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/

Free My Grapes

Did you know that:

• Rules dating to the 1928 Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act make it illegal in Canada for alcohol to be shipped across provincial lines unless given explicit permission from the province's liquor board. 
• The simple act of bringing a bottle of Canadian wine home from an out-of-province vacation or taking a bottle to a friend’s cottage in another province is illegal.  Heaven forbid you should try to order a bottle from a winery in another province!
• This is an outdated and patronizing law that needs to change. Canadians should be able to buy, order and ship Canadian wines across provincial borders for personal use without getting a fine or jail time and a criminal record.

Change is needed and will only happen if we tell politicians what we want!!  A website called FreeMyGrapes has been started by Sharon Marks, director of marketing and promotions for Nyarai Cellars in Jordan, ON.   Become a supporter of the Alliance of Canadian Wine Consumers by taking action to get our archaic liquor laws changed!! Go to her website and take action.

2002 Cote de Nuit Rankings

We had a great turnout for our 2002 Côte de Nuits tasting on January 18, 2011 and we were proud to welcome Konrad Ejbich as our guest speaker for the evening.  Konrad is well known in the world of wine and has a long list of accolades, including writing for such magazines as Wine Spectator and Decanter and making  many appearances on both radio and television.  He is also currently the Interim VP of the Wine Writers Circle of Canada.  One interesting fact that we learned about Konrad is that he is the inventor of Sparkling Ice Wine, which he accidentally created in 1988 in his home cellar.

Our reception wine was a 2008 Yealands Estate Pinot Noir.  This wine is currently available through the LCBO.

Konrad began the evening by telling the group that the most common descriptor used to depict the 2002 vintage was "Exciting", and after we had a chance to taste them, he said that these wines definitly lived up to that the hype.  All of the Côte de Nuits wines showed very strongly, with only one bottle that showed a few signs of being corked.   

The big surprise of the evening was the 2002 Gevrey Chambertin, Les Cazetiers 1er Cru – Jadot.  The group ranked it as their top wine, while Konrad ranked 8th, saying it tasted a little tight, and that it would probably be great in another 3-5 years.  He did also say that this wine was still better than 90% of Ontario Pinot Noirs he has tasted.   Konrad’s favourite wine of the night was the 2002 Nuits-St.-Georges, Clos de Vougeot, Jadot, Grand Cru (which the group ranked as their fourth).  He said that this wine had strong black fruit flavours along with good hard oak notes that gave this wine “excellent scaffolding” for all the complex flavours to be balanced on.  He commented that this wine was “crazy good”.

Name of Wine (in order poured)	Group Ranking	Guest Ranking
A. 2002 Chambolle Musigny, Les Gruencheres, 1er Cru, Domaine Armelle & Bernard Rion;	6	2
B. 2002 Vosne-Romanée, Les Suchots, 1er Cru, Alain Hudelot-Noellat $89	7	7
C. 2002 Nuits-St.-Georges, Les Proces, 1er Cru, Robert Arnoux	5	5
D. 2002 Vosne-Romanee, Les Beaumonts, 1er Cru, Bruno Clavelier	8	3
E. 2002 Nuits St. Georges, Clos des Argillieres, 1er Cru, Domaine Michelle & Patrice Rion	2	6
F. 2002 Gevrey Chambertin, Les Cazetiers 1er Cru – Jadot	1	8
G. 2002 Latricieres-Chambertin, Rossignol-Trapet, Grand Cru	3	4
H. 2002 Nuits-St.-Georges, Clos de Vougeot, Jadot, Grand Cru	4	1