Istituto Grandi Marchi Toronto (2024)

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 grape in Puglia. We concluded with the Marese, a Bombino Bianco grape wine, fruity with a balanced aroma.

Arriving at Pio Cesare, we started with the Barbera d'Alba, from the Barebera grape, with a profound aroma, smooth on the palate. We proceeded to the Barolo, a 9-grape blend, with a deep, elegant aroma. We concluded with the single-vine Barolo Ornato, 100% Nebbiolo, very smooth on the palate. 

We then got to Michele Chiarlo, where we first tasted the Gavi, a dry white from Piemonte, aged in stainless steel, sweet, floral and fresh. It is currently available on consignment. We continued with their Barolo, a 12-grape blend, with balanced acidity that retails for only $20 at LCBO. Lastly, we had the Barbaresco, available by private order, with a deeper aroma than the Barolo.

We then moved on to the Mastroberardino stand, where we started the tasting with the 2023 Fiano di Avellino, a white with fruity aroma and balanced acidity. hailing from the mountainous part of Campania. We also sampled their Greco di Tufo, a dryer, less floral white when compared to the Fiano.

Then time came for us to reach the stand of the famous Veneto winery Masi Agricola. We started with their 2021 Serego Alighieri Valpolicella "Possessioni" smooth on palate with low tannins. We also had their Campofiorin Barolo a very balanced wine. 

At Lungarotti we commenced with the San Giorgio, a sweetish, smotth, no after taste San Giovese Cab Sauv blend aged in stainless steel for 1 year followed by 2 years of bottle aging. We continued with L'Um, a Sangiovese Merlot blend - not completely dry and with perfectly balanced tannins. The third wine we tried was the Rubesco (90% Sangiovese, 10% Colorino) with unripened cherry notes. The fourth wine was the Montefalco Sagrantino, 100% Sagrantino grapes, deep taste, strong tannins, rich in polyphenols.

Our next stop was Jermann, where we started with the Pinot Grigio, a dry but floral wine aged in stainless steel. We continued with the very smooth Chard ("Vendetta") and concluded with the Red Angel, a very botanic Pinot Noir. 

After taking a short break to admire the city views, we got to Col D'Orcia, hailing from Montalcino, in the mountainous part of Tuscany. We began with the Brunello di Montalcino (2019), already at LCBO in Vintages, and continued with Poggio Al Vento (2016), wine with profound aroma retailing at up to $175 at LCBO's flagship Summerhill location. We ended with the Olmaia, a dry, crisp Cab Sauv. 

We continued to Carpene - Malvolti, a bubbly producer from close to Venice. Their bubbly is very floral.

At Ca' Del Bosco, we sampled their exceptionally smooth bubbly.

To end our tasting for the day, we stopped at Umani Ronchi, where we had the Cumaro, a great red with deep taste and strong tannins, named 2020 vine of the year by the prestigious Gambero Rosso organization.