Unfussy Wine Enthusiasts | Wine Reviews & Articles

We are definitely Rum lovers when it comes to our preferred spirits and so we were very excited to be invited to a Rum Tasting a few weeks ago by Celinda from Mer et Soleil at the Noble (Halifax's Secret Speakeasy below the Middle Spoon ).  We had never attended a formal spirits tasting before but we thrilled to check it out.  Upon arrival the owner led us downstairs (without asking for the secret password mind you) and through the kitchen, to an industrial door that opened into an amazing space of intimate lighting and shelves of old books.  Just beautiful.  We had heard of the place but never been, so it was great to finally check it out. Upon arrival we were introduced to Nicolas Villalon the Brugal Rum Brand Ambassador who offered up one of of three handmade cocktail choices; a Rum & Fever-Tree Tonic, a Rum Manhattan, and a Traditional Rum Daiquiri. Shannon had the Rum & Tonic and I tried the Manhattan.  Both handmade and both delicious.  I...

This wine was another of the wines provided to us recently.  We have tried a couple of Verdicchios in the last couple of months and this one is Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi.  According to Wikipedia, Castelli di Jesi, located around the commune of Jesi in the Ancona province, is the larger of the two areas for Verdicchio and tends to produce a higher volume of wine. When you know more about where a wine comes from it gives context to the tasting and we like context. This wine has a straw colour to it and has relatively slow legs in the glass.  That said, it is a very clear wine and looks like it should be a crisp wine when you hold it up to the light.  Does that hold up on that palate? We shall see. The nose is strong with apples and quince with a subtle citrus peel undercurrent.  We really like that.  The nose certainly stands out on this wine.  The apple and quince notes are fantastic which give it a New World smell. ...

McManis Vineyards Petit Sirah We were upsold this wine at our local Liquor Store by a staffer who seems to really know his stuff as being "the best $20 wine in the store". When you use that kind of language with us, it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull. We'll just see about that. Challenge accepted! Little did he know we have a soft spot for good California wine and we waited a little while before opening this one.  When we did, let's just say our skeptic minds were in full effect. Long story short....okay, he was right. The look of this wine like a Malbec when you pour it.  Very deep purple colour with a Welch's look to it and though it is that dark, it doesn't look thick.  The legs are speedy and it has a much more medium bodied look to it.  The colour makes it look interesting and we like that. Where this comes alive is the awesome nose as it smells like California.  That rural and floral nose transports us ...

Luckett Vineyards Phone Box Red   We were able to pick this wine up at Pete's Frootique in Wolfville last summer when they received permission from the NSLC to sell some of the Luckett Vineyards stock in store. We have had the wine before but it was interesting to see the value of hanging on it for an extra year.  The wine has a mixture of the following grapes Lucie Kuhlmann, Marechal Foch, Leon Millot, and Triomphe. The label speaks of having some dried grapes in the mix of this blend wine which is a fantastic idea for wines here in Nova Scotia.  We do not to a lot of vinifera grapes (i.e. Cab Sauv, Merlot, and the like) so our cool climate hybrid red grapes tend to suffer from thinness and astringency at times.  Some are really great but when you treat them to a bit of the appassimento treatment (think Amarone) you get a bit more richness and bodied from concentrating the juice and the flavours.  In proper balance and economic value it real...

We recently threw a family party and a friend of Shannon's parents brought a bottle of homemade wine that she said her friend Betty and her father made and they wanted an opinion from "A Professional". After that kind of introduction how could we say no.  While we may debate Betty's take on us being professionals, we figured we'd give it a taste and give an honest opinion on the wine. So, Betty and Betty's Dad, here it is our honest opinion: This wine is a Grenache - Syrah - Mourvedre Rhone blend produced by WineExpert  during their annual Selection release which is a limited edition release for their kits.  We made a Douro Tinto a couple of years ago that we have a few bottles kicking around and it was excellent.  So, the quality of the juice is there. The wine looks like a Rhone blend, which skews slightly to the lighter side of things, call it medium bodied.  Rhone wines are known for their elegant nature and that includes not being as heavy as yo...

We were kindly provided this wine by local wine agent Mer et Soleil .  Celinda from Mer et Soleil gave us a few selections from Italy to try and this was our first selection from the group.  At $14 locally we figured it was a nice price point. As a point of reference we use the term Chianti and Sangiovese interchangeably as Sangiovese is the main grape in the Italian blend known as Chianti. We sometimes find Chianti to be light and really tart instead of more medium bodied and the tartness can go to the point of bitterness.  That means we take a cautious approach to these wines when we buy them.  Cheap Chianti can equal bad Chianti pretty easily.  This wine is 100% Sangiovese and the good news is that is not the case here. Sangiovese can be light in colour and almost transparent in the the glass.  This wine from the Adriatic coastal Marche region of Italy (which is a very French name for an Italian wine region) is much darker than th...

Courtesy mynslc.com This was recommended to us by a great staffer at our local NSLC in Dartmouth.  We were told it was a richly delicious Rioja and at $17 was one of the best value wines on the shelf.  Well, he was right on all counts. This is an exceptional version of Rioja based on Tempranillo as the foundation.  It is dark and brooding in the glass with a garnet tones and is really thick (potentially from all the time spent in oak - with Crianza it is at least 12 months).  Where other versions of Tempranillo are lighter and thinner, this one is really neither of those two things. The nose is bold and spicy and wonderful.  It is totally a full sensation of coffee, chocolate covered cherries, and wood that shows the benefits of Rioja and oak.  There is also a balance of savory and sweet on the nose which is lovely and rounds out the tasting experience. The best way to describe the flavours on the wine are soft tannins with a suppl...