06
Oct
2010
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
This afternoon it was an Italian wine lovers wet dream as the big names in Amarone came to town for the first ever appearance of ‘Famiglie dell’Amarone d’Arte. The Italians are known on American shores for the 5 families (that is in thanks in no small part to the Godfather movies), but there are 12 families that make up this group from the Veneto region (where Amarone is king and where Valpolicella and Ripasso also play a part). The goal of these families is “to establish fundamental guidelines that will ensure Amarone remains one of the world’s most iconic wines.” Today they took that message out to the media and masses of Toronto (at the downtown King Edward hotel) and while many in attendance didn’t need the reminder it is always good to be re-introduced to old friends.
6 wines seemed to stand out from the 26 that were poured this afternoon – 3 bubbled under the 3 best – here are the wines, with a little snippet about each house that makes it (as taken from the tasting book): (to read about my top 6 click here)
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
05
Oct
2010
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
The Venue: Real Sports Bar near the ACC (Air Canada Centre) in downtown Toronto … this is not only a premier sports bar, it is THE premier sports bar, the best in North America, according to ESPN. TVs hang everywhere, including 3 in the bathroom (though there is none behind the door of the stall, thank goodness, or you’d be there all night).
We’re up on the second floor overlooking the bar below, it’s 3 in the afternoon, so there’s golf, soccer and some replays from last night’s sporting events on the televisions – plenty of talking heads are mouthing words on silent screens. It is an amazing sight to see the entire wall move in this way and I suspect during a real sporting event this place just becomes electric … a sport-watchers dream come true. So what is Stem doing here holding their annual portolio tasting? Robert Tome, one of the partners behind the Stem Group, has his reasons, all of them good … and that’s all I’ll say.
The Wines, in general and a Word about Beer …
There are approximately 135 wines on hand this afternoon/evening, along with 7 grappas and 4 beers. I don’t drink grappa, I have enough hair on my chest and I’m not looking to put any on my back; but I can tell you the beer is delicious. It’s from a company called Birra Bruton in Italy. You don’t usually think of Italians for beer but these truly are special, especially the Belgian style “Birra Stoner” (sweet and fruity with a touch of spice) and “Birra Lilith” an English Pale Ale Style beer that’s hinted with caramel and coffee flavours.
As for the wine, there were many good ones in the room; I’ll point your attention to those that ranked 4-stars (very good) and above, including the bubbly that topped my list for wine of the night ... (too see my selections of the night click here)
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
