The headline on the June 25th Vintages release at our beloved LCBO monopoly shouts: South Side Story: Wines of Southern France. Then 12 pages of spectacular photography and enticing bottles of French wine are proudly displayed with glowing reviews and effusive praise for all.
I then checked the calendar; could it be Bastille Day, the French national holiday to celebrate all things French? Nope. That’s July 14.
Then I noticed the tiny note on the cover of the Vintages magazine pointing to “Wines for a Canada Day Picnic.” Six pages of Canadian wine (well, that’s a stretch considering there is only ONE not from Niagara, an Okanagan Pinot) are highlighted with a full four of those pages boasting of Ontario’s roses, you know, because Ontario is really known for its roses.
This is the Canada Day edition of the Vintages release. Canada Day comes around once a year and this is the best you can do? You can call me a homer, but I am a Canadian after all, a proud Canadian who would like to see our own government monopoly get with the program of being proud Canadians themselves. Go ahead, show your stripes, let it out.
To me, it’s pathetic that a plethora of French wines plays centre stage in the one release of the year that wines from across our nation — B.C., Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and all the regions they represent — should be wrapped in our flag.
What is wrong with the brain trust at the LCBO? When they sit down to plan the year’s 26 releases and they get to the closest day to Canada Day, you mean to tell me no one in the room puts their hand up to remind everyone else that maybe this is a good time to show the bounty of our own country?
Instead, it’s all about the south of France. Yes, let’s do France for Canada Day. It’s such a good idea that now is the time we put our best foot forward with a rich collection of French wines. But, oh, we should have some token Niagara roses tossed in to appease any proud Canadians who might be looking for Canadian wines to celebrate on their national holiday. Because, hey, there just might be a few people grabbing some bottles of Canadian wines as they celebrated the long weekend on Canada Day. It could happen!
I’m sure there’s a reason for this oversight buried in reams of financial data and marketing gobbledygook, but, in my mind, it’s pure crap and simply inexcusable. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Here are the “Canadian” wines available this Saturday at Vintages:
Tawse Chardonnay Icewine 2013 ($35 for 200 mL, 94 points) — Sensational oak-aged sweetie that will have you rethinking Icewine. A powerful nose of peach compote, grilled pineapple, tropical fruit and layers of exotic spice. It is thick, rich, complex and silky on the palate with peach cobbler, pineapple, marmalade, caramel and nutmeg-cinnamon spice that’s all balanced out by racy acidity. As noted, just sensational.
Henry of Pelham Reserve Baco Noir 2013 ($25, 90 points) — Fans will love this robust version of old-vine Baco from Henry of Pelham. It’s meaty, dark and intense on the nose with aromas of plums, smoky spices, cherry liqueur, sweet oak and bramble. It’s quite rich and savoury on the palate with flavours of plum pudding, pepper, anise, campfire smoke and a range of spice with good vibrancy through the finish.
The Foreign Affair Amarose 2015 ($19, 90 points) — A complicated formula and the first Amarone-style rose winery owner Len Crispino (above) and winemaker Barclay Robinson have attempted. It’s a blend of 57% Pinot Noir, 22% Riesling and 21% unoaked Chardonnay with 5% of the Riesling and 5% of the Pinot Noir undergoing the appassimento (dried grape) procedure. “There is no formula,” Crispino says, “it’s what we like as a style.” The nose shows cherry, strawberry, violets, and honeydew in a bold, rich entry. The palate displays assertive, substantive strawberries, kirsch with citrus accents and depth of flavour through the finish. This is a rose unlike any other rose being made in Niagara.
Featherstone Four Feathers 2015 ($15, 87 points) — An estate white blend that’s based on 50% Riesling. The nose shows lime, grapefruit, lychee, lemon and fresh-cut hay notes. It’s an easy-to-drink backyard with that’s made slightly off-dry with loads of tropical and citrus fruits on the palate.
Other Canadian wines being released, but not reviewed:
- Cave Spring Estate Bottled Gewurztraminer 2013 ($18)
- Hidden Bench Estate Riesling 2014 ($24)
- Kacaba Cabernet/Syrah 2013 ($19)
- Trius Red Magnum 2013 (1,500 mL, $50)
- Southbrook Triomphe Organic Cabernet Franc Rose 2015 ($20)
- 13th Street Pink Palette Rose 2015 ($16)
- Creekside Cabernet Rose 2015 ($15)
- Tawse Sketchs of Niagara Rose 2015 ($17)
- Wildass Rose 2015 ($18)
- Burrowing Owl Pinot Noir 2014, Okanagan ($40)
At Flagship stores
- Tawse Laundry Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2012 ($32)
A new Ontario craft cider hits shelves at LCBO
An interesting new cider has started appearing on the shelves at LCBO stores in Ontario.
Ernest Cider is a blend of seven “secret” apples that is blended with Ontario wildflower honey and a touch of organic cane sugar.
The cider is the brainchild of Michelle and Steve Faris from Newmarket, Ontario, who had a life-long dream to make hand-crafted cider that’s produced locally and made responsibly.
The cider apples and honey are sourced locally.
“Our goal is to have our own orchard one day with a destination cidery that employs people from our community,” Michelle says. “Our vision is to have a fully integrated, family run operation that delivers hand crafted apple products beyond cider. We want to support local agriculture, the artisans who turn apples into delicious baked goods and preserves … even our own beehives with huge wildflower gardens.”
Here’s a review of the cider:
Ernest Cider ($3.25 per 473 can, LCBO, 89 points) — A mash of baked and fresh apple on the nose with wildflower honey, apple skin accents and soft effervescence. It straddles the line between dry and sweet on the palate with a range of fresh apple flavours, kiss of honey and complexity through the clean, crisp finish. Tasty stuff.
This is a Canadian disease I’m afraid. We grow up so used to things being from elsewhere we don’t realize how strange it is not to have our own products as the core of our national existence.