Cost: $28.75 Grape: Chardonnay Category: White Wine Location: LCBO Vintages Country: France Region: Burgundy, Mâconnais, Viré-Clessé Format: 750 ml Producer: Maison Matisco Alcohol: 13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Complex Chard, well balanced with juicy fruits, good acidity & spicy notes. Score: 93/100.
Tasting Note: Light clear gold in colour with good acidity, medium nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, kumquat, dill, ginger, honeycomb, oak spice & white flowers on the nose.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Organic
Pairings: Drink this now or 5 – 7 years on its own or pair it with Chilean Sea Bass.
Cost: $29.95 Grape: Viognier Category: White Wine Location: Winery Country: Canada Region: St. David’s Bench, Niagara Region, Ontario Format: 750 ml Producer: Queenston Mile Vineyard Alcohol: 13.8% Alcohol/Vol.
I think the technical term is: “Yummy”. Best Canadian Viognier that I have tasted. Full body, rich, oily, expressive, juicy & spicy. Score: 96/100.
Tasting Note: Bright deep gold in colour with low acidity, medium nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Peach, peach pit, apricot, ginger, Chinese 5 Spice, vanilla & honeysuckle on the nose.
Negatives: None
Winemaker’s Note: “Harvested October 9th 2020 from the estate vineyard. Fermented and aged in neutral in French Oak barrels for 9 months before a careful barrel selection determined this final blend of 180 cases.”
Pairings: Drink this now or 3 – 5 years on its own or pair it with Dungeness Crab.
Tasting Note: Light garnet in colour with good acidity, medium+ nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Rhubarb, sour cherries, strawberries, cranberries, pickled beets, oyster mushrooms, peat moss & smoked ambers on the nose.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Lightly chill to 15C and use a balloon style glassware.
Winemaker’s Note: “Fruit was cold soaked for 3 days, followed by small batch fermentation & 12 months of ageing in French oak barrels & puncheons.”
Pairings: Drink this now or 4 – 6 years on its own or pair it with escargot.
A quality dry, traditional method sparkling wine at a good price. Score: 92/100.
Tasting Note: Light cooper in colour with fine mousse, good acidity, medium intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Brioche, MacIntosh apples, white cranberry, blackberry, fennel, roasted almonds & orange zest.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Add a blackberry to your glass with the sparkling wine. You hopefully will enjoy how it taste.
Winemaker’s Note: “Gently whole bunch pressed to avoid colour and tannin extraction. Primary fermentation in stainless steel at relatively cool temperatures, and then triaged six months later for second fermentation in bottle. On lees for over 48 months before being disgorged.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 4 – 6 years on its own or pair it with Duck Risotto.
Cost: $43.95 (Sale Price until March 1, 2026: $40.95) Grape: Mostly Grenache with Syrah Category: Red Wine Location: LCBO Vintages Country: France Region: Côte du Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Format: 750 ml Producer: Famille Perrin Alcohol: 14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
A less expensive Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but you don’t lose the quality found in more expensive ones. Eloquent with a silky finish. Score: 97/100.
Tasting Note: Dark garnet to ruby in colour with good acidity, medium+ intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Bing cherries, wild strawberries, plums, brambleberry, cocoa, arugula, wild mushrooms, leather, vanilla & violets with light amber smoked notes on the nose.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: “Les Sinards is made from young vines (under 20 years old) at Beaucastel and two neighbouring vineyards.”
Winemaker’s Note: “From the month of August onwards we carry out maturity checks and taste the berries regularly to determine the optimum harvest date. Each grape variety is harvested separately. On arrival at the cellar the berries are sorted. Part of the Syrah is vinified in whole clusters and the remainder, plus the Grenache, is destemmed. Vinification is in wooden and stainless-steel vats using the same methods as for the Château de Beaucastel wines. The wines are then tasted to determine the blend, and finally aged in foudres for 2 years.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 8 – 10 years on its own or pair it with Spiced Duck Breast.
Cost: $19.95 (Clearance Price: 16.00) Grape: Chenin Blanc Category: White Wine Location: LCBO Vintages Country: South Africa Region: Stellenbosch Format: 750 ml Producer: Radford Dale Alcohol: 13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
A nice substitute for a subtle oaked Chard, featuring nice, crisp fruit, along with a creamy finish. Score: 91/100.
Tasting Note: Bright gold in colour with good acidity, medium intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon zest, pear, white peach, honeydew melon, honeycomb & Jasmine on the nose.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Sustainable & Vegan
Winemaker’s Note: “Grapes were picked by hand as well as manually sorted to ensure that we maintain the purity of varietal expression for which this wine has become known. Gentle pressing in a pneumatic bag press, with the extracted juice moved to a combination of 2500L Foudre, 500L, 300L, and 228L barrels for alcoholic fermentation. The barrels used are predominantly 2nd to 5th fill French oak, of Burgundian cooperages. Whilst the Foudre is of tight-grain, Austrian origin. The usage of unintrusive oaking promotes optimal varietal expression.” (A foudre is a large wooden vat, typically holding 20 to 120+ hectoliters (2,000 to 12,000+ liters), used for aging wine with minimal oak influence.)
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 4 – 6 years on its own or pair it with roasted turkey.
Full body with elegance. So far, the best Canadian vintage Blanc de Blanc I’ve tasted. Score: 98/100.
Tasting Note: Straw in colour with fine mousse, good acidity, medium intense nose & a good length on the finish. This wine features: Brioche, yeast, lemon meringue, green apples, Quince, clementine, toasted almonds, buttered toast, honeycomb & yellow flowers on the nose.
Negatives: None
Winemaker’s Note: “100% chardonnay harvested from the Estate vineyard September 9, 2018. Primary fermentation was conducted at cooler temperatures in stainless steel to preserve delicate fruit flavours. Triage bottling for secondary fermentation on March 14, 2019, then left for on the lees in bottle for over 50 months to create complexity and luxurious character.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 5 – 8 years on its own or pair it with brunch.
An elegant, juicy Pinot that pairs well with food or on its own. Score: 92/100.
Tasting Note: Light garnet in colour with good acidity, medium intense nose, fine tannin & a good length on the finish. This wine features: Sour cherry, rhubarb, cranberry, strawberry & red currants.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Organic & vegan
Winemaker’s Note: “Hand-harvested clusters were destemmed prior to undergoing a wild ferment in open-top oak fermenter. After pressing, the wine was transferred to second-fill and neutral French oak barrels to preserve freshness and then aged eight months before bottling.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3 – 4 years on its own or pair it with duck breast.
Cost: $20.00 Grape: Sémillon, Muscadelle and Cabernet Franc Category: Sparkling Wine Location: Prague Country: France Region: Entre-deux-Mer, Bordeaux Format: 750 ml Producer: Sieur Gaillard Alcohol: 12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Elegance in a bottle. Score: 94/100.
Tasting Note: Straw in colour with good acidity, fine mousse, a medium+ intense nose, & a good length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon zest, golden apples, pear, honeydew melon, light yeast & vanilla.,
Negatives: None
Winemaker’s Note: “Harvested by hand. Primary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature, secondary fermentation and aging on the lees for 12 months in bottles.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 5 – 7 years on its own or pair it with Eggs Benedict.
Cost: $25.00 Grape: Chardonnay Category: White Wine Location: LCBO Vintages Country: Canada Region: Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Format: 750 ml Producer: Kin Vineyards Alcohol: 11.5% Alcohol/Vol.
For those Chard lovers that don’t like heavy oak, as this one is unoaked, but still have a full body, tropical fruits & creamy but fresh finish. Score: 93/100.
Tasting Note: Ligh gold in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon, pineapple, apple, pear, peach, banana & cantaloupe.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Kin Vineyards is located in the Ottawa Valley, but the grapes in this wine come from Niagara Peninsula.
Winemaker’s Note: “The grapes were machine picked, destemmed and sorted by harvester before being pressed to extract the juice. Following cold settling, the clear juice was racked to stainless steel fermenter for inoculation with cultured yeast. After 10 days, the fermentation was halted to block the malolactic conversion of acids, bentonite fined and cold settled for 16 days prior to racking to tank for 5 months of tank ageing. Sterile filtration proceeded bottling.” Winery
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 4 – 6 years on its own or pair it with Japanese food.
Twilight Wines 