2008 was a tough vintage in Ontario: a rainy spring and early summer and, after a bit of a sunny reprieve in July and August, more grey and rainy weather for most of the fall. Obtaining full ripeness and balance in red wines, even for the early ripening pinot noir,
With the cold weather here, many beer lovers are turning to warming winter tipples. Although we generally avoid these hearty brews in hot weather, when the cold descends we happily seek out and sip strong, spicy Belgian ales, licorice tinged Russian imperial stouts, malty Baltic porters and wood-aged barley wines. What
Blackcurrant leads on the nose, with background aromas of red currant and ground limestone. On the palate, the lead is a blend of black and red fruits, cedar, a tiny background touch of vanilla, and spices, including cracked pepper and rosemary. Tannins are dusty, drying, and sweet. This is very
Very light, almost clear, with a golden tinge. The nose is very pretty, subtle, with very nice white florals and tropical fruits with a background of sweet lemon. Tropical fruits and whit flowers show on the palate, too, leering with pineapple and key lime, trending toward Meyer lemon and ginger
The color is golden with a slightly red tint. The bead is small and active. The nose is all apple, freshly cut Honey Crisps. There is more complexity on the palate, with apples, pears, and some smoke on the attack, red fruits, cranberry and strawberry, showing lightly on the mid-palate,
A very interesting twist on Syrah, New World and Old World meet in South Africa. Dark fruit, smoke, eucalyptus and pepper make for a very interesting nose. It is much darker on the palate, blackberry and mulberry, with loads of hickory-smoked meat, adding mint on the mid-palate, with a smoky
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The color and the flavor are both dark and rich. Fruits on the palate are red, strawberries and cherries, but both are dark, very ripe, even a little bruised. Wood provides a sweet background of vanilla and almond. Tannins are sweet and old, acids mild to match. This is a