A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1000 (!): Hester Creek’s New Release; Singing Before Supper

Posted on December 16, 2025 by tonyaspler

For more than 20 years (since September 20, 2004), I have been writing this weekly wine diary, and for more than 20 years my friend and technical director, James Harbeck, has been editing and posting it.

So I’m dedicating this column to you, James. Take a bow.

And this is the wine I’m celebrating with: a new release from Big Head – a sparkling rosé, a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend. A beautiful balance dry with flavours of raspberry and red apple. (91)

Big Head sparkling rosé

Tuesday, December 9th: Tasted the following Hester Creek wines: Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 999: More Singing Than Wine

Posted on December 9, 2025 by tonyaspler

The ANC Chorus at Fonthill United Church

Sunday, November 30th: Our A Cappella Niagara Chorus presented the annual Christmas show at the United Church in Font Hill, all wearing ugly Christmas sweaters.

The show programme

Tuesday, December 2nd: Dinner at oddBird. Deborah and I had a dozen oysters between us and an artichoke risotto. Accompanied by a glass of Finca Martha Malbec 2019 from Mendoza. Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 998: Township 7 and The Foreign Affair

Posted on December 1, 2025 by tonyaspler

Township 7 wines

Monday, November 24th: Tasted the following Township 7 wines from BC:

Township 7 Cabernet Merlot 2022 (Provenance Series; Okanagan Valley)
Deep ruby in colour; cedary, spicy, vanilla and black fruits on the nose; medium to full-bodied, dry, savoury blackcurrant and black plum flavours; well-integrated oak and evident but ripe tannins. Great length. (92)

Township 7 Sparkling Wine Blanc de Blancs (Okanagan Valley)
Pale straw in colour with an active mousse of tiny bubbles; toasty, apple and citrus peel nose; medium-bodied, crisply dry; elegant, apple and green peach flavours with a long finish. (92) Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 997: Budapest or Bust… the Final Leg

Posted on November 26, 2025 by tonyaspler

Sunrise over the Danube

Monday, October 20th: Our first night aboard the Amabella on an eight-day trip on the Danube from Giurgiu, Romania, to Budapest, Hungary. Our first evening our group had a dinner in a private dining room – a beer versus wine dinner where participants voted on the better match by dropping either a cork or a bottle cap into a bag. Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 996: Bucharest, “the Paris of the East”

Posted on November 18, 2025 by tonyaspler

Arriving in Bucharest

Thursday, October 16th: Flew from Toronto Pearson Airport to Heathrow and then on to Bucharest for the start of our two-week Danube River cruise on Ama Waterway’s ship, Amabella.

Booked into the Grand Hotel Continental (56 Calea Victorei) and explored the neighbourhood. Our first impression was the amount of graffiti on public buildings, the fractured paving stones of the sidewalks making walking treacherous and the number of Romanians who smoke. And the number of coffee shops!

Our hotel

This evening, we dined at a restaurant called Excalibur, themed on the Arthurian legend of the magic sword King Arthur pulled from the rock (recreated at the entrance to the restaurant). Continue reading →

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