A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1027: Township 7, Honky Tonk Heroes and Shades of Syrah

Posted on July 13, 2026 by tonyaspler

Township 7 wines

Monday, July 6th: Tasted the following wines from Township 7 (Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley):

Township 7 Seven Stars Aurora 2022 (Blanc de Noirs – 100% Pinot Noir)
Pale straw in colour; active mousse of tiny bubbles; toasty, leesy nose of red apples; medium-bodied, dry, beautifully balanced apple and red berry flavours. Lovely mouth feel, great length. (92)

Township 7 Seven Stars Rigel 2022 (Riesling; Fool’s Gold Vineyard)
Pale straw; persistent mousse of tiny bubbles: toasty, leesy nose of apple and lemon zest; medium-bodied, elegant, green apple flavour with a long, lemony finish. (91) Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1026: Street Legal in London Now!

Posted on July 6, 2026 by tonyaspler

Monday, June 30th: My British passport arrived – after weeks of agonising back-and-forth over documents with His Majesty’s Passport Office.

Other arrivals today: our friend Zoltan from Bucharest and his travelling companion Dr. Enno Lippold, whom I knew from his days as a winemaker with Deinhard. They arrived from the Finger Lakes, where they had been attending a Riesling conference. They took an Uber from the New York border direct to Dobbin Estate in Niagara, where Ann Sperling and Peter Gamble had set up a tasting. Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1025: Thirty Bench Rieslings, a Birthday Bottle and a Concert

Posted on June 29, 2026 by tonyaspler

A decorative old truck with its bed filled with flowers and Thirty Bench Wine Makers written on the door

Monday. June 22nd: Dinner: chicken pasta with a bottle of Cono Sur Bicicleta Reserva.

Tuesday, June 23rd: Dinner: Lamb chops with a bottle of Creekside Laura’s Blend 2022.

Wednesday, June 24th: No wine.

Thursday, June 25th: Winemaker Emma Garner invited me over to Thirty Bench to taste her Rieslings. Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1024: My First 100-Point Canadian Wine and Two Massive Tastings

Posted on June 22, 2026 by tonyaspler

Jeff Moote gets the boot as the 2026 Paul Pender Rising Star Award

Monday, June 15th: Andrzej Lipinski invited me to Big Head for a tasting of his newly bottled 2023 wines.

Lipinski Chenin Blanc Sparkling 2023

Lipinski Chenin Blanc Sparkling 2023 ($65)
Pale straw in colour; biscuity, reductive nose of apple; medium-bodied, crisply dry, elegant, beautifully balanced, green apple flavour with a honeyed note in mid-palate. (91) Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1023: A Wine-Filled Week

Posted on June 15, 2026 by tonyaspler
A signpost pointing to the Crush wineries

The Crush winemakers (see Saturday)

Monday, June 8th: Tasted six wines from Hester Creek from Oliver, BC.

Hester Creek Ti Amo 2025
A blend of Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat. Pale straw-ivory in colour with a gentle mousse of fine bubbles; aromatic nose of melon and peach with a tangerine notes; light-bodied, dry, easy drinking, floral, peach flavour, Well made, with balancing acidity, (89)

Hester Creek Riesling 2025
Pale straw in colour with a lime tint; light floral, minerally, grapefruit bouquet; light-bodied, just off-dry with a honeyed grapefruit flavour and lemony acidity. Lovely mouth-feel. (90) Continue reading →

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