Posts

Istituto Grandi Marchi Toronto (2024)

Image
A memorable wine tasting put forward at the Arcadian Loft on October 16 by the Great Brands Institute of Italy, wine tasting that encompassed a few select wineries from all over the country. We arrived after the event started, and grabbed a few hors d'oeuvres (this time not pictured) to beef up before commencing the tasting. Our first target after eating was San Leonardo where we started by tasting the 2019 Cab Sauv / Merlot / Carmenere blend (not pictured), from an old vine and aged for 24 months. It's a wine with good acidity and aroma, and balanced tannins that had just arrived at LCBO the week on October 7. We also sampled the Vette, a Sauvignon Blanc with strong floral notes. We proceeded to Rivera, a Puglia winery, where we started the tasting with the 2022 Rupicolo, a fresh, fruity red with smooth acidity. We continued with Il Falcone, a reserve red with cherry notes, aged in oak.We then tried the Violante (not pictured), from the Nero di Troia grape, the most popular gr...
Post a Comment
Read more

National Bourbon Day 2024

Image
To wrap up the 2023/4 tasting season, we were invited on June 14 to the National Bourbon Day tasting, held as a garden party at the residence of his Excellency, the US consul to Toronto.  We arrived at the mansion that houses the consul's residence and we found stands from a few bourbon producers set up around the garden as well as a stage piping out country music. We started the tasting at the Wild Turkey stand. This bourbon is aromatic with a deep aroma of wild berries. We proceeded to Angels Envy where we first tasted the bourbon, finished in port casks. It was very smooth with light herbal notes reminiscent of Jack Daniel's Rye. We were then treated to a tasting of a rare Rye from the same Angels Envy house. It was full of floral notes, and baked bread notes on the palate. The Hirsch distillery presented two bourbons: the Bivouac, a Kentucky straight bourbon and the Horizon, a straight bourbon made in Indiana. The Bivouac has warm orange and strawberry notes, while the Hori...
Post a Comment
Read more

Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa (PIWOSA) 2024 (Toronto)

Image
On June 10 we went to the famous Constantine restaurant in Toronto for the PIWOSA tasting event, grouping a select few South African wineries.  We started at Glenelly, a Stellenbosch winery, with the Unoaked Chardonnay, not yet available on the Canadian market. It's fermented in stainless steel, with strong acidity, and with a very affordable suggested price at $19. Immediately after, we sampled the Chardonnay, with more subdued acidity and priced at $30. From the same winery, we continued with the Lady May, the producer's flagship red, in its 2019 iteration. It's a wine with balanced tannins, a blend of Cab Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Cab Franc. We concluded our time with Glenelly by trying their 2021 Cab Sauvignon, a balanced wine that would go great with red meat and priced at only $18.99. Our next target was The Drift Estate from the Overberg Highlands, where we started with the Sauvignon Blanc, floral, balanced, mid-sweet. We then tasted their Ghost In The Mach...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gambero Rosso International Tre Bicchieri 2024 (Toronto)

Image
On May 6, we went to the Liberty Grand entertainment venue at the Exhibition place in Toronto for the annual Tre Bicchieri wine show, hosted by Gambero Rosso International. This event showcases the best of the Italian wines for the year. The first highlight of our tasting was the Langhe Nebbiolo blend from Giovanni Rosso, a balanced wine with low acidity and tannins.  At Enio Ottaviani we tasted il Sole Rosso, a fresh red wine whose grapes are influenced by the sea breezes.                                                                                                                 Next, we arrived at the famous Barone Ricasoli (not pictured), where w...
Post a Comment
Read more