wine

at the moment, my favourite red wine is the cabernet franc by pillitteri estates. the family reserve from 1998 is especially good. my favourite white wine is the dry riesling by peller estate. a very nice and light aperitif wine. these are both Ontario wines.

wine of the month

january 2002

this month i'm trying a 1999 south african shiraz / merlot blend (percentages not indicated on the bottle) by "riders valley". it's from the paarl region and is described as being a deep robust red wine with hints of spicy peppers and berry tones. to be enjoyed with a wide variety of meat dishes, cheeses or pastas with tomato-based or strong sauces. i had a taste of this a few days ago and my fist impressions were very good. i had had some other wines that night so my taste buds were not prepped. i'll continue to sample this wine throughout january and let you know. but for now - i'd suggest you go out and try a bottle - it's really quite nice.

as i sample some more wines - and i assure you i will - i'll put up some reviews and my thoughts on the wines i try. hopefully i'll get some good wine links going soon.

other current top contenders for wine i like:

• fleur du cap - shiraz - south africa
• jackson triggs - meritage - ontario
• inniskillin - zweigelt - ontario
• masi - soave - italy
• pillitteri estates - cabernet sauvignon - ontario
• trapiche - sauvignon/semillon - argentina
• nederburg - merlot - south africa
• fleur du cap - merlot - south africa

my family is from south africa so naturally i have a tendancy to prefer those, however i am always trying wines from other regions. one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make is to always buy the same wine form the same region - then you get tunnel vision. expand your tastes - experiment. south africa does make some exceptional wines and they are only just being discovered due to import restrictions for many years. ontario is also starting to make some amazing wines and ice wines. give 'em a try!

red or white?

that is the question. some people will only drink red wine, or only drink white wine. i think this is silly as one must enjoy grapes from all over. there are many good red and white wines from all over the world. a red is no more comlex than a white.
wine links