Sunday, May 15th: “Taste of Greece” Grand Tasting at the ROM today. Forty-seven wineries in all, each showing three wines. The whites, I found, are consistently good, especially Moscofilero, Savatiano and Malagousia. My top scoring whites were:

• Skouras Moscofilero 2015 (91)
• Alpha Estate Malagouzia Single Vineyard Turtles 2015 (90)
• Papagiannokos Saviatiano 2015 (90)
• Semeli Mountain Sun Moschofilero/Sauvignon Blanc 2015 (89)
• Sokos Savatiano 2015 (89)
• Domaine Vasiliou-Nemeion Estate Siban 2015 (Savatiano – 89)

The best Moscofilero

Delicious white blend

Best reds I tasted:

• Alpha Estate Red 2012 (Syrah, Xinomavro, Merlot – 90)
• Kir Yanni Ramnista 2012 (Xinomavro – 89)
• Kir Yanni Paranga Red 2013 (Xinomavro and Merlot – 89)
• Vasiliou-Nemeion Hgemon 2007 (Agiorgitiko – 89)

Dinner wine, with salmon, Maverick Chardonnay 2014 (Okanagan): straw colour; leesy, pear and undergrowth nose; flavours of green pineapple and buttered popcorn with spicy oak on the shortish finish, ending on a clove note. (88)

Monday, May 16th: Today, the judging of the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Ontario Wine Awards at the Fine Wine Reserve. The wines to be judged are the top scoring wines from the Ontario Wine Awards, 27 in all. We are to award between 8 and 12 LG awards. The judges:

• Astrid Brummer (LCBO Category Manager, Ontario Wines)
• Jennifer Huether (Master Sommelier)
• Magdalena Kaiser (Director of Public Relations – Marketing & Tourism for Wine Marketing Association of Ontario (WMAO) – Wine Marketing Association of Ontario)
• Bruce Walner (Master Sommelier)
• Eugene Mlynczyk (Master of Wine)
• 2 Niagara College wine student judges:
  • Emma Smalley
  • Brent Peachey
• And me.

Judges at the Fine Wine Reserve for the Lieutenant Governor awards

Ultimately, we awarded 12 wines. An impressive showing of VQA wines. For dinner, Chateau St. Jean Pinot Noir 2013: ruby colour; a nose of cherries with an undergrowth note; medium-bodied, fruity cherry and red plum flavours with a dry finish (89). Then I opened Whitehaven Marlborough Pinot Gris 2014 from New Zealand: light gold in colour; spicy peach nose; medium-bodied, sweet peach flavour balanced by citrus acidity; light mineral thread throughout (89).

Tuesday, May 17th: Worked on the final details of the Lieutenant Governor awards – wrote up the tasting notes (an amalgam of the judges’ best descriptors) and then began clearing my desk as Deborah and I leave tomorrow for Bordeaux and the Dordogne for our annual wine tour with our group.

A reunion dinner at Earls this evening for Angela Aiello and me with Doug Marshall, ‎International Marketing Manager at Washington State Wine Commission, and Claudie Lamoureux, whose company has the PR account for Washington wines. We celebrated with some Washington State bubbly and a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ange and Doug celebrate with Domaine St. Michelle sparkling wine at our Washington State wine tour reunion dinner

The other dinner wine