Category: Reviews

Wine Review: Louis Pommery NV Brut Sparkling – California

Pommery is closely associated with Champagne; a few years ago, Pommery expanded to the USA under “Louis Pommery”, using California grapes to make a new world style sparkling wine.

After eight years of R & D, Cellar Director, and oenological DevelopmentManager Thierry Gasco refined a revolutionary method to craft wine with encapsulated yeast, which eliminates all deposits from the bottle, gives the wine an unprecedented degree of clarity and brilliance.

Using the methode champenoise principle this wine is made with 96% chardonnay and 4% pinot noir grapes.

Louis Pommery is an ode to the maison’s iconic style, evoking vivacity, freshness and finesse.

Tasting Notes:

Beautiful straw yellow colour with a lively effervescence; soft aromas of toasted baguette, fresh flowers with notes of green apples which flow through to the palate; slight citrusy note; the finish is long and toasty.

A wonderful and well-priced offering.

92 points

Vintages Release Date: September 5, 2020 –  # 15894

Bottle Size: 750 mL bottle

Alcohol/Vol:12.5%

Made In: California, USA

By: Vranken Pommery America

Sugar Content:10 g/L

Style: Medium body

Varietal: Chardonnay Blend

Redefining California cool and set to become a game-changer in the sparkling wine category!

Liz Palmer:  Review October 15 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wine Review: Franck Millet Sancerre Blanc

Tasting Notes:

This nervy wine comes from Bué, one of the top villages of Sancerre, which is grown in limestone-clay soil and reflects the unique terroir of the region.

Powerful nose with lots of aromatic qualities developing over a period of time. Tangy with mineral texture, and offering lime flavors, displaying a surprising suppleness and roundness. Very long on the palate.

This wine makes an excellent aperitif and pairs beautifully with oily seafood dishes and cheeses.

Points 89

APPELLATION
Sancerre, Loire Valley, France

WINERY
Domaine Franck Millet

ALCOHOL
12.5%

BOTTLE SIZE
750 ml

CATEGORY
White

Awards

Le Guide Hachette des Vins, 2017: 1 Star

Le Guide Hachette des Vins, 2014: 2 Stars

Concours General Agricole Paris, 2014: Gold

This stunning Sancerre is available at Galleon who recently launched their Ontario online collection of fine wines.

Discover this new e-commerce platform @ https://on.galleonwines.ca/collections/liz-palmer

“They are driven by their passion; their mission is to promote the best wines in the world and I believe it!”

Enjoy a discount of 10% off  with PROMO CODE: WELCOME

 

Happy National Wine Day !  Netflix Canada  & Ontario Wine…the perfect pairing!

 

 

Netflix Canada  & Ontario Wine…the perfect pairing!

Here are my three recommended pairings (movie/series and wine):

“To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” PAIRED with Marynissen Estates Bottoms Up Red 2017

This lush ruby-red Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend is berry-driven and the ideal match for this flustery tale of first love.

Tasting Notes:  Seduces you immediately;  rich and expressive aromas of cherry, plum and raspberry that also carry through to the palate with a smooth long finish

“Virgin River” PAIRED with Nyarai Cellars, Field Blender’s White 2017

Nothing complements a fresh start at romance quite like wonderful aromatics and orange blossoms

Tasting Notes:  An elegant style that features rich complex and exciting aromatics; effortlessly displaying notes of apricots, honeydew melon, and orange blossoms;  edgy minerality runs throughout with crisp acidity onto a long citrus finish

“Self Made” PAIRED with 13Th Street June’s Vineyard Riesling 2018

Aromas of lime and wildflowers pairs beautifully with the inspiring confidence and drive of M.C. Walker

Tasting Notes:  Delicate whiffs of honey, beeswax lend depth to crisp ripe peach, apricot flavors with some stony mineral tones; this spry yet penetrating Riesling finishes with juicy concentrate stone fruit flair.

#nationalwineday #winecountry #vqaallday #vqa #vqawinesofontario #ontariocraftwine #winenow #winesofcanada #ontariowineroute #niagarawine #drinklocal #VQAathome #winelovers

#netflix #series #netflixandchill #movie #netflixseries  #movies  #film #netflixcanada #edit #tv #cinema #65inchtv #netflixmovies #seriesnetflix #netflixoriginal  #netflixshows

Wine in a Can.  I’m a Fan!

What’s wrong with selling wine in a can?  It was not too long ago when traditionalists thought screw caps on wine bottles were a total outrage to an industry cloaked in tradition. And look at us now; twisting that screw cap with glee and patting ourselves on the back that the screw cap invention protected the cork trees.

Wine in a can is no gimmick. It began in about 2004 with Francis Ford Coppola Winery producing “Sofia”, a blanc de blanc sparkling wine in a can.  It has been growing steadily since then and canned wine was a $50 million business in the US last year. It seems to be falling somewhere between the box wine of student days and elegant, gifting wine in bottles.  We accepted beer in a can, followed by other premium beverages in a can like cocktails, sake, and craft beer, what’s stopping us from embracing the wine in a can trend?

So why is this new format drawing so many consumers?  Firstly, it is mainly the millennial generation that is attracted to wine in a can.  This grouping of people is usually drawn to products of convenience, accessibility, approachability, especially when purchasing wine.

Canned wine ticks all those boxes and so many more:

  • Ease of use: simple to take anywhere, takes up little space, is practically a single-serve unit, no mess
  • Environmentally friendly: the product has a lower carbon footprint because of transporting its reduced weight as well as space efficiency. Aluminum cans are also far easier to recycle than glass
  • Faster chilling: making this product practically instant
  • Adaptability: canned wine can be used in places where glass is normally banned like in parks and swimming pools
  • Price: due to reduced costs of packaging and transport

It is now a question of premiumization.  Consumers, especially the millennials do not want lower quality products, in any format.  The challenge is to prove that canned wine can exceed the consumer’s expectations and deliver a quality wine, regardless of its format.  One way is to encourage the consumer to drink the wine out of a glass and not from the tin.  There is still the old myth: “won’t it taste like metal?”.

Age ability is the other difference.  Wine in a can is meant for immediate consumption.  There are currently no trials or stats to see what the aging process in a can might be, so for now, the wine in your cellar will remain in a bottle, but the wine in your picnic hamper may well be in a can.

Stel + Mar sent us some samples of their wine in a can. The Stel + Mar strap line is “premium wine in a can” and I was not disappointed.

The Premium White is a 250ml Californian Chardonnay at 14.5% alcohol.  It is quite delightful.  I tasted it, enjoyed it thoroughly and poured the rest of the can into my glass to enjoy as I wrote this piece.

Tasting Notes: Aromas of fresh nectarine, lemongrass and a refreshing honeysuckle note make it a very appealing everyday tipple.

The Premium Red is a Californian Zinfandel and has classic varietal typicity.

Tasting Notes: Blackberries and rose petals with dark cherries and cinnamon.  It’s heavy enough to satisfy but light enough to glug.

I am a fan of wine in a can.  It’s a growing business and is to be ignored at your peril.

Stel + Mar Website:  https://stelandmar.com/

Jenny Ratcliffe-Wright Cape Wine Master

The South African wine industry commits to sustainability

South African wines are known globally for many things: wide range of styles; diversity of climate and geography; unique varietals; transition between the old and the new world.  But not many people know the Cape Winelands are located in the Cape Floral Kingdom, a world heritage site, one of six plant kingdoms in the world, with more than 9500 plant species. This piece of natural significance, located on the most southern point of the African continent, in the area surrounding Cape Town is where 70% of the plant species found cannot be found anywhere else on earth.

With this unique biodiversity, preserving the natural heritage of the land has become a focus for the South African wine producers. With the boom in the export market, the area being planted to vines in South Africa in on the increase.  Farmers are identifying what is unique and rare on their farms and finding ways to preserve the natural fynbos and renosterveld (translated as rhino fields); local names for the indigenous vegetation, and to minimize further loss of the threatened natural habitat as their plantings increase.

The South African wine industry supports conservation, and special biodiversity guidelines have been written. A program in sustainable farming was initiated called the Integrated production of Wine (IPW).  It became compulsory for farmers in 1998 and it concentrates on every stage in the wine production process.  Environmental impact studies, soil preparation, use of recyclable packaging, as well as botanical audits to preserve endangered or sensitive species, and using indigenous plants as cover crops.  Farmers also are required to set aside undeveloped land on their farms to preserve the natural ecosystems.

South African wine bodies are working together to drive the industry’s commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly production of wine.  The Wine and Spirit board seal on the bottle guarantees this and has a unique seal number which can be verified online (www.sawis.co.za)

Consumers can now know that South African wine is the real deal when it comes to sustainability and not just a form of green rubber stamping to appease wine drinkers.  With that in mind, it is worth exploring the wonderful treasures that this little slice of Africa has to offer.  A recent tasting revealed some delightful wines, all found in the main section of the LCBO, hence, they are easy drinking value wines, and all on promotion for the month of January:

Vinologist Sauvignon Blanc $12.95 (currently $10.95) https://www.vinologist.co.za

  • Fresh, zingy, passionfruit and grapefruit notes

Fleur du Cap Chardonnay $12.95 (currently $10.95) https://www.fleurducap.co.za/wines/

  • Lovely lemon tones, no real sign of oakiness, just the softness and complexity of oak barrels

The Grinder Pinotage  $14.00  (currently selling for $12.00) https://www.grapegrinder.com/grinder-pinotage

  • A great expression of the South African Pinotage grape, loads of blackberry and plum fruit and coffee toastiness from the oak

Porcupine Ridge Syrah $15.95 (currently $12.95) https://www.boekenhoutskloof.co.za/porcupine-ridge/

  • A great value Syrah with notes of black pepper and black cherry

Jenny Ratcliffe-Wright
Cape Wine Master