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Special Features
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This Special Feature reviews New Zealand wines from two different regions. One, Central Otago in the South Island, is well known for its world class pinot noir, while the other from the nascent wine region of Ōhau on the North Island is certainly turning heads for their quality and their value.
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In a country where the winemaking tradition is as deeply rooted in the culture as tango, football or asado, Malbec has won its place as an ambassador, becoming the flagship grape of Argentina par excellence. A classic varietal, known the world over, it is constantly being reinvented by a restless generation of agronomists and winemakers willing to take Malbec beyond the limits of the imagination. Under the slogan Malbec Argentino: You know me and you don’t, this edition will put the accent on the richness and diversity of a variety whose potential is yet to be discovered. Malbec World Day is a global initiative that seeks to position Argentine Malbec in the world and celebrate the success of the wine industry.
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Winecurrent subscribers receive a $5 discount on each ticket purchased for Ottawa and Toronto consumer tastings. Use promotional code: cwfwinecurrent
California Wines are the Theme Region of 2019 Vancouver International Wine Festival (VIWF), and they are conducting their 2019 California Wine Tour in five major cities
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With help of various Ontario wine agents and the ‘Wines of Argentina’ representative here in Canada, Louise, Dave and Vic tasted through eighteen Argentine malbec wines from various altitudes, diurnal patterns, soil types and areas in and around Mendoza. We found amazing consistency in quality and were surprised and pleased at how they stacked up for value. They are almost all available for purchase now or in the near future.
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Louise and Vic recently attended a well-curated tasting offered by Noble Estates Wine and Spirits. To place an order by the case of 6 or 12—see individual reviews— for delivery to your home, office or restaurant, phone their order desk at +1 905-943-7272. White, rosé. sparkling and red wines from California, France, Italy, New Zealand, Ontario, Oregon and Spain are featured.
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by Louise Boutin
I was fortunate enough to taste the following wines at an event hosted by Ceretto’s Ontario wine agent, Noble Estates Wine & Spirits at the vibrant Shore Club restaurant in the Westin Hotel, Ottawa alongside Head Winemaker Allessandro Ceretto and his assistant, David Fletcher.
‘The land is the soul of our wines’, is still the motto guiding winemaking at Ceretto’s as it has for the past half century. Given their prestigious location in the heart of Langhe-Roero region, a UNESCO world heritage site since 2014, showcasing this unique feature is now a proud tradition. Combined with the visionary approach of the previous generation who in the early 1960’s first introduced the concept of ‘cru’ in this region, it’s now these third-generation artisans perpetuating family traditions along with a contemporary twist reflected in the wines via their organic/biodynamic approach to agriculture, and their winery appearance showcased in the distinctive architecture of their winery sites.
Read more: Ceretto Wines - The land is the soul of our wines
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by Vic Harradine
Xanadu winery
Xanadu winery is in Margaret River, Western Australia and owned by the Rathbone family along with Mount Langi Ghiran (reviewed in the previous winecurrent newsletter and still available on the www.winecurrent.com site) and Yering Station in the Yarra Valley, Victoria. Xanadu has a bagful of medals and trophies for their wine both in Australia and internationally. We don’t see their wines often, we see few Margaret River wines in general, probably due to the high demand for their wines in Australia and all over the world plus the limited production of their mostly family-owned wineries.
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by Vic Harradine
On the way back to Canada we stopped in Melbourne, Victoria and couldn’t pass up visiting a couple of top-tier, family-owned wineries. Whenever you meet a truly switched-on team of successful people, the first suspect for whom may be responsible for bringing this about is always the person at the top. In the case of both Yering Station (reviewed in next issue of winecurrent) and Mount Langi Ghiran, that would be Darren Rathbone.
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by Vic Harradine
Paxton – Wines With Life
Winecurrent first made contact with family-owned and managed Paxton in 2007 on a visit to what was then a winery which had recently opened their cellar door in McLaren Vale and just beginning their now successful journey toward becoming a full-blown biodynamic-certified entity. As I remember it, David Paxton had just returned from a conference, watching and listening to an impassioned orange grower share his experiences with biodynamics. The grower was a man of the earth, immersed in hard toil with weathered hands and features to prove it. His simple message was, ‘I can’t really explain this, but I’ve tried it and it works.’ On this recent visit, a decade later, winecurrent was greeted by an informed, impassioned Paxton team that are now as convinced as the orange grower that biodynamics go a long way to explaining their success in making fine wine. Here’s Paxton’s brief explanation of the process and reasoning behind biodynamics.
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by Susan Desjardins
The resort town of Taormina was our base for visiting the Etna DOC wineries. Situated high on a precipice overlooking the Mediterranean, the town is historic, dramatic and beautiful, a magnet for both European and Italian tourists. It was bustling with activity, as significant municipal works were underway to prepare for the G7 summit scheduled for the end of May.
The visit to the wineries with full operations in the Etna DOC was a revelation. Like the volcano, it is as if a slumbering giant is slowly waking. As indicated by our hosts, the number of wineries has burgeoned over the last 10-15 years, as wineries in Sicily, but also from the mainland, see an opportunity to develop premium wines from indigenous grapes barely known beyond the island but wrapped in the mystery that is Etna.
There is work to be done pertaining to the legislated boundaries of the Etna DOC - it has not changed in the last 45 years. While producers recognize that some of the best wines are created from vines at high elevation, the current boundaries of the DOC do not extend to those levels. Hence some of the best wines from the highest vineyards are produced under the DOC Sicilia or IGT Siciliane designations, even though the grapes are harvested on Etna. However, some progress is being made; as an example, a requirement was recently put in place that required wines labeled Etna DOC to be bottled within the DOC.