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Top 5 Brunello at the LCBO
If I Could Buy Only One – Feb 16, 2019 VINTAGES Release
For the Feb 16th VINTAGES release, we asked: “If you could buy only one wine from this release – which one would it be and why?” John Szabo: A recent visit to Chile brought to full light the exciting changes happening in this important wine producing nation, and travelling from Maipo near the Andes to the coastal Leyda […] More
Buyers’ Guide to VINTAGES February 16th – Part Two
Critics on the road again, all you can taste and more smart buys by Michael Godel As you are reading this John and I have just wrapped up our first Anteprime di Toscane week together in Tuscany, having spent three days visiting estates in Chianti Classico and tasting through hundreds of wines based on the […] More
Top Values at the LCBO (February 2019)
Eight wines under $12 are on the list this month; updated Top 50 Your Guide to Best Values, Limited Time Offers & Bonus Air Miles selections at the LCBO – by Steve Thurlow There are many wines for drinking and dining discounted this month, including a lovely red from the Veneto in Italy, which is […] 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.
