05
Aug
2009
- Details
-
Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
It’s time to “re-launch” a brand, and that can only mean doing it over a lunch. We met with winemaker Carlos Gatica Dlopp at Sharkey’s Village Café on Bloor West on this very rainy (so what else is new this summer) afternoon. The sad part of the “re-launch” is that I hadn’t noticed the brand missing from LCBO shelves, I thought it was still there – actually I think this was all about the need for a makeover. Santa Rita ‘120’ brand is a mystery to many – why is it called “120”? The brand is named after the historic events of 1814 when 120 soldiers took refuge in Santa Rita’s cellars during Chile’s Independence war against the Spanish. Rumour has it these soldiers were able to evade the Spanish army, get reinforcements and gain Chile’s independence. A brief synopsis is now on the label: “Honouring 120 patriots who helped lead Chile to Independence.”
The wines of the ‘120’ brand are stainless steel versions of their varietals (of which there are about 9 – with only the Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc available in Ontario) bottled under screwcap and released early to “preserve each variety’s fruitiness and natural aromas.” Truth is, I’m not sure I’m ready for a Cabernet that hasn’t seen oak (in some form or another) and neither is Santa Rita … the Cabernet, while made in stainless steel tanks, has wooden staves added to add some complexity. Today we tried a variety of wines from Santa Rita – including the two ‘120’ re-launches … (Read the reviews of the wines )
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
22
Jul
2009
- Details
-
Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
The morning threat of rain actually turned into a nice day, 20° partly cloudy with enough sun and breeze to make it comfortable. "This place is usually blisteringly hot this time of year," one patron said to me, "but because and this lousy summer …” his sentence trailed off as he took a sip of wine, “… delicious” he concluded. I suspect he wasn't talking about the summer. On the other hand, it was a delicious day full of wine, food, beer and a variety of other distractions at this year's 14th annual Fiesta Buckhorn. "I found the crowd to be lighter than last year," said one winemaker; while another winery owner said he thought they had the same traffic as in previous years. Just to break the tie I checked in with another winery principal who said, "I wasn't here last year and truth is I can't remember; seems about the same - but people come in waves ... here comes one now." She said walking to the center of her booth to greet a gaggle of glass toting folks (a gaggle is more than five but less than twelve).
I started my day off right, with a pulled pork sandwich at noon, from Archibald Estate Winery and a glass of their hard cider (apple). I asked Fred Archibald if he makes it himself and he told me it was with the help of a place called Buster Rhino’s in Whitby - a southern barbecue restaurant whose menu looks very tasty, especially for all those pork lovers.
There was a couple of new wineries on hand - (click here to see my wine selections, including wine of the day and a few pictures )
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
