Michael Pinkus Wine Review - On the Road with the Grape Guy

Report from - Merry Edwards Tasting and Lunch ... June 2, 2010

22 Jun 2010

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

Merry Edwards came to town, do-dah do-dah. We drank wine and it was fine, oh-do-day-day. Could have drank all night, the wine tasted good today. Merry Edwards came to town, oh-do-dah-day.

Don’t usually sing a winemaker in or out of town but Merry Edwards seems a different sort and might even enjoy the serenade.

Merry has been a winemaker for over 37 years (and yes that is how to spell her name and the name of her eponymous winery – I checked the business card, twice, and the website). She started her own winery in 1998 after years of toiling for others – though to this day she still does consulting work for other wineries. Merry is one of those “focused” winemakers who specializes in a single grape … in this case it’s Pinot Noir. And the care she puts into the wine starts in the vineyard, “terroir includes the vintner,” the tutorial video told all assembled, and Merry repeated it personally a few times, “so that when the grapes get to the winery 75% of my work is done.”

In 2001, something funny happened on the way to making Pinot Noir; Merry and her husband Ken decided they needed a starter wine for winemaker’s dinner, so they did a one off of 120 cases of Sauvignon Blanc. People went crazy for it and so did restaurateurs who tried it. This was not something Merry or Ken expected, nor did they really want to get into the Sauvignon Blanc business, so they told people, when they were asked the price, the most outrageous price they could think of for a Sauvignon Blanc. As fate would have it people started to snap this wine up by the case, so their initial 120 cases didn’t last too long. Today they produce some 80,000 cases of Sauvignon Blanc, and it truly is delicious, and pricey. The rest of their wines are Pinot Noirs, except for one dessert wine which failed to make the journey to T.O. – hopefully next time.

The Wines … (out of 8 wines tried I picked three - find out what they were, and see the pictures)

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.

Report from - The Bolla Relaunch Dinner ... June 1, 2010

22 Jun 2010

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

Bolla is not a new winery, not by a long shot. It was established in 1883 and was the Italian wine to the stars in the 1950’s. It was mainly a family operation up until the year 2000 when the winery was bought by the U.S. based company Brown-Forman. In 2008 Gruppo Italiano Vini (GIV) bought part of the winery and in 2009, acquired it all – finally putting 100% of Bolla back into Italian hands for the first time since the late 60’s.

GIV, represented tonight by Stefano Puppini, has 14 wineries under their umbrella, of which Folonari is the most recognizable. GIV produces some 80 million bottles a year of which Bolla accounts for 15 million, that’s a sizable chunk.

So now, it’s time to bring handcrafted wines back to one of Italy’s most prestigious wineries – at least that is the message that GIV brings to dinner at Donnatello’s in the Yorkville area of Toronto tonight.

Now I could tell you all about the new direction being taken by the new Bolla owners, their philosophy and style differences, from their American counterparts, but it’s about what’s in the bottle that counts here, so let’s look there.

We started with the welcome wine ... (to find out about the wines, click here)

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.