Vietti 2014 Perbacco Nebbiolo

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Vietti’s Perbacco Nebbiolo is always a crowd pleaser. If it were possible to describe a bottle of Barolo as “feminine” this would be the bottle you would use.   Because of that it has always been a favourite go to wine for us to use to showcase the depth of Barolo to new wine enthusiasts, or to celebrate the beautiful flavours of Piemonte with a little instant gratification, and only an hour or two of decanting!

Perbacco is made from blending wines of 11 of Vietti’s 15 Cru Single Vineyard Barolo Sites.  In the winemaking process owner/winemaker Luca Currado carefully crafts his Continue reading “Vietti 2014 Perbacco Nebbiolo” →

Vietti – 2012 Barolo Lazzarito Wine Review

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This brief note does not do this wine justice…  I will dive more into the rich history of this vineyard in my upcoming Barolo blog.

An incredible wine that needs more time to soften, however the notes are incredibly intense with dried roses, violets, thyme, rosemary, sandalwood, oolong tea, dark wet slate, dried cherries, dried cranberries… I could spend hours picking it a part. It is stunning. High acid, high tannin, medium body, with a long finish of bold but refined flavours that layer beautifully upon eachother.

Do not rush with this wine… No matter when you drink it.

 I will be putting away two for when my kids get married – lol they are 6 and 4…  A wine that could be drunk now, but you are doing yourself a disservice in doing so, as this has all of the signs of stunning things to come!  

If you do crack it open early… Be sure to serve with a high fat, high protien dish such as braised beef ravioli in a mushroom cream sauce.  If you can be patient… A truffle risotto 15-20 years from now will be a pure heavenly experience.

Currently Retails for Approx $270 CAD at Bin905 Wine and Spirits

“So I want to learn how to taste wine… What do I need?”

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So you want to learn how to taste wine? First of all, congratulations on an excellent choice of a fabulous hobby! I may be a little biased, but clearly wine tasting is an exercise that I enjoy more than… pretty much anything! What was once a hobby, turned into an obsession, and after formal training, became my career.

But I digress…

Many people feel that they are incapable of picking out flavours in wine. When you read the back label of a bottle that lists notes of peach, lychee, and lemongrass… then take a sniff and a swig and fall short on getting well… any of that… it  can be easy to feel discouraged and assume that something is wrong with you and your palate.

I am here to comfort you… because this is often not the case.

Continue reading ““So I want to learn how to taste wine… What do I need?”” →

Wine Review: Presqu’ile Santa Maria Pinot Noir 2013

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Pinot Noir Lover? Or feel that Pinot Noir is too light? I have a find for you!
Fabulous ripe style Pinot Noir for those that normally feel Pinot is too hollow!  
Medium plus nose of red cherry, thyme, smoke, cedar, unripe black plum, leather, and hint of earthy mushroom (brought out by the lamb loin pairing we had at Teatro during our latest tasting dinner) – this is on the menu by the glass at $24 or bottle at $120 or can be found through retailers in Alberta by searching Liquor Connect
For a Pinot Noir, this is intense on the palate. Dry, but with ripe fruit, medium fine tannins, medium alcohol, medium body, and a lovely lingering finish with flavours of cherries, moss, thyme, smoke, cedar, and black plum. Would be great with bbq, and was easily intense enough to stand up to our lamb loin stuffed with pine nuts and herbs!

Cheers!

What makes it Prosecco?

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Prosecco is a simple usually fully sparkling (Spumante) wine made in Northern Italy around the Veneto.  Predominantly made from Glera, with a small percentage of other varieties permitted in a blend – Prosecco is Italy’s largest individual wine region with nearly 35000 acres under vine.

Over 300 million bottles of this fizzy beverage are made annually… that is A LOT of bubbles! Continue reading “What makes it Prosecco?” →

Everyday Celebrating can be AMAZING – with Prosecco

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This past week we had the pleasure of being a part of The Amazing Airdrie Women Awards.  Every year this event showcases the incredibly talented, dedicated, strong, and generous women who inspire us all to be better people.  Together we got to pretend to be “Ladies Who Lunch” for an afternoon, and appreciate all of the good that is in this incredible group of people. 142 Amazing people… and I got to cheers to them all.

Incredible people need to be celebrated, and because of that Vine Life Wine Club was thrilled to toast the attendees with a glass of some of our favorite Prosecco. Continue reading “Everyday Celebrating can be AMAZING – with Prosecco” →

A Tale of Two Malbecs

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When most people think about Malbec, Argentina comes to top of mind.

But what many people do not realize is that the Malbec Grape – known originally as Cot, Cot Noir or Auxxerois, is native to an area in Southwest France known in modern times as the Cahors region

This area is located South East of Bordeaux  and in the grand scheme of things, has become somewhat of a little known region.  The wines that are produced here must be made with 70% Malbec, and allow a small amount of blending of the other Bordeaux Continue reading “A Tale of Two Malbecs” →

Review: Charles Smith Wines – 2014 Kung Fu Girl Riesling

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FROM RAGS TO RICHES

There is nothing that I love more than a great underdog story.  The rags to riches kind.  It takes enormous dedication and talent to be a self taught professional Winemaker.  Even more to go on and win NUMEROUS Winemaker of the Year Awards.  Old school thinking would say it impossible… but that is exactly what Charles Smith of Charles Smith Wines has done, and his Kung Fu Girl Riesling is largely to thank.

Time and time again, this beauty manages to land in Wine Spectator Magazine’s Top 100 Wines.  This is unheard of for a wine that typically retails for $12USD or $20CAD.  But when you taste it, it will come as no surprise.  This is INSANELY good value. Continue reading “Review: Charles Smith Wines – 2014 Kung Fu Girl Riesling” →

Top 3 Wines to Melt Your Cares Away

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It has been a loooong week for me.  Filled with excitement, and a tonne of hard work as I get closer to launching my new business.  At the end of it I find myself exhausted, and my mind spinning with a million and one different ideas.  With all of that spinning I recognize the need to take a time out.  A pause to calm my mind, and rest a little.  It’s at times like this that a bubble bath is just what the doctor ordered.

It’s pretty rare that I take the time to have a bubble bath.  I think like most busy women, it gets pushed off.  But really, I should do it more.  There is something about taking a pause, lighting some candles, breathing deeply, closing your eyes and soaking in a sea of scented bubbles that helps create calm and clarity.  Some people meditate, some exercise, if I can… I bathe.  No truly relaxing bubble bath experience is complete without a glass of wine.

Continue reading “Top 3 Wines to Melt Your Cares Away” →

How to chill your wine fast…

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We have all been there!  A long week at work, and you drive home dreaming about a nice glass of white wine, or better yet sparkling wine to end the day.  Only one small problem… you don’t have a cool bottle in the fridge, or you stopped off and picked up a bottle on your drive home.  Your bottle is warm… and you are thirsty!

Yes, you can put the bottle in the fridge and wait an hour for it to cool.  But you don’t have time for that, or just don’t want to wait.

Not to fret!  Here are my two favorite ways to chill down your bottle in under 25min Continue reading “How to chill your wine fast…” →