DIAMOND CREEK - NAPA'S BEST KEPT SECRET

It’s not a secret to everyone, but most mainstream California Cabernet lovers have never heard of them. This is beyond the level of Caymus, Cakebread, or Opus One. Stylistically Diamond Creek is in the traditional more Bordeaux-esque realm of Heitz Cellars or Dunn from Howell Mountain. They’re the OG California ‘Cult Cabernet’ and they’re one of my two favourite wineries overall in all the US. They’ve flown a little below the radar over the decades vs the mainstream big names in the cult cab world (Screaming Eagle, Harlan, etc). But Diamond Creek was the first exclusively Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in California, stared in 1968. They were always super refined, very Bordeaux-like. They never changed their profile or slipped into that jammy over-the-top style of the 90’s and 2000’s that Robert Parker loved at the time, which he made super famous by awarding wineries like Screaming Eagle his first 100 points ever….

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Sparkling Wine 101

You may have heard that Champagne can only be called Champagne if it comes from Champagne. This is true, and too often people incorrectly use “Champagne” as a blanket term to refer to any kind of sparkling wine. Champagne is specifically from Champagne, but there are several different styles of sparkling wine made throughout France and around the world. Here’s a very quick rundown on the main differences between the 3 main styles of sparkling wine.

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The Wines of Telmo Rodriguez

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Telmo Rodriguez’s wines. I rave about them often, and there’s usually at least one of his wines in any list of recommendations I make. But that’s easy to do, because he makes so many different styles of wine from around Spain: light, fresh, complex whites from Rueda, massive Tempranillos from Toro, crazy interesting field blends from Rioja, floral and sweet Muscat wines from the mountains of Malaga. I always refer to Telmo as a Terroir Hunter, of sorts, referring to the way he seeks out old abandoned vineyards across Spain to revive and make traditional style wine from. Telmo now farms 355 little vineyards totalling 80 hectares all around Spain, with 43 different varieties of native grapes. And it’s that context of how he got here and what he’s done for Spanish wine, coupled with how interesting and delicious his wines are that make him one of my favourite winemakers in the world. But we need to rewind a little to understand that.

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Natural Wine 101

As natural wine continues to gain popularity, more an more people are asking about it. It’s a bit of a complicated topic to explain, so I figured a primer on the whole realm of organic, biodynamic, and natural wine might be useful to help understand and put it all into context.

ORGANIC

Let’s start with the basics: organic wine. Organic wine is simply wine made without the use of any synthetics, anything un-natural. No chemicals, fertilizers, or other additives. But each jurisdiction has it’s own definition of what exactly is disallowed in it’s organic certification—you might have seen stickers on wine or food saying “organic claim not recognized in Canada”, etc. Some jurisdictions simply forbid chemicals or fertilizers, while others also forbid irrigation, cultured yeast from a laboratory, addition of acid, sugar, tannin, enzymes, or colouring agents that are popular in places like California. But either way, the main principle is: clean, organic growth and production with no added chemicals or synthetic fertilizers.

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At Home Wine Delivery

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So here we are. In our 5th week of self-isolation and quarantine. Everyone is staying home, making sourdough, creating Tik Tok accounts, and lining up outside grocery and liquor stores to maintain social distancing. Strange times indeed. If you don’t want to put on gloves and masks to lineup for grocery shopping, you can just have them delivered to your house…so why lineup outside the LCBO for wine? Let us keep you stocked up with great wine and contact-less delivery without leaving your home!

Check out our Home Delivery page for a rundown on Consignment Wine along with some FAQ’s, but essentially private wine agencies have been importing wine through the LCBO for direct delivery by the case to restaurants and private customers for decades. This is primarily where the restaurant industry gets all their exclusive wines that aren’t available at the LCBO. But this service isn’t only for restaurants. We’ve been providing at-home delivery of great wines to hundreds of customers in Eastern Ontario for years.

I’m realizing it’s been 6 years since my last blog post (yikes!), but now that business has changed with the pandemic, I can’t go out and meet with clients in person to taste or chat about wine, so I’m going to start writing about it here again. I will share stories about cool wines, do some live tastings and interviews, and send out weekly newsletters featuring some of my favourite wines that you can order.

If you’re already subscribed, you should receive these automatically, if you’d like to subscribe, just drop me a note in the Contact section and you’ll be automatically added. If you have any specific requests, please feel free to leave them there as well!

Cheers and stay safe everyone,
Andrew Rastapkevicius

The Beguiling Wines of Jean Bourdy, Jura

There are few places left in the world of wine that are producing something so traditional and natural as the Jura in France. When I visited a few years ago, we were all surprised at how insular the wine community is there, and how removed from the mainstream of French wine culture they are. Speaking with many producers and restaurateurs along our trip throughout France, few had much knowledge of Jura's wines outside of their famous Vin Jaune. Maybe because of the incredibly rustic profile of these wines, they never found their way into the favour of major critics or subsequently the mass market. But this incredibly authentic, quiet, almost back-woods enclave of France (about 60 min drive east from Beaune) is generally still producing their very unique style of wine the same way it was 500 and 1000 years ago.

Jean-Francois Bourdy in his family’s original cellar dating back to 1455.

Jean-Francois Bourdy in his family’s original cellar dating back to 1455.

Our visit was to Domaine Jean Bourdy, a benchmark producer in the Jura, and one of the 10 oldest family wineries in France. The Bourdy men have been making wine out of the same stone home and medieval cellar in the town of Arlay since 1475, and have back-vintages still available for sale from the 1700s! The main characteristic of Jura's winemaking is the intentionally oxidized vinification. Chardonnay and Savagnin are the white varieties grown here, but unless you're accustomed to Jura's vinification method, you might sooner think it's a glass of Sherry in front of you. There are some modern producers now producing a more contemporary style of Chardonnay that is very mineral driven and clean, but the majority adhere to the old school style. The reds are made the same way, but are an equal parts blend of Pinot Noir, Trousseau, and Poulsard. Equally blending the fruity, earthy, and structured components of each vareital. Then the wines age in large format 1000L foudre barrels for 4 years without topping up. When wine ages in oak it is always microxiding and a small percentage is always evaporating. This is called the angel's share. Most modern winemakers around the world try to avoid this by making sure the barrels are all filled right to the top every few weeks. This reduces the wines exposure to oxygen preserves the fresher fruit character that oxygen tends to deplete.

In Jura, they WANT this oxidation. They fill their 1000L barrels with Chardonnay and let them age without topping for 4 years on the Cotes du Jura, 7 years for the Vin Jaune. During this time they lose upwards of 30% of the juice to oxidation, but what they gain is an incredibly stable, age-worthy wine with a very unique character. This aging process is a little more akin to Sherry production in where a bacterial layer of yeast called "flor' develops on top of the wine, as a kind of thin microbial veil over the top of the wine that gives it's unique character and also protects the wine from total oxidation and spoilage into vinegar.

Jean-Francois Bourdy wanted to give us some context for how their wines are made, how they drink when released, and to show us first hand how ridiculously long they age. So we went into the original cellar of the Domaine, below their family home in the village of Arlay and tasted the current vintage of everything they produce, followed by an old back-vintage of each to provide some context.

We began with their 2008 Cotes du Jura Blanc, which is 100% Chardonnay and is their entry level white wine. But as the tasting would show, there is nothing entry level about this wine. The 2008 showed the typical Jura notes of funky sherry-like nuttiness, flor, pears, ripe apples with nice honied character and really zippy acidity. Such an interesting wine that drinks really smooth and fresh, but the nose is so interesting you don't want to stop smelling it! He followed this up with a 1955 of the same Cotes du Jura wine, 100% Chardonnay. To that point in my life, it was one of the oldest whites I've tasted, and I could never have guessed it was 59 years old! The acid and the fruit was still so vibrant, and had so much more life left, we would have guessed it was more like 10-20 years old.

Some back-vintage comparisons.

Some back-vintage comparisons.

Jean-Francois then did the same experiment with the Cotes du Jura Red which is comprised of equal thirds of Pinot Noir, Poulsard, and Trousau. Tasting the current 2008 beside a 1967 was eye-opening and impressive that such a light wine, which even fresh out of barrel in 2008 is not massively tannic or overly acidic, yet still tastes vibrant from 1967. As a climax to an already impressive tasting Jean-Francois showed us the current Chateau Chalon Vin Jaune beside a 1937 Chateau Chalon. Bourdy's website has a good run down on Vin Jaune and Chateau Chalon for those who are unfamiliar. Earlier in the tasting he had mentioned they had recently sold their oldest bottle of wine to a private customer in the UK, a 1781 Vin Jaune. We thought it surely would be past its peak, just an expensive keepsake...now having tasted the 1937 which was still so fresh even at 77 years old, it was entirely possible to believe a 1781 wine from Bourdy would still be alive and well.

Long story short, these are some of the most natural, traditional, and authentic wines still being made on earth. The only real change they made was experimenting with chemical and fertilizer use (as everyone did) in the 1960’s to 1980s, then going back to organics. They then took it a step beyond, getting biodynamic certification in 2005, convinced this is the best, most natural way to make their wine while continuing tradition. At Lifford we usually carry the Cotes du Jura Blanc ($36.99 x12) and Cotes du Jura Rouge ($39.99 x12) full time, and we place special orders for their Vin Jaune, Chateau Chalon and other special wines. Reach out if you’re interested in more information!

Pilgrimage to Domaine Weinbach

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Every wine lover has their 'Ah ha' moment. The moment you realize wine is not just booze, that there is something special happening in the glass that drives you to seek more. Mine came nearly a decade ago in a bottle of 1998 Tokay Pinot Gris 'Selecions de Grains Nobles' from Domaine Weinbach. At the time I had no idea the greatness I happened to be drinking, but it has stayed with me ever since. Because of this glass, then the many subsequent bottles that have followed through the years, Weinbach has become my wine Nirvana. I've been extremely proud to be able to sell these wines, as they are one of the highlights of our Lifford Wine portfolio, and for years I've been eagerly waiting to visit. The anticipation was finally realized this past January with what seemed like my personal wine pilgrimage when I visited the estate after Champagne while enroute to Jura.

Weinbach is not only one of the most important wineries in Alsace, but it might be the most important white winery in the world. Names like Trimbach, Zind-Humbrecht, Beyer, Hugel, Mann, etc are all very famous and produce great wines, but there is something special about the Weinbach wines that set them apart from nearly everything else in the world of aromatic white wines. Today the winery is owned and operated by the Faller women: the mother Collette and her daughters Catherine and Laurence. The home estate of Weinbach was first planted with grapes in 890 AD and was established as a monastery for the Capucin order of monks in 1612. The walled vineyard which includes their home and winery is known as the 'Clos des Capucins' and was acquired by the Faller family when all the religious estates were auctioned off to the public after the French revolution. Collette's late husband Theo was at the fore of increasing the quality and reputation of Alsatian wines and helped the movement to include Alsace in the AOC system and classifying the Grand Cru sites. When Theo died in the 1970s the women decided to carry on his legacy and bring the Domaine to greatness. In the years since the Faller women become some of the biggest proponents of biodynamic viticulture and produced some of the most acclaimed wines from the region. They have inspired critics like Robert Parker to regularly rate their wines in the 96-100 range and make remarks like: "Quintessence de Grains Nobles is liquid perfection"..."delivers Montrachet-like portions of flavor and complexity"..."this wine is sure to make your toes curl!"..."Projected maturity: now-doomsday

The Domaine is nestled in the Kayersberg valley and owns 75 acres including Grand Cru parcels on Schlossberg, Mambourg and Furstentum, producing about 10'000 cases annually from entirely estate owned grapes including Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Muscat and some Pinot Noir. Their philosophy is to be as minimal as possible: biodynamic viticulture, hand harvesting, very slow pressing from whole clusters, entirely native yeast fermentation, and vinification in large neutral oak casks (1500-6000L) only. Laurence Faller (pictured left with her mother Colette) is the winemaker and viticulturalist, and she spent nearly six hours giving us a thorough tasting and tour, followed by a magnificent lunch with all of their wines.

The tasting included a complete horizontal tasting of their production, as well as verticals of their Grand Cru Rieslings, Pinot Gris, and Gewurztraminers. All the wines and tasting notes are too numerous to list here, but here are a few picture highlights of the visit, and the current availability of these special wines. For more information on Weinbach please check out their website, Lifford Wines website, or leave me a message on the Services page. The wines are not often available in Ontario, but the below three wines are currently in stock with free delivery on 6 bottles or more. If you're a fan of incredibly complex and elegant white wines, I encourage you to become acquainted with Domaine Weinbach, it might change your perception of what white wines can be.

2012 Sylvaner 'Clos des Capucins', Domaine Weinbach, Alsace                                                          $34.95 x6

2012 Riesling 'Cuvee Theo', Domaine Weinbach, Alsace                                                                        $51.95 x6

2008 Gewurztraminer 'Grand Cru Furstentum', Vendages Tardives, Domaine Weinbach, Alsace     $75.00

Capital Wine in 'Power & Influence'

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The Hill Times is the weekly heartbeat of Ottawa's Parliament Hill featuring the insider goings on of federal politics in Canada. Once a year they publish their 'Power & Influence' issue featuring Canada's biggest movers and shakers in the political and financial world. This year Cabinet Minister Michelle Rempel was asked to give an interview about wine for the yearly publication. Michelle is unique on The Hill in a number of ways (including being the youngest female Cabinet Minister ever) but also because she's a certified sommelier, earning her WSET Diploma back in Calgary before her life in politics. Coupled with the fact that her Cabinet post is Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, she has become one of the most astute proponents of our domestic wine business and was at the forefront of Bill C-311 attempting to open Provincial borders to domestic wine trade.

Michelle and I have gotten to know each other really well through a variety of wine events, tastings, dinners and even started the Society tastings for Capital Wine together. Sharing a similar philosophy in wine, and having two different market/legislative positions in the industry, Michelle asked if I could help out and bring some top wines from our favourite Canadian producers for a tasting we'd do along with the interview. We decided to theme the tasting "The Best of Canada: More Than Just Ice Wine", and it turned out to be quite a fun afternoon. The reporter was Asha Hinorangi, a great young journalist for The Hill Times who just happens to be working on her own sommelier certification through Algonquin College. She was the perfect person to conduct an interview on Canadian wine for a political publication.

The tasting included wines from: Hinterland Wine Co, Joie Farm Winery, Clos du Soleil, Thomas Bachelder, Tawse Winery, Painted Rock Winery, and Antolino Brongo. Take a peek at the article and let me know what you think. For a pdf of the full article click here or find the issue on newsstands now.

Introducing Capital Provisions Verjus

PLEASE NOTE: For all the people reaching out asking for how to buy this verjus, this post is from 2014 and I haven’t made verjus in several years, with no plans to make anymore in the near future. Sorry for the inconvenience!
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As an irrecoverable cookbook addict, I've seen over several years increased calls for verjus in recipes where you'd often see white wine vinegar used--salad dressings, sauces, de-glazing, etc. But it was surprisingly difficult to find any verjus for sale anywhere. Having scoured Ottawa's fine food shops to no avail, and even failing in Toronto at Whole Foods, Pusateri's, etc. I decided I'd make my own.

For those that don't know, verjus (or verjuice) is simply "green juice", the acidic unripe juice of grapes, pressed before they reach maturity. Historically it was a staple of classic French cuisine dating back to Medieval times and into the Renaissance. Part of its appeal is that although it is often used interchangeably with white wine vinegar, it is less acerbic and pairs better with wine. Vinegar can often clash with wine in food pairings.

An inherited part of the lush vegetable garden we planted this year, was a row of grapes (unidentified variety) that were planted by the former owner. Considering the void of verjus in our marketplace, and since we were already growing and canning a garden full of vegetables it only made sense to do the same with our grapes. So I purchased a basket press, car boys, filtering and bottling equipment to make some verjus in Ottawa. The back alley behind our standalone garage and garden was transformed into The Hintonburg Crush Pad. I borrowed a refractometer from Norman Hardie to measure the brix level on the grapes, seeing where their sugar levels were at in order to pick at optimal under-ripeness.

It turns out even at an unripe level I had competition for the grapes. In Price Edward County they compete with the birds, in Hintonburg we compete with the squirrels. By the time the grapes were reaching 12 and 13 degrees brix (a sugar level of roughly half that of ripe grapes) squirrels were quickly making off with the grape clusters. What I had left to press only yielded six 375ml bottles and has come to be known as the smaller batch "Estate" Verjus.

Since I had invested in all this winemaking equipment I could not rest with only 2.25 L of verjus. I called up Norman Hardie in Prince Edward County (whose wine I represent in Eastern Ontario) and asked if I could come help thin clusters they were cropping to decrease yields. Vineyards often thin a certain amount of unripe clusters from the vines in order to increase the ratio of photosynthesis and ripening to the remaining clusters. This extra energy helps increase their ripeness and concentration. As common practice the unripe clusters are cut and just dropped to the ground. So I went in to help with the thinning and collected myself an SUV full of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and headed back to Ottawa.

That evening I called up a few friends, and with the help of some Bourbon and a few beers we set to work crushing grapes into the early hours of the morning. Here's some pictures of the verjus process:

While our efforts only yielded forty five 375ml bottles in our first vintage, it was an outstanding learning process and we're gearing up for a bigger and better vintage next year. Unfortunately our small first vintage has already sold out, but you may see it on the menu of some of Ottawa's top restaurants in the meantime. Please submit a request if you'd like to be put on the waiting list for some verjus next year. Pricing and availability to come.

Tasting note:   Our 2013 County Verjus is clear, pale lemon colour with a slight effervescence from a minute amount of fermentation. On the nose it has aromas of citrus fruit, ripe pears, fresh grape juice and wet stone. The palate is lightly sparkling up front, with a bracing acidity throughout with notes of lemon, lime and green apple. A wonderful substitute for vinegar in salad dressings, vinaigrettes and sauces that will be accompanied with wine pairings. Also great for deglazing pans and ingredient in basting roasted meats.

80% Pinot Noir 20% Chardonnay from Prince Edward County, harvested at 14 degrees brix on September 13, 2013. Pressed and bottled onsite in Ottawa at The Hintonburg Crush Pad. Contains sulphides.

An Autumn Defense of Rosé

Thanksgiving is upon us and this is surely the best time of year for rosé -- What, in the autumn?? As it's getting cold and we're eating roast veg, game, and preserves?? -- Yes. This is when great rosé is at its best.  

Many people incorrectly think of rosé only as a cheap semi sweet wine, like White Zinfandel; or as something pink, crisp, and ideal only for summer drinking on patios in the heat. Which it definitely is good for, but I'd argue that the best time of year to enjoy great rosé is in the fall amidst thanksgiving-like feasts when we're eating turkey, sweet potatoes, roast beets, cranberry sauce, etc.  What is a better pairing for these dishes than a high quality rosé? Maybe Champagne or a good Burgundy? Otherwise, nothing.

I call rosé the 'wild card', or 'joker' of the wine world, it can sub in and pair with almost anything. Good rosés are versatile enough to go with a multitude of foods (similar to sparkling wine). It works with salads, soups, a variety of cured, raw or roasted meats and the accompanying fruit sauces. Roasted beets and goat cheese might be the most perfect pairing alongside turkey and cranberry sauce. Here's a few of my favourite rosés:

2012 Joie Farm Rosé

Rosé is one of the flagship wines by Joie Farm on the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan. This means they grow these red varietals specifically for the rose, it's not a 2ndary wine with juice left over from a red wine. The makeup is 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Gamay, 5% Pinot Meunier, 5% Pinot Gris. I've loved this wine so much in the past, last year I went to help make it and lived with Heidi and Michael for a week, an unforgettable experience that I can recall everytime I crack a bottle of the 2012! Here's my post from last year on harvest at Joie Farm. Their Rose is available online at Lifford Wine.

2012 Norman Hardie Rosé:

Last year was my 'year of rosé', in that I helped make two great roses on different sides of the country. Before taking off to BC for two weeks of crush, I spent every weekend at Norman Hardie's in Prince Edward County and took the lead on producing his first rosé. It's 100% County Pinot Noir and we wanted to make something light, dry and a bit earthy...almost an oyster rosé if you will. And it certainly became that. Here's my post from making this rosé last year at Norm's. There is very little of this wine left, but if you're near The County you can pick some up at the cellar door for $20/bottle.

2012 Tawse 'Sketches' Rosé

Tawse has been named Winery of The Year three times in a row for a very good reason. Their best wines are epic and even their least expensive wines still get top accolades from writers and restaurants. Their 'Sketches' Rosé is a really interesting blend of Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zweigelt, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Pinot Gris! A dry wine, but with lots of fruit character and an excellent expression of Niagara. This one is available at the LCBO for $15.95

There you have it, my three favourite rosés from British Columbia, Prince Edward County and Niagara. Give rosé a try with your Thanksgiving feast!