Vintage Assessments Home Page

Recent Articles

Jul. 22 - Today’s Vintages Pinot Noir Release ~ Miguel Torres 2004 Mas Borras Triumphs!

Jul. 15 - Ontario Winery Destinations ~ From the Best of Apple to the Finest of Grapes

Jul. 8 - Discovering Alsace ~ Challenges in Buying the Best ~ Part I

Jul. 1 - Canada Day's Top Ten, Eh - The Endless Search

Jul. 1 - The Top Ten Canadian Wineries

Jun. 24 - Best New Releases for Discerning Palates

Jun. 17 - The World Cup of Sauvignon Blanc ~ Austria Triumphant

Jun. 10 - Buy it in Alberta & Bring it home to Daddy!

Jun. 3 - Thinking Pink - A Rosé for Every Taste

May. 27 - Vintage Plays Havoc with Classic Contenders ~ A Delicious Knockout for 2002 Ornellaia

May. 20 - New Zealand's Explosion of Flavours ~ Will give your Victoria Day long weekend a lift

May. 13 - Ra! Ra! Riesling! ~ Good ones, bad ones, fat ones, lean ones ~ Rieslings, as well as, Mothers!

May. 6 - When it comes to wine lists ~ Bigger isn't necessarily better

Apr. 29 - The Top Shelf
The Joyous Harbinger of Spring ~ Austrian Grüner Veltliner

Apr. 29 - A Hole-in-One Twice for Greg Norman ~ Wedding Bell Bubblies

Apr. 22 - Gambling on Wine Dinners ~ Three recent positive outings

Apr. 15 - The Top Shelf
Canada's Ultimate Wine Weekend ~ Upcoming: The Wine Summit Lake Louise

Apr. 15 - Putting a little "hop" into your Easter brunch

Apr. 8 - A Survivor's Guide to the 2006 California Wine Fair

Apr. 1 - The Top Shelf
German Wine and Jazz April 4th

Apr. 1 - Waking Up & Smelling the Flowers ~ A Bouquet of Springtime Whites ~ All Under $20

Mar. 25 - The Top Shelf
Sicily never tasted as good

Mar. 25 - Tracking Down Vintages Best Buys

Mar. 18 - In Homage to Cabernet Sauvignon ~ Great Cabernet Sauvignon can last for decades ~ 1970 Beaulieu Vineyard Private Reserve still a "King" of a Cab

Mar. 11 - Ireland: The cradle of Whiskey

Mar. 4 - The Best of Today's Vintages Release ~ South Africa's Answer to Tequila

Feb. 25 - Mining for Gold in South Africa ~ Great Pinotage & Shiraz

Feb. 18 - Going for Gold at Vintages

Feb. 11 - Beware of great wine reviews that don't deliver ~ Is it me, the critic or the bottle?

Feb. 4 - Spanish Wines Take Flight

Jan. 28 - D-Day at Vintages 724 ~ Vintages items go on sale today!

Jan. 21 - Today at Vintages ~ A Fine Trio of Accessible French Whites ~ The Many Faces of Syrah/Shiraz

Jan. 14 - Ontario's Icewines Shine ~ The Icewine Oscars for the Best 2004

Jan. 7 - A Quality Vintages Kick-off to the New Year Easy Quaffing Southern Hemisphere Shiraz

Dec. 31 - Cognac Unconquered ~ From $1.30 to $74.88 an ounce ~ Sipping Your Way into the New Year

Dec. 24 - LCBO Gifts ~ Buy Carefully ~ Juicy cherry & tangy cranberry flavours for your Turkey

Dec. 17 - The Best of the Season ~ Seasonal Gifting: From Books to the Best Buy Champagne & '1876' Scotch

Dec. 10 - Great Holiday Wines in Today's Vintages release ~ From the Bargains to the Jewels

Dec. 3 - From the Perfect Pear Martini ~ to a Vintage Port to Remember

Nov. 26 - Wines to Buy & Wines to Avoid

Nov. 19 - Beaujolais Nouveau Celebrates 54 Years

Nov. 12 - Vintages Release Best Buys ~ From California to Bordeaux

Nov. 5 - "Eyes Wide Shut" ~ Taste, texture and scent in motion

Oct. 29 - Tricks & Treats in Today's Vintages Release ~ Some Awesome Aussi Highlights

Oct. 22 - Perfect Fall Libations ~ Obscure varieties from Welschriesling to Semillon

Oct. 15 - Hop Scotch ~ The biggest whisky release on record

Oct. 8 - A Toast to the Turkey ~ Many whites, some reds and even a sparkling rosé

Oct. 1 - Barolo the King of Italian Reds

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Sicily never tasted as good
The Top Shelf by Michael Vaughan © 2006
National Post Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
Saturday, March 25, 2006

LIVE WINE LINK
www.winefind.ca

(CLICK ON THE NAME -
All listings are automatically linked to the LCBO database)
If there is a product that interests you, just click on the name below and you will instantaneously connected with the LCBO database. The product will appear in blue and all you have to do is click on the name again and then the next screen will provide details along with the store search. Just click on store search. The number of bottles in each store is updated nightly. Call the store first to see if stock still remains (each store phone number is listed).

Attention all shoppers: This weekend is your last chance to stock up on a brand new BEST BUY Italian red on the General List. Montalto 2003 Nero d'Avola Cabernet Sauvignon (621151) is a bargain at $8.95 - the $1 LTO brings it down to $7.95 and lasts until Sunday closing, March 26th. This hip new blend combines the traditional Nero d'Avola with classy Cabernet Sauvignon and comes in a convenient screwcap bottle. The nose is vibrantly attractive and loaded with plumy, strawberry fruit. It is dry, crisp and medium-light bodied with juicy cherry flavours that dance on the tongue. Sicily never tasted as good! Check it out at the Select Wines booth (#267) this weekend's Toronto Wine & Cheese Show.

2001-2002-2003-2004-2005 Tasting Note Database
Our tasting note database from December 31, 2000 to January 2006, covers every Vintages release product for the past 61 months. There are more than 12,000 notes in the database data. Just enter the name of the product, supplier name or CSPC number. Or you can search by type of wine, country of origin, even wine agent! Nothing could be easier. Also you can get information on the agent by clicking on the agent’s name, as well as current LCBO store inventory by clicking on "Check LCBO Availability", which will automatically tell you the number of bottles at LCBO as of last night.

To use our Tasting Notes Database: click here
 

** For All Visitors **
Vintages Releases
To see the complete list of upcoming products from the
April 1 release, including In-Store Discovery items,
click here (sorted by date of release).
You can also see it sorted by agent click here

To see the complete list of upcoming products from the
April 15 release, including In-Store Discovery items,
click here (sorted by date of release).
You can also see it sorted by agent click here

To see the complete list of upcoming products from the
April 29 release, including In-Store Discovery items,
click here (sorted by date of release).
You can also see it sorted by agent click here

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2006
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
 (electronic or other wise) and or quotation.
Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net