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Soil & Wine

Let’s Talk About Soil… With the arrival of Spring and a return to our gardens, it’s a great time to talk about dirt!  Or, to put it more elegantly, soil.  First and foremost, wine is a product of its environment.  The French call this ‘terroir’ and it refers to a ‘sense of place’ – the […]

Elevate Your Palate

In our April newsletter, we talked about soil, one of the many factors that affect a wine’s style and quality.  This month we look at another: elevation. The altitude at which a vineyard is planted has a drastic impact on both the grapes and the wines they produce.  Elevation affects climate — the temperature falls […]

Greek Wines Rediscovered

Until recently, most Ontario consumers have been unwilling to try wines from lesser known areas, often made from unknown and hard to pronounce grapes. But curious wine drinkers willing to explore outside their comfort zone are almost always rewarded. Greek wines have a long and storied history, dating to antiquity when Greece was the epicentre […]

Thinking Inside the Box

Boxed wine you say?  Surely you’re not serious?!  But we are.  And so are many quality-focused, progressive wineries throughout the world.  Bag-in-Box (BiB as it’s known in the industry) has become a growing trend for a variety of reasons in today’s evolving and environmentally-conscious market. Bottles First, let’s look at the traditional wine format. Like […]

Sustainability

Weingut Wechsler Sustainability has become an increasingly important concept within the global wine industry. However, it is all too often a misunderstood notion, with broad interpretations and diverse implications. It is typically used interchangeably with terms like organic, biodynamic and natural. While all three can be a part of sustainability, it encompasses much more, referring […]

Why the Middle East Matters

Why the Middle East Matters 10,000 BC marks the start of the Neolithic Revolution, when humans became less nomadic and first began to practice agriculture. By 8,000 BC, diets had shifted dramatically, small towns had become cities and great empires arose in North Africa, Asia and the Middle East. During this age of discovery, human […]

Dr. Frank Gruner 2019

The Winery New York State is an exciting, emerging area for cool climate wines of freshness and elegance. The man who truly revolutionized the industry here was a Ukrainian immigrant named Konstantin Frank, who arrived in the United States in 1951. Frank, a professor of plant sciences with a PhD in viticulture, introduced Northern European […]

Domaine de la Combe – Muscadet’s Finest

Nestled along the Sevre River, in the Nantes region of the Loire Valley, sits the village of Saint-Fiacre.  This is Muscadet country and home to owner/winemaker Pierre-Henri Gadais’ exciting new winery, Domaine de la Combe.  A 5th generation vigneron, Pierre-Henri now stands at the vanguard of the region’s vinous revolution.  A rising star within French […]

Summer Sippers

As the mercury rises this time of year, so does our thirst!  The best wines to enjoy during the hot days and warm nights of summer are brightly flavoured, balanced and refreshing. They are mid-weight, with moderate or no oak at all.  They are versatile food partners that will pair well with a variety of […]

Salcheto

Check out our tasting event featuring Salcheto and their Marketing Director Chiara