Archive for the Alan Kerr Category

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Back in business, and just in time for the concluding release of 2010 that is scheduled to hit the shelves on December 11th. Ouch, time does fly by, especially when one is having fun, and fun I had, as there are several great wines to be found. Those most notable are from the Golden State, Italy, Australia and Ontario. Happy holidays as we have to say now, and have a safe and wine-filled New Year.

Speaking of New Year, here is an array of fine bubblies, at all levels of pricing, which will fit the occasion nicely.

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Image: tawsewinery.ca

Ever since the first wines hit the bottle barely ten years ago, I have drunk and enjoyed the fine adult beverages produced by Tawse Winery in Niagara. Tawse is in the heartland of the Niagara Escarpment. As one ascends the incline on Cherry Avenue in Vineland towards the top of the escarpment, seeing the winery for the first time is impressive. It is a show stopper indeed. However, everyone knows that simply pumping large amounts of capital into a venture doesn’t guarantee an end product worth its salt. Most of us who have embarked on an escapade to a wine region have encountered multi million dollar facilities that can be fallacious and deliver mediocre wines with exorbitant prices to pay the bank for the monies borrowed on the building.

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Sadly I was unable to get to London and taste the wines for this and the next release. However, I will have notes up shortly on some stellar Niagara Riesling grown on the Bench. Enjoy the fall.
Cheers
CZ

Lovers of big fleshy juicy wines will be content this month as this Saturday’s release showcases an array of tasty wines from down under. The supporting role in the release is given to Italy. Vintages is bringing some of the countries high end wines to the table.

Wines from Australia.

027383 CHARLES CIMICKY TRUMPS SHIRAZ 2006 Barossa Valley $24.95
First up to the plate is a wine that starts with a ripe fruit laden nose of black raspberry and blackberry, accented with bay leaf, mocha, peppercorn and straw. The palate is rich and chewy while the finish is tight and full of powdery dusty chocolate and a blast of peppery spice. find this wine

716142 ELDERTON COMMAND SINGLE VINEYARD SHIRAZ 2006 Barossa Valley $89.95
Iron, plum skin, milk chocolate and blood along with a massive tier of perfectly ripe fruit may sound like an undesirable combination, but no, this is one stellar glass of wine. It has a rich sweet palate, perfect amount of toasty oak, a fabulous seamless texture and a never ending finish. find this wine

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“The buzz on what we do best” is the theme of this week’s Vintages release that promotes indigenous wines of Ontario. However, wine makers in Lake Erie North Shore have no representation whatsoever and there is a mere one bottle from Prince Edward County. So, here are my notes on the wines of Niagara. There are some good Niagara wines available, but one should remember many of the wineries here in Niagara that make superb wines make them in very limited production and can’t supply enough for Vintages inventory requirements. All the more reason to spend time in Niagara and find out for yourself, yes?

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Relief from this heat wave is on the way and with cooler temperatures forecast for this, the last, long weekend of this glorious summer, there will be no better time to sample a few of the 2007 “Red Rhones” soon to be found on the shelves of this September 4th release. From a price point, the wines are well priced even when compared to those in the US. Several tasty ones are under the $15.00 mark. In addition, I really like the way the Vintages catalogue breaks down the region, dividing sub appellation by sub appellation and giving good information on each one. Well done to the board. I also have a tasting note on one of the best Viogniers I have tasted, one that should not be missed. Enjoy the weekend.

Wines from the Cotes du Rhone

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“New World Wonders,” ten iconic varietals is the theme of the August 21st release. Often this time of the year the wines at Vintages tend to be on the blah blah side, but this Saturday, there are several tasty wines worth seeking out. Some fit the pocket book with ease and for some, one has to dig deep. Sadly not all the wines were sent for the tasting, but I did get notes on a good many of them. In addition to the new world wine, there is a sub release entitled “Germany decoded.” Naturally this features mostly white wines which will indeed make tasty summer sippers. Oh, and I should mention that I tasted one of the best new wines I have sampled in a long, long time? Well better read on then yes?

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Unfortunately, due to a little excursion away from Ontario for a few days, I was unable to get to London to taste wines for the release this weekend and the weekend of August 7th. The next tasting is marked on my calendar and notes will be posted forthwith. Enjoy the summer.

CZ

Wines to chill down seem to be the best summer sippers given the official heat wave we are presently undertaking and there are several wines under the fifteen dollar mark that fit the bill nicely. The two themes of this release are customer favourites, aka “get excess stock out of the warehouse” and the Cru wines of Beaujolais. Although none of the Beaujolais wines particularly impressed me, I never have been a big fan of Gamay, they are well priced and could provide an interesting and educational tasting. For those that follow highly touted numerically approved Parker wines, all these Beaujolais wines scored exceedingly well.
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It will soon be time to celebrate Canada Day and the good old LCBO has come to our aid by putting a few solid domestic wines from coast to coast onto the shelves this Saturday. The rest of the release feature is “party wines”, an array of global wines the board considers suitable to bring to a wide range of social events and celebrations. Congratulations to England and the USA for making it into the final sixteen of the World Cup. I of course am elated as my Italian friends are crying in their Chianti. It has been am interesting tournament for sure. Read the rest of this entry »