February

Last month we went all old world wines, so this month we’re shifting that spotlight to the new world!  Consider this your reminder that there are great wines from all over the world!

On March 1st Concourse by Elevation Gallery will have an open exhibit titled “Untethered”, and we’ll be there pouring some suitably untethered wines!

If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to join the Wine Workshop this is it!  On February 28th we are revisiting our first ever night, “An Introduction to Tasting Wine”.  We’ll get you up to speed on the basics so you’re ready for our next round of curriculum, “Wines Around the World”.  Click the button below to get your tickets!

Tawse

Quarry Road Riesling

Niagara, Ontario

We’ll kick things off with our homeland.  In December we featured the Tawse Spark in our Twelve Days of Christmas Mystery Box.  That wine impressed me so much that I decided I wanted to seek out more from the winery.  In this case we’ve got a still wine this time, a Riesling.  At 10% Alcohol and 24 g/L of sugar, this wine does present as off-dry, but don’t be scared.  Wines with sugar aren’t evil.  In fact they often deliver concentration that many dry wines could never compete with.  In this instance that complexity shows in the way of a perfumed nose with lily and petrol, with a touch of smokey minerality.  On the palate you will find the lime-like acidity more than balances the sugar, while flavours of apricot, and overripe pear show richly.  

As always, Riesling is an incredible partner to asian dishes with some heat.

Vinum

Chardonnay

Stellenbosch, South Africa

When it came to find a wine to feature from South Africa I decided to go with something familiar, but also different.  See for quite a while we have carried The Stellenbosch Reserve Moederkerk Chardonnay, and it is excellently made with bold oak influence.  However, there are many different ways to make Chardonnay so I wanted to find one from the same area that shows a different style.  This “Vinum” series from Radford Dale is also fermented in oak, however the oak it uses is no fresher than third use.  This gives the wine a touch of brioche like warmth, but otherwise it remains quite tight with it’s acid and fruit profile - which is dominated with citrus and apple.  The finish is particularly sharp with crisp minerality.  It’s a great example of the idea that no matter what your preferences, there’s a Chardonnay out there for you - so be sure to try as many as you can!

Lapis Luna

Cabernet Sauvignon

North Coast, California

Okay.  The elephant in the room.  American products.  There’s been plenty of talk lately about the threat of tariff’s.  While we have the ability to make choices as an independent shop, when it comes to making those choices it does not take long to realize that things are not black and white.  In this instance, we will take action based on market demand, which will mean decreasing, but not eliminating, our selection of American products.  In turn we will focus on increasing our offerings from Canada in particular.  We do believe that there is no shortage of amazing Wineries, Breweries, and Distilleries in Canada and it is times like these that we are reminded of the importance in supporting our local entrepeneurs.

So with that out of the way lets get back to the important thing - wine!  We’ve been long time fans of Lapis Luna.  I’m always praising the restraint in their winemaking.  This Cab delivers all the usual notes you expect, and it does so without going overboard on extraction or oak.  The same goes for their Chardonnay.  For the price point, they remain no-brainer options for any night of the week.

Schwaderer

Syrah / Viognier

Curico Valley, Chile

I’ve been pretty verbal about my love of Chilean wine lately, so when I saw this one, a northern Rhone style blend being imported from one of my good friends, my excitement spiked.  Like many wines, this is a blend, but unlike many wines, it is a blend of red and white grapes.  Syrah brings both powerful black fruit flavours and structure, and as such makes up the large majority of this wine, 15% Viognier is cofermented to tame the tannins and pepperiness of the Syrah, and to bring some elegant, almost mindboggling, floral aromas to the wine.  Obvious with violet, but also some honeysuckle.  It’s a strange aroma to associate with a red, but it’s what makes this wine so dang cool.  This unique combination of fruit is on full display, without any oak to hide behind.

Loveblock

Pinot Noir

Central Otago, New Zealand

Kim Crawford sound familiar?  Sauvignon Blanc about $15 bucks on sale in almost every big box store from here to Timbuktu?  Yeah.  Well Kim Crawford doesn’t actually own that wine anymore, but he does own this one!  Loveblock is the Crawford’s latest endeavor and one that is a better reflection of his skill as a winemaker.  This is about showcasing terroir and the quality of the fruit with techniques like a 5 day cold soak to extract colour and flavour without extracting excessive tannin, partial whole cluster fermentation, and a spontaneous cool ferment.  All of that results in a delicate Pinot Noir with bright acid supporting the usual cherry, raspberry, and cranberry flavours.  Theres a touch of mushroom here which is always an indicator of Pinot made thoughtfully.

Wynn’s Black Label

Cabernet Sauvignon

Coonawarra, Australia

At the Wine Workshop last week we discussed Herbal aromas, and one aroma that came up was eucalyptus.  While researching the topic I came across a study which examined the proximity of grape vines to bordering eucalyptus forests.  That study found a correlation where vines located at vineyard edges contained as much as four times greater concetrations of the aroma compound responsible for eucalytpus aromas than those further infield.  While many areas in Australia can show this eucalyptus note, Coonawarra is perhaps the most well known for it.  

Here in Southern Australia, vines are planted on clay heavy “Terra Rossa” soils, and find moisture from two large underground aquifers.  Outside the vineyards, eucalptus trees lend their gentle cooling note to the grapes.  The result is a magical place capable of producing some of the most unique and high quality Cabernet Sauvignon in the world.  

Wynn’s is closely tied to the history of Coonawarra.  John Riddoch was the first to plant vines on these red soils in 1891, and he founded the estate that would be bought sixty years later by father/son duo Samuel and David Wynn.  While no longer owned by the Wynn family, the wines remain a staple of Coonawarra.  When you open this wine be sure to look for that wild, cooling eucalyptus note lingering behind the dense black currant and plum aromas.