by Vic Harradine

Only half the wine selection of the LCBO reaches retail shelves. The balance is readily available to the general public, but most seasoned wine-lovers (forget the masses) have little idea how easy it is to access them. Only a select few set sail in the uncharted waters of consignment wine. Here's the GPS to help navigate this 'other' distribution channel. It's a whole new stream of interesting wines from the familiar LCBO.

by Susan Desjardins

Ruffino was established by cousins Ilario and Leopoldo in 1877 near Florence, winning medals at prestigious European wine fairs as early as 1895. The company passed to the Folonari brothers in 1913 and by 1916, Ruffino had been appointed the official wine supplier to the royal Italian court. Over the years, the family has added a number of properties including Santedame in Chianti Classico and the Montalcino estate. In 1994 they purchased LodolaNuova to produce Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and la Solatia for the production of Tuscan white wines.

Susan Desjardins, intrepid traveler, visited two VQA Ontario wine regions and three fledgling wineries to bring you a peek into the future. You can get ahead of the curve by trying these wines now, before they become mainstream. Susan’s tasting notes follow. Lailey winemaker, Derek Barnett, sat with Vic offering a number of his recent bottlings from 2008 and 2009. Vic’s tasting notes follow.

This logo and The Invisible Ribbon Campaign is a public, grassroots demonstration of support for Canadian military personnel and their families. The clear plastic lapel ribbons, fastened with a Canadian flag, symbolize the 'invisible uniform' worn by spouses who are part of the military way of life.

He began, “The world doesn’t need another Chardonnay.” That answered the question most of us were asking in our mind—why put up barriers to people drinking your wine by using grapes most wine drinkers haven’t heard of and can’t pronounce. And we’re not talking Viognier or Gewürztraminer; it’s Agiorgitiko, Moscophilero and Assyrtiko.

It’s a pity there’s a challenge finding these wines, and it’s not because they’re expensive or sell quickly. They occasionally filter through the LCBO, quietly purchased by canny wine lovers. Wine critics Robert Parker Jr. and Jancis Robinson rave about them. At least one deserves a spot on your wine-tasting bucket list.

The following wraps up a tour and tasting at nine carefully chosen Victoria, Australia wineries. The first four—BlackJack, Blue Pyrenees, Mitchelton and Stonier were published in the Victoria, Australia feature with the February 20 issue of winecurrent.

The purpose was to discover and share with subscribers tasting notes and comments regarding wines from small and medium-sized, possibly lesser-known, cool-climate wineries producing wines with finesse, sense of place, complexity and structure. The final five follow.

Australia – As a global wine exporter whose image is dominated, many argue tarnished, by commodity wines marketed at low retail prices, one might think the will or the ability to make fine wine has been lost or abandoned. Most argue these mass-produced commodity reds have no sense of place, finesse or structure. Vic’s there now, tasting and reviewing wines from smaller cutting-edge wineries in lesser-known wine regions—in the previous winecurrent issue it was Tasmania. If you missed it - Read it now. Those from Tasmania and the following from Victoria, are producers who are part of the movement toward cool-climate, terroir-driven fine wine that showcases balance, flavour and structure.