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Top 5 Brunello at the LCBO
Top Values at the LCBO (November 2019)
New Wines at the LCBO Join the Top 50 List Your Guide to Best Values, Limited Time Offers & Bonus Air Miles selections at the LCBO by Steve Thurlow There are many wines discounted this month at the LCBO with 11 on the Top 50 discounted plus another five with Bonus Air Miles (BAMs). I […] More
Canadian Wine Insider Report – November 2019
The B.C. Wine Boom and How Ontario Consumers Can Get Aboard By David Lawrason There are two ways to buy B.C. wine in Ontario. The old way, and the new way. The legal way and the “is-that-actually-legal?” way. On October 29 the 5th Annual Judgement of B.C. pitted local wines against benchmark international wines in […] More
Buyers’ Guide to VINTAGES November 9th
Premium California By John Szabo, MS with notes from Michael Godel, David Lawrason and Sara d’Amato The Vintages bi-weekly release themes are of course planned many months in advance, so there would be no way of knowing this “Premium California” focus would correspond with yet another round of devastating wildfires in the state, especially in […] More
National Wine Awards of Canada
Discover Canada's best wines! In 2016, 22 judges tasted 1,535 wines from 230 wineries across the country to identify Canada's top wines.
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World Wine Awards of Canada
Seventeen judges tasted 1,000 wines in 21 categories in 2015 to find the world's best wines sold in Canada under $50.
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Brunello di Montalcino is one of the most prestigious appellations in Italy, born in the 19th Century in its present form thanks to the efforts of the Biondi-Santi family, who defined its rules and have largely guided it to the present day. The wines are made from 100% Sangiovese grape, in particular from a clone called Sangiovese Grosso, or also as Brunello - hence the appellation's name. Traditionally, the wine goes through an extended maceration period where color, tannins and flavour are extracted from the skins. Following fermentation the wine is then aged in oak. Traditionally, the wines are aged 3 years or more in "botti" - large Slovenian oak casks that impart little oak flavour and generally produce more austere wines. Some winemakers will use small French barrels which impart a more pronounced vanilla oak flavour and add a certain fruitiness to the wine. Whatever the approach, wines must be aged for for years (with a minimum of two years in barrel) before being released, according to appellation rules.
