Category Archives: Wine

RKS Wine: Urban Blight Hits Niagara!

You drive around the Niagara region enjoying the sights and perhaps the wineries. In early November gold blazes creating quite a spectacular sight. What is not so spectacular are the housing developments popping up in the last few years like out-of-control Baco Noir grapes. Yes there is lots of open air with orchards, vineyards andContinue reading “RKS Wine: Urban Blight Hits Niagara!”

RKS Wine: Niagara Red Blends: Nyarai Cellars Soars Above the Mundane

In Niagara to review an inn and some restaurants this month I managed to speak with a few people in the wine trade and it was empowering to hear they agreed with a fundamental point I have with Niagara red blends. In Niagara Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are almost best retired as incapable of makingContinue reading “RKS Wine: Niagara Red Blends: Nyarai Cellars Soars Above the Mundane”

RKS Wine: Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer 2020 Grand Réserve

Many will say Alsace vints the best Gewurztraminer. A few years ago I may have agreed with that statement until I tried Gewurztraminer from Mayhem Wines and Meyer Family Vineyards in British Columbia’s Okanagan. The trouble is that the British Columbia wines are small batch hence reach a small audience. Pierre Sparr is a bigContinue reading “RKS Wine: Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer 2020 Grand Réserve”

RKS Wine: Tirana Tigress and Penniless Pensioner Back in Toronto

After hoodwinking the Russians in Operation Payback Lola Frieberg aka Tirana Tigress and the Penniless Pensioner wisely decided to head back to PP’s home in Toronto a luxurious penthouse The Lonsdale on Avenue Road with a huge wrap around balcony and a view of the campus of Upper Canada College. If the Russians ever gotContinue reading “RKS Wine: Tirana Tigress and Penniless Pensioner Back in Toronto”

RKS Wine: Listening to Customers: Canada Pricing Itself Out?

A couple of months ago at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario I encountered two gentleman shopping for a backyard wedding reception. They asked me what might go with the salmon which was one of the foods for the backyard wedding barbeque. Earlier in the year I had received some samples from a BC wineryContinue reading “RKS Wine: Listening to Customers: Canada Pricing Itself Out?”

“Travels to a Different Time” :August 2006 Samos Wine Festival

Samos had been famous in antiquity for its sweet wines made from the Muscat grape. Times change and very few North Americans know about this famous wine. A co-operative holds a monopoly on the production of wine in Samos. Each year there is a wine festival. This year it was held in a parking lotContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” :August 2006 Samos Wine Festival”

RKS Wine: A Tidal Wave of Price Increases for Wine: Chile Remaining Affordable

If you have seen the latest Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s October 22 Vintages release catalogue you may say WTF has just happened! Prices are obscene. This makes the wines of Chile most compelling from a price and quality perspective. Most Chilean wines appear to be rated by James Suckling a hero it seems toContinue reading “RKS Wine: A Tidal Wave of Price Increases for Wine: Chile Remaining Affordable”

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner and The Iranian Drones: Operation Payback

I received yet another Skype call from the Penniless Pensioner currently residing in Tirana Albania at 4 a.m. Toronto time. The poor fellow was distraught as Lola Freiberg aka the Tirana Tigress had been arrested by the Albanian Interior Ministry police and was in the notorious Tirana Prison for Hardened Criminals. What the charges wereContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner and The Iranian Drones: Operation Payback”

RKS Wine: The Greatest Wine Since Sliced Bread? How Do We Deal with an Argentinian Monster?

After I review a wine, I may look what other reviewers have to say about it. Some critics I take seriously and others not so and then there is Luca Maroni who often scores wines in the 90’s when they deserve to be in the 80’s. What would you deduce from insanely high ratings? ForContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Greatest Wine Since Sliced Bread? How Do We Deal with an Argentinian Monster?”

RKS Wine: The Velvet Devil Merlot: Avoiding Dancing with the Devil

The label for The Velvet Devil Merlot 2019 is stark yet catchy as most wine labels from Charles Smith are. So it grabs your attention stylistically but what about after the bottle is opened and reality sets in? Yes, it is also cheaper than many Washington State Merlots but can it match their quality? OnContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Velvet Devil Merlot: Avoiding Dancing with the Devil”