Welcome to this not-for-profit educational resource database & website created by Michael Vaughan PhD
An award-winnng weekly columnist for Canada's top newpapers including the National Post, Globe & Mail and Financial Times
This not-for-profit website is dedicated to providing readers with professional non-advertorial reviews
Thursday - May 28, 2020
Thanks to all the workers who are keeping the flow of essential beverages available during the pandemic - you make my day!
About Vintage Assessments See May 30 Vintages Catalogue |
Remembering
The First Week of March
It's hard to believe that only twelve weeks ago I was in the beautiful Touraine town of Blois on the Loire River judging the 2020 Concours Mondial du Sauvignon. As the only Canadian judge, I joined 74 colleagues from 24 countries and we worked our way through 1,110 sub-missions on Friday and Saturday (March 6 and 7). Getting up at 2 am to start tasting wines is not much fun - but I survived.
It really helped that I brought two dozen of my ISO tasting glasses (vs. the larger glasses used at the competition) as the ISOs really concentrated the aromatics and provided me with a level playing field for the thousands of other wines I taste annually. This was the LAST major international tasting event of 2020! Upon returning, I had two tastings early in the week, one with my long-time associate (on the left)
Steven Spurrier at the March 10 Academie du Vin launch and the other event - an inspiring Pinot (Noir) Affair tasting with ten Ontario wineries and thirty wines (including some really terrific 2017 Niagara Pinot Noir). Then I went into isolation & thankfully I have survived.
* * * History in the Making * * *
THE BIRTH OF VINTAGES
In 1974 the LCBO opened its first Vintages outlet. In those days it was called the Rare
Wines & Spirits Shop & was initially located in a tiny small third floor
room at 43 Freeland Street. It moved to an upscale free-standing location across from St. Lawrence Market.
READ MORE FROM MY NATIONAL POST FEATURE
Believe it or not - I wrote this 46 years ago for Toronto Life for $750 per column
the original Toronto Life feature from March 1974
when BOLLINGER CHAMPAGNE BRUT RD 1961 was $16.45
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