winefind.ca
If you want to buy a wine, just click on the wine name below and you will instantaneously connected with the LCBO database. The wine name will appear in blue and all you have to do is click on the name again and then the next screen will provide details along with the store search. Just click on the search. The number of bottles in each store is updated nightly. You should call the store first to see if stock still remains (each store phone number is provided).

It is the height of wine expertise. Love them or fear them, the Masters of Wine (or MWs as they are called) are a force to be reckoned with. There are only some 260 in the world and, when it comes to wine, they set the standards that separate the wheat from the chaff.

They come in all shapes and sizes, and more importantly gender. It was originally thought of as being a men’s only club. Just this month there was one more, Torontonian Igor Ryjenkov is the first resident Canadian to join this exclusive club. At 35 years of age, he is also the first Russian to be elevated to this status.

Those thinking that becoming an MW is a snap are quite mistaken. Only 260 Masters of Wine in 17 countries have passed the exams since its inception in 1953. The Institute of Masters of Wine is London-based and aims to produce outstanding wine professionals, not only with a great breath of wine knowledge, but also an extensive understanding of the wine trade. Many years ago when I first toyed with the idea of taking the program, I discovered that it was only geared for the UK wine trade. Today, the MW thrust has become much more international and useful.

Russian-born Ryjenkov received his Bachelor in Languages from Moscow Institute of International Relations in 1990 and immigrated to Canada in 1992. “I grew up with a beer and vodka background,” admits Ryjenkov, “and didn’t know anything about wine. I was initially skeptical when a friend told me that different wines had unique tastes. This universe of wine flavours soon became evident while attending a tutored tasting at Niagara’s Hillebrand winery in 1994. It wasn’t long before I joined the now-defunct Sommelier Guild of Canada and began tasting in earnest.

The hobby turned serious in 1996 after he enrolled in local Wine & Spirit Education Trust courses. He was top of his class for the higher Certificate and won a scholarship and passed the Diploma with honours. In 1999, he became a Vintages Product Consultant for the LCBO.

“The hard cost of becoming an MW is about $5,000 plus a lot of time,” say Ryjenkov. The first step is to get your wine diploma. Then you have to sit two sets of MW annual exams at $1,600 US apiece. For North Americans, these are held in Napa, California. There are three parts: written exams, tasting identification and a dissertation. Only 12 wines are tasted daily for three days. We might be asked to identify the grape varietal, origin, assess the quality, winemaking techniques and, in some instances, the vintage.

It is surprising to discover that there is no testing of MW palates for component threshold sensitivity or consistency. So while MWs are extremely knowledgeable, only the latter will truly demonstrate whether an individual is actually competent for international wine judgings.

Ryjenkov has recently returned to visit his brother who lives near Moscow and father who lives in southwest Russia. “The key question is whether the LCBO will be able to keep this new MW on their payroll. “I would like to get more involved with wine acquisition,” says Ryjenkov and is waiting to see what the LCBO is prepared to offer.

All three other Canadian MWs have flown the coup: David Lake, the winemaker for Columbia Winery, lives in Washington State; David Gleave, a wine merchant, lives in London; and Michael Palij imports Italian wines in Oxford.

Ryjenko has his own personal likes when it comes to wine. Chateaux Leoville Barton is one of his favourite Bordeaux. “It’s not that I don’t like Burgundy, I do – but Bordeaux seems to be more reliable in terms of quality transformation when aged. Right now, there is a great French renaissance in winemaking and you can expect to see better and less expensive wines emerging from the enormous Pays d’Oc region, which is many times larger than all of Australia.” He predicts that the next big wave might very well be Syrah from Argentina. As for obscure wines, Portugal is extremely interesting, albeit an uphill battle in terms of convincing consumers to venture forth and try these tasty unfamiliar varietals.

Make a beeline for Ryjenkov’s best buy J.P. Vinhos 1999 Tinto da Anfora (227256) a steal at $12.95 on the LCBO general list. This relatively unknown Prortuguese red is made from five indigeneous grapes grown in the Alentejo region. It was aged in for one year in small Portuguese oak and chestnut barrels. The result is a well balanced, tangy red that has refined cassis and ripe cherry fruit flavours, which linger beautifully on the palate.

Check out our winefind.ca tasting notes database

Our tasting note database goes back to January 1, 2001 and covers every Vintages release product for the past 31 months. There are approximately 5,000 notes in the database data. Just enter the name of the product, supplier name or CSPC number. Or you can search by type of wine, country of origin, even wine agent! Nothing could be easier. When you get your search results (starting with the most recent release), click on the item name and you will instantaneously connected to the FBTI Vintage Assessments database. You will see our tasting note along with the name of the agent. You can get information on the agent by clicking on the agent’s name. Also, you can check LCBO store inventory by clicking on Check LCBO Availability. It will automatically take you to the item you want to search.

To use our winefind.ca Tasting Notes Database: click here

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October 2003 InStore Discovery

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
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