Angela Aiello
Tuesday, July 14th: A tasting of The Juice Wine Company portfolio at the Crush on King with co-owner Angela Aiello.
Juice Wine Company Chardonnay 2024 ($33)
Straw colour, fresh bouquet of Granny Smith apple; medium-bodied, dry, Chablis style, with a peachy, apple flavour. (89)
Juice Wine Company Cabernet Franc Rose 2025 ($33)
Pink with a bluish tint; strawberry nose with watermelon; medium-bodied, dry, strawberry and pomegranate flavour. (90)
Juice Wine Company St. Urban Riesling 2025 ($33)
Pale straw in colour; lime and grapefruit nose; medium-bodied, crisply dry with lime and grapefruit flavours. Great length. (90)
Juice Wine Company Gamay Noir 2024 ($33)
Ruby colour; cherry bouquet with a light floral note; medium-bodied, dry, fresh and lively cherry flavour. (90)
Juice Wine Company Haynes Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2025 ($39)
Deep purple in colour; cedary, vanilla, blueberry nose; medium-bodied, dry, richly extracted blackberry and blueberry flavours carried on lively acidity. (89)
In the evening, I walked over to my friend Stephen Lamont’s house for dinner, since both our wives have a book club night. We ordered dishes from The Curry Pot (Lamb Vindaloo for me). Stephen drank beer (Creemore) and I brought a bottle of Marynissen Riesling Piccone Vineyard 2024 (just off-dry, perfect for curry). Then we watched the All-Star Game.
Wednesday, July 15th: Dinner: flank steak with a spicy rub, fingerling potatoes and a bottle of Southbrook Gamay Laundry Vineyard 2020.
Thursday, July 16th: To White Oaks for the 16th School of Cool at I4C. The keynote speaker was Veronique Rivest, a restaurant owner and sommelier who chooses Air Canada’s wines (a job I used to do with a small committee thirty-some years ago).
Session 1 was titled “Coast-to-Coast Chardonnay – Distinction Side by Side”: a blind tasting of 8 Chardonnays from BC, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, with commentary by the winemakers. They were all excellent examples. My note was “wines of brightness, vivacity.”
Session 2: Sparkling Chardonnay Pop Quiz: eight wines, from Niagara and Prince Edward County, and BC.
I couldn’t stay for the third session after lunch, unfortunately – “Chardonnay & Pinot Noir – Same Sites or the Best of Neighbours.”
Dinner: flank steak in a cream sauce with a bottle of Big Head Raw Cabernet Sauvignon 2023.
Friday, July 17th: Met Shannon and Craig at The Twisted Pig for a quick dinner (deep-fried calamari and truffle fries, with a bottle of MW Cellars Semillon 2023) before heading to Lock One for a Rock Concert.
Saturday, July 18th: Dropped in on Daniel Lenko to buy some of his wines – 2007 and 2010 Meritage, 2012 Merlot-Cabernet and 2012 Syrah. Great to taste these old vintages. On the wall of his house were framed medals from the Air Ontario Wine Awards (which morphed into Ontario Wine Awards when Air Ontario was acquired by Air Canada).
Dinner: blackened scallops with the season’s first corn, with Malivoire Moira Rose 2024.
Blackened scallops, rice and corn