RKS 2023 Wine: 3 Red Wine Clunkers of 2023

Nor’Wester by Greystone Pinot Noir 2020 (New Zealand) 55 Vina del Pedregal 2018 Kidia Reserve Carmènére (Chile) 56 Meia Serra Jaen 2018 Casa Santos (Portugal) 59

RKS 2023 Wine: Best Whites of 2023

Meyer Family Vineyards 2022 Okanagan Valley Gewürztraminer (Canada) 94 Cline 2021 North Coast Viognier (United States) 94 Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate 2020 Grand Reserve Chardonnay (Canada) 93 Malivoire Estate Grown Chardonnay 2019 (Canada) 91 Dough California 2020 North Coast Chardonnay (United States) 91 Casa Dea 2021 Melon de Bourgogne (Canada) 91 Stag’s Hollow 2022 Tragically VidalContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Best Whites of 2023”

RKS 2023 Wine: The Clarity of Organic Wine: Southbrook Triomphe Gamay from Niagara

If there is a constant impression I receive from organic wines it is they have a pureness and clarity to them. They are sharp and lively. It is not a question of omnipresent superiority. Many non-organic wines taste like they are dead and terribly blunt and dull. Constant soil abuse through spraying and use ofContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: The Clarity of Organic Wine: Southbrook Triomphe Gamay from Niagara”

RKS 2023 Wine: A Toast to the Disappearing Middle Class of North America and EU: To the Liquor Control Board of Ontario Please Note We Weren’t Born Yesterday!

Artificial Intelligence has a bit of a double-edged sword. AI will decimate the middle class if it has its way. What a profit seeking corporation needs is rock bottom low labour costs. Eliminate costs, increase profitability and pump-up bonuses to the “senior management team” and throw a few extra pesos to shareholders. Worth celebrating forContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: A Toast to the Disappearing Middle Class of North America and EU: To the Liquor Control Board of Ontario Please Note We Weren’t Born Yesterday!”

RKS 2023 Wine: We Aren’t Impressed by That Gold Medal Seal and a 92 jamessuckling.com or are We?

Hopefully wine drinkers are not swayed by a “Gold Medal” seal and a 92 James Suckling seal on the bottle of the Knappstein Clare Valley 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon. There is nothing inscribed on the “Gold Medal” seal to indicate who issued it. Could it be from some children’s colouring book? As for a jamessuckling.com 92Continue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: We Aren’t Impressed by That Gold Medal Seal and a 92 jamessuckling.com or are We?”

RKS 2023 Wine: An Outstanding Ontario Merlot: To Dream The Impossible Dream?

As for outstanding Ontario Merlot about the only one that turns my crank is Merlot from Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Two Sisters but not being a cardiologist or a captain of industry can you afford $57.80 for a bottle of their Merlot? Ontario Merlot may be suitable for blending but then is blending with a less than stellarContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: An Outstanding Ontario Merlot: To Dream The Impossible Dream?”

RKS 2023 Wine: Trius Red “The Icon”: The Strong Man and The Two 99 Pound Weaklings

I think there won’t be much hooting and booing when I say Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot aren’t exactly two of Ontario’s great grapes unless under the cover of “terroir” you bless their weakness by stating they have a distinct Ontario imparted quality to them. Bah Humbug says me the Wine Scrooge. On the other handContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Trius Red “The Icon”: The Strong Man and The Two 99 Pound Weaklings”

RKS 2023 Wine: Agiorgitiko From Nemea in Greece

Nemea is a wine producing region in the Peloponnese. This Driopi Agiorgitiko is from Nemea. Agiorgitiko has medium to deep ruby colour, dense ripe red-fruit character and sweet spices that lead towards a soft almost velvety palate with finely textured tannins, medium to full body and medium high alcohol. It can handle oak very well,Continue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Agiorgitiko From Nemea in Greece”

RKS 2023 Wine: A Douro White: Part of the Minority Club

Douro reds overwhelm Douro whites in terms of volume. The whites are in the minority in the Douro but as white wines of the Douro matter it is only fitting, we try a Cabral Reserva from the Douro a blend a Arinto, Rabigato, Gouveiro and Vioshino. You’ll find these white grapes in almost all DouroContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: A Douro White: Part of the Minority Club”

RKS 2023 Wine: Chile Can Seem to do Little Wrong

As we move on closing 2023 Chilean red wines sparkle with many wines at a modest price and a high quality. In the hope I don’t have to eat my words we move to a red by the name of Sideral from San Pedro Tarapacá from the Valle del Cachapoal. It is a blend ofContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Chile Can Seem to do Little Wrong”