Cost: $22.95 Grape: Pinot Noir Category: Rosé Wine Location: Winery Country: Canada Region: St. David’s Bench, Niagara Region, Ontario Format: 750 ml Producer: Niagara College Teaching Winery Alcohol: 13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
A nice sour base rosé. Score: 89/100.
Tasting Note: Light copper in colour with good acidity, a medium intense nose, & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Sour cherry, rhubarb & cranberry.
Negatives: None
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 2 – 3 years on its own or pair it with Chinese food.
One of the best rosés without the high cost. This delicious off-dry rosé is full flavoured & juicy. Score: 94/100.
Tasting Note: Rosé red in colour with good acidity, a medium intense+ nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Bing Cherries, Fuji Apples & strawberries.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: The use of 50% Pinot Meunier, a grape used in Champagne.
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 2 – 3 years on its own or pair it with chicken wings
Cost: $24.95 Grape: Tempranillo Category: Red Wine Location: LCBO Vintages Country: Portugal Region: Rioja Format: 750 ml Producer: Baron De Ley Alcohol: 14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Classic Rioja reserva with nice fruits & spice. Score: 91/100.
Tasting Note: Dark ruby in colour with good acidity, an intense+ nose, grainy tannin & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Black cherry, black currants, mulberry, blackberries, raspberry, Allspice, cassis & cinnamon.
Negatives: 14.5% alcohol
Winemaker’s Note: “Aged for a minimum of 20 months in oak casks & then matured in bottle to complete its evolution.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3 – 5 years on its own or pair it with rack of lamb.
Quality made Gamay with tart fruit & spice. Score: 91/100.
Tasting Note: Light to medium purple to ruby in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Cherry, cranberry, rhubarb, strawberry, black pepper, cloves & cassis.
Negatives: None
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3 – 5 years on its own or pair it with panzerotti.
Cost: $21.95 Grape: Chardonnay Category: White Wine Location: Winery Country: Canada Region: Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Format: 750 ml Producer: 13th Street Winery Alcohol: 13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
My new Ontario best Chard at under $30. Beautifully made, elegant, creamy with vibrant tropical fruits & some spice. Score: 95/100.
Tasting Note: Gold in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon, peach, pear, green & golden apples, mango, ginger, oak spice & honeysuckle on the nose.
Negatives: None
Winemaker’s Note: “The grapes for our Chardonnay 2023 come from select vineyards in the Niagara Peninsula appellation. They were harvested in late September and early October and fermented and aged in French oak and acacia barrels of a variety of sizes (228L, 400L, and 500L). There were 100% malolactic fermentations. After rigorous tasting, winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas decided on the final blend and bottled the wine in January 2025, following light fining and filtration.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 4 – 6 years on its own or pair it with Fogo Island cod, soy ginger glaze, charred shitake mushrooms & green garlic.
Cost: $13.55 Grape: Primitivo Category: Rosé Wine Location: LCBO General List Country: Italy Region: Puglia Format: 750 ml Producer: Doppio Passo Alcohol: 12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
I love a great surprise in trying a new wine that is low in cost and this one scores. Score: 91/100.
Tasting Note: Rose gold in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Pink grapefruit, cranberry, watermelon & thyme.
Negatives: None
Winemaker’s Note: “The must is left on the skins for about 12 hours at a controlled temperature. After soft-pressing, the must is left to ferment at a controlled temperature between 16-18°C in stainless steel vats, in order to exalt its freshness and aromatic notes. The wine is then stored at 17-18°C in steel tanks until bottling.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 2 – 4 years on its own or pair it with charcuterie.
Cost: $13.95 (on sale until June 22, 2025: $11.95) Grape: Baco Noir & Cabernet Sauvignon Category: Red Wine Location: LCBO General List Country: Canada Region: Ontario Format: 750 ml Producer: Red House Wine Co. Alcohol: 13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Score a big wine for the Speck brothers and for Ontario, for making an inexpensive red wine that has substance, easy to drink & delicious Score: 90/100.
Tasting Note: Medium bright ruby in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose, round tannin & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Cherry pie, plum, mulberry, blackberry, ripe tamarind, white pepper, cassis & violets on the nose.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Can’t beat this wine at the price, especially at the sale price.
Winemaker’s Note:
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 2 – 4 years on its own or pair it with BBQ hamburgers
Cost: $13.76 Grape: 40 wine varieties, manly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca & Tinta Roriz Category: Red Wine Location: Country: Portugal Region: Dona Doroteia Valley, Douro Valley Format: 750 ml Producer: Nuno de Oliveira Alcohol: 15.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Vibrant & juicy wine, but with a lot of heat from the high alcohol. Score: 88/100.
Tasting Note: Dark ruby in colour with good acidity, a medium intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Mulberry, blueberry pie, plum & cherry cola.
Negatives: High alcohol
Interesting Point: 40 Castas depicts that there are 40 different varietals that this wine is made of.
Winemaker’s Point: Wine made in traditional Lagares with a small aging in oak barrels.
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3 – 5 years on its own or pair it with Cozido à Portuguesa (Mixed Meat Boil).
Cost: $20.80 (Clearance price: $20.25 Grape: 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, and 2% Cabernet Franc Category: Red Wine Location: LCBO Vintages Country: Chile Region: Valle Del Maipo Format: 750 ml Producer: Vina Tarapacá Alcohol: 14.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Full body, elegant, lots of flavour with fruits & spices all a great price point. Score: 95/100.
Tasting Note: Opaque ruby in colour with good acidity, a medium intense nose, grainy tannin & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Dark cherry, plum, mulberry, raspberry, black currents, white pepper, tobacco leaves, anise, cloves, leather, granite & violets on the nose.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point:
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 4 – 6 years on its own or pair it with ribeye tacos.
Not a complex wine, but it’s full body, silky smooth & something different from the regular Ontario white wines. Score: 89/100.
Tasting Note: deep straw in colour with good acidity, a medium intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon zest, peach pit, pear and apples,
Negatives: None
Interesting Point:
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 2 – 4 years on its own or pair it with shrimp tempura
Twilight Wines 