France has A LOT of terroirs, many of which we’ve explored throughout the 2021 rolling lockdown season, so this week is a bit of a roundup of a few spots we didn’t feature as prominently that definitely deserve to be highlighted. And it just so happens they go great with back decks, cottages, and BBQs. We’ll keep the features inexpensive, but overall awesome, and truly expressive of their terroir and history…plus some pairing suggestions for Saturday night.

My wife and i met on Bumble, and if you’re familiar with the app, you’ll know that once you match with someone, it is up to the woman to start a conversation first. So having had something about the wine business in my profile, she opened a conversation with me by asking: “What’s better Ontario wine or BC wine?” I wanted to keep the conversation straight forward, but the wine nerd in me could resist: “Well, they’re both equally good, but specialize in different things.” When that wasn’t sufficient enough and she pushed further, I confessed that I think Ontario does things like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay better but BC does better with almost all big reds. Surprisingly, with her being from Vancouver this didn’t ruffle any feathers and we were married 4 years later. Today I still stand by that very rough generalization. Of course there are great examples of excellent Pinot Noir from the Okanagan or Syrah from Niagara, but broadly speaking, I think the beauty is in the diversity of the regions which allows them to specialize in distinctive ways.

“No Es Pituko” is Spanish for “It ain’t Fancy”. That is the main name and philosophy of the new project from Vina Echeverria in Chile. The Echeverrias have been making excellent estate-grown, organic wine for decades, long before it was a trend. They had cemented themselves as restaurant industry staples with their terroir driven, French style wines. Their M.O. has always been organic, sustainable, and very elegant and drinkable wines. And because their viticulture has always been organic and sustainable, it was a fairly easy transition over to experimenting with unsulphured, unfiltered, raw, natural wines. All the wines as certified sustainable, but have forever been farmed organically.

With Mother’s Day upon us, I thought it would be a nice time to feature some excellent wineries with women at the helm. While women owning wineries or being employed in head winemaking positions is becoming much more common, even as recently as 10 years ago it was still pretty rare. To be certain, women in principal and leadership roles are still a minority, but the extremely patriarchal past of the wine industry is finally evolving to embrace women in leadership roles. Some are starting their own operations from scratch and others are taking over family businesses that would have previously only been vested to male heirs. And not only are these women taking the reins, in many cases they are elevating the estate’s reputation and holdings. So this week, let’s celebrate moms by celebrating with delicious wines made by some moms in the industry.

Today we’re going to keep things short and sweet, putting the spotlight on some new mixed cases from Lifford Wines. These mixed cases aren’t coming through Byward Wine Market, La Bottega, or Pan Chancho, but shipped directly to your door from Lifford. They’re all great mixes, curated to showcase specific producers or themes.

California Cabernet is one of the most popular and sought after categories in the wine world, and it was North America’s first real superstar category that began emerging in the 1970’s. It has everything from $800 per bottle trophy bottles with cult followings to cheap and easy $18 everyday bottles. Stylistically it can go from austere, lean, earthy, and tannic to super smooth, ripe, and jammy. The only thing that’s a constant in California Cabernet is that they’re always big, full bodied wines, regardless of which style.

For this week’s feature and Zoom tasting, we’re diving into a frequently requested topic: Orange Wine. Over the last several years “orange wine” has become increasingly popular, particularly within the natural wine scene. There are exceptions, but for the most part orange wine is made by the smaller natural/organic/biodynamic wineries that focus on edgier, raw styles of wine. These types of wineries don’t produce huge volumes overall, so their orange wine production is fairly allocated, gets mostly bought by restaurants and otherwise hard to find. The orange genre overall gets a lot of hype on instagram and in mainstream foodie publications like Bon Appetit or The New York Times, and all this publicity draws people’s curiosity but there are none regularly available at the LCBO. So I get countless customers curious to try out this orange wine they keep hearing about but unfortunately our entirely allocations are usually pre-sold before they even arrive in Ontario. But this week we have 4 really great orange wines for the feature and Zoom!

But before we dive in, because I always get so many questions about this, so here’s a little primer if you’re newer to orange wine:

My apologies for 2 emails in 1 week. But I’ve been getting many requests about this week’s Zoom tasting features and thought it best to send a mass update. Unfortunately there was a shipping error and the $100+ Ata Rangi Pinot Noir, their top estate wine was shipped instead of the excellent, but more value priced ‘Crimson’ Pinot Noir that I had featured. It seems Kingston got the correct shipment, so all our Kingston folks picking up from Pan Chancho are still good, only Byward Wine Market was got the expensive bottle. But not to worry! We have an excellent last minute substitute to stand in and represent the New Zealand style! It’s called Map Maker Pinot Noir from Marlborough. See below for details!

There’s a Netflix documentary that says: “There is an unwritten rule of the internet, Rule Zero: Don’t F*ck With Cats”. It’s an interesting documentary that has absolutely nothing to do with wine, but the sentiment in the title is similar to a concept in wine circles: Don’t F#ck with Pinot Noir. It’s called the heartbreak grape for a reason.

Pinot is notoriously difficult to grow. It grows in tight clusters, with thin skins that can crack and oxidize, it needs to be carefully managed in the vineyard and cellar with kid gloves. It can go sideways pretty easily, but when done well it is the be-all, end-all for so many sommeliers, collectors, winemakers and enthusiasts alike. It has an allure unlike any other grape and enchants people into becoming lifelong fans, exploring it iterations all over the world and back to its venerated motherland of Burgundy. Different soils, different climates, different clones…it’s all so much more interesting through the lens of Pinot Noir. The downside is that it can be expensive, but when you find the right bottle, it’s all worth it. I knew a winemaker who said that he wished he had a cocaine habit because it would be cheaper than his Pinot Noir habit.

They say Pinot Noir is the greatest transmitter of terroir in red grapes, meaning it is most reflective of where it’s grown, mirroring the soils, climate, and growing conditions back at the drinker through the wine.

We’ve been doing a lot of very classic wines lately: Sangiovese in its finest forms, Chablis, Rioja, Traditional Red Blends, etc. So by request, we’re going to do some interesting off-beat varietals you may never have had this week. And as we’ve been doing all year, we’re having a live Zoom tasting on Saturday at 7pm for those who pick up any of these wines. You can buy them by the case from Lifford for delivery right to your home, you can grab them by the bottle in Ottawa at The Byward Wine Market or La Bottega, and in Kingston at Pan Chancho. See below for where each wines is available. Then just send me a quick email telling me which wines you’ve picked up and I’ll send you a Zoom link on Saturday afternoon ahead of the tasting! Now, let’s talk weird wines….

When I say off-beat varietals, this is not meant to have any lesser connotation than the expensive, institutionalized classics. These wines can be every bit as interesting, and in fact over the last 7 or 8 years the lesser known grapes and regions have been making their way onto the global stage like never before. Varieties previously relegated to their local villages in smaller quantities are now drawing attention from interested wine buyers all over the world. Many of these have become the most sought after wines in the coolest wine bars and restaurants, leaving behind many of the classic staples only to traditional restaurants and collectors. It’s been quite shocking to many well-travelled traditional wine enthusiasts, going into funky new natural wine bars and literally not recognizing anything on the list.

Here’s a few favourites that you may not have had before that are definitely worth trying out!

When we talk about the world’s greatest red wine grapes, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon are often two of the most obvious candidates that are touted among the most famous, but I’d also say that Sangiovese from Italy should be in the same consideration. Brunello, Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, are all made from Sangiovese. This grape is grown throughout Italy, but is Native to Tuscany and is the backbone of all their most famous historic wines. So this week we’re going to look at Sangiovese in its finest forms, throughout Tuscany at various price points.

We’ll starting with one of the best, most accessible, everyday Chianti’s that will fit as well with a Tuesday pasta as a Saturday night party: food friendly and super delicious. But from there we shift gears to the more famous and more seriously built wines with decades (or centuries) of reputation for the best of Chianti Classico, Brunello, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

My wife’s birthday is on Saturday, and all she wants is oysters and sushi for dinner. So I’m selfishly using that as an excuse to tailor this week’s tasting to my all-time favourite wine region, and the very best pairing for oysters and sushi: CHABLIS! I’m such a fiend for minerality in wine, therefore Chablis has become my overall favourite wine region, as it produces arguably the most mineral-driven, almost saline style of wine. I keep trying to collect it, but most of it just gets drank. So this week I’m featuring a couple favourites for home delivery or pick up at the Byward Wine Market in Ottawa or Pan Chancho in Kingston. And as we’ve been doing since Lockdown started, we’ll have a Zoom tasting on Saturday night at 7pm to really dig into all the wines together. More details on that below.

If you’re less familiar, Chablis is a town and region in Northern France, roughly halfway between Champagne and the Cote d’Or of Burgundy proper (although Chablis is technically considered to be part of Burgundy). In Chablis they only make white wine, there’s no such thing as a red Chablis. And like Burgundy whites, the variety is 100% Chardonnay only. The special thing about Chablis that distinguishes it from other Burgundy whites are it’s Kimmeridgean soils. These are very old soils that once formed a seabed millions of years ago and are a combination of limestone, grey marl clay, and chalk-like decomposing limestone mixed in with the fossilized oyster shells and other crustaceans. The limestone and chalky soil (like Champagne) imparts the persistent, almost saline minerality in the wine that makes the region so famous. For a really great overview of the soils of Chablis, check out this link on my friend Jamie Goode’s blog from the UK.

Oregon is one of my favourite places in the world. I’ve been several times and always want to go back. From camping in the mountains, soaking in the hot springs, fly fishing the rivers (still bucket list), and touring the vineyards, it’s an outdoors paradise. Then you have Portland, one of the coolest cities in North America with a restaurant scene second to none which is conveniently located 1 hour north the Willamette Valley wine country…Oregon’s biggest gem and the epicentre of American Pinot Noir. And one of my favourite wineries is in a unique position of having one foot in both worlds: Division Wine Company. Division is an urban winery, based in the hip South East neighbourhood of Portland but they work with a who’s-who list of what could be considered ‘Grand Cru’ vineyards from all around Oregon. And as a special feature this week, I’ll have the man himself, Tom Monroe, a.k.a. Winestache, co-founder and co-winemaker of Division Wine Company on the Saturday Zoom with me, live from Portland to chat about Oregon and guide you through a tasting of their wines.

As usual, you just need to pick up any of their wines and you can join the virtual tasting for free. This week we have a variety of ways for you to get the wines, with all the individual bottles available at the Byward Wine Market in Ottawa, several of them at Pan Chancho in Kingston, or a special new mixed 4-pack directly from Lifford.

Following on some more requests, this week we’re going to dive into Spain’s most famous wine region: La Rioja. It’s a region that is sometimes over-simplified as Tempranillo in lots of oak, but it has a rich history that also parallels the story of Spain’s wine production as a whole. For this reason this week I’ve chosen two wines that I think really exemplify Rioja reds: one that’s an excellent example of classic Rioja Reserva, and one that represents the future of Spanish winemaking by going back to its roots and honoring it’s past.

In 2017 I drove across Portugal and Spain, hitting most major wine regions along the way, and I spent some time at both of these wineries. They are perfect examples of the two different winemaking ideologies in Rioja. So I’ll be using both of theses wines to characterize what Rioja had become famous for in the last century, as well as what it’s historical wines looked like that are now making a comeback. If you’re free on Saturday evening, you can join the Zoom tasting with either wine, but having both would give a better understanding to the overall evolution of the region in the last 100 years.

Over the last couple months there’s been some really great South African wines included as part of my weekly features. Apparently they’ve been such hits that it’s prompted several people to request a dedicated South African wine feature and Zoom tasting. So I’m heeding the call, and this week is focused entirely on South Africa with 4 wines (at various price points) that I think nicely exemplify what they are all about.

I’ve been planning this feature for weeks but was waiting until some key Malbecs to arrive back in Ontario. They’re here now and it’s game on! So to help keep ourselves entertained in the continued lockdown and deep-freeze we’re going to focus on the warmer climates of sunny Argentina this week.

As anybody who’s looked at a map can tell, Argentina is a huge country. And because it is so long from north to south it sees just about every kind of climate and territory possible on earth. From some of the highest mountain peaks in the world with the Andes range, to sub-tropical rainforests, arid deserts, then icebergs and penguins in the very south. And all along the way there is wine grown throughout these vast landscapes. By far the most popular region is Mendoza, where as a region they are responsible for 90% of Argentina’s production. But just because the most wine is made there doesn’t necessarily mean it is the only great place for wine production. In addition to Mendoza both Patagonia and Salta are significant wine producing regions.

Malbec is the most prolific variety in all regions, but Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tannat round out some of the other popular varieties. And hot tip: Pinot Noir is actually big down south in Patagonia too. But these 3 mains regions all have fairly different terroirs and alititudes, so the expression of Malbec from each can be quite different. So to do exactly that, this week we have 4 Malbecs: 1 from Rio Negro in Patagonia, 1 from Agrelo in Mendoza, and 2 Malbecs from the Calchaqui Valley in Salta at 5’900 ft and 8’530 ft above sea level. This should be a delicious workshop exploring a the various Malbec regions and styles.

Every so often I have some customers who comment that they ‘only drink blends’ or ‘only drink straight varietals’ implying that the opposite is somehow lesser. As if only cheaper wines are blended, or vise-versa. I’m here to tell you that there is zero quality correlations between wines that are blended or not. Some of the world’s very best wines are both blends or single varietal. Look no further than Burgundy or Bordeaux: Burgundy reds are always 100% Pinot Noir. And Bordeaux reds are for the most part always blends. While Bordeaux reds are allowed to be 100% single varietal, but they rarely are. And both regions are some of the most historic, traditional, and expensive wines in the world.

But it is common for people to think terroir is better showcased through a single varietal wine. There’s definitely arguments to be made for that, particularly if tasting comparatively against other wines, it keeps varietal variables limited to the same grape flavours involved. But there is an equally as strong case for the traditional reasons behind regional blends and the varieties native to the area. So this week we’re going to explore some of the most famous traditional red blends from the old world and why they’re blended.

This week we will continue our weekly Lockdown Zoom tastings on Saturday featuring any of these Traditional Red Blends.

With a Polar Vortex rolling into Ontario this week, many of us will be cozying up to some comfort food, couches, and fireplaces. Big reds are usually the go-to move for this but whites can be surprisingly nice in the winter as well, particularly as a match for the right meals. Since we did all different Cabernet Sauvignons last week, let’s do some nice interesting whites this week. But let’s go beyond the usual Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio that most people default towards. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are by far the most popular white wine grapes internationally, and as such, they’re most people’s default purchase. And nothing against Chard or Sauv Blanc, they make some of the greatest wines in the world, but there is such a wide world of white wine out there, we’d be remiss not to explore it.

I often come across people who don’t like the oakiness in Chardonnay, so they insist on having “unoaked Chardonnay” to remedy this instead of broadening their white wine horizons. While there are certainly good examples of uoaked Chardonnay (most notably from the Chablis region of Burgundy in France), more often than not, unoaked Chardonnay can be kind of boring. There’s something about oak aging (even if very subtle) that gives Chardonnay so much more texture, body and balance. And there’s not all THAT many white wines around the world that see oak aging, so when clients ask for Unoaked Chardonnay, I often try steer them towards trying one of the many other great varieties that are typically unoaked. Grape varieties that aren’t really meant for oak aging, so they’re produced in stainless steel tanks or concrete vats instead. And to me, these can be so much more interesting than simple Unoaked Chardonnay from Ontario or California which can often taste kind of hollow. So this week we’re looking at some favourite varietals beyond the usual go-to Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs, or Pinot Grigios. Varietals like Chenin Blanc, Marsanne, Verdejo, Gewurztraminer, and Torrontes.