Well, obviously it has been an incredibly weird and difficult year. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all so much for all the support through all this. When restaurants all closed, direct to customer sales was the only real option for wine agents. It was really nice getting to know so many of you since March and I’m glad I could help with quarantine and getting some great wines delivered right to your homes. And for all the bad of the pandemic, there was a silver lining that allowed me to partner with Lollo and open the Byward Wine Market. If you haven’t been in yet, we have a great retail space downtown and began to try build the private wine shop of our dreams. So thanks to everyone for all your support of Capital Wine and Byward Wine Market this year and I’m looking foward to sharing more great wine in 2021!

Because next Friday is Christmas, and the Friday after is New Years and we can’t deliver on those days, this coming Friday December 18th will be our final delivery of 2020. So if you’re still looking for some great gifts for friends, family, employees, and clients, or just drinks for the holidays and toasts for the New Year, you might want to stock up this week!

So for this week I’m featuring just a few things ahead of our last delivery to Ottawa for the holiday season:

Lots of new holiday mixed cases going on the site in the coming days

1) We just released some new mixed packs from Lifford for the holidays! Follow the link for all the delicious options and feel free to email me any questions! We could have these delivered for Friday the 18th to Ottawa if ordered by Tuesday 15th and delivered to Kingston on Wednesday the 16th if ordered by Monday morning (tomorrow). LIFFORD MIXED CASES.

2) We also have a lot of Mixed Cases at the Byward Wine Market for pick up or delivery within Ottawa as well. Follow this link for the entire list of mixed cases we’re featuring from ‘Gut Oggau family mixed packs’ to ‘Saugignon Blanc Lovers’ to ‘New World Cabernet’. You can also make your own custom mixed case online or by swinging by the shop! BYWARD WINE MARKET MIXED CASES

Now for a few favourites for the holidays:

DOMAINE WEINBACH

Cracking into some of the new Les Vignes du Prescheur with dinner.

I’m not afraid to say this is my all-time favourite winery. I’d probably choose a glass of their wine over almost anything else when given the opportunity. But that’s just me. They always strike the most perfect balance between textured richness and mineral freshness. In other words, it’s liquid gold and always such a luxury for me when we get to open some Weinbach. They were one of the earliest female winemaking powerhouses in a male dominated industry and early biodynamic pioneers for natural wine. And we have an allocation of their wines arriving now! Not quite all of them are released yet, but hoping early this week everything will be available. The Byward Wine Market will also be carrying several of the wines if you want to try out a selection of individual bottles. For more on my love of Domaine Weinbach, here’s a post from 2014 following my visit to the winery, and also another link from a post earlier this spring. The bottom line is that Weinbach is probably the finest winery in Alsace, if not the finest white winery in the world. The wines are beautiful now but are also build to last decades and will further develop lots of complexity. They’re are a treat to drink now, but a nice gift that will keep giving in years to come. Here’s what we have arriving:

DOMAINE WEINBACH, ‘LES VIGNES DU PRESCHEUR’ 2019, $45.99 x6
This is a brand new cuvée from Weinbach in its first year of production. It is a co-fermented field blend of primarily Riesling, along with Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Muscat, and Sylvaner. That means all the grapes were picked together at the same time from the same vineyard and then crushed and fermented all together, as opposed to individually fermenting the varietals and blending together later before bottling. This is a bit of an old school style that they’re reviving and the results are delicious…I couldn’t resist cracking into a bottle right away.

DOMAINE WEINBACH, SYLVANER ‘RESERVE’ 2019, $42.99 x6
Weinbach has a beautiful website with lots of great resources and information on their philosophy and vineyards, but unfortunately no tech sheets for the individual wines. I’ve had many vintages of this wine in the past and its always been a standout in their lineup for value. Luckily Sylvaner isn’t as well known or sought after as Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Gewurztraminer, but for those in the know, it’s a delicious, often less expensive alternative. I haven’t tasted the 2019 release yet, but here’s what the Wine Enthusiast had to say: “Wet earth, straw and white asparagus make for a subtle nose on this wine. The palate amplifies them and adds gentle apple fruit to these textural, earthy but intriguing notes. A bone-dry finish shines with lemony freshness.”

DOMAINE WEINBACH, RIESLING ‘GRAND CRU SCHLOSSBERG’ 2018, $115.99 x6
Catherine Faller of Domaine Weinbach has has said that her family always believed that Schlossberg Grand Cru vineyard was the greatest terroir for Riesling in Alsace. And last year the Revue du Vin de France ranked it the #1 Grand Cru in Alsace overall. Weinbach owns 12 hectares of the famed vineyard with its crystaline and granitic soils. Catherine says the Schlossberg vineyard is twice the work for half the yields compared to heavier soils, but I suppose that’s why it’s so special ans singular. Also from Wine Enthusiast: “A note of lemon is all that rises from the glass but the purity of that notion sets the tone. The palate of this wine continues this theme of purity and celebrates it with bouncy juiciness that plays and swirls, while stony depth lies underneath. This wine is juicy, vivid, ripe and fresh.”

DOMAINE WEINBACH, PINOT GRIS ‘CUVÉE LAURENCE’ 2018, $89.99 x6
Sadly, the daughter and former winemaker whom this wine was originally named for passed in 2014 unexpectedly, leaving an important void at the winery and in the wine world at large. But Laurence’s sister Catherine took the reigns and continued their family’s legacy. The Cuvée Laurence has always been the epitome of Alsace Pinot Gris: pretty, floral, and lifted while rich, layered and nuanced. Here’s what Wine Enthusiast said: “A very shy nose on this wine gives next to nothing away. The palate, however, comes in with intense creaminess that has an edge of melted butter. It sits well with the rich, rounded pear fruit that dominates the midpalate. Gentle freshness frames the fruit and spells elegance. Power, spice and length become apparent on the dry finish. Leave this for a while and drink 2022–2035.”

DOMAINE WEINBACH, GEWURZTRAMINER ‘ALTENBOURG’ 2018, $95.99 x6
Apologies for all the Wine Enthusiast tasting notes, but these wines are so newly released there aren’t a lot of reviews up for them yet, and while I’m very familiar with past vintages of these wines, I haven’t been able to taste these latest releases yet. So this is all I’ve got as an added resource to my quick notes about the wines. “Honeysuckle plus tangerine fruit and peel show on the nose of this concentrated, citrus-scented wine. Gentle sweetness adds juicy peach to the midpalate. The off-dry finish is beautifully balanced and zesty.” -Wine Enthusiast

DOMAINE WEINBACH, GEWURZTRAMINER ‘GRAND CRU FURSTENTUM’ 2018, $124.99 x6
Gewurztraminer can make the most luxurious wines in the world. Delicious on its own or its richness can serve as the perfect pairing to hefty or spicy flavours like Blue Cheese or Thai food. Wine Enthusiast, one last time: “Exquisite ripeness and freshness are expressed on this wine's intriguing nose, showing juicy, ripe, yellow peach which melds with boxwood and passion fruit. The palate comes in with sweetness, pushing the passion-fruit notions and redoubling on that juicy peach. Freshness comes from the ripe and fully fragrant zestiness of orange and tangerine. It's a highly aromatic, medium-sweet wine. Drink by 2040.”

SPARKLING:

Even if we’re going to have an unprecedented holiday without big family gatherings, we will likely still need some sparkling to celebrate the holidays and toast to a better New Year. We also have all of these down at the Byward Wine Market individually by the bottle, but here’s some ideas for home delivery sparkling in all styles and price points.

RONCO BELVEDERE, PROSECCO ‘EXTRA DRY’ NV | VENETO, ITALY $18.99 x12

GIRO RIBOT, CAVA RESERVA NV | PENEDES, SPAIN $21.99 x6

BENJAMIN BRIDGE, BRUT NV | GASPREAU VALLEY, NOVA SCOTIA $36.99 x12

VINCENT CAILLE, X-BULLES NV | LOIRE VALLEY, FRANCE $27.99 x12

DOMAINE ZINCK, CREMENT D’ALSACE ROSÉ NV | ALSACE, FRANCE $34.99 x6

BRUNO PAILLARD, ‘PREMIER CUVEE’ ROSÉ NV | CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE $104.99 x6

If you’re looking for anything else, please check out all the past FEATURES of the last year. Some items are sold out but many are still available. Just send me a note and I can answer any questions you might have!