Unfussy Wine Enthusiasts | Wine Reviews & Articles

The Holiday Season is upon us and we have been having some great wines this December. Including a lovely 2009 Etude Pinot Noir with Christmas Dinner. As part of our celebrations we received from Lakeview Wine Co. a Mommy Mix Gift Pack  which contains a bottle of 2011 EastDell Cuvée Brut and a bottle of 2016 Lakeview Vidal Icewine (plus a two bottle winebad to boot). It would make a great gift for New Years or anytime frankly and certainly doesn't need to be limited to Mommy's but hey let's give Mommies their due. Lakeview Wine Co. is based in Niagara-On-The-Lake (NOTL), Ontario which is one of our favorite wine regions to visit. This area is very popular as a wine destination in Canada but is still a hidden gem for many wine lovers. Now to the wines... We started our meal of turkey leftovers with the 2011 EastDell Cuvée Brut is a blend of Pinot Noir (55%) and Chardonnay made in the Traditional Method. The nose on the wine is very fresh with a bright citrus n...

New Zealand was the first table we visited at the 2014 NSLC Port of Wines Festival so our palates were fresh.  We have had good luck with Stoneleigh Wines and this one truly delivers.  The price point for Kiwi wines was a bit higher than in previous years but the quality of wines were very high.  Both the whites and the reds were very solid across the board.  This wine however, was a stand out among them.  It is not a typical NZ Pinot Noir in many respects but holds true to the region in others.  The one adjective that stands out for this wine overall is "Elegance".  There is a refinement that other Pinot Noirs just don't have. In the glass the most noticeable variance from typical is that the wine, though ‎still quite light, is a much darker purple on the colour wheel.  The wine remains watery and this looking as one might expect but if the picture does it any justice at all it should the purple that you can...

Another wine review and another apology. We were provided this wine by the team at National PR here in Halifax again almost two years ago.  Let's just say this wine has some time to bottle age.  So, thanks for the patience National PR team, we finally got to it.  It is $23 wine locally and very much a quality product when we have had it in the past. On the nose we get a LOT of floral notes, with a nutty vanilla undertone.  That is followed up quickly with a very nice cherries dipped in milk chocolate bouquet and finishes with a faint smokiness. Overall, it is quite complex. The look of this wine is in a word, light, and very typical of New Zealand Pinot Noir.  The transparency of the wine really shows your that it is Pinot Noir.  It has that c‎ranberry juice colour that normally comes with it.  As expected it is a thin wine on the swirl with quick legs.  Once again, typical. The wine is light bodied on the palate b...

In an interest twist of fate, we picked up this Romanian wine.  That's right Romanian wine on a trip to our province next door, New Brunswick. In an Alcool NB Liquor store we found a bunch of cool non-traditional wine country wines.  Greece and Austria were among the choices. This particular wine had a vinifera grape variety on the label and was $12.49 so we snapped it up. In a repeat of our recent Georgian wine review, the Oaks of Romania will be in the same Pool as Canada in the 2015 Rugby World Cup so the intrigue went up a notch. We poured a glass of the wine and immediately we knew we weren't going to be disappointed at our choice as it looked like pure Pinot Noir.  Light, thin, and watery.  The heartbreak grape looks to be a winner with cool climate Romanian Pinot Noir.  It is worth trying. The nose is full of plums and cocoa nibs, sharp little bits of raw cocoa.  Once you gets passed that it transitions into a bit of wood and...

So, wine blogging without Shannon is like playing in the big game with your star running back on the sidelines with a strained hammie.  Not a perfect situation by any means but you dig deep and play on. This wine was a purchase at the 2012 Port of Wines Festival where it stood out from the crowd with what we felt were strong flavours for Pinot Noir.  Well, there was some truth to that and some false memories.   The Ned from Marlborough is a nice version of Kiwi Pinot but there are some shortcomings. In the glass it is a fairly standard looking New Zealand Pinot which a light and clear colour profile with a thin structure.  Call it cranberry juice/strawberry kool-aid coloured maybe even a watery looking wine.  It is not unlike many that we have had from Marlborough so this has a similar visual.  It is a pale wine overall which screams cool climate Pinot. The nose is definitely Kiwi Pinot with loads of cherries and other berries.  The label say...

We have seen a definitely up-tick in the number of posts online covering Pinot Noir again. Could it be that the impending bursting of Spring has caused wine folks to shine a light on the lighter red?  Whatever the reason it is great to see.  Whether it be from France, California, Oregon, New Zealand, or Canada Pinot Noir is such a versatile and amazing grape.  When in cooler climates it makes a grassy and green tasting light red whereas when the growing season is warmer and longer it is a luscious and more elegant red (and darker). Seasoned wine writers like Steve Heimoff  are giving it more attention these days.  Plus, there is the everyday news coming out of the regions that grow Pinot Noir themselves like Oregon .  Makes us want to watch Sideways again...gotta check the listings and Netflix. So, in that light and given the fact we cannot wait for Spring, we wanted to highlight a few memorable Pinot Noirs that we have sampled over the last year whic...

Given the fact that there is a new initiative by our local Government to allow wines from other provinces to be imported for personal consumption, we figured we would give this wine a try.  This Pinot Noir from British Columbia is very unique.  It is closer to California Pinot but that comparison doesn't do this wine justice.  It is definitely a warm climate wine with a dark look and a seriously hot nose. As a Pinot Noir when compared to all the French and Kiwi versions we have tried this is not even on the same planet.  It is dark with a slightly thin look but is much closer to a medium bodied wine.  This is another wine that swirls and sticks to the sides and comes down slow, but at 14.7% no shock.  The colour is a deep red and not even close to reminiscent of "normal" Pinot Noir.  Lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon yes, but not that dark either. This wine has a lot of complexity in the nose with an earthy base full of mushrooms and dirt la...

We were provide this wine from Baron Philippe De Rothschild  and recently also reviewed the Merlot .  We have had a lot of Pinot Noir this year from all over (mainly New Zealand) which has led us to decide that we like green and grassy Pinot.  The fuller bodied fruity Pinot Noir (like California or BC) is nice but the vegetal notes are where it is at for us.  Though the Wall Street Journal did put out an article called What Happened to New Zealand Pinot Noir?  which outlines the challenges Kiwi wines have on the world market.  All of which makes sense.  That said, we still like this wine. This wine looks like a Kiwi Pinot in the glass.  It is very light in body and colour and at 12.5% is right where we would expect this grape to be.  There does not seem to be a lot of French Pinot Noir in this price range ($14 locally) that follows the lightness that the Kiwi versions do.  Overall, it looks nice and reminds us that Pinot Noir is a ...

This wine was provided to us and it is the red companion to the Sauvignon Blanc we tried about a month ago.  Check out our review of that wine here . This wine was opened about 15 minutes before we drank it and immediately it had very little in common with most of the Kiwi Pinot Noirs we have seen of late.  It is not the light and grassy smelling version we are used to drinking.  This wine is dark and smells big and beautiful.  We have seen Pinots like this from California and maybe France but not from NZ....not like this. Bottom line, the look of this wine is much, much darker than the usual Pinot Noir from New Zealand.  This wine from Central Otago, is cherry red with a slight amount of transparency but is not light in colour.  Super unique compared to the norm and super interesting. The nose is fantastic on this wine.  Exemplary.  Reserved in some ways but very much a fruity and robust smell with blackberry and plum but with a fragran...

We started drinking wine as a couple in the late nineties and at that time we had, what we consider to be, a fairly unsophisticated palate (some might say we still do).  Back then we tended to enjoy the more typically popular wines.  However, beyond that we had an innate curiosity about what else was out there and we definitely went outside the popular selections.  That got us started down the road of enjoying wine...all wine and making us want to see what that next wine tasted like.  As we have always said, preference absolutely plays a role in your selections once you are in the aisles of the wine shop or liquor store and we were and are no different.  What IS different is what we preferred or gravitated toward when we hit the stores. Our earliest preferences revolved around oaky and buttery Australian Chardonnay, powerful Cabernet Sauvignon, and bold Shiraz also from Australia (price being a main contributing factor when you are young and broke - that is ...

We purchased this wine as a clearance sale item which was regularly priced at $25.49.  We paid $18 for the wine which on paper is a great deal.  We brought this and a number of other selections home from our local NSLC .  They are having a clearance sale on a number of wines many of which are at a significant discount.  Yay!! This Pinot Noir from Mud House Wines is produced in the Marlborough region of New Zealand.  When we opened this bottle there was a slight 'poof' and some light bottle smoke came out.  We decanted the wine for a few minutes but the first note we had was a very slight effervescence.  Not too sure if that was intentional or not but it did not seem to linger and it did not seem to overly affect the wine (i.e. it was not a bad bottle). The look of this wine is pure Pinot Noir.  Light in colour and body, it is exactly what we would expect when you pour NZ Pinot Noir in a glass, no more and no less. The nose is wher...

So, we were picking up some groceries and decided to get a bottle of wine to have with dinner.  We went to the NSLC Port of Wines store in Bedford.  As we walked the aisles a nice lady came over and asked us if we would like to sample some wines from Villa Maria in New Zealand along with some sushi.  She had us at sample but the sushi was a bonus. Behind the counter was Justin Harrison who is a Brand Ambassador for Villa Maria Estate Wines .  He is a Kiwi who recently relocated to Vancouver.  He gave us a great description of the wines and the efforts that Villa Maria is making in terms of sustainability in their production as well as the awards and accolades the winery has recently received.  Fascinating stuff and he defintely is a great Brand Ambassador.  So good in fact we walked away with their 2009 Pinot Noir ($24.99) and their 2011 Sauvignon Blanc ($19.99).  Though to be honest once we tasted the wines it wasn't a hard sell. We decided...

Not our regular selection So, let us start out by saying two things.  First, Champagne for our purposes here = Sparkling Wine in all its many constituents (typing one word instead of two = lazy).  Second, our consumption of fine French Champagne consists of one glass of Dom Perignon , half a bottle of Perrier-Jouet , and a few bottles of Moet-Chandon .  Other than that we are under-educated bubbly drinkers.  We have certainly had sparklers from California, Australia, Argentina, South Africa, and Chile.  We've had Cava from Spain and Prosecco from Italy. With all that said, in all those bubbles, we have never had an out of body experience when comes to Champagne.  Don't get us wrong, the Perrier-Jouets and Moets were an experience (and a good one at that) but we haven't seen our wow-o-meter go off the charts with bubbly.  Some of it is definitely preference but putting that aside we do note that a lot of sparkling wine seems to be missing balance....

We discovered Pepperwood Grove about 7 or 8 years ago in the United States via their California Pinot Noir which was an absolutely amazing wine for being $7 USD. It was one of those wines that stood out at that price point. We picked it up at our local outlet of The Fresh Market (a chain of gourmet markets on the East Coast of the US and an amazing shopping experience if you ever get the chance...so relaxing).  But back to the wine.  We later tried to find the wine again but alas this version only able to be found a couple of more times.  The next time we saw the Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir it was clearly marked as Chilean Pinot Noir and not nearly as good.  We have subsequently come to find out the shear size of the Pepperwood Grove brand as part of the Don Sebastiani & Sons wine conglomerate (which is huge).  The complexity of the wine belies the size of the company and its brands. The Zinfandel was something we tried in the US and remembere...

We had a great Saturday night dinner party with our friends Craig and Cheryl with homemade pasta and all the trimmings. We wanted to have one of our special collected wines and we made the decision to go with the 2002 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from De La Montanya in Sonoma. There was a lot of yeast cells in the wine and we stood the bottle up for a few days and then decanted the wine for a couple of hours. As a prelude we started with a 2007 Stonechurch Pinot Noir from the Niagara Valley. The Stonechurch was an excellent wine with a lot of body and structure for a Pinot Noir.  We really enjoyed the wine with its earthiness and fruit.  It was grassy enough to remind us of NZ Pinot but had that barnyard nose that Niagara is known for (and that is definitely a good thing).  At $20, if you can find it, buy it. The main event was the De La Montanya and after a decade it was a star for sure.  Once in the glass it was all mahogany with the aging front and centre....

The Wine Spectator's team of Editors and staff selected the 2009 Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir as their Wine of the Year. This wine has a release price of $52 USD. Now, this is not a wine we would readily run out and purchase, but the story of how the two partners came to attain this aware is super interesting. Dan Kosta and Michael Browne worked together as waiters at the John Ash Co. Restaurant in Sonoma (which we have ironically eaten at). They fancied the idea of owning and running a winery and began to save $10 each from their tips to go towards the first step in their dream. When they got to $1300, they had enough to buy a half ton of Pinot Noir grapes, a used De-stemmer/Crusher, and a Wine Barrel. From there they taught themselves how to become winemakers, with many mistakes along the way. Each year, they got a little better and got better at selecting the grapes to use. As self-taught winemakers they worked with one of the most difficult grapes to make good wine ...

Many people are Sparkling Wine drinkers on one day of the year only, New Year's Eve.  While we might fall into this category we definitely do not feel that the Bubbly is a New Year's only beverage nor is it a special occasion only beverage.  In fact, there are those who could not live without the bubbles and it is a wine that they consume quite regularly. Locally here in Nova Scotia, there have been studies done about what might work best for our climate and it turns out the Champagne region of France and our position on the planet have a lot in common.  This means we can grow grapes of sufficient quality and acidity to rival the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in France for their Bubbly. Furthermore, we have a few winemakers who are now trying the Methode Traditionelle (with the whole riddling of the bottles and whatnot).  So, we have started to see and may continue to see over the next number of years a plethora of Sparkling Wines appear in our local market....

The Holidays are upon us and with it comes a variety of meals and celebrations with family and friends.  This includes the obilgatory Turkey with all the trimmings (or Ham or Salt Beef or Brisket depending on your preferred way to celebrate).  So, the eternal question is what wine goes well with Turkey or Ham.  The first reaction is Whites with high acid (i.e. Sauv Blanc or Dry Riesling) or light Reds (i.e. Pinot Noir), or even Sparkling wines.  But, not so fast, these questions are not so easily answered with these wild generalizations.  The answer is, what really goes well with Turkey is whatever you like.  Now that said, there are reasons for the traditional wine pairings.  Light reds do go well with the lighter meats, where the flavour of the meat is not overwhelmed by the body of the wine.  But, what else are you eating with it?  Sometimes those side dishes demand a bolder wine (or not). Tonight's tasting was Sterling Viney...

We have had a number of Kiwi wines over the years and they have always been great.  The trouble is they are usually between $20 and $30 so they don't get consumed all that often.  Whether it is Spinyback, Opawa, Kim Crawford or Villa Maria or one of the many other great producers the wine is always great and usually quite memorable. New Zealand is known for Sheep, Rugby, Extreme Sports, and Wine with the latter being such a great export.  The big grapes in NZ are Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc (though they grow a number of varietals).  The Pinots are typically light in colour and usually quite grassy and green with notes of plum and strawberry.  The Sauv Blancs are normally crisp and fruity with strong tropical notes of pineapple and starfruit. So back to the original question, is the additional overall cost worth it?  We would love to see the overall price point be $5 - 7 lower but at the current prices we really do feel that wines from NZ d...

This evening's wine choice was a 2009 Meridian Pinot Noir from Napa and at $13.99 a pretty good value.  It was a nice wine, not anything amazing but for the price it was a solid purchase.  The wine had the typical Pinot Noir look with some transparency in the wine but the tastes were of vanilla and strawberries.  Not sure if there is Oak at play or not but we are sure that the wine has some unique characters that make it a good Monday night wine.  We enjoyed the movie Sideways like many other Wine Lovers and we were trying to find an appropriate quote to use, this one stood out: Jack: Man! That's tasty! Miles Raymond: That's 100% Pinot Noir. Single vineyard. They don't even make it any more. Jack: Pinot Noir? Miles Raymond: Mmm-hmm. Jack: Then how come it's White? Miles Raymond: [laughs] Oh, Jesus. Don't ask questions like that up in wine country. They'll think you're some kind of dumbshit, OK? To shamelessly steal an idea from Gary Vayn...