And now for White Burgundy!

Next month (May), we get to taste Burgundy - always wine lover's dream! - and this time it will be white Burgundy.  Unlike buttery and oaky New World Chardonnays, white Burgundy is generally crisp and acidic, and those wines aged in oak show only a subtle touch of the wood. White Burgundies produced in 2004 are considered a not-to-be-missed vintage as it was an excellent year across Burgundy for whites.  In 2004 many producers opted not to produce any reds; however the same producers are raving about their whites.

We'll be drinking 8 rare 2004 white Burgundies from the Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chablis and St. Aubin communes and from some of the greatest producers in the region.  Some highlights include: Domaine Latour-Giraud, with its rich history dating back centuries, using a lot of bâtonnage (stirring the lees in the barrels) for body, texture and a rich, nutty taste; Domaine Henri Boillot, which produces mainly premier crus on its 13 acres estate and is considered one of the best sources of fine wine in the Cote D’Or; and Domaine Leflaive, run by Anne-Claude Laflaive, a visionary character, renowned in Puligny and considered among the best in the regions.

Hope you can join us!

Theme: 2004 White Burgundy (for more info about Burgundy & a list of the wines we'll be tasting)
Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Time: 6 PM
Where: U of T Faculty Club, 41 Willcocks St., Toronto
Cost: TVC Members $76; Non-Members: $91 (NOTE: the price includes appetizers)
Register / Buy Tickets: http://www.onlineregistrations.ca/tvcevent5/
Join TVC or Renew Your Membership http://www.onlineregistrations.ca/torontovintners/

Spanish Reds - Modern Developements Ratings

We had a strong turnout for our Spanish Reds tasting this past Tuesday April 12, 2011, when we tasted some truly remarkable wines from all four corners of Spain.

Our guest speaker for the evening was Charles Jewett.  Charles has been involved in the Ontario wine scene for many years and played a big role in spearheading an effort to provide Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) courses in Canada.

Charles briefly spoke about how Spanish wine makers are moving away from the old style of wine making in favor of much more modern and innovative techniques, and that these wines tonight would be some excellent examples of this new breed of wines.

With that, the group go on to tasting the wines, and overall, we seemed to agree with Charles when it came time to rank them, both scoring the  2004 Bodegas San Román, San Román, Tinto (Toro) as the top wine of the night.  Charles comments on this particular wine were that it had a lovely black cherry nose that made you sit up and say ``Hello!!``, it had elegant fruit and a full flavour with a long finish. 

Some of his other comments on the top wines of the night:

2000 Resalte de Peñafiel's Gran Resalte, Ribera del Duero - ranked 2nd
This wine was the most interesting and represented a classic style Spanish red that we don`t often see anymore. It had classic barnyard and leather notes on the nose. It has been aged in large wood barrels for 2 or 3 years, but that the oak didn`t over power the natural grape tannins.


2003 Baigorri Vino De Garage DOC, Rioja - ranked 3rd
This wine had great coffe and mocha aromas in the glass, but tasted more of just mocha and the sweetness that one would expect to accompany with it. Was full of strong and long flavours that lasted right to the end.


2004 Valdrinal Reserva - Ribera Del Duero
This wine had notes of coffee, chocolate and truffle on the nose and that continued on through the tasting.  It presented with some beautiful berry tannins, but finished slightly weak.  This wine would greatly benefit from another couple years in the cellar to really reach it`s true potential.

 The rest of the ranking are as follows:

Name of Wine (in order poured)	Group Ranking	Guest Ranking
A. 2005 Vall Llach Idus De Vall Llach DOC, Priorat	7	5
B. 2001 Cellers Fuentes, Gran Clos De J.M. Fuentes DOC	5	4
C. 2004 Bodegas Tardencuba, Valnuevo Seleccion (Toro)	8	7
D. 2004 Bodegas San Román, San Román, Tinto (Toro)	1	1
E. 2003 Baigorri Vino De Garage DOC, Rioja	3	6
F. 2006 Balbás Gran Reserva - Ribera del Duero	6	8
G. 2004 Valdrinal Reserva - Ribera Del Duero	4	2
H. 2000 Resalte de Peñafiel's Gran Resalte, Ribera del Duero	2	3

2004 German Riesling Ratings

On March 22, 2011 we had a small but dedicated group come out to taste our 2004 German Rieslings.  It was a fitting wine to help us say goodbye to winter and welcome in spring (even if the weather outside didn't play along).

Our guest speaker for the evening was Anne Martin. Anne is an expert on German wines and revealed to us that out of all the wines out there, German Rieslings were her favourite.  Currently, German Rieslings are under-appreciated wines but are also under-priced, partially in thanks to global warming making them more accessible.  Anne explained the often difficult and confusing classification system that the Germans use to identify their wines.  According to Anne, the 2004 vintage was much better than the 2003's (which suffered from too much heat).  2004 saw cooler temperatures during a rainy summer followed up by an Indian summer in the fall, which were perfect conditions to make truly great Rieslings.

Awaiting each person at their table the night of the tasting were some great wine tools that were provided by German Wine.  Everyone received a new corkscrew, a DropStop pouring assist disc, a red and white aroma wheel, and some great literature on German wine regions and wine classification.

The final results were, all in all, pretty even right across the board. There was never more than a once place difference between the groups rankings and Anne's for any of the wines that we tasted.  The groups' pick of the night was the 2004 Scharzhofberger, Egon Muller (Saar).  Anne said that wine had a slightly higher acidity then the others, but that it was perfectly balanced by the level of sweetness.  It had hints of star anise and ripe apple on the nose and had, what she describes as, a "salivating finish, which left us thirsting for more".

Name of Wine (in order poured)	Group Ranking	Guest Ranking
A. 2004 Durkheimer Michelsberg, Kurt Darting (Pfalz)	7	8
B. 2004 Winkeler Dachsberg, Prinz von Hessen (Rheingau)	8	7
C. 2004 Hattenheimer Schutzenhaus, Balthasar Ress (Rheingau)	6	5
D. 2004 Urziger Wurzgarten, Dr Loosen	5	6
E. 2004 Ockfener Bockstein, von Othegraven (Saar)	4	3
F. 2004 Scharzhofberger, Egon Muller (Saar)	1	2
G. 2004 Berncasteler Doctor, Dr H Thanisch Erben Thanisch (Mosel)	2	1
H. 2004 Bacharacher Hahn Riesling Spatlese Kabinett, Toni Jost (Mittel Rhein)	3	4

Spanish Reds - Modern Developments

Spain is such a fascinating, colourful and beautiful country with its history, geography, food, music, art, artists, and wine.  It simply has everything!  "When phylloxera destroyed the French vineyards in the 1860s and ’70s, many Bordeaux winemakers moved south. They brought with them their vines, their winemaking skills and the Bordeaux bottle. A century later, in the 1970s and ’80s, Spain decided to join the contemporary viniculture world, and Spanish wines began to improve."   NY Times, Frank Prial, Jan. 3, 2008.  Today, many Spanish wineries are very highly prized by oenophiles throughout the world.  Next month - April 12 - the Toronto Vintners Club continues its exploration and education of  Spanish modernist wines and focuses on red wines from several new and innovative winemakers.  Click on the links below for details about our event as well as to register and to join TVC if you are not already a member.

Theme: Spanish Reds - Modern Developments
Date:  Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Time: 6 PM
Where: Faculty Club, 41 Willcocks St., Toronto
Cost: TVC Members $69; Non-Members: $85  (NOTE: the price includes appetizers)
Register / Buy Tickets:  http://www.onlineregistrations.ca/tvcevent4/
Join TVC http://www.onlineregistrations.ca/torontovintners/

German Riesling Kabinett with Anne Martin

Our tasting of 2004 German Riesling Kabinett is just around the corner on March 22, as is Spring!

Theme: 2004 German Riesling Kabinett
Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Time: 6 PM
Where: Faculty Club, 41 Willcocks St., Toronto
Cost: Members $37; Non-Members: $47 (NOTE: there will be NO appetizers offered at this tasting.)
Register / Buy Tickets

We are fortunate to be joined by Anne Martin as our guest speaker.  Anne is a certified sommelier with over 15 years’ experience. She became one of the first female sommeliers in Toronto, at Prego della Piazza, and went on to serve as head sommelier at the highly regarded Canoe Restaurant.  Next month, she is participating in a symposium: Taking Charge: Women Leaders in Business, sponsored by the Certified Management Accountants of Ontario so we are very fortunate indeed to have her impart her expertise and knowledge to Toronto Vintners. 

Anne Martin, Sommelier

2001 Brunello di Montalcino Ratings

We had another large turnout for our Brunello tasting on February 15, 2011.  Brunellos are known as one of the most exquisite types of wine that Italy has to offer. 

Our guest speaker for the night was Julian Hitner.  Julian is currently the youngest member of the Wine Writers Circle of Canada, as well as a member  of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers.  A big focus for Julian is sharing his wine knowledge with others, he is currently writing a new book on Champagne (to be released in late 2011) and he's developing a new wine instruction course at Liaison College (beginning in February 2011).

   Julian spoke of how these wines would fall into one of two categories, some would have vanilla or chocolate aromas, as opposed to some of the other wines that had been aged in Slavonian oak and would have a much more earthy or savory flavour.

The wines of the night showed a good uniformity with a few noticeable exceptions.  The group and Julian were in agreement with both the best and the worst wine of the night.  The overall winner of the night was the  2001 Tenuta Vitanza Brunello di Montalcino.  Julian described the wine as having notes of "Chinese gun flint" as well as hints of mature fruit.  It was a very complex wine with many layers to enjoy.

Final Rankings:

Name of Wine	Group Ranking	Guest Ranking
A. 2001 Poggio Antico	2	7
B. 2001 Tenuta Vitanza Brunello di Montalcino	1	1
C. 2001 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli	8	8
D. 2001 Costanti Brunello di Montalcino	5	3
E. 2001 Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino	6	6
F. 2001 Lisini Brunello di Montalcino	3	5
G.  2001 Poggio Salvi	7	4
H. 2001 Mastrojanni, Schiena d'Asino	4	2

The reception wine for the night was a 2006 Nottola Vina Nobile di Montepulciano, which is currently available at the LCBO.

March 22 - German Riesling Kabinett

Rieslings are most often consumed when young and can be characterized by aromas of apples, peaches, grapefruit, honey and rose blossoms. However, due to the higher level of acidity, they are ideal for aging. Over time, the wine tends to gain a petrol note, which may be off-putting to some drinkers, but is actually a key characteristic of high quality Rieslings. Riesling wines are usually pure and are seldom oaked and require careful handling during harvesting due to their delicate nature.  The racy 2004 vintage is a marked contrast with the fat, opulent wines of 2003 and the vintage is on a par with the excellent vintages of the previous three years and in many cases, surpassed expectations.


Theme: 2004 German Riesling Kabinett
Date:  Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Time: 6 PM
Where: Faculty Club, 41 Willcocks St., Toronto
Cost: Members $37; Non-Members: $47
Register / Buy Tickets:
http://www.onlineregistrations.ca/tvcevent3/