical notes and a whiff of nettle. Smooth in texture and sweetly fruity on entry, it’s an invigorating mouthful of tangy acidity and clean citrus, gooseberry and tree fruit flavours, wrapping up in a lengthy lively finish. A great choice with smoked fish or a salad garnished with goat cheese.

Inniskillin ‘Winemaker’s Series Montague Vineyard’ Pinot Noir 2007
VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario
$24.95 (Vintages #997353) 13.0% alcohol
Cherry red, this is an impressive well-crafted wine with impact on the nose and palate, a fine expression of the 2007 vintage. The aromas are alluring and complex—earth, spice and ripe cherry/berry fruit. Dry, medium bodied, and smooth in texture, the tannins are ripe, the acidity lively. The intense fruit replays and persists through the dry finish with notes of sweet spice and toast, the earthiness a subtle presence. Savour a glass on its own, pair it with mushroom risotto, or cellar short term.

The Watcher 2008
Barossa Valley, Australia
$19.95 (Vintages #219196) 14.5% alcohol
This is a dense inky Shiraz, dry yet fruity, loaded with spice and dark berry fruit– blueberry and blackberry. Mid-weight, soft in texture and generous, the flavours are reminiscent of favorite jams—blackberry, cassis and raspberry—yet it displays good balance. There’s a dollop of pepper and toast layered on the rich fruity finish. 

Grand Total: $99.75

Wine worth the splurge:

Mission Hill Quatrain 2006
VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
$44.95 (Vintages #218636) 13.0% alcohol

Named due to its blend of four varietals—Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon—this is a dry powerful full bodied wine, the grapes hand picked and sorted, then fermented and aged in French oak. Almost black, it’s so dense, there’s great depth and complexity of aroma and flavour—cassis, blackberry, plum, sweet spice. It all comes together with subtlety and finesse, well integrated tannins, subtle acidity balancing the intense fruit, a smooth and velvety texture. Enjoy the persistent aftertaste, savoury notes of dark toast and chocolate complementing the deeply flavourful fruit. Beautiful now and a candidate for medium-term cellaring.

More about my blog post: If I only had $100, I would buy…
There is a myriad of wines out there, so it’s often a challenge deciding what to select when the LCBO Vintages catalogue comes out every two weeks or so. Like a kid in a candy shop, your attention darts from one treat to another, but what to choose . . . Something to serve to your guests this weekend? Something to put away for a special occasion?

I recognize that each person’s tastes and preferences are unique. “If I had $100 . . .”, will be posted just prior to LCBO Vintages releases and will highlight unique wines I have tasted that provide good value; the selection will total no more than $100.

Occasionally, I may include an optional wine – you can substitute or add it for a little more or a little less! Print this off as your shopping list knowing that these wines have been selected by a Savvy Sommelier who has sipped, savoured & swirled countless wines before they arrived on the shelves in Vintages.  Hopefully you too will find a new favorite wine.  And when you do, quickly save your pennies to buy a bottle or two more.  Warning that once a wine is gone from a particular Vintages release, that vintage, and sometimes that wine, is gone for good!

When people select, drink and enjoy wines these days, the concept of 'style' plays a big role in the character, profile and experience of wine. It is a way of familiarizing the unknown. There are many ways of referencing style with wine as there is referencing style with people. One can talk about style with winemaking or growing or marketing or bottling or flavour...  just like you can with art or clothing or behaviour. Often, the concept of 'New' and 'Old' World styles run through discussions and pleasures that are a part of the wine experience too. There is no well-defined identity for one or the other, particularly now that vines and winemakers and techniques move from traditional Old World regions to New World regions and back again.

There is still value in referencing these styles because it helps to uncover the identities and assets of wines we might not be familiar with. In a way it is like discovering a tasting profile for wines. Here are some ideas that might clarify 'Old' from 'New' and "open up" some wines for you.

Old World:  These wines are usually wines that have a long, documented history and are primarily found in Europe and around the Mediterranean. Here the traditions of winemaking are very important to the production of wine. "Terroir" (the impact of soil, weather, nutrients, sunlight, agricultural method, etc.) also plays a large role in the way wine is made.

Austria, Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland are wine regions with a long history of growing grapes for wine that would qualify as "Old World".

New World: These wines are grown outside of the traditional wine regions of Europe. Each of these countries has its own history with wine that often is about the importation of vines in many cases ( often by the Church for various rituals). The growers brought their grape growing and winemaking traditions with them, but had to modify some of their procedures (like irrigation) to accommodate the conditions and resources of their new sites.

Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico and the United States are the more notale examples.

Style: Knowing this information is helpful.

Old World wines because of their reliance on tradition and terroir will display more of the characteristics of the soils and climates they are in like the foods grown right along side them. Much Old World wine, to oversimplify, is intended as a food partner, a wine whose crop yields, alcohol levels, acid levels, aging processes and geographical boundaries are highly regulated. Filtering of many of these wines is done with natural products like clay or egg whites so sediment levels tend to be higher and the wines tend to absorb rather than reflect light. These wines often show a minerality, an earthiness and a flavour profile that leans towards barrel flavours like vanilla and smoke or wood and they show tannic characteristics more readily. Intended to be food partners, Old World often improves its impact with local fare as an accompaniment.

New World, on the other hand, is more winemaker driven. It is intended to be more a "cocktail" experience. It is designed for the consumer with its fruit forward, high sugar and alcohol profile. These wines are grown to be drunk now. Longer growing seasons, less regulations, controlled irrigation and fertilization render bountiful crops and copious supplies of wine that is brilliantly reflective because of the .005 gauge screening it goes through when it is filtered. Drinking wine on its own suits the New World very well.

That is not to say that these are hard and fast rules for "Old" and "New". Many is the Old World vintage that is tasty and sweet all by itself. Many is the New World vintage that marries very well with food. A lot of Old World wineries have New World winemakers and vice versa, but these characteristics are helpful in recognizing New and Old World 'Styles' of wine which may help you share your wine experiences with someone else or choose the right wine for someone you know. 

Cheers and Salute!
- Wayne

Do you have more ideas about styles of wine, New or Old World? Email me as I would like to hear from you.