Featuring over $1 Million in Rare Wines, Dream Lots, and Unforgettable Experiences
With wine donations up more than 200%, the April auction will support climate action alongside Grapes for Humanity’s core pillars of health, education, and humanitarian relief Continue reading
Charisma wines
Gold Hill Winery, located in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, produces the “Charisma” line, known for being approachable, fruit-forward, and well-priced, including Pinot Noir Rosé, Cabernet Merlot, Malbec, and Pinot Gris.
Monday, March 23rd: Dinner: Lamb chops with Aliança Bairrada Reserva 2023 (a Portuguese blend of Baga, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional). Continue reading
Saturday, March 14th: Deborah and I drove to the Park ‘n’ Fly at Pearson Airport to take a Porter flight to Cancun. We stopped for a quick lunch at Vino Volo – a sandwich and a $19 glass of wine. The wine was Riverlore Sauvignon Blanc 2024 from Marlborough, New Zealand. The cost of a bottle at the LCBO is $14.80. Outrageous mark-up!
Our flight was delayed three hours. The choice of wine on the flight was Jackson-Triggs Pinot Grigio or Jackson-Triggs Cabernet Sauvignon. At Cancun Airport, a small bottle of water costs US$6. We had booked a bus ride to our resort, Akumal Bay, as transport to the hotel was not part of the package. Continue reading
This was one of Steven Elphick’s iconic images
This has been a terrible week so I’m not going to document it, other than to write that a dear friend, who took our wedding photos and shot all the images for my The Wine Atlas of Canada, passed away (MAID). Another friend from my London days died. Another friend in St. Catharines was diagnosed with cancer.
The only bright spot was a lunch in Toronto at Pizzeria Libretto, on University, with Deborah’s sister Suzanne, Linda Stevens and John Moses. Ordered a bottle of Luigi Righetti Valpolicella 2024 (excellent!).
Saturday, March 14th: We fly Porter to Cancun for a week of sunshine. Thank heavens.
Saturday, February 28th: Our old friend Barry Brown came to visit for a couple of nights. Barry is the founding president of the Spanish Wine Society in Toronto and he brought along an impressive array of Spanish foods purchased at Spanish Pig, 77 Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto – various pork products, cheese and canned fish, and some great wines from his cellar.
Canned Spanish fish
Wines from Barry Brown’s cellar
Sunday, March 1st: I messaged Thomas Bachelder to see if we could drop by and taste some of his wines at the Bat Cave. Thomas, the generous soul, said, of course. He asked what we’d like to taste and I said Pinot so he lined up six 2023 single-vineyard Pinots – Bator, Lowrey, Wismer-Parke, Wild West End Wismer-Parke, Hanck and Ivy & Warren (Saunders). But we couldn’t leave without trying a couple of 2023 Chardonnays from neighbouring plots, Wismer-Foxcroft and Wismer-Wingfield. Continue reading
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