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Top 5 Brunello at the LCBO
Single Malt Scotch Whiskies of Islay By Steve Thurlow I have been tasting and drinking single malt scotch whisky since I was 20. I have been fascinated by the complexity and diversity of single malts ever since I bought my first bottle of Laphroaig 10 Years Old. For decades, I have taught hundreds of wine […] More
Spanish Wine Tasting and LCBO Destination Spain Tour March 2020 – Toronto
Sunday, March 15, 2020 Wines from Spain has once again partnered with WineAlign to bring you another exciting afternoon of food and wine! (Please note that the wines and the food will be different than the event held in February, so if you loved it last time, you’re sure to find a new favourite this […] More
Buyers’ Guide to VINTAGES February 22nd, 2020
Prince Edward County’s Quixotic Wines, Top Ontario, & Miscellaneous Smart Buys By John Szabo MS with reviews by David Lawrason, Michael Godel, and Sara d’Amato In 2017, my wife and I bought a derelict 1870s farmhouse in the hamlet of Rosehall in Prince Edward County. Another fool and his four acres. But what “good bones”! […] 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.
