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Category — wine
Santa Carolina Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2006 – 375 ml
Categories: beverages • wine
Tags: cabernet sauvignon • chile • santa carolina
(1/5)
Varietal: cabernet sauvignon – Price: $5.95 Cdn – website – Winery: Santa Carolina – Vintage: 2006 - Region: Chile – LCBO No: 389866
Other Reviews: Toronto Life
As a bachelor I routinely test the small-sized (375 ml) bottles of wine near the LCBO cash registers in the hopes that one day I may find a decent wine suitable for one person. When I lived in California I routinely found acceptable wines in this form factor. So far in Ontario, I have found none.
I’m not a huge fan of cabernet sauvignon. Unfortunately, I cannot give this bottle a proper review since it has been months since I took these pictures and had the misfortune to taste it - twice. I bought this particular wine about a year ago and didn’t like it at all. Several months ago I bought it again and disliked it just as much. All I can remember of the experience is the word “bleche”. I’m writing this post as much to remind myself never to buy it again as to warn others off it. If I have the unfortunate experience of trying it again, I’ll update this post with more details.
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Del.icio.us Yalumba Y Series Shiraz/Viognier 2006
Categories: beverages • wine
Tags: shiraz • south australia • viognier • yalumba
(1.5/5)
Varietal: shiraz / viognier blend – Price: $15.95 Cdn – website – Winery: Yalumba – Vintage: 2006- Region: South Australia – LCBO No: 624494 - 
Other Reviews: wine scamp | The WineMad Blog
The back label says this wine is spicy, savoury and silky. I found it to be dull and limp, tasting too much of dishwater and rubbing alcohol, particularly in the tarty finish. Though it was silky! 
I decided to give this shiraz / viognier blend a try when I was unable to find another bottle of the Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz that I liked so much last week. An LCBO staffer recommended it as a comparable wine that had been a recent staff pick.
I only noticed that this wine had a screw-cap (a sure sign it will disappointing) when I got it home. How could this be an LCBO staff pick?
This is what shiraz has typically been like for me for the last twenty years and why I have always disliked it - my recent Shiraz experiences (here and here) notwithstanding. You should certainly consider my general distaste for this varietal when assessing this review.
Birchwood Estate Gewürztraminer / Riesling 2007
Categories: beverages • canada • wine
Tags: birchwood estate • gewurztraminer • niagra peninusla • riesling
(4/5)
Varietal: gewürztraminer/riesling blend– Price: $10.95 Cdn – Winery: Birchwood Estate – Vintage: 2007 - Region: Niagara Peninsula Ontario – LCBO No 572156
This wine is very good – especially for the price. It is one of ‘the’ better balanced gewürztraminer/riesling blends I’ve tasted. Each varietal complements the other. The reisling tempers the sweetness of the gewürztraminer while the gewürztraminer ‘almost’ tempers the tartness of the reisling. I say “almost” because there was just a hint of a tart, dry midpalate taste that is characteristic of less-than-stellar reislings. But its barely there. I very much enjoyed this bottle.
This wine is not sweet enough to be a classic desert wine. It should go well with pork, chicken and curry dishes, or, in front of a fire relaxing with someone special.
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz 2006
Categories: beverages • wine
Tags: jacob's creek • shiraz • south australia • syrah
(3.5/5) – another nice shiraz
Varietal: shiraz/syrah – Price: $17.45 Cdn – Winery: Jacob’s Creek - Vintage: 2006 - Region: South Australia – LCBO No. 665471 Other Reviews: Toronto Life 89 Reference: topwineries.com.au | adegga
Another earthy shiraz. Very similar to the [yellow tail] shiraz but, if memory serves, smoother. It is the boldest Jacob’s Creek wine on their wine scale. There is a less expensive ($12.45) Jacob’s Creek Shiraz (ie: non-‘Reserve’).
My good friend Don Hicks brought this bottle over for another movie night (Elizabeth (1998)). This wine is yet another shiraz that surprised me for being surprisingly good. I’m beginning to think I misjudged shiraz wines lo these last 20 years.
I haven’t yet done a taste comparison between this shiraz and the less expensive [yellow tail] shiraz. When I get a chance I’ll update this post.
Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library Reserve Podcast
Categories: beverages • interactive media • wine
Tags: podcast • review
(4.5/5)
From Revision3’s stable of podcasts comes Gary Vaynerchuk’s (Wikipedia) entertaining and informative Wine Library Reserve podcast (available in HD). Gary begins most every podcast with: “This my friends is the Thundershow, a.k.a the Internet’s most passionate wine program”. He isn’t exaggerating.
Note: He also has hosts the longer form companion “wine library tv” podcast that’s only available in SD.
In each 5 minute episode he first ’sniffy sniffs”, then tastes, spits out and ultimately reviews three to four different wines with exuberance reminiscent of Roberto Benigni’s acceptance of his Best Actor Oscar. His descriptions are funny, provocative, entertaining and informative. Graphics are generated on the fly depicting each of the the smells and tastes he encounters along the way from the initial sniffs, to the entry, the midpalet, the finish and the length. His descriptions range from the conventional (black current with a 
touch of spice) to the hilarious (this tastes like pooh mixed with tar). During the review pictured on the left he likened the wine’s taste to concrete dust. He somehow manages to get up to a dozen or so smells or tastes out of every bottle.
[Yellow Tail] - Shiraz
Categories: beverages • wine
Tags: australia • casella • shiraz • syrah • yellow tail
(3.5/5) - terrific every day value wine
Varietal: shiraz/syrah – Price: $12.25 Cdn – website – Winery: Casella Wines Pty Ltd. – Vintage: 2006 - Country: Australia – LCBO 624544
Spicy, rich, earthy and lovely for the price. Not too dry. A very approachable wine for most palettes. Terrific value. Best of the [yellow tail] line.
This is one of the few shiraz (also known as syrah) bottles of wine I’ve enjoyed – ever. It tastes more like a zinfandel than a shiraz. My sister Colleen introduced me to this wine and I was very surprised that I liked it. I’ve served it to several friends and family and everyone has enjoyed it.
I’ve consumed more than a half dozen bottles so far and it is consistently good. It has become one of my staples.
As you can see from the [yellow tail] home page, there is a very large selection of [yellow tail] branded wines available at affordable prices. I’ve also tried their, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and the shiraz-grenache and this [Yellow Tail] shiraz is the best of the lot. The shiraz-grenache was the worst.
Other Reviews: Art of Drink | gremolata
Washing Wine Glasses in the Dishwasher - Safely!
Categories: health, life & fitness • wine
Tags:
Being a bachelor, I’m averse to washing dishes by hand whenever possible. Last November I found myself searching Google for ‘dishwasher safe’ wine glasses. I wanted to add a Canadian etailer link to my Christmas wishhh list on www.wishhh.com (check it out, you’ll like it).
It’s surprisingly difficult to find ‘dishwasher safe’ wine glasses. Instead, I found a host of wine-glass-in-dishwasher solutions like this one and this one. These products amount to little more than fancy ways to ensure that wine glasses are secured so that they do not bounce around (or into each other) during the wash cycle.
