*Frequently Updated

Documents on this web site are in Adobe PDF format. To view them, You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your system. To download it just click on the icon below:

Become an FBTI Supporter Today!
click here
 

Why not subscribe to the National Post today?

Getting Into the Holiday Spirits
Too Few of the Finest
(November 25, 2006) Click Here

Come to the MasqueRave
A Cornucopia of Events
(November 18, 2006) Click Here

A Pinot Noir Pilgrim
From Burgundy to New Zealand
(November 11, 2006) Click Here

A Class Act
Surviving Wine-Savvy Dinner Guests
(November 4, 2006) Click Here

Today's Vintages Double-Header
(October 28, 2006) Click Here

Fan Feedback
(October 21, 2006) Click Here

Recently Recommended
Vintage Destinations Travel Books
Click here to see the list

Sommeliers (sommeliers.ca)
Register by going to our National Post Champagne Feature
Click Here

For first time visitors:

What do we do? The not-for-profit Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada is pleased to bring you Canada’s definitive guide to buying wines, spirits and related beverages. Our objective is to provide readers with critical assessments of every product that comes into the LCBO Vintages store prior to its release date. In addition, this website documents all upcoming LCBO releases and special discount sales. All reviews are totally independent and are done by internationally acclaimed wine authority Michael Vaughan.

When and Why? Vintage Assessments appears each and every month prior to the LCBO release, which will feature up to 350 new products destined to Vintages stores. For most wine lovers, it is impossible to figure out what to buy. Moreover, many best wines disappearing on the first day of the release. By providing a full review of each product in advance of its release, readers are able get the best buy wines before they disappear. Best yet, avoiding inferior products saves money!

By whom? All tastings are by Michael Vaughan an internationally accredited wine judge and National Post weekly columnist since 1999. As a long time educator and consumer advocate, he has now established Canada’s most comprehensive review of wines. Vintage Assessments is the only publication of its kind to appear every month for 16 years! There is nothing else like it in North America!

How was this accomplished? Michael Vaughan successfully negotiated with the LCBO to have the monthly releases presented to the wine press prior to the release. These tastings now take place three Fridays a month in the downtown Toronto LCBO. Vintage Assessments is the only publication in Canada, which is based on tasting two separate bottles of every wine from every Vintages release.

How does Vintage Assessments exist? Vintage Assessments is made possible through reader support of the Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada. Hard copy FBTI Supporters contribute $110 annually, while E-Mail Supporters contribute $75 per annum. 

Who are the FBTI Trade Supporters? As reader contributions alone are not sufficient to cover the costs, the FBTI trade supporter program was launched wherein producers have an opportunity to present their product to our readers. Only items worth considering are included meaning a win-win situation for both readers and the producers.  

What is in this monthly newsletter?  Vintage Assessments is usually 24 pages and reviews up to 350 upcoming products per issue. All FBTI Supporters receive an E-Mail edition. The advantage of the E-Mail edition is that releases are colour coded and fully linked to the LCBO database. Better yet, there are updates as new wines are tasted and/or are reassessed.  

Is there an electronic version of the current issue? Yes! All subscribers have access to our electronic version. A free electronic recent edition can be downloaded using Acrobat (the software is available at no charge from Adobe). If you do not have a high-speed modem, it takes approximately 2 minutes to download. To make Vintage Assessments accessible to a wider group, we offer an E-Mail Package for only $75.00! For information Click Here.

Agent ID Guide - What's the 2007 Agent ID Guide? There are more than 200 agents in Ontario. Vintage Assessments offers the only complete, fully revised, annual guide to all these agents - for both domestic (Ontario wineries) and imported products. The agent for every LCBO product in our publication is identified! In addition, the number of cases purchased by the LCBO is available to our subscribers – no one else provides you with these figures.

What is winefind?  One of the biggest problems for readers is finding out which LCBO stores carry the products they want to buy. The launch of www.winefind.ca has enabled readers to simply click on the name of the product in any of our publications and they will be given the # of bottles (as of yesterday) in all LCBO stores. No need to input CSPC codes and/or products names. No long wait on the LCBO’s Infoline!

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