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If you want to buy a wine, just click on the wine name below and you will instantaneously connected with the LCBO database. The wine name 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 the search. The number of bottles in each store is updated nightly. You should call the store first to see if stock still remains (each store phone number is provided).

The turkeys are on the verge of their last gasp and will soon be heading to market for next weekend’s Thanksgiving festivities. And so, with the October Vintages release upon us, I have decided to seek out those best buys, which would be a perfect match for the big bird.

“Big” would also be the appropriate word for October’s release. There are a whopping 192 items slated for release – the most ever yet! This excludes all 34 Vintages “In-Store Discoveries” just released yesterday, as well as the ever-growing list of 81 Vintages “Essentials.”

Some think that tasting all this stuff is terrific fun. They see me happily frolicking from bottle to bottle, like a bee tending his flowers. Were it only so! In reality, spending hours analyzing wines, many of which are not a turn on, isn’t always a treat. But there’s no gain without pain, and tasting sure beats a lot of other professions. My job is to thrill readers by digging up tasty choices – so here goes.

Getting things off to a great start is a certainty when you serve great bubbly. You will be very hard pressed to do better than Lanson Black Label Brut Champagne (41889), which at only $39.95 is a consistent best buy. Look for a gently toasty, honeyed, lemony nose followed up by very dry, crisp but creamy, lemony, ripe apricot flavours. It comes with great mousse and a long toasty finish. Yum!

The Vintages Catalogue states that it will not be appearing until October 18^th (the B-release), but low and behold, it’s already on the shelves! Unfortunately, it seems that we will have to wait until after Thanksgiving for its companion piece – the convenient half-bottle (974980) at $21.95.

Moving on to the appetizers let me recommend a superlative white. From Alsace we have the outstanding Hugel 2000 Gewurztraminer (329235) at $28.90. Being so rich and flavourful, it is a challenge to marry with the appropriate cuisine. Look for just off-dry, honeyed, rich but balanced, mouthfilling, very spicy, lychee-driven fruit followed up by a lingering finish. A moist, smoked trout appetizer with a very small touch of tangy creamed horseradish might do the trick. Better yet, just enjoy it by itself.

Before I forget, I must mention Muskoka Lakes 2001 Cranberry Blueberry Wine (609719) at $15.50. I sampled it last April when released and just discovered that it is still available in LCBO stores. It is a tasty thing indeed, with a deep purple-red colour and slightly sweet but refreshing, bright, cranberry nose. On the palate, it is gently sweet and very tangy with refreshing, plummy, wild blueberry-cranberry flavours.

I tested it on a Finger Lakes friend who only drinks “politically correct” wines made from grapes. He blurted out, “Holy marshmallow, Marsha!” I wasn’t certain whether this was an expression of joy or disdain. Fortunately, both he and Marsha liked it! Hopefully you will too and won’t have to drive to Bala, where it is made, to buy it.

Now for the best priced white of the release. It may not be the perfect march for turkey, but this crowd-pleaser is guaranteed to bring guests to their feet. You will not be able to stop sipping the delicious Chilean Miguel Torres 2002 Santa Digna Sauvignon Blanc (177444). At a mere $11.95, it is so loaded with fruit that you will have to pinch yourself to prove you’re not dreaming. A nose with lovely, fresh, juicy, peachy-pear, nectarine fruit, which carries over perfectly to the brilliant and yet very dry, crisp, palate.

Moving on to the bird itself, there are three Niagara Peninsula VQA whites, which make solid choices. Strewn 2001 Pinot Blanc (522748) at $12.95 is perhaps the least orthodox with its intense, cedary, bright, ripe lemon nose with hints of rhubarb. On the palate, however, it is rich, rounded and medium bodied with lots of toasty flavours and lingering ripe lemon-rhubarb fruit.

A second choice is the inaugural Jackson-Triggs 2001 Delaine Vineyard Chardonnay (623454) at $16.95. This well-priced surprise has just been awarded a gold medal at the 2003 Canadian Wine Awards. The dry, bright, rather toasty, ripe lemon and Anjou pear flavours should be a good foil for the bird. Barrel fermented and aged for six months in French oak, it will appeal to those who enjoy some oakiness.

Showing even more depth is Southbrook 2000 Triomphe Chardonnay (533315), which is bargain-priced at only $18.35. The nose shows lots of complexity – rich and very buttery with toasty, ripe Anjou pear purée fruit. It is surprisingly robust on the palate with medium-full bodied, slightly lactic, ripe pear purée flavours that show excellent length.

While some extol the virtues of red Beaujolais with turkey, I personally find many of them to be a bit cranky without the fruitiness or weight to balance gravy, stuffing, etc. The solution is to look for reds with lots of fruit. Chateau St. Jean 2001 Pinot Noir (939322) at $26.95 is a good example. This Sonoma red is a bit chunky with 14% alcohol but the presence of lots of tangy, maraschino cherry flavours would work well with turkey.

Trashing around for something less expensive? One reader wished to know if Canada’s largest selling red, Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon would go well with turkey. I think that you might find it to be excessively oaky. A much better match would be Beringer 2001 Zinfandel (567453), which has enough harmonious, fresh, cranberry-cassis tinged, juicy, ripe, cherry flavours to carry the carcass to poultry heaven. It is in today’s Vintages release at $15.50. Look for the lot number 0523314L1, which appears on the back label.

To finish things up, the clear coloured, dry, pungent, ripe pear purée flavours of Fassbind Selection Prestige Poire Williams (962233 - $27.95 half bottle) will provide just the right closing note to a great meal. The Swiss eau-de-vie is one of the best in the world!

Coming up

Wednesday, October 8, the annual Vinos de Espana wine fair features more than 150 wines from 80 wineries, along with Spanish cheeses. The trade-only tasting takes place from 2:00 - 5:00 pm (click here) and from 6:00 - 9:00 pm for the consumer event ($45 - Ticketmaster 416-870-8000) at Hart House, University of Toronto (click here). To see the list of Spanish wines being served click here

Classics Catalogue Best Buys for FBTI Supporters

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Our tasting note database goes back to January 1, 2001 and covers every Vintages release product for the past 31 months. There are approximately 5,000 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. When you get your search results (starting with the most recent release), click on the item name and you will instantaneously connected to the FBTI Vintage Assessments database. You will see our tasting note along with the name of the agent. You can get information on the agent by clicking on the agent’s name. Also, you can check LCBO store inventory by clicking on Check LCBO Availability. It will automatically take you to the item you want to search.

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October 2003 InStore Discovery

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
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Contact Michael Vaughan at
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