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Wines

This Season Let Us Help you Stay Warm and Entertain in Style

With the winter weather upon us you'll find that we have put together a collection of ideas to help you celebrate the seasons. With suggestions for cocktails to enjoy by the fire and beer and wine pairings to go with tasty savoury dishes you'll have lots of new ideas of tasty things to try. Also, don't forget to check out our New Winter Calendar that is filled terrific classes and events for you to attend and our sommelier's own picks with recipes and pairings for you to try at home.

Don't forget to watch our video series Wine & Spirits Shots where we are always introducing you, through video, to wonderful new people behind the products you enjoy.

Sparkling Wines

White and Rosé Wines

Sokol Blosser Rose of Pinot Noir. Oregon, USA, 16.99

The Sokol Blosser winery was extablished in 1970, by husband and wife team Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol. They’ve since established themselves as pioneers in the Oregon winemaking industry by practicing sustainable farming methods with an unparalleled respect for their environment and a focus on quality wine production.

This delicious rose is made with 100% Pinot Noir grapes that are grown on the winery’s estate vineyards in the Dundee Hills of Oregon. It is a fleshy pink hue in the glass and offers a delectable nose of fresh raspberries, hints of black tea and mushrooms. The palate is delicate in body and filled with ripe red berry notes including raspberries, strawberries and red cherries. On the finish of this wine there is soft, sweet fruit that lingers and leaves you wanting more. This wine is easy choice to sip and visit with before your main festivities begin but it can also be a complimentary match to the rich dishes to be enjoyed with friends and family during the meal. With your thanksgiving meal try a bottle of this deliciously approachable rose, which also makes an excellent choice to enjoy with left over dishes like turkey sandwiches and salads.

Ghost Pines, Chardonnay, California,

A delicious full bodied white wine that has found the careful balance between ripe fruit and the flavours that come from oak barrels used in the winemaking process. This wine is rich on the palate and is filled with aromas and flavours of ripe apples, pears, lemons, vanilla, butter, baked rolls, roasted marshmallows and marzipan.

The fullness, yet elegance of this wine make it a perfect choice to serve with creamy cheeses, roast poultry, apple pies, eggs benedict and Chateaubriand with bernaise sauce.

Grand Bateau, White, Bordeaux, France

A wonderful crisp wine perfect for easy sipping and enjoying on its own. This wine is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon and you will find it both refreshing and flavourful in your glass.

In the glass this wine is a soft honey colour and on the nose you will be greeted with aromas of thyme, pink and white grapefruit, tangerines, apple blossoms, lemons and limes.

This wine is a perfect sipper to keep on hand in the kitchen for anytime you are enjoying dinner on the deck or entertaining. Pair this wine with fresh green salads, grilled white fish and chicken dishes, mexican dishes or just simple peel and eat shrimp.

Try this wine with this fabulous grilled scallop recipe for a great evening get together.

Reds

Cono Sur, Organic Pinot Noir, Colchagua Valley, 2009, Chile, 12.49

A wonderful wine that you would never guess the price of. This wine is made from 100% organically grown grapes and has a beautiful deep red plum colour in the glass. On the palate and nose you will discover a wine that is fresh, lively and full of red cherries, plums, blackberries and hints of vanilla and black tea.

The tannins are well structured but smooth and hold the wine together beautifully. This wine is perfect one to serve with either turkey or ham, or to enjoy with cheese plates and easy sipping before the company arrives. A wonderful wine to keep on hand in your kitchen all year.

Peachy Canyon, Incredible Red, Zinfandel, 2007, Passo Robles, California, 19.29

If you are looking for a wine that you can enjoy anytime of the year then this is one you should try. The family run winery has been making wine since 1982 and there wines are now enjoyed all over the world.

The "Incredible Red" is a wine that is 100% Zinfandel and filled with fantastic strawberry and cherry flavours on the nose that are sure to make you smile. When you take your first sip you will discover not only those fruits that were promised on the nose,but also ripe blueberries, raspberries, soft vanilla bean and oak notes. The silky smooth tannins make this wine dangerously good and you will find that it is both people and food friendly as it can easily be paired with backyard BBQ dishes, ham, turkey, dark chocolate and great company.

2008 Bethany Old Vine Grenache, Barossa, Australia, 21.49

Bethany is now a 6^th generation family operated winery in the Barossa Valley region in Australia that can track its roots back to. Established in 1844, just 7 years after the colonization of Australia. The Grenache vines used in this wine are as old as 80 years, and some of the Barossa’s oldest vines.

In the glass you will enjoy a wine that is a vibrant ruby colour and slightly austere on the nose as it hints towards aromas of bright red berries, black pepper corns and a background of “mushroomy” earthiness. However, the nose is not a clear indicator of the abundance of fresh, juicy, and ripe fruits like those of baskets of raspberries, red cherries, jammed strawberries and pomegranate seeds. This wine has a full mouth-feel without the mouth puckering tannin making it a fantastic wine to pair with your game, poultry or ham at your Thanksgiving feast.

Tinhorn Creek, Cabernet Franc. South Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada, 20.79

Tinhorn Creek has built a reputation of excellence through consistent quality winemaking in the deep south of the Okanagan. Cabernet Franc has been a grape that the winery has proven year after year with its excellent wines that it is very much at home in our cool northern climate.

Tinhorn Creek does a beautiful job with this wine that is made from 100% Cabernet Franc. It is a rich garnet colour and shimmers gracefully in its glass. The nose offers aromas of currants, black and red cherries, plums and hints of red apple peel, and a subtle forest floor or herbaceous note. The palate is soft and round and presents a fruit cocktail of red cherries, blackberries and currants. A mild tingling of tannins is present in each sip but they’re certainly not dominating, as the wine shows wonderfully balanced and juicy in the glass. This wine is a delicious choice to enjoy with your Thanksgiving turkey, ham or Turduken.

Bleasdale, Cabernet Malbec, Langhorne Creek, Australia,

A delicious red that definitely over delivers for the price. This wine is blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Malbec, and is a deep, velvet textured, dark plum coloured wine in the glass.

As soon as you put your nose in the glass you will be entranced with vibrant aromas of blueberries, blackberries, vanilla bean and hints of fresh mint and violets and then you will be delighted as everything you experienced on the nose explodes onto your palate with your first sip. This wine is rich in texture, has a wonderful smooth tannin structure, but not so smooth that it doesn't have a backbone, and is filled with ripe, delicious and complex fruit that is perfect for pairing with red meats, hard cheese, dark chocolate desserts, and BBQ dishes.

This wine would be fabulous served with a grilled hamburger right off the grill. Check out these recipes for some great BBQ'd hamburger ideas.