Ads for Worthwhile Wines

Michael Vaughan
Friday, August 22, 2008

I recently had an inquiry regarding advertising. Why does Vintage Assessments have ads? I explained that for many years we refused to accept any advertising. After all, if Robert Parker doesn't have ads, why should Vintage Assessments?

It eventually became painfully evident that our small, albeit discerning readership simply wasn't big enough to generate sufficient revenue to support the costs of running this publication. We want to keep a cap on our readership so that our recommended wines will be available to them exclusively. It would be nice to have 100,000 readers, but how does one spread 200 cases over so many readers?

So rather than expand our readership base, we decided to run a very limited number of ads in each monthly issue. Moreover, we decided to only run ads for wines or spirits which we believe are worthy of drinking.  In other words, if it isn't worth drinking, it will not appear in Vintage Assessments.

The reason: we want make sure that our readers enjoy the wines being advertised. That's a win-win situation. If readers end up buying an advertised wine which disappoints, they will not consider buying other advertised wines. We want only winners appear in the pages of Vintage Assessments.

To that end, our upcoming issue features an ad for a new widely-available Sicilian white that's priced under $10. I first tasted Montalto 2007 Pinot Grigio (73148) earlier this summer at a portfolio tasting with the export manager. I was impressed with the succulent melon-pear fruit on the nose and the juicy, crisp, juicy flavours. Unlike many Italian Pinot Grigio, this one wasn't bland, shy or overly dry. Best of all at $9.95, it is very reasonably priced.

I discovered that this new Sicilian winery was founded in 2000 and only uses the latest technology to produce a totally new, fresh, vibrant wines from a very ancient region. The stelvin screwcap range emphasizes value. In fact, I first discovered Montalto in 2005 when the red was launched in Ontario. Here is what I said about it in my weekly column when I was trying to match a red with roast turkey:

On the red front, it seemed that anything with juicy, tangy, fruity, cranberry-cherry flavours worked very well. I initially thought that this would rule out old world styles that often have dusty tannins and high extract. Imagine my surprise when tasting a recently released general list effort from Sicily. Montalto 2003 Nero d'Avola Cabernet Sauvignon was the definitive turkey wine of the tasting. This IGT blend of 60% traditional Nero d'Avola and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon comes in a modern screwcap bottle. Aged for three months in one-year old French and American oak, the focus is on fruit and freshness. Deep purple colour, the nose is very bright and attractive with ripe, plumy, strawberry fruit. It is dry, crisp and medium-light bodied with tangy, plums, cranberry and cherry flavours with a crisp refreshing finish. Easy to drink and on the refreshing side, it works perfectly with either light or dark meat.

Today, three vintages later, the price of Montalto 2006 Nero d'Avola Cabernet Sauvignon (621151) has crept up from $8.95 to $9.70. Happily, the juicy, accessible, attractive flavours are still there.  It's a red that doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. An everyday, versatile, crowd pleaser that appeals to a wide array of palates. We strive to uncover best buys and new finds for our readers and always welcome your feedback.

The best buy Vintages release white

Coyote's Run 2006 Reserve Chardonnay (49775) at $20.95 **/**+. This VQA Niagara Peninsula white has a complex, fairly intense, spicy, cedar-tinged, ripe lemon-melon nose. It is dry and quite well structured with harmonious, fairly complex, ripe lemon-melon flavours and an attractive, buttery, gently toasty, lingering finish. Screwcap closure. At peak.

The best buy Vintages release red

Finca Flichman 2006 Expresiones Reserve Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon (507707) at $15.95 **+/***. This oak-aged blend of 60% Malbec and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon has a intense deep purple colour. Complex, toasty, spicy, baked black cherry nose with lovely butterscotch notes. Solid, dry, medium-full bodied, well structured, extracty, plummy, slightly smoky, black cherry flavours with a lingering, exciting, mocha-chocolate finish. Should improve over the next 12 months.

August 16th
Vintages Release
How sweet it is!
Fine Austrian Whites
Amaya - Great Indian Cuisine

Michael Vaughan
Friday, August 15, 2008

Tomorrow's Vintages release has some terrific buys. It's an A-list release with Austria and Argentina heading up the list with some fine, well-priced selections.

Austria has some very special wines. I have written about them numerous times: from lederhosen GV to Sauvignon Blanc. Problem is, at least for the LCBO, the Austrian cupboard is often bare by the time Vintages decides what they want to buy. Austrian production is small and the best wines go quickly. Proactive buyers from around the world visit Austrian producers and wine fairs. They quickly scoop up the best. Unlike the LCBO, they don't wait for the doorbell to ring. Unfortunately this means that some Vintages listings are not worthy of a detour

To make matters worse, Vintages seems to be frightened to buy the best. Why? Because they are expensive and there is no confidence that they will sell.  As a result, today's release sees one uneventful red (this St. Laurent is a pass), five whites (two are recommended below) and one decent sparkler.

Let's begin with the best from the shores of Lake Neusiedl just southeast of Vienna.  My only thought when tasting the delicious Willi Opitz 2005 Cuvée Beerenauslese Welschriesling/Scheurebe (71274) at $21.95 per half bottle is "how sweet it is".  Move over icewine, this **+/*** (out of three stars) winner has a spicy, complex, Seville orange marmalade nose and a very sweet, albeit well balanced, honeyed, ripe apricot jam and Seville orange marmalade flavours taste. A classy dessert wine, it would also be a great foil for foie gras. With this much sugar, it's capable of lasting several years.

Of the other whites, I liked Stadlmann 2006 Zierfandler Classic (71696) at $17.95 (*+/**) from Austria's Thermenregion. I have to admit that this is my first experience with the Zierfandler grape, which apparently is an ancient Austrian cross between Roter Veltliner and Traminer. Apparently when exposed to the sun, the skin of this grape turns red. They ripen late and are prone to noble rot (for sweet dessert wine), as well as, the dreaded grey rot. It has a light straw colour and spicy, honeyed, slightly leesy, floral,  lemon nose. It's crisp, dry and medium-light bodied in taste with slightly honeyed, lemony, ripe apple-apricot flavours.

There is also an easy-going Lenz Moser 2006 Prestige Grüner Veltliner (71233) at $14.95 (*+), which has a very light straw colour and spicy, slightly honeyed, ripe apple-melon nose with some mineral notes. On the palate it is dry, bright and medium-light bodied with fairly spicy, honeyed, tangy ripe apple-melon flavours.

On the sparkling side of the equation is Schlumberger 2006 Sparkling Brut (284596) at $15.95 (*+/**). This 100% Austrian Welschriesling is made in the Méthode Traditionnelle and has a very pleasant, spicy, honeyed, ripe apricot, apple nose. It is very moussy and fairly dry with honeyed, ripe orange citrus-melon-lemon flavours and a crisp finish.

A Culinary Triumph
Amaya The Indian Room
If you are a fan of Austrian wines, don't miss the current promotion taking place at Amaya The Indian Room at 1701 Bayview just south of Eglinton Avenue East. Opened just last year, Amaya has garnered some well-deserved very fine reviews. Highlights of this week's visit: amaja prawns (four large tender prawns in a delectable sauce - $16 or half portion for $8), an amazingly fresh-tasting, fork-tender murgh makhani (aka butter chicken - $17), which comes with a truly delectable sweet, spicy, fruit-tinged, tomato-infused sauce, and spicy, melt-in-the-mouth kirti's lamb 'lollipops' ($25). Besides terrific sauces, the secret is great ingredients. Using inferior, less expensive cuts of meat and poultry simply takes away from the quality of the dish. In fact, Amaja is the best Indian-inspired cuisine I have experienced in Toronto *** - second only to what Vikram Vij is doing at his Vancouver no-reservations icon restaurant Vij's. With only 40 seats, the place is hopping.

White Austrian wines are a great match for these types of dishes. Here is the current menu,  dessert menu with wines/spirits,  by-the-glass wines and sommelier's picks wine list. The list of wines by the glass is a bit of mixed bag. The two Austrian consignment whites from Rabl in Kamptal are pretty good and worth trying. I preferred the light, fresh, crisp Rabl 2006 Gruener Veltliner 'Spiegel' (slightly pricey at $11/glass - $54/bottle) with the seafood and appetizers, while the medium-light bodied Rabl 2007 Pinot Blanc 'Alte Reben' ($8/glass - $39/bottle) worked better with the mains. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to taste their dessert white.

Amaya's wine prices start at $39. Beer, which goes so well with Indian cuisine, doesn't appear to be mentioned. Only one Riesling, usually a perfect foil for this type of cooking, appears on the short list of 17 by-the-glass items. Unfortunately, this bone-dry item isn't particularly interesting. Of course, there is the recommended, gently sweet, fruity Lingenfelder 2005 Bird Label Riesling on the "sommelier's picks" wine list at $46/bottle (it's $14.95 at Vintages). The $31 mark-up strikes me as being excessive. The least expensive Canadian Riesling is Stratus 2006 Charlie Baker Riesling at $70 plus taxes. It's good, but to my mind, not as appropriate a food match as the slightly sweeter, much less expensive Henry of Pelham 2007 Off-Dry Riesling Reserve (557165), which is $15.95 at Vintages.

Readers will receive an Amaya update in the near future.

Argentine Bargain Reds
The Argentine reds in tomorrow's release really hit the mark in terms of quality and price. Four special recommendations appear in Vaughan on Vintages, an update sent exclusively to FBTI Supporters. You can get it today by becoming an FBTI Supporter and save $20.