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Top 5 Brunello at the LCBO
If I Could Buy Only One – Dec 8th, 2018 VINTAGES Release
For the Dec 8th VINTAGES release, we asked: “If you could buy only one wine from this release – which one would it be and why?” Michael Godel: Talk about benchmark, here is your guide to Ontario’s most prominent, knowable and classically styled sparkling wine. The Henry Of Pelham 2013 Cuvée Catharine Carte Blanche Estate Blanc […] More
John Szabo’s VINTAGES Preview – Dec 8, 2018
John Szabo’s Vintage’s Preview December 8th: Best of the Old World By John Szabo, MS, with notes from David Lawrason and Sara d’Amato The last Vintages release of the year offers some superb opportunities for collectors, including arguably the best Solaia yet made by Antinori, a terrific Amarone blended from Guerrieri Rizzardi’s top three crus, […] More
Give the Gift of Winter Wine Fun – Niagara Icewine Festival 2019
Ice is Nice January 11th to 27th For three weekends in January the Niagara region is transformed into a wintry wonderland, in celebration of one of Canada’s most cherished products, Ontario Icewine. The 2019 Niagara Icewine Festival offers plenty for every taste – glamour and indulgence at the Niagara Icewine Gala, unique wine and food […] 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.
