Unfussy Wine Enthusiasts | Wine Reviews & Articles

So.... we are a little bit late on this wine review. To be precise, we are 6 years, 11 months and 1 week late.  Yes, you read that right.  We received this wine in good faith from a PR Firm in Toronto for review in early December of 2013. We totally and unequivocally made a mess of this for them but in our defense we had a three month old at the time and it absolutely fell off our radar and then got locked in our cellar to only be pulled out for the Joe Biden / Kamala Harris 2020 election victory in the US today.  To Michelle at the PR Firm.... our deepest apologies. So, what should have been reviewed as a likely youthful and crisp Sauvignon Blanc sparkler is now and bottle aged wine that has been stored quite well since we received it. The original notes we received in support of the wine make note of the following: "Brilliantly clear and almost pale straw in colour, the bouquet of this wine is an elegant mélange of tropical fruits, lychees, green peppers, pineap...

We have to admit to having missed this on CollegeHumor.com but it is a good one.  The gist is that wine experts are faking it and can't tell anything more about wine than anyone else.  For the most part we agree with that statement.  Wine is a highly complex and subjective thing and in no way do we consider ourselves experts in what's right for someone else.  Everyone likes what they like and Chris learned that lesson firsthand at a recent holiday party where he tried to "show" someone why a particular wine was lesser than others.  Boy, was that a bad idea and really stupid to boot.  Who the hell are we to tell anyone that something is not as good as something else? It is UNFUSSYwine.com after all, right?  Lesson firmly learned and wine snobbery has been banished from the kingdom yet again.  Regardless, a video is a good reminder to leave the superiority complex at the door and just enjoy the damn wine. Give it a watch, it is good humor. ...

This is a great series and if you love tasting wine it is super interesting to watch wine professionals struggle with blind tasting wines. Previous seasons had comedian Sean Cullen as host. We particularly enjoyed the comments in the YouTube episodes from folks who were the opposite of unfussy about their wines and Sean's hosting ability. Some people sure are funny, especially Sean Cullen, for the record. It epitomizes the problem with pretentious wine people. Puke... This season's host James Chatto does an admirable but predictable job with managing the wine tastings but there's little in terms of spark or pure entertainment. The Wine Academy in Toronto is the location of the series and it looks absolutely stunning. Give this season a watch when you get the chance. It was excellent to see the wines chosen and how the experts did. It's a fun exercise for your own wine tasting parties as well. Keep on tasting, Chris & Shannon

So, this video from Whitney Adams gave us some pause. We have built a Wine Blog and a Brand around tasting wines and scoring them. There is a lot of legitimate points here, but fundamentally the scoring should never be the focus. It is an aspect of what we taste but we are not you nor do we have your palate. You might love Sauternes or have a passion for Sparkling Wine and we respect these wines immensely and will drink these wines regularly but we would be hard pressed to present either as 100 point wines because our palates aren't shaped to "love" these wines blindly. We will like them, maybe even a lot, but our personal preference and biases will always play a role in how we score something. Now, we tend to be fairly hard-minded when it comes to scoring wines so if we do score it in the 90's it's really something special in our minds. Typically, for us, a wine registers in the 80's most times but that is OUR take on things. We agree in principal with Wh...

Our good friends at Ora TV brought this episode to our attention. We have been following the Brown Bag Wine Tasting series regularly. William Shatner is a Canadian legend/hero/genius and on and on it goes and for him to do a wine tasting series in this format is amazing. So awesome and if you only watch the episode below you are really missing out. One of the unique parts of the show is he asks guests to describe wines without using wine lingo and using words from the guests area of expertise. You'll see what we mean in the episode. His guest below Ray Isle  is the Executive Wine Editor for Food & Wine  and also the co-host of a PBS show that we REALLY loved called  Vine Talk .  If you've never watched THAT series you are also missing out. Ray co-hosted with Stanley Tucci and it is a really cool look at wine and wine tasting with some famous guests (but that's another post for another day). Other than being an entertaining episode in general, Ray talks about...

Courtesy IMDB.com This movie has been on our radar for a long time.  It originally came out in 2012 on the festival circuit in the US.  Nearly immediately it gained a cult following from wine enthusiasts for a couple of reasons.  First, there are few really strong documentaries about tasting wine out there.  Second, the reputation and mystery surrounding the Court of Master Sommelier exam and how hard it actually is. If you've never heard of this exam this movie will get you up to speed fast and it delivers a strong explanation of the requirements to take the tests and what it means to truly prepare for all aspects but especially the dreaded/beloved Tasting Exam.  The shear volume of information that needs to be consumed and remembered is astounding.  The theory test covers wine, spirits, beers, and cigars from around the World. There is the tasting exam and finally a formal dinner service to go through. If you have an interest in tasting wine and h...

We just completed a great weekend of wine at the 2014 NSLC Port of Wines Festival . We were fortunate to be able to pour some wines for both the afternoon and evening sessions of the Friday show. It was our first time pouring at the show and it was a super fun time. We were volunteers for Mer et Soleil a local wine importing company and had a very interesting time pouring some very interesting French wines. Shannon poured the Terraburdigala Roc de Jean Lys (70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc) and Thienpont Bordeaux White (75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillion). I was lucky enough to pour the Brut and Rose from the Deutz Champagne House  as well as the Famille Bougrier Muscadet. The crowds were very enthusiastic and lively and pouring these wines for them was really great. Friday afternoon was a lot of hospitality industry staff along with some folks who are making a day of things whereas Friday evening was much busier with a more 'traditional' crowd of wine lovers an...

Wine Times at Simi in Sonoma With the Summer season coming soon winery tasting rooms around the Northern Hemisphere will be inundated with wine fans and tourists looking for the next gem in their cellar and/or glass.  So when you look at what it takes to run a winery, we get it, it's expensive and more importantly you don't want your tasting room to be considered a singles bar (does anyone even use that term anymore?).  We empathize with the winery owner trying to walk a very fine line. Plus we should say right off the top, if you are in a jurisdiction where charging for tastings is mandated then this totally doesn't apply to you.  It is what it is and let's move on.  However, if you're not, we beg your indulgence to hear us out as consumers (and we know you've heard it before). Different winery, different policy.  That leaves a bad taste...figuratively speaking. We've been to different wine regions across North America and in each region there are...

Happy New Year!! So, it has been a pretty dry 2013 overall in the Unfussy Wine household with baby arriving but we are hoping that 2014 will bring a new commitment to wine enjoyment and solid food for little Morgan. :) We will be spending a very quiet New Year's Eve (NYE) as a family and we may make it to midnight and then again we may not.  There is also no guarantee that wine of any kind will be consumed....but ya never know. So, for all those who will be enjoying the transition to 2014 in style we thought we would put in front of you our Ten Ten Wines to go with you tonight as you enjoy your celebrations.  PLUS, if you are attending at a residence that is not yours it is always polite to bring something with you and yes we are talking to you twenty-somethings.  Be a good party guest and don't just BYOB.  So, without further adieu, the list starting at 10: 10. Aussie Shiraz - this is a great starter red for those white wine drinkers in the house and very...

This post is way overdue considering we attended the Festival on September 28th but such is life.  We absolutely relish attending this event each year.  In fact we have attended every year since we returned from living in the US in 2005.  This year's event was VERY different for us.  Our son was born at the end of August which made it a very challenging decision to attend. Shannon was torn about leaving him with his grandmother right up to the week before the Festival.  So, once she decided that it would be a go I went and purchased our tickets to the Saturday afternoon Grand Tasting which is by far our favorite session to attend.  It is always busy but it is during the day and you tend to find it a manageable crowd versus the evening sessions where, let's be honest, it becomes partly a nightclub.  When we were in our 20's that was absolutely a plus...not so much now. So, tickets are purchased and not two hours later the phone rings and a nice l...

We are considering making an appearance at this year's NSLC Port of Wines Festival which is featuring the wines of Italy.  It really is the most wonderful time of the year.  However, should we decide to attend, it will be a vastly different experience from previous years.  Lots of sip/spit/dump....and while that makes us sad in a lot of different ways we will undoubtedly have a better tasting experience and our babysitter and child will also appreciate that. It brings up an interesting question. We have sampled a good number of different wines over the last few years (especially at this festival).  Many bottles, grape varieties, regions, countries and on it goes.  We don't consider ourselves wine snobs by any stretch of the imagination but we have begun to develop certain, shall we say, preferences.  These preferences are not really a price equation but more a quality equation.  We have been kinder than most to some wines but we feel like ther...

Shannon's first wine review post-birth of our son Morgan.  He is a healthy baby boy and she wants to keep it that way so she is having a minimal glass between feedings.  To her it is a moral victory to be back in the land of wine tasting. It's good to have her back even if it is on a part time basis.  Hopefully, our volume of reviews/posts will start to increase again.  Thank goodness the pressure is off of me....whew. We purchased this wine while she was on the bench at Cristall Wine Merchants back in late-Winter or early-Spring.  We love Mencia so we bought this one and another from the Bierzo region which we will review at a later date.  This one is from the Castilla y Leon region in the NW of Spain not far from Bierzo. While we would probably consider this a medium bodied wine but it would be on the heavier side of medium.  This is a pretty dark wine and we would call the colour crimson with a mahogany rim around the edge. The body kind o...

We love touring wineries.  We love tasting the wines, walking the vineyards, and talking to the staff.  The setting is almost always spectacular...and if your really, really fortunate you might get to do things like barrel tastings and talk with the winemaker.  As we have stated previously we prefer it when tastings are complimentary.  We do understand why some wineries choose to charge for their tastings, but having it be waved when the customer buys wine makes much more sense.  Tasting rooms are not bars but it is certainly a place where a product is better sold when you can taste it and get the back-story of the wine.  Our take is that is a better experience when free or with very few strings.  Then again, we don't own a winery.....yet. Back to the tours. We like doing these tours in a self-guided way (though responsibly when it comes to drinking and driving).  Taking our time and figuring out what we like and getting a feel for the place...

In trolling the Internet for our daily inspiration on wine and the wine business we saw an article on a fellow wine blogger's site the Wine Curmudgeon .  The gist of the article was that wineries could be helping themselves if they realized that most wine consumers are under-educated about the product they enjoy and that they need to make the selection decision dead easy for the average consumer and not worry as much about things like appellation and vintage.  At least that is what we got out of the article, and frankly, we can't argue too much about that.  That said, the comments below the article were interesting.  There were some wine folks who took great exception to the fact that anyone would consider 'dumbing down' things like terrior and vintage to promote wine to consumers, many of whom don't even know what those words mean.  Given the fact that some of the comments were so diametrically against this that we just had to submit our own (and we quote): ...

This is not our family (or anyone we know for that matter), but they sure do look happy... As we have stated we are soon to be new parents and with that comes more lifestyle changes than we can even imagine.  Diapers, sleepless nights, doctor's appointments, and the list goes on and on.  Going from being married for a long time with no kids to having a baby in the house will be, shall we say....an adjustment. But, it also brings with it changes to our cherished wine tasting (and we mean that in the best way possible).  We will need to figure out how to enjoy wine all while still trying to be civilized parents. Now all the seasoned parents out there are probably either rolling their eyes in a 'gimme a break' kind of way or nodding in agreement.  There are enough products and images on web to prove our point that the changes that come from being a parent are all-consuming (which we know already) and that wine drinking quickly takes a back seat to cleaning up s...

We rush everywhere we go.  We rush to and from work.  We rush through our work and our lives.  What we need to do is take time to stop and enjoy and really taste.  An after-work glass of wine goes way too fast, especially when enjoyed with friends. So, how do we slow things down when we can't leave work at work and the demands of family make it more and more difficult to shut down the transactional part of our brains?  Smartphones are going off while dinner is being prepared and the wine is being poured. We would like to say we are able to rise above all that and put time and attention towards tasting wine but that would be a lie.  Just like everyone else when it comes to taking time to truly enjoy the wine tasting process, the interruptions and distractions pile on.  That said, we have tried to take this blogging thing seriously and truly put our best and most attentive foot forward when it comes to reviewing wines.  There is a Slow Food Mo...

MyNSLC.com We attended the Saturday afternoon Grand Tasting at this year's Port of Wines Festival put on by the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation.  It is an annual event that we absolutely look forward to each year.  Who are we kidding?  Let's just call it what it is...it's our Christmas.  The event had modest beginnings back in the Nineties will less vendors and a smaller venue.  It is now an extremely successful event with a featured country/region each year.  This year's focus was on Chile.  Ten tables of Chilean wines that we were really looking forward to as it is such a value driven wine country.  Check out the full Event program here  (note this link might disappear someday). The weather was not cooperating with a lot of rain but the kind staff allowed us into the entry area of the Cunard Centre so we weren't drowned rats.  Bravo!  The layout of the room is tasting tables around the edge of the large room with tasting stat...

cancer.ca This has been a very tough week for us here at UnfussyWine.com. You may have noticed for the past few months that our weekly volume of posts and wine reviews has gone down some compared to the Spring. Well, we have been dealing with a very private and personal situation which has unfolded over the Summer.  Chris' Mom passed away last Friday from Stage 4 Metastatic Lung Cancer at the age of 68.  We were treated so fantastically by the medical system here in Nova Scotia from the Oncology staff to the Palliative Care staff and their jobs are NOT easy.  Over the last number of weeks, we were able to spend time together as a family and to be there for her as she went to treatments right up to her passing which was peaceful and quiet and filled with love.  We could not ask for more in a situation such as this.  That said, she has left a huge hole in her family and her community and we are left to try and find ways to make sense of the los...

So, we are watching this WSJ.com video about the ' Wine Ghetto ' in Lompoc, California (not sure how we feel about the name - but whatever). There is an industrial park with blocks of tasting rooms for wineries that do not own vineyard acreage. They have purchase agreements with vineyards to buy grapes or may even purchase bulk wine to re-brand. These are very different business models as compared to Estate Wineries where the grapes are grown, pressed, and fermented on-site. As we reported earlier in the year , the 2011 Wine Spectator Wine of the Year from Kosta Browne is made in the same model.  No vineyards, light on any fixed equipment, and great wine is the result.  But, is there some thought around it not being totally 'legit' because it wasn't made on an Estate?  This kind of also pulls in the snoot factor argument.  Is it snooty to think that a wine should be grown and made in the same place?  We certainly think it is.  Howeve...

Courtesy NSLC We have been talking about Wine Events and how much work they can be as an attendee.  You need to get tickets, have a transportation plan, fight the crowds at the tables, find a place to taste the wines that you can actually discuss them.  That is not as much a complaint as it is the reality of trying to enjoy wine events.  It really is a lot easier and a lot more fun than we make it out to be with the above list.  Each year we attend the NSLC Port of Wines Festival which we find to be a blast and we have also attended some in-store events at local private wine retailers (read our notes from January here ). The Port of Wines Festival has always been a great event to us but then again we are die hard fans.  We really make a day of it.  We have usually attended the Saturday afternoon session as it allows us to enjoy the tasting and then have some fun in the evening (maybe not so wine related).  The evening sessions tend to be a littl...