Unfussy Wine Enthusiasts | Wine Reviews & Articles

So, we were pretty slack about getting this done considering we are over three weeks into 2013.  However, here we are with an overview of the top ten wines of 2012.  These may or may not be the top ten scores in order per se, but they are the top ten best and most memorable tasting experiences of the year.  Not to be morose, but 2012 was yet again another personally horrendous year with the loss of Chris' Mom in September being worst part.  We had lots of ups and downs but the wine did flow through it all and we really did try some great wines last year.  We were able to rate a LOT of wines and give most more than a passing grade.  2012 was the first year that our little blog garnered enough attention to be offered wine samples from some wine brands and we thank them for that.  We hope our opinions on your wines were fair and that you felt like it was worthwhile to have us taste them.  At the end of the year, we also came into possession of a ...

Courtesy Casella Wines and Decanter.com It has been reported this week that Casella Wines (the makers of Yellow Tail) have posted a $30 Million (Aus) loss for fiscal 2012.   Decanter Magazine reported that the company is in emergency talks with their lenders to extend the companies borrowing and financing options. This comes as a bit of a surprise given the overwhelming popularity of the brand across the globe.  The core issue for the company is the strength of the Australian Dollar these days.  The strong Aussie dollar relative to the US Greenback is making profitability for Yellow Tail which sells for less than $7 US on average. It is amazing to see the power of currency and how it plays a roll in the wine industry.  You don't think about that when you have a bottle of French or Argentinean or South African wine in your hand.  It makes a lot of sense that the price advantage for certain wine regions around the World is supported by currency. It is am...

We had mushroom lasagna for dinner so we wanted an Italian red to have along side and this one was the only one we had in the rack, so.....winner.  This wine comes in at $17 locally from Cristall Wine Merchants but we think it was on sale when we bought it. After a somewhat confusing online search for the winery we finally landed on the Wines of Puglia website.  The winery's website seems to have been forgotten by the company as the URL goes to an abandoned search page.  Either way, we now recall that the wine is made by the same folks who make the 12 e Mezzo wine which we reviewed last year . We are looking at this wine in the glass and other than being quite dark it looks to be thicker than it is in the mouth.  It has some pretty slow legs in the glass when you swirl it.  It is a nice looking wine but really has a fairly normal garnet colour. Gotta say, the nose on the wine is a bit of a disappointment.  We were expecting a bit more punch. ...

We saw this on WineBusiness.com and had to share.  Brightlighter Productions is located in California but if you know of a winery that might need a promotional video with some humour included (which many do), please pass it along.  We love anything that keeps the wine industry light and fun. Go and be Awesome...... Keep on tasting! Chris & Shannon

So, let's start off by saying that here in Canada we live in a highly regulated and controlled liquor environment where we are, generally speaking, at the mercy of provincial bodies to determine the majority of wines that we as the retail public will have access to.  That said, we have come a long way in the last 18 months with the FreeMyGrapes campaign to allow for cross-border movement of wine within Canada.  This is a work in progress but begins to move us away from the prohibition-era laws we have been previously governed by.  There are Federal and Provincial laws that need to be amended, though the Federal piece has largely been taken care of by the passing of Bill C-311 last year. So, in comparison to our American friends where there is a regulated but generally privatized liquor industry (though not in all states) our options and access to varieties of wine as consumers here in Canada has been somewhat limited (and pricey but that is a horse of a different col...

This is a wine grape that there is not a lot of origin information about.  It would seem from the name that this might have some level of connection to Cabernet Franc.  This seems to hold up in spirit as Jancis Robinson has mentioned it as "Cabernet Franc to Touriga Nacional's Cabernet Sauvignon".  That certainly is good enough comparison for us.  This grape is also known as Touriga Francesa which is not what is on the label so there you go.   Casa Santos Lima is a located 45 miles North of Lisbon and they grow (if the translation is correct) a whopping 50 different varieties in their vineyards (some of which are experimental). We were pulled in by the idea of it being a Portuguese version of Cab Franc but we also haven't seen a lot of single variety wines from Portugal.  Douro and Dao are red blends so this makes it doubly interesting. This is considered a medium bodied wine, but once you take a look at in the glass it seems like a bit fuller...

We saw this Infographic online and just HAD to share. This is soooo cool, well done WineFolly.com : NOTE: Click on the link below the picture to get their full post with a bigger frame if you can't read it.  You get a pretty good zoom when you click the image below but theirs is better for sure.   Original Source: Different Types of Wine If you take a few minutes to look, it is pretty thorough and a great resource for those interested in checking out the landscape of wine.  The detail is quite astounding.  It must have take a good amount of time to put together and then layout in this format. Keep on tasting! Chris & Shannon