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Gambero Rosso International Tre Bicchieri 2024 (Toronto)

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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 we started with the Chianti Classico Riserva, low on tannins that we believe would be very good slightly chilled. We then sampled their Sangiovese Blend (Castello di Brolio), refreshing and with a robust texture. We concluded with the Ceni Primo, a single-vineyard, low-tannin wine. We then proceeded to Buglioni, a producer from the Veneto
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EUREKA! The California Wine Discovery

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The Eureka! wine tasting took place on April 22 within the confines of the historic Carlu venue at College Park.  We started the tasting with the 2022 Grenache Blanc from the Acquiescence winery in the Lodi region of California. It is a slightly bubbly wine with nice acidity and depth. Also from the Lodi region, we sampled the Albarino from Bokisch vineyards that we found to be fruity, semi-sweet with low acidity. After this intro, we headed to the Bonterra Organic Vineyards that had built a rustic pavilion in which to showcase their wines. On the way, we made quick stop at the food stand, where we had a delicious assortment of cuts, cheeses and dried fruits to prepare us for the tastings ahead. At Bonterra, we had their Cab Sauvignon with lots of body, deep tannins and a hint of sweetness.  We moved on to Wente, a 140 year old family-owned estate winery, where we started with the Sauvignon Blanc, of which 168 cases are coming to LCBO in October. We also tasted the Pinot Noir, a single
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Taste of Ontario (2024)

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On April 15, at the Park Hyatt hotel, in Toronto's posh Yorkville neighborhood, we enjoyed an afternoon of tasting wines local to the province of Ontario as well as accompanying hors d'oeuvres.  As the tasting started at noon, we first had the delicious hors d'oeuvres, designed to pair well with some of the more usual wine varietals on the white side. We began our tasting at Drea's vineyards' stand. This winery is owned by the daughter of the founder of the now famous Inniskillin winery. We first tried the Blanc de Blancs, a dry, fresh bubbly, 18 months on lees of which only 30 cases were made. We also sampled the Rosato (not pictured) ranked among the top 30 roses in Canada. It has great acidity and made its entrance at LCBO during the week of April 22. We proceeded to Icellars Estate Winery where we tasted the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc that opens up with delicate acidity and floral notes. At Lighthall Winery, hailing from the south shore of Prince Edward County, we tri
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The Oregon and Washington State Wine Expedition (Toronto) 2024

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This year the Toronto iteration of the Oregon and Washington State Wine Expedition was hosted on April 8 at the El Mocambo historic venue with exhibitors spread over two floors. There were both first time exhibitors and others that have become fixtures of this yearly show. Upon arrival, we were led to the second floor of the venue (the main floor of the tasting). Food this time was pass-around and kept coming regularly. Our focus this year were mainly white and rose wines, and wines one does not expect to find in the regions exhibited. So, upon arrival at the A to Z a winery, that we also sampled from last year, we started with the 2022 Oregon Rose Wine, a San Giovese Pinot Noir blend, a wine with nice acidity retailing at LCBO for $27.95. We continued with the Pinot Gris. a low acidity, smooth on the palate wine, retailing for $24.95.  We next stopped at Solena's stand, another winery that we sampled from before. Here we tried the Grande Cuvee Pinot Noir, a wine with a profund aro
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