Monday, February 12^th: Flew back from Vancouver. Given a rapturous welcome by Pinot the Wonderdog, who had been looked after in our absence by Deborah’s sister, Suzanne. A box of wines from CedarCreek in BC awaited me.

Tuesday, February 13^th: Wrote my eight 680 NEWS wine reviews. Opened a bottle of CedarCreek Syrah 2015 (dense purple-black in colour; cedary, herbal blackberry nose with a peppery note; medium to full-bodied, dry savoury black fruit flavours with herbal notes. Beautifully balanced (91)) and one of CedarCreek The Senator Red 2015 (Cabernet/Syrah/Merlot blend -dense purple-black colour; savoury-herbal blackberry bouquet with a pencil lead note; medium-bodied, savoury with lively acidity (89)).

Wednesday, February 14^th: Took the Megabus into Toronto to record my 680 NEWS wine reviews and then subwayed up to Leslie to meet David Lawrason and Doug Towers for a winerytohome tasting. Had to take notes by hand as I’d forgotten to pack my laptop – which means I’ll have to enter them tomorrow and email the file to Doug. These frequent bus trips to and from Toronto allow me the luxury of reading. Currently, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, a brilliant “Brief History of Mankind.” For dinner, with lamb chops, Henry of Pelham Family Tree Red 2015 (32% Syrah, 30% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 5% Baco Noir – ruby colour; cedary, spicy plum and cherry bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, firmly structured with ripe tannins (88)).

Thursday, February 15^th: Took my laptop into Geeko Computer Systems for a checkup because it wasn’t accepting an update from Dell. The tech told me I didn’t need it. Opened a bottle of CedarCreek The Last Word 2014 (a blend of 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Cabernet Franc and 10% Malbec – dense purple-black in colour; a nose of rose petal, blackcurrant, mint, cedar and oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, richly extracted, blackcurrant flavour ending on a savoury note (91)).

Friday, February 16^th: Took the Megabus into Toronto for a Vintages release tasting – 116 wines and spirits. I tasted 68 but I think it’s time to restrict the number to 50.  Deborah is away this weekend at her ladies’ book club annual getaway.

Saturday, February 17^th: John and Laurie Nadeau came over for dinner. John cooked the chicken and we drank CedarCreek Platinum Riesling 2016 (pale straw colour; grapefruit and peach bouquet with a suggestion of honey; light to medium-bodied, off-dry, peachy-lime flavour (90)). Then Pazo Señorans Albariño 2017 and Jean-Max Roger Sancerre Rouge La Grange Dimière 2013 (Pinot Noir – matured ruby colour; lightly cedary, cherry pit nose with a note of dried rose petals; medium-bodied, dry, lean and sinewy, sour cherry flavour; well-balanced and firmly structured (89)).