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Top 5 Brunello at the LCBO
Top Values at the LCBO (January 2022)
Values for an Economic Month by Steve Thurlow For those not participating in “Dry January“, I am guessing that some economy is, nevertheless, called for, so I have chosen 12 lovely wines, with all but 2 for less than $14, to help you save. Nine of these wines joined the Top50 Best Values List this month, […] More
D’Amato & Szabo: Wine Thieves – Ep 49: Viennese Drinking Habits – No Branch, No Wine, No Service
Viennese Drinking Habits In this episode, the Thieves visit one of the world’s great wine capitals: Vienna. Up until the late Middle Ages, grapevines were still growing within city walls in what is now the first district in the heart of Vienna. Vineyards were slowly pushed to the outskirts, but Vienna remains the only […] More
Eating and Drinking The Viennese Way: Vienna’s Wine Taverns and Mixed Sets – Special Report
By John Szabo, MS This feature was commissioned by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. When the sun’s rays light up Vienna and the temperature reaches that comfortable al fresco dining range, young and old flock from the city center to the capital’s suburbs at the edge of town. In the districts surrounding the city, especially […] More
National Wine Awards of Canada
Discover Canada's best wines! In 2021, 24 judges tasted over 2,200 wines from 260 wineries across the country to identify Canada's top wines.
View Award-Winning WinesThe Exchange
The Exchange is a club that taps into the world of wines beyond retail stores and delivers a curated, mixed case of top quality wines directly to your door. All the wines are 90pts+ and have been carefully chosen by our panel of critics for their quality and value.
View The ExchangeMarket Matcher
Looking to find new export markets for your wines? Looking for new wines to import into your market? Market Matcher connects wineries with importers.
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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.
