Harry's Blog

While most wines hailing from northeastern Italy’s Piemonte Region are dry, there is one notable exception that is a classic. It’s Moscato d’Asti. Coming from the hillsides around the sub region of Asti, the Moscato grape thrives there. Fragrant. lightly sweet and slightly frothy, the alcohol level is low at only 5.9% by volume. The pressure is low, only about a quarter of regular sparkling wines. While not a classic dessert wine, its signature characteristic with its freshness, delicacy and intensely floral aromas makes it the perfect brunch wine. If not drunk on its own, it’s great to pair with fruit and fruit-based desserts. We are fortunate to have the local Ontario peach season upon us as this blog is being written, so let’s quickly take advantage of this tasty gift of nature before its over. Vinitaly’s wine competition gave it 91 points, so proceed to your local LCBO Vintages section to pick up some bottles. The producer, Manfredi, is a long established local Moscato specialist.

 2021 Manfredi Moscato d’Asti, LCBO #31164, $16.95

Joe Dobbes is one of Oregon’s most experienced winemakers and largest vineyard owners. In fact, a secret we are sworn to, is that in addition to his own wines, he is a large custom crusher (producer) for many other well-known producers with virtual brands. He is also a pioneer in custom mobile bottling taking his truck-mounted bottling line wherever wine bottling is required. It makes economic sense for smaller producers to engage his services, especially when bottling is a short term activity only during select times of the year. Joe produces a range of top Pinot Noirs from single vineyard sites with prices to match. But for every day drinking he offer consumers the Wine by Joe range. This popular entry level brand consistently punches quality- wise way about its weight. We are fortunate to have the 2018 vintage Pinot Noir now available in the Vintages sections of LCBO retail stores. Aromas of black cherry, plum and bittersweet cocoa provide a segue to complex tannins, balanced beautifully with a silky texture and nice acidity. A medium bodied mouthful is rounded out with complex flavours of dark cherry, plums and delicate hints of soft toasty oak. This crisp Pinot Noir is sure to win you over with a breezy complexity making it a smart pick for food pairing. BBQ’d tuna steaks would be our recommendation for a perfect summer match. Tastings Panel Magazine gave it 91 points. 

2018 Wine By Joe Oregon Pinot Noir #60467, $24.95

Super Tuscan is a consumer term, not an official designation. Wines from Italy’s Tuscany region have been produced with traditional grape varieties, primarily Sangiovese. But a number of well-established, yet enterprising estate producers started planting international grape varieties in the 70’s along Tuscany’s Mediterranean coastline. These included Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah. Now considered the super stars of Italy, with prices to match, they are international in style yet have a distinct  “Italianess.” about them. Powerful, highly structured and flamboyant, they are wrapped up with vanilla notes that come from aging in a combination of new and previously filled oak barriques. The Macchiole estate, a key Super Tuscan producer, is located in the Bolgheri appellation which has proven itself to be the epicenter for this type of wine. Beautifully balanced with dark fruit and spices, it is fresh and polished. While it may be aged for several years, it’s showing beautifully now. It wouldn’t harm to decant the wine and let it breath for half an hour before serving. It’s excellent value when compared to most of the icon Super Tuscans. Any BBQ’d cuts of meat would be a great match. But we would go with a traditional Italian meat dish of Ossobuco, veal shanks braised with vegetables, wine and broth. This wine was scored 93 points by Robert Parker.       

2020 Le Macchiole Bolgheri Rosso #483412, $42.95

Gérard Bertrand has made the Languedoc region, along the French Mediterranean coast, world famous with his Côte des Roses line of rosé wines. But he has not neglected to offer consumers additional white and red varietal wines that celebrate the Mediterranean lifestyle. He produces a Sauvignon Blanc from plantings in vineyards at higher elevations with limestone, schist and gravel soils that will bring out the crisp freshness of this grape. Harvesting at night, the cool temperature of the grapes help preserve the freshness of the fruit. About 10% of the Sauvignon Blanc harvest is vinified in neutral French oak barrels. The remainder is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks at low temperatures in order to preserve the fresh aromas and character of the fruit. Very pale gold in colour with fresh passion fruit in the body, citrus notes highlight freshness and a pleasant dry minerality in the finish. A classic Mediterranean dish to pair with this wine that can easily be prepared during Canadian summers is bouillabaisse (boo-ya-bays). It’s a soup prepared with fish, shellfish, olive oil, onions, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, saffron, fennel, thyme, bay leaf and orange peel. The internet hosts lots of recipes with these ingredients.     

2022 Gérard Betrand Côte des Roses Sauvignon Blanc #23906, $21.95.

Priorat is a rugged, tiny mountainous Spanish wine region just inland from the Mediterranean coast. Its distinctive stony black slate soil produces very low yielding, dense, inky red wines. They are some of the most powerful, and extremely expensive Spanish wines. But, there is a wine region called Montsant, translated “holy mountain”, that completely surrounds Priorat with similar characteristics at every day prices. Our associate Eva López, from Cuvée International, met growers in the town of Capçanes, the most important centre of wine production in Montsant and from the beginning she knew she had found people who produce wines really true to their origins using indigenous grape varieties. Capçanes, located 100 miles southwest of Barcelona, 20 miles inland from the Mediterranean sea, is the heart of a long wine growing history dating back to the middle ages. Eva made the decision to develop the POTENTE project in this incredible area in Catalonia making a blend of Garnacha (Grenache), Merlot, Cariñena and Syrah. They show the typicity and elegance of this terroir characterized by small plots, steep inclines and sustainable agriculture in typical terraced plantings. Internationally acclaimed wine writer Neal Martin once said “If Priorat is Pauillac then Montsant is Margaux”. The vines are up to 50 years old, grown at an altitude of 150-450 meters. An impressive, pure wine that reveals liveliness and depth! Wild red and black berry flavours, cherry, spices and crushed rocks dominate this serious wine at an extremely friendly price. Food Pairings? Take your choice: chili con carne, BBQ’d beef with dry marinade, duck salad with strawberries, filet mignon with peppercorn sauce, mixed grill of beef, sausage and chicken, rib-eye steak, or moussaka. This 2019 vintage received 92 points from James Suckling. Available at a variety of LCBO Vintages locations.

2019 POTENTE DO MONTSANT #10682, $19.95

For this Canada Day weekend, let’s for once try to get away a bit from the standard oversubscribed selection of BBQ-ed items. Poutine is one of those dishes that is an all-Canadian classic. Its origins are in the French-speaking province of Quebec. But it’s easy to prepare at home or at the cottage too. French fries are covered with cheese curds that are supposed to soften up, melt and fill the crevasses between the fries. Then, ladle over with a meat-based ooey, gooey gravy of your choice. What we’ve got here is a Canadian cornucopia of textures and flavors all coming together to party on one’s palate before swallowing. Potatoes with their starch, cheese curds with proteins that are obliged to squeak when bitten into, and gravy with a seductive viscosity coming from animal juices, do their tasty thing. An overall pleasant mouthfeel with all these components creates the concept of flavour, even umami. While carbonated drinks are a popular accompanying beverage, wine will pair quite nicely. But what wine? We recommend a medium-bodied wine with berry notes, a pleasant acidity and just a teeny tad of sweetness. 2021 Henry of Pelham VQA Rosé from the Niagara Peninsula, featured in the Summer Edition of LCBO’s popular Food and Drink Magazine, ticks off all the boxes. And please enjoy poutine as a side dish and carb component with any of your favourite BBQ items. HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!!

2021 Henry of Pelham VQA Niagara Peninsula Rosé #613471, $12.95. (regularly $14.95, now $2.00 off LCBO until July 16^th)

All the major Port producers have vineyard holdings called quintas, especially in the upper reaches of the Douro River, about 125 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Not only is Real Companhia Velha Portugal’s oldest and largest port producer, they also produce table wines from their extensive holdings of prime vineyard land along the steep and winding slopes of the Douro. This gives them a phenomenal choice of the very best parcels to allocate for their red table wine production. Many of them, quite old, are planted with the “usual suspects” of grapes, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (a.k.a. Tempranillo), Touriga Franca and Tinta Barroca. Hot, hot, hot is the climate with stifling temperatures in summer. Steep, steep, steep are the rugged slopes where most of the vines are planted on neat terraces. Some of the old stone-walled terraces have actually been preserved in order for the region to keep its UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. Soil is almost non-existent on the steep hillsides which is why walls were built. Newer terraces can now be worked by tractor as a result of vineyard rationalization that took place in the 1970’s and 1980’s due to the dwindling labor force. The reduction of Port wine output has proven to be a benefit to the production of dry red table wines using the very same high quality grape varieties. One of the region’s best quintas is the Quinta dos Aciprestes. It extends for over 2 kilometres on the left bank of the Douro river facing the tributary Tua river. The Quinta is easily identified by the large cypress trees, located around the estate’s mansion. The quinta is characterized by the planting of vines in vertical rows highlighting the absence of the traditional terraces, the result of the recent reconversion that took place in the vineyard. A rich wine, dense with young tannins plus barrique aging in quality oak has given the wine a smooth, approachable texture balancing the fruit and structure. At almost six years of age, it’s very approachable, but a few more years rest wouldn’t harm it. Wine Enthusiast Magazine gave it 92 points. Enjoy with lamb chops grilled on the BBQ. Pick up a bottle or two (or more) this weekend, as you browse your local LCBO Vintages section.

2017 Quinta dos Aciprestes Douro #703561, $19.95.

Join us this Saturday, June 17^th, 11-6 p.m., and enjoy Henry of Pelham Winery’s Sippin’ Wine and Smokin’ Trout offering as part of the Niagara Wine Country Discovery Pass program. Chef Erin Peacock from the NEW Short Hills Kitchen will offer savoury profiteroles of smoked trout mousse with pickled horseradish and zest of citrus. This will be perfectly paired with the 2021 vintage Henry of Pelham Estate Riesling or Peachy Sangria Mocktail.

 Stop by and also meet our resident blogger, Harry Drung, from 11–4 p.m. for the opportunity to have his new book signed, “Clinking Outside the Box: The World in a Glass”.  Looking forward to clinking with you.

California has always loomed large on the horizon both geographically and as a metaphor conjuring up all kinds of associations including sun and surf, a carefree attitude, Hollywood, Silicon Valley and, of course, wine. Chardonnay is the state’s benchmark white wine. Joliesse is the French word for grace and loveliness, which is what the winemaker seeks to create with each vintage. Sunshine guides us in all that we do and experience. As the sun and the stars light our skies, so too does the Joliesse label – with its depiction of rays of the sun and stars. Joliesse has harnessed the power of California sunshine. Joliesse Chardonnay opens with a bouquet that features intense aromatics of ripe yellow peach and Meyer lemons. The palate delivers layers of bright flavors of ripe pear, subtle lemon and nectarines topped off with a hint of vanilla bean on the finish. Baked brioche and a touch of almond make a creamy texture that leads to a long, elegant finish. That Joliesse Vineyards is owned by the Boisset family from Burgundy adds a little extra panache to the flavour experience. Enjoy with a crab meat salad or sip solo as you are transported mentally to a location of your choice on the California coastline. 

Joliesse Vineyards California Chardonnay #25947, $14.95 (LCBO Limited Time Offer from May 20 -June 18)

Hailing from select vineyards from along Germany’s famous Rhine River, it’s a little drier than off-dry with refreshing citrus flavours. It’s easy to swallow at $12.00 with $2 off the regular shelf price of $14 from May 20 to June 17. With warmer temperatures showing up a bit earlier than usual, it’s a tasty, affordable summer weather sipping crowd pleaser. On the patio, by the pool. on the home’s deck or on the deck of your moored boat, under the stars, in the sun, in your tent, in your room, by the BBQ – we are running out of options. It will compliment a wide range of cuisines and is enjoyable on its own. Fünf is the German word for five. After all, it’s five o’clock somewhere and fun begins at 5, right? Looking for lower alcohol, Fünf Riesling clocks in at a modest 9 %.  

Fünf German Riesling #175026, $12.00 ($2 off till June 17 at LCBO stores).

The Hampton’s, eastern end of Long Island, is where New York City folk escape to, especially on weekends. Southampton, Westhampton, East Hampton or surrounding hamlets, they make up the South Fork, an extremely popular seaside destination. The towns are abuzz with those that have luxurious summer homes, are year round residents or tourists coming to visit and enjoy miles of sandy beaches where the Atlantic Ocean laps onto the picturesque shoreline. What might Hampton water be?  Well, the first sip of Hampton Water Rosé is quite like the name suggests - a dive into the luxury of the Hamptons. It was launched by Jesse Bongiovi and famous singer-father, Jon Bon Jovi. After a night out, dad Jon offered son Jesse a sip of what he called “pink juice.” It flowed so freely and, in fun, Jesse said it was Hampton water. Lights went off and this conversation started the ball rolling to create what is now the Number One branded rosé in the world. One of the most renowned winemakers from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of Southern France, and rosé specialist, Gérard Betrand, is their partner for this project. A French blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvèdre grapes, Hampton Water is not just another pale rosé in a pretty bottle. It represents an easy-going lifestyle and appreciation of the wonder and beauty that surrounds you no matter where you are from, or going to. Is it any wonder that leading magazine, Wine Spectator, named it “Best Rose in the World”?  Fresh and lively, but revealing serious winemaking, melon and soft berry notes pave the way to a long, lingering finish. Make your way to the local LCBO outlet to pick up a few bottles for enjoyment on its own or with endless options of lighter foods.    

2022 Hampton Water Rosé #667337, $29.95

It’s quite simple, no matter how expensive the wine, or famous the village, red Burgundy wines are made from the Pinot Noir grape. It is the most tantalizing of the world’s noble grapes and achieves unsurpassed heights when at its best. It is finicky, susceptible to spring frosts and winter cold and dislikes excess heat. The berries are blue-black in colour with relatively thick skins. The Cote d’Or, or golden slope, is Burgundy’s ancestral home. One of the most respected Burgundy merchants is the House of Moillard. Shipped from the famous village of Meursault, it was founded in the year 1850 and owns acreage in some of Burgundy’s most famous and expensive appellations where the retail prices can hover in the range of hundreds of dollars a bottle. Don’t let this scare you because Moillard also produces an affordable entry level Pinot Noir for everyday enjoyment. With the Bourgogne (Burgundy) appellation, it’s a blend from a variety of vineyard sites that expresses the best characteristics of the grape. It is ripe and approachable, with bright red cherry-berry fruit underpinned with oak and spice notes. A great food wine, it will compliment and not overpower dishes. BBQing this long May weekend is mandatory as we get ready to nudge into summer. Fish or fowl? Let’s do both and pair this wine with grilled salmon and grilled chicken breasts. It’s now an LCBO Vintages Essentials listing with year-round availability. 

2021 Moillard Bourgogne Pinot Noir # 28360, $29.95