Monday, March 21st: Another writing day. Our friends Adrienne and Myra came to dinner. Myra likes champagne so I opened a bottle of Taittinger Brut. We served mussels with Waterkloof Seriously Cool Chenin Blanc 2014 from Stellenbosch and grilled salmon with Henry of Pelham Estate Pinot Noir 2010. Deborah had bought a huge tub of profiteroles from Costco which we overindulged in.

Tuesday, March 22nd: Spent the much of the day writing and then got down to some tasting.

Cesari Soave Classico 2014 (Veneto): light gold colour; grapefruit and white peach nose; light-bodied, crisply dry, citrus and apple flavours with an intriguing touch of bitterness on the finish. (88)

Wakefield Promised Land Unwooded Chardonnay 2014 (South Australia): light gold colour; leesy, apple nose; medium-bodied, dry, melon and apple flavours with a touch of sweetness in mid-palate and an apple-peel bitterness on the finish. (87)

Mauro Chardonnay 2014 (Puglia – $12.30): bright straw colour; apple nose with undergrowth notes on the nose; medium-bodied, dry, sweetish apple with lively acidity and a shortish blunt finish. (86)

Château Haut Philippon 2014 (Bordeaux – $14.95): very pale colour; grassy, grapefruit nose; medium-bodied, dry, green apple, grapefruit and elderberry flavours.  Great value. (88)

Henry of Pelham Chardonnay Estate 2014 (Ontario – $19.95): bright straw colour; light spicy nose of apple and butter; medium-bodied, dry, apple, white peach and citrus flavours; well-balanced, fresh and lively on the palate. Good length. (89)

Jackson-Triggs Viognier Okanagan Reserve Series 2014 ($15.95): bright straw colour; aromatic, lychee, peach and honeysuckle nose; medium-bodied, rich and mouth-filling, melon and lychee flavours with a floral grace note and a tangerine acidity finish. Great value. (89)

Gérard Bertrand La Clape Syrah Carignan Mourvèdre Grand Terroir 2011 (Coteaux Languedoc –  $18.95): deep ruby colour; earthy, black raspberry nose with wood spice; dry, medium-bodied, lean and sinewy with lively acidity. (87)

Mauro Primitivo del Salento Alberello 2014 (Puglia – $11.95): deep ruby colour; earthy plum with spicy oak; medium-bodied, dry with lively acidity, plum and cherry flavours with a note of clove on the finish. Good value. (87.5)

Culmina R &D Red Blend 2014 (Okanagan Valley – $25.95): deep ruby colour; spicy black fruits with a blackcurrant note; medium to full-bodied, dry with ripe black plum and currant flavours with notes of coffee bean and dark chocolate carried on lively acidity with a firm finish. Hold for a couple of years. (89 – 91)

Miguel Torres Cordillera de los Andes Carmenère 2009 (Curico, Chile – $21.95): dense purple colour; spicy, vanilla oak, new leather, blackberry nose; full-bodied, sweet blackcurrant and blackberry flavour with mocha chocolate flavours, finishing with grainy tannins. Lovely mouth-feel. (91)

Torres Salmos 2012 (Priorat – $35.95): deep purple-ruby colour; minerally-spicy nose of toasted herbs and blackberries; full-bodied, dry, creamy black fruit flavours, lovely mouth feel , long satisfying, savoury finish of black plums and well-integrated oak; firmly structured. (92)

Wednesday, March 23rd: Deborah is working at the One Of A Kind Show this week, helping out in a booth that sells “fruit pearls” – various fruits that have been molecularly changed into small pearls that explode with flavour in the mouth. The producer, from Quebec, suggests you put them in champagne.

Worked on the book and wrote my Post City column. For dinner with Italian sausage risotto, Ruffino Modus Toscana 2012 ($29.95): A blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot – deep ruby colour with a cedary, cherry and blackcurrant bouquet; medium-bodied, dry and savoury with nicely resolved tannins and a firm finish. (91)

Thursday, March 24th: A day of chores – dropping off wine to the successful bidder of a Grapes for Humanity auction, visiting the bank to transfer funds to Access Education Guatemala for the school GFH is building there.

Friday, March 25th: Good Friday. After dropping Deborah down to Exhibition Place for the show, I drove to Princess Margaret Hospital to give a blood sample for a PSA test. Took Pinot T. Wonderdog for a long walk.

Saturday, March 26th: I picked up Deborah from the One Of A Kind Show and drove over to Michael Vaughan’s in High Park for a tasting and dinner.

Remy Pannier Sauvignon Blanc 2014: pale straw colour; grassy, gooseberry, slightly dusty, green tobacco nose; light to medium-bodied, tart, green plum with lively acidity; good length. (87.5)

Remy Pannier Muscadet 2014: bright straw colour; discreet nose of  crab apple, green nuts, and citrus peel nose; medium-bodied, soft mouth-feel, dry, lemony mid-palate, crab apple finish. (87)

Firestone Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2014 (Santa Ynez Valley): light straw colour; earthy, green plum and melon the on the nose; medium-bodied, full in the mouth, dry, with a bitter almond finish. (88)

Remy Pannier Rosé d’Anjou 2014: pale salmon colour; pomegranate with a light floral note; light-bodied, off-dry, apple skin, cranberry and citrus flavours. (88)

Pascual Toso Malbec 2014 (Mendoza, Argentina): (14% alcohol) deep ruby colour; spicy, earthy, black cherry nose; perfumed, floral, fruity with the suggestion of sweetness but delivers dry on the palate; no great length, finishing on greenish tannins. (86)

Pascual Toro Malbec Limited Edition 2013: dense purple colour; dark chocolate, black fruits with a cedary note on the nose; full-bodied, rich and spicy, black cherry, well-extracted sweet fruit kept in check by lively acidity and ripe tannins, finishing on a licorice note. (88.5)

We brought over some goose pâté mousse and a jar of Apple Pearls that Deborah had picked up at the show.