Cost: $20.95 (sale price until April 7, 2026: $16.95) Grape: Chardonnay Category: White Wine Location: LCBO General List Country: New Zealand Region: Format: 750 ml Producer: Kim Crawford Alcohol: 13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Always reliable, good value Chard, light crisp & always reliable to give a nice balance. Score: 90/100.
Tasting Note: Light clear gold in colour with good acidity, medium nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon tart, yellow cranberry, pear, ginger & dill.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Great price with $4 off
Pairings: Drink this now or 3 – 4 years on its own or pair it with General Taos Chicken.
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.
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.
Cost: $14.95 Grape: Chardonnay Category: White Wine Location: LCBO General List Country: Chile Region: Chile Format: 750 ml Producer: Cono Sur Alcohol: 12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
For a relatively inexpensive oaked Chard, which has more neutral oak, this Chard has good zesty fruit. Score: 89/100.
Tasting Note: Light gold in colour with high acidity, medium intense nose & a good length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon zest, pear, golden apple, yellow cranberry, Kumquat, honeydew melon &vanilla.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Vegan and Organic
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3 – 4 years on its own or pair it with scallop ceviche.
Cost: $32.00 Grape: Chardonnay Category: White Wine Location: Winery Country: Canada Region: Cap Ridge, Ottawa, Ontario Format: 750 ml Producer: Kin Vineyards Alcohol: 13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Versatile Chard made mostly in neutral oak. Score: 89/100.
Tasting Note: Bright gold in colour with good acidity a medium+ intense nose & a good length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon, Kumquat, golden apples, pineapple, pear, peach, dill & limestone.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Taste better in the oak style chard glass vs the Chablis style ones.
Winemaker’s Note: “Carp Ridge Chardonnay grapes, grown organically as well as biodynamically, were harvested with rigorous selection and sorting, over three days. After gentle pressing and cool settling, the juice was transferred to French Oak Burgundy format cooperage for indigenous fermentation and malolactic conversion over 5 months. Oak profile is 3% New Oak, 85% Neutral Oak and 12% Stainless Steel. Total elevage of 9 months with biweekly battonage for 4 months. Following barrel blending, light bentonite fining and cold stabilization, the wine was bottled with minimal filtration.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 5 – 7 years on its own or pair it with Coquilles Saint-Jacques.
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.
Cost: $14.25 (Sale price until Nov 9/25: $12.25) Grape: Chardonnay Category: White Wine Location: LCBO General List Country: France Region: Format: 750 ml Producer: Maison Francois Martenot Alcohol: 13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Tasting Note: Deep straw in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose, & a good length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon zest, Quince, pear & Pitahaya.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Works well with larger Chard style glassware as well as Chablis styled ones, but each one gives out different notes.
Winemaker’s Note: 50% stainless steel, 50% neutral oak
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3 – 4 years on its own or pair it with Porchetta.
Cost: $13.95 (Sale price until Nov 9/25: $11.95) Grape: Viura Category: White Wine Location: LCBO General List Country: Spain Region: Rioja Format: 750 ml Producer: Beronia Alcohol: 12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
A delicious alternative to the standard white wines consumer’s drink. Score: 91/100.
Tasting Note: Deep straw in colour with a green hue, good acidity, a medium+ intense nose, & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon-lime, kiwi, pineapple, green apples & pear.
Negatives: None
Winemaker’s Note: “The grapes are carefully harvested when the perfect balance between fruit aroma and crisp acidity is reached. They undergo cold maceration, a process where maximum aroma and flavour are extracted before fermentation takes place.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3 – 4 years on its own or pair it with Shrimp Tempura.
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.
Classic Viognier style made in Ontario. Score: 94/100.
Tasting Note: Medium yellow in colour with good acidity, a low intense nose & a long length on the finish. This wine features: Apricot, tangerine, Golden apples, Quince & lemon pith.
Negatives: None
Winemaker’s Note: “Harvested October 9th 2020 from the estate vineyard. Fermented & aged in neutral French oak barrels for 9 months before a careful barrel selection determined this final blend of 180 cases.”
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3 – 5 years on its own or pair it with .
Cost: $13.95 (Sale price until Oct 12, 2025: $12.95) Grape: Chardonnay Category: White Wine Location: LCBO General List Country: Australia Region: Format: 750 ml Producer: Smoky Bay Alcohol: 13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
An entry Aussy Chard that’s has character, good value, but it’s not overtly buttery. Score: 89/100.
Tasting Note: Light gold in colour with good acidity, a medium intense nose & a good length on the finish. This wine features: Lemon, pineapple, orange zest, peach, pear, green apples & vanilla.
Negatives: None
Interesting Point: Don’t use glassware for oaked Chard as it will show more flatness than using a Chablis style glassware.
Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 2 – 4 years on its own or pair it with rotisserie chicken.
