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Top 5 Brunello at the LCBO
Exclusive 6-pack offer from Phantom Creek
You asked and we listened. There’s been a lot of interest in Phantom Creek ever since we published David Lawrason’s winery profile back in March. It was among the most impressive tastings of BC wines our critics have ever done. So, we worked with Phantom Creek to create a curated six-pack of their wines. And […] More
VINTAGES Buyers’ Guide – June 22th, 2019
Loire Variety Comparisons, New Wave Aussies, and Smart Buys By John Szabo MS, with notes from Michael Godel The entire WineAlign crü is still reeling from the National Wine Awards of Canada, an extraordinary five days of tasting last week in beautiful Prince Edward County. 21 deeply experienced judges from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia […] More
VINTAGES Buyers’ Guide – June 8th, 2019
Rewarding Excellence & Global Best Buys By Sara d’Amato with notes from Michael Godel As you read this report, critics from across the country (as well as our international judge, Dr. Jamie Goode) are en route to Prince Edward County for the National Wine Awards of Canada where over 1,800 Canadian wines have been entered […] 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.
View Award-Winning Wines
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.
View Award-Winning Wines
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.
