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Too Good to Spit!
Discovering Lip-quivering Wines
in the Avalanche of Upcoming October Events


© Michael Vaughan 2002
National Post Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
 Saturday, September 28, 2002

October is one of the busiest wine months of the year – it is almost dizzying trying to keep track of the all the upcoming events. Figuring out which ones are worth attending is a bit of a crapshoot, especially some of the pricey wine dinners. When you are laying out some $150 a person (after taxes, gratuity and parking), it is nice to go home with the feeling that it was money well spent.

All this comes to mind because I recently received missives from a couple of grumpy fans. The first wasn’t too happy with one of the recent wine dinners where the first trio of wines was, using his words, “plonk, which can be picked up any day of the week at the local liquor store!” Fortunately, the restaurant sensing this shortcoming added a special wine at their expense. The moral, check out what is being served prior to committing. In addition, keep in mind that the larger the event, the more likely it is that the culinary side will sag. A wine dinner for 20 is much more likely to succeed that one for 100.

Another complaint came from a disgruntled reader (sadly one of many) who couldn’t get a ticket to the September 18th Australian Red Hot and Delicious extravaganza. I would have loved to have given an advance head’s up, but virtually no tickets were available. The reasons? Australian wine club members were in the front of the line and the venue was much too small to accommodate all who wished to attend.

Having worked the afternoon trade tasting, I can honestly say that this was one of the finest showings of Australian wines I have ever experienced. Unfortunately, the Steam Whistle Brewing Roundhouse venue with all the hyped up noise and exasperating brewery smells didn’t help dedicated oenophiles sift through the tidal wave of 300 plus wines on display at the 39 tables.

I must admit that I was also rather surprised to see the words for songs reproduced in the Australian wine catalogue, which suggested (in bold) “feel free to join in when you hear these songs.” Thankfully, no one within earshot started singing Waltzing Matilda or Red Red Wine. Under the best of conditions, even the most dedicated can only try a fraction in the allotted time. It is a shame that serious trade buyers were not afforded a better opportunity to taste these significant wines.

Indeed, feedback from those pouring at the jam-packed evening session was mixed. Some local agents who were squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder behind the tables felt that their pricier, limited-availability items were not getting the tasting window they deserved. “I might as well have just showcased my cheapest plonk,” muttered one importer.

Of course, there were still benefits to attending. I unearthed one the finest Shiraz I have ever tasted from down under. My lips quivered when sipping Western Range 2001 Accord Shiraz. It gets my TGTS Award (too good to spit)! This wonderfully complex, powerful and yet harmonious Shiraz is beautifully structured with rich, spicy, ripe blackberry flavours that go on and on. It is the kind of wine that makes one immediately reach for the chequebook.

Originating in the sun-drenched terroir of Western Australia’s Perth Hills, winemaker Mark Nairn has incorporated some special techniques including extended very slow maceration, the addition of 3% Viognier and the unusual albeit brilliant step of partial fermentation in barrel along with maturation in incredibly fine French oak. I understand that this 2001 is now sold out (the entire production was scooped by a Scandinavian liquor commission who offered twice the opening price). Prevedello Matthews will be responsible for future sales in Ontario (416-979-9153).

As for the avalanche of upcoming events, one can hardly keep up. Perhaps the most interesting is the Wines of Spain event on Wednesday October 9th which takes place at University of Toronto’s Hart House from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. It features an extensive collection of wines from over 40 producers. Tickets are $45 - contact the Arthritis Society at (416) 979-3353 ext 380. For details click here

There are also a number of special trade-only events for restaurateurs and professionals. The South Africa Trade Wine Fair, for instance, takes place on Monday, October 21st at the Ontario Club from 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm (call 416-591-7783 ext. 106) and promises to be a real corker. Of course, many attendees will be taking the early morning flight to New York on Tuesday, October 22 for the inaugural biannual three-day 2002 Vinexpo Americas. You have until September 30th to take advantage of Air Canada’s Fall & Winter Sale – an all-inclusive $351.91 NYC return. For information click here

This is a great window to visit the fair, attend some terrific wine seminars led by the world authorities and then enjoy a relaxing weekend visiting NYC galleries and restaurants (so as to comply with the compulsory Saturday night stay-over). There are 35 events, featuring everything from Robert Parker on Bordeaux to the wines of Mexico (see www.vinexpo.com).

As for fundraisers and auctions the list seems unending. Check out Eat to the Beat, which takes place on Monday, October 7th at Roy Thompson Hall. Top Canadian women chefs will present their culinary creations along with matching wines. Proceeds benefit Willow Breast Cancer Support and Resource Services. Tickets are $125 - call 416-778-6314 ext. 229. For information click here

A growing number of restaurants are also doing wine tastings. Casa Barcelona is hosting a series of excellent Spanish wine /food pairing events. The next focusing on Navarra takes place on October 16th at 7:30 pm. The cost is $75 – call 905-469-8409. To see all the details on this and all the other upcoming events click here

The Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada

Wine Book of the Month

Those wishing to bone up on the best of bubblies are advised to pick up a copy of the highly recommended Tom Stevenson’s Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide (2002 - 4th edition). I had an extremely difficult time trying to track this quintessential soft cover down, being unable to find a single copy in Toronto. It came out in February of this year, originally by a UK publisher and is now produced by the Wine Appreciation Guild in California. After I started harassing the Canadian distributor three months ago, it has finally shown up at the Cookbook Store at $24.50 (416-920-2665) The latter is now the pre-discount retail price in Canada, so ignore the $19.95 price printed on the back jacket which was obviously based on a stronger dollar. Note that Barnes & Noble is charging $19.96 US for it on their website!

This extremely useful 240-page guide provides you with comprehensive, recently-updated tasting notes by Stevenson, who is one of the best, independent, sparkling wine authorities in the world. His previous book Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling is another terrific, albeit slightly out of date volume (published in 2000) and is currently on sale on the Chapters/Indigo website at only $56.66 (regular $80.95). In fact, all books over $30 on the Chapters/Indigo website are now reduced by 30%! (For some reason they incorrectly stated that this book was published in June 2002 – it wasn’t and that error has now been corrected.) To order this book from Chapters/Indigo click here

Vintages October 2002 Release 
To see the complete list of upcoming products click here (sorted by date of release)
. It includes the number of cases, our agent ID for every product, as well as, special unannounced In Store Discoveries” for October. It also reveals which products have been presented for evaluation.
It is also available sorted by agent
click here  

 

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Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
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Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net