A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 757: Tasting with Thomas

Posted on April 9, 2020 by
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Bachelder’s Gamays

Monday, April 6th: Thomas Bachelder arranged for me to have a virtual tasting via Zoom of his Spring release.

Here’s his initial email:

A note on the “Niagara Chardonnay 3-Terroirs Project:” Making these wines was a thrill for me, and was my way of learning about how these Classic far-flung terroirs differ*… These are all 4- barrel lots (roughly 1150 bottles each after lees loss), and there is no new oak in any of these 3 wines (the barrels are 1yr-old; 2y and the last two are 4y in all lots).

The suggested order of the wines: Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 756: Cabin Fever

Posted on March 30, 2020 by

Since our enforced departure from Las Vegas on Monday, March 23rd, we have been in self-isolation at our house in St. Catharines, relying on the kindness of strangers and good friends alike to keep us in fodder. We have spent that last twelve days of our fourteen-day incarceration, not writing King Lear, but working on a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle that now commands our kitchen table, forcing us to eat at the counter. It’s a sentimental painting by Norman Rockwell (but then, weren’t all his paintings sentimental?). In those hours not getting backache bent over the kitchen table, I have been cataloging my wine cellar and finding all kinds of hidden treasure, some of which we have been forced to rink before they – and we – get over the hill. And the tastings of wine that still, mercifully, arrives at the door.

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The puzzle

Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 755: Las Vegas Here We Come… and Go

Posted on March 18, 2020 by
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The ultimate American experience

Friday, March 13th: Up at 4:30 am to walk Rosie before leaving for the airport at 5:30 for our trip to Las Vegas. An excellent Air Canada Rouge flight (half empty). As soon as you step off the plane into the airport you are greeted by banks of slot machines. Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 754: Pinot Noir Affair

Posted on March 16, 2020 by

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Wednesday, March 11: Took the Megabus into Toronto for a tasting of Pinot Noir wines scheduled to be featured in The Pinot Affair at 10 Ontario wineries, April 24–26. The event was held at Chez Nous Wine Bar, 798 Queen Street East. Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 753: Ravine

Posted on March 2, 2020 by

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Lydia Tomek, Ravine Vineyard’s winemaker, invited me to lunch to taste her 2019 wines. In the winery’s dining room, we opened with a glass of Ravine Vineyard Brut, a 60/40 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, aged 5 years. (Green apple and lemon flavours with tiny bubbles, well-balanced and lingering (90)).

Over a plate of charcuterie, we tasted the following wines together: Continue reading →

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