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Re: wine thread
chesseroo #408948 12/20/14 02:54 PM
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I'm down to my last bottle and my daughter is back in town for Christmas. Time for another trip down to the Niagara falls area.


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: wine thread
fredk #408985 12/22/14 05:03 AM
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Picked up a nice bottle of bubbly from Tawse tonight at the LCBO.

This will be the Christmas eve bubbly. I like to try something new every year.


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: wine thread
fredk #408990 12/22/14 04:03 PM
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Originally Posted By: fredk
Picked up a nice bottle of bubbly from Tawse tonight at the LCBO.

This will be the Christmas eve bubbly. I like to try something new every year.

If you are into bubbles, try Spanish Cava. Very affordable alternative to Champagne. Made in the same traditional style, different grape varietals, but you're not paying for the "French" name and quality is VERY equivalent.


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Re: wine thread
chesseroo #408994 12/22/14 04:30 PM
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I'll give it a go. I almost picked up an Argentinian bubbly before I found the one from Tawse.

I do like Champaign style wines, but it's become a bit of a tradition for me to pick up a nice one for Christmas. It mostly works out, but when you try something new every year, some are much better than others.

I keep hoping someone in the vintages section at the LCBO will be able to help out, but most appear to be nothing more than shelf stockers.

Edit: The Tawse has an 89 points rating, so I'm hoping this one will be better than average.

Last edited by fredk; 12/22/14 04:32 PM.

Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: wine thread
fredk #408995 12/22/14 05:34 PM
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Originally Posted By: fredk

I keep hoping someone in the vintages section at the LCBO will be able to help out, but most appear to be nothing more than shelf stockers.

This is why having access to a dedicated wine store with trained sommeliers helps so much.
I completed the ISG Level 1 and took another course on ports a few years ago so i know my way around most of the labels and regions but still pose many questions to those who have travelled far more broadly as part of their profession. Still have interest in pursuing some more courses just for fun, but the price goes up quite a bit from this point on ($600 or more, 12 weeks or more of classes).

Anyway, this is my wine store of choice in town and they have a link to "ask the sommelier" which i'm sure they would respond to a question even from an out of province query.
http://www.banvilleandjones.com/index.php

I also recommend you look through their issues of The Cellar Door. I suspect most of the wines they discuss in the magazine could be found in Ontario.
http://www.banvilleandjones.com/cellardoor.php

This issue has articles on Spain and mentions Cava.
http://www.banvilleandjones.com/cellardoor/pdf/TheCellarDoor-Banville&Jones-Issue009.pdf
while this issue talks all about the sparkling wines including Cava.
http://www.banvilleandjones.com/cellardoor/pdf/TheCellarDoor-Banville&Jones-Issue008.pdf


Quote:

Edit: The Tawse has an 89 points rating, so I'm hoping this one will be better than average.

I tend to avoid ratings since the reference point and reason for ranking are far too variable. For example, Wine Spectator rates many wines between 84 and 95 on average. As a reference point, Lindemans Bin 65, a $10 chardonnay which is simple and because of its price, is one of the best selling worldwide, but is by no means a sophisticated or outstanding wine, is rated 87 to 89. On my own scale, i rate this wine around 82 (to me, a wine rating of 89, not unlike academic scores, is pretty darn high and as such should be pretty damn good).
Knowing the quality of Bin65 is ok, but not stellar, how would a Wine Spectator rating of 91 compare?
How much "better" is it?
Check how they score and tally the wine ratings. Sometimes some simple criteria (e.g. a colour or odour) could cause a stellar wine to lose a couple of points and be put on par for rating with the simple, not so stellar wines which becomes misleading to a consumer.

I've found Robert Parker scales to score higher than Wine Spectator overall, but his scores vary more broadly (e.g. try to find a Wine Spectator score under 84...incredibly rare).


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Re: wine thread
chesseroo #408998 12/22/14 07:34 PM
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I temper the rating against what I know about the winery. In this case, I know from previous visits that Tawse makes very good wines. I figure that gets equal weight to the rating.


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: wine thread
fredk #409215 01/03/15 03:12 AM
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Just finished another Niagra wine tasting day and found a new winery to add to my must return list:The Good Earth Vinyard & Winery.

They have an absolutely fabulous bistro. I had a barley risoto. Double smoked bacon. Nuff said.

I picked up a very nice Cab Franc and my daughter, a Pinot Noir.

The other wine of note was a Baco noir from Konzelmann, one of the older wineries in the area. It is a medium bodies fruity wine, but with very low acidity. It has fruity overtones, but a flavour I find hard to describe. Certainly very different from the more traditional French reds.

The low note was a visit to Lailey. On two previous accessions I picked up a superior Riesling with what I can only describe as a flower/perfumed nose and finish that I found both unique and tasty. Their 2013 Riesling was very disappointing. I did not try any of their reds or Chardonay as I was specifically looking for a Riesling.

Yet another awesome trip to Niagra and good restock of my dwindling supply


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: wine thread
michael_d #409234 01/04/15 12:01 AM
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I could never get into Cab franc. I know it is a big seller in S.Ont but there's something about it that i don't find appealing.
Haven't had many, if any, pinot noir from S. Ont.

As for S.Ont. rieslings, pinot blanc, pinot gris...real hit and miss. I'm not sure if it is a climate thing or terroir but i haven't found many that i liked. The pinot gris at Fielding Estate is stellar, assuming it hasn't changed much, and not surprisingly, happened to be their best seller years ago.
I recommend you give that a try.

I wasn't a fan of the other Lailey whites but their chardonnay is a personal favorite. Definitely give that one a go if you've liked other S.Ont chards.


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Re: wine thread
chesseroo #409240 01/04/15 12:39 AM
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I suspect that the hit or miss with Rieslings is weather related. Our summer weather tends to be more variable than that of the best Riesling areas in Germany.

I like the Lailey Chardonnay, but was looking for a Riesling to round things out this time.

It seems I've become a fan of Cab franks.

Also picked up a nice 2007 reserve Viongnier from Peninsula Ridge on sale. Its a very good wine that has almost hit its best before limit. Its a lot like an old school dry French white: no fruity notes left, but still very good.


Fred

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Blujays1: Spending Fred's money one bottle at a time, no two... Oh crap!
Re: wine thread
fredk #409266 01/05/15 06:33 PM
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Originally Posted By: fredk
Its a lot like an old school dry French white: no fruity notes left

This sounds like my common experience with US sauvignon blanc. Dry, high acidity, hardly any flavour, boring really.

Viognier is usually more lively and is often used for blending because of its strong character.

Last edited by chesseroo; 01/05/15 06:34 PM.

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