In the mood for wine this long weekend? The days may be getting just a little shorter so we are finding ways to help you enjoy the last of the summer sunshine by making indoor tasks like shopping for wine at the LCBO even easier…get wine delivered with our Wines for the Weekend.
Rather than aimlessly roaming the aisles, our Savvy Sommeliers have picked the best possible Ontario wines for you. We tried 100s of wines and have selected those that will be delicious to serve as summer turns to fall.
You don’t even have to leave your deck chair this long weekend!
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Below is our Weekender Report telling you a bit more about each wine. Watch this space for our Recipe Box with neat recipes from local chefs. You will find all the makings of a great weekend (or two) or even a dinner party.
TGIF! Let’s get your weekend started…
This month’s Wines for the Weekend
you will find…
Di Profio Sparkling Rosie
20 Valley (Niagara Escarpment)
This lovely sparkling wine is named after winery owner Joe DiProfio’s mother Rosie. Unique, as it is made with Gamay grapes grown in the vineyards that surround Di Profio Winery.
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: Made with Gamay grapes, this unique bubbly is crisp, dry & delightfully refreshing. With each sip, delicate aromas and tastes will remind you of red roses, tart cranberry or perhaps wild raspberries.
Food Pairing Suggestions: When our Savvy Sommelier Debbie visited the winery, Joe was busy hand labelling the bottles. Intrigued, Joe gave her a bottle to enjoy on her summer holidays. The sample bottle was tucked away in her suitcase then popped open in Nova Scotia to accompany a lobster feast. “The pairing was heavenly”, Debbie reports. If you are not planning a lobster dinner, enjoy this sparkling wine with a picnic, tapas such as chicken satay, marinated olives or try something completely different…serve it with BBQed Hanger Steak & Chimichurri…wait for fireworks to explode in your mouth when the fresh spices meet the delicate bubbles.
$16.80
20 Valley (Niagara Escarpment)
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: This wine has quickly become Di Profio’s most popular wine and continues to sell more every year even with increased production! This delicious white wine is light and fresh on the palate. It offers a nose of tropical fruit –namely gooseberry, passion fruit, kiwi, and sweet, ripe melon. Behind the tropical fruit are lighter citrus, fresh cut grass, and wet river stone notes. There is an initial hit of the sweet tropical fruit, and then a cleansing, tart lemon refreshes before the long grapefruit pith finish.
Food Pairing Suggestions: Enjoy with grilled swordfish, an asparagus quiche made with fresh Ontario asparagus, or a tropical salad!
$15.00
Beamsville Bench (Niagara)
What does Süssreserve mean? An amount of Riesling grape juice is added to the finished wine before bottling to add complexity, natural acidity and natural sweetness. The result is a remarkable off-dry wine. Wait till you try it!
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: The aromas in this wine range from white flower to peach to apple (Gala or Empire perhaps?) laced with honey and mineral notes. The cleansing acidity continues with each sip of this medium bodied white wine as tastes of sweet lemon, fresh apricot and a chalk-like minerality dance in your mouth.
Food Pairing Suggestions: This is the perfect cocktail party wine – it will go with pretty much every hors d’oeuvre. For something completely different and seasonal, pull out some rhubarb from your garden & make Rhubarb Salsa.
Good Earth Wine Viognier VQA 2013
$24.95
20 Valley (Niagara)
Pronounced Vee-on-NYAY, originally only grown in the Rhone region of France, this grape variety is quickly becoming a favorite around the world. Wineries in South Africa, Australia (they are blending it with Shiraz) & California are now also growing Viognier. Some winemakers predict that it will become the next big white wine.
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: Get ready for a new favorite! The Good Earth winemaking team nailed it when they made this Viognier! Swirl your glass and enjoy delicious aromas of white flowers, fresh peaches, lemon (or is it lemon curd?) with a touch of oak. A crisp and refreshing wine that finishes clean and crisp with a citrusy zip.
Food Pairing Suggestions: Winery owner Nicolette Novak reports, “The cool growing season in 2013 allowed the grapes to retain their natural acidity while also keeping the alcohol level low, resulting in a very tasty, food friendly and refreshing Viognier.” She recommends to pair with seafood, roast chicken or a dish laden with farm fresh vegetables. We suggest to pick up a bag of fresh peas at your local farmers market, to make the recipe for Sweet Pea Soup in the TGIF Recipe Box on the following pages.
$19.95
Beamsville Bench (Niagara)
Summer can last forever when you have a glass of Pinot Gris in hand…a classic light bodied white wine that refreshes you with every sip. Whether named Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio (the Italian way), the wine is made with the same grape variety.
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: To make a crisp, clean refreshing wine, 13th Street’s winemaker Jean Pierre Colas harvested the grapes in early September. Aromas and tastes of green melon, pear, white flowers and green apples are noticed with a rich mouthfeel that lures you to have another sip, and another!
Food Pairing Suggestions: Delicious chilled on its own as the sun sets, with pan fried fish or better yet…Shrimp on the ‘barbie’. This summertime sipper can make the summer season linger. For a completely different recipe that will WOW, try the Zucchini Parm in the TGIF Recipe Box below.
$18.00
Prince Edward County
Made with a unique blend of Vidal Blanc Chardonnay Riesling grapes, this wine amazed us all. At our grand tasting, everyone in the Savvy Team was asking each other…have you tried the Windward White yet?? We are excited to share it with you.
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: A dry & fresh white wine, it is loaded with aromas and tastes of white stone fruit (think peaches, nectarines, apricot) as well as crunchy green apple, a zip of acidity. along with a bit of residual sugar for a delicious finish.
Food Pairing Suggestions: A crowd pleasing wine that will pair well with a lot of food including spinach and strawberry salad, peach and goats cheese pizza, Lebanese Fattoush and steamed mussels with lemongrass. Let us know what food you like with this wine!
$14.95
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: How can you make summer linger? Drink Rosé wine – this one will definitely do the trick! Pink salmon in colour with refreshingly youthful aromas of cranberry and strawberry. The cranberry aroma also comes across on the palate along with pink grapefruit and a hint of rose petals. This medium bodied wine has great acidity along with a crisp mouth feel and a medium length cranberry finish.
Food Pairing Suggestions: Enjoy all on its own or pair with a garden fresh salad, lamb burgers or cheese, paté and charcuterie.
Pondview Cabernet Merlot Reserve VQA 2013
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Winery owner Joseph Barbera calls this wine “A wolf in sheep’s clothing. When you can’t decide between the bold and the beautiful.” A Bordeaux blend of 35% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot grapes.
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: A bright and beautiful garnet red core (winespeak: middle of the wine) that fades to a ruby red colour as it approaches the rim of the glass. Great intensity of flavours – vanilla, cherry, cedar and prunes – are discernible on the nose, while baked fruit, cedar and clover come through on the palate. This medium bodied wine has noticeable tannins, balanced acidity and a medium length red-fruit finish.
Food Pairing Suggestions: This wine ain’t no chicken wine! commented Savvy Sommelier Doug during our grand tasting. This wine is a well-rounded red that can be served with rare to medium-rare red meats, with BBQed steak or roast beef, meat lovers lasagne or even roast lamb with a peppercorn crust. Ever made your own sausages? Chef Albert Ponzo of Le Select Bistro in Toronto shares his Kaiserainer recipe…give it a try!
$25.00
Prince Edward County
The team at Harwood explain that ‘the Gamay grape is a natural cross-pollination between Pinot Noir and an ancient white varietal known as Gouais. If you aren’t familiar with Gamay Noir, it is a surprise waiting to find you!” And surprised we were when we tasted this amazing wine during the Savvy Team grand tasting. “This is friggin’ delicious” said Savvy Sommelier Shawn.
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: Bright ruby red in colour with well balanced aromas and tastes of smoke, wild strawberry and red candy with a delicious acidity to finish.
Food Pairing Suggestions: What to have with this great wine? Something off the BBQ – grilled pizza, saucy ribs or The Masonry Lamb Burger (recipe found in the TGIF Recipe Box below).
$23.95
Beamsville Bench (Niagara)
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: Ahhh… a Pinot Noir…one of the trickiest grapes to grow and, as such, is also every winemakers challenge. Temperamental in the vineyard and in the cellar, this has turned out to be a fine wine. Warm spices, campfire smoke, red berries and flowers are classic aromas and tastes of a Pinot Noir…and this wine has all that!
Food Pairing Suggestions: Speaking of classic, a classic food match for this wine is grilled salmon. Whether you grill it or plank it, this wine (served slightly chilled – 15 mins in the fridge) would be perfect. If you are not a fish fan, then grilled mushroom and risotto will be mouth-watering.
Rosewood Locked & Loaded VQA 2013
$22.00
Beamsville Bench (Niagara)
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: A cellar experiment, that turned into a ‘phenomenal wine’, the Savvy Team exclaimed. Concentrated aromas of everything dark – overripe plums, cassis, fresh ground black pepper, baking spices & dark chocolate jump out of your glass. These same aromas continue into the taste with layers of rich textures and integrated tannins.
Food Pairing Suggestions: Enjoy now or keep in your cellar a bit longer, this wine is definitely loaded! Fire up the BBQ or plan for a prime rib, this wine is ready to enjoy with a meaty dish. You’ll wish you had more bottles of this wine!
$21.95
20 Valley (Niagara)
As winery owner Nicolette states, “This wine is like no other! Taste it and its mystery will intrigue you…a unique blend of 49% Merlot, 38% Pinot Noir, 9% Cabernet Franc & 4% Syrah that will certainly tantalize your taste buds. This wine is all about purity of fruit”.
Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: Overflowing with aromas and tastes of red and black cherries, raspberry jam with a touch of something earthy (black licorice or tobacco perhaps?). The blend offers both a fresh zip and a touch of tannins that catches you wanting more.
Food Pairing Suggestions: The gamut! Pizza, pasta with meat sauce, BBQed burgers and spicy sausages.
I hope that you enjoy sampling these great Ontario wines and if you want to send us your favorite recipe to accompany our chosen wines this month, drop us a line cheers@savvycompany.ca
When you order Wines for the Weekend, you will always have outstanding Ontario wines on hand. To order additional bottles of your new found favorites from this assortment by calling the Savvy Team on 613-SAVVYCO (728-8926). OR, continue to make your weekends even easier with an automatic delivery of Wines for the Weekend in August – a completely new selection of hard-to-find wines will arrive at your home or office.
To order, simply call us on 613-SAVVYCO (728-8926) or visit www.savvycompany.ca/TGIF
Ready to get your wine glasses out again next month? Stay tuned to this blog, where we will post a list of the wines that we plan on featuring each month.