Robert K. Stephen Wine reviews – Page 10 – A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity

RKS Wine: Fighting in the Trenches for Gewürztraminer

Wine drinkers aren’t exactly running to the shelves snapping up the latest Gewürztraminer releases. I have given up trying to figure out why other than noting it has characteristics and likes to make a statement. It simply may frighten off those so comfortable with Ontario Riesling and Chardonnay. So if you don’t appreciate a heavierContinue reading “RKS Wine: Fighting in the Trenches for Gewürztraminer”

RKS Wines: Memories of Lyon

They say there is nothing like travel to create a special relationship with wine. I recall eating in an astounding tiny Basque seafood restaurant in a small Spanish town of Hondarribia (right across from France) called Hermanad de Pescadores. We ended up in this simple restaurant as my wife had walked by it and saidContinue reading “RKS Wines: Memories of Lyon”

RKS Wine: Rock Bottom Priced Spanish Cava

A Spanish Organic Cava for $12.95? Yes here in Ontario you can have a Murviedro Brut Nature for $12.95. After a cooker of a day like today anything cold and bubbly will hit the spot. It is one of those days you wake up to shove the ageing dog out for a pee and youContinue reading “RKS Wine: Rock Bottom Priced Spanish Cava”

On the Ledge Part 6: “Truth in the Vine”: Cheating the Chumps!

Lolita Wine Services was raking in the money with its “enhanced” Malbec “Confusion” which of course was Algerian plonk with added brown sugar. Residents of Canada were carting it off by the caseload. But as I understand capitalism as a commie one can dupe the masses for an enormous profit and In East Germany weContinue reading “On the Ledge Part 6: “Truth in the Vine”: Cheating the Chumps!“

RKS Wine: Washington State’s Cosentino Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

For $19.95 a good Cabernet Sauvignon from California is a rarity or at least what the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) buyers put on the shelf. However of late Washington can deliver at that price. For the LCBO California is a sacred cash cow and Washington State must seem terrifying to LCBO bean countersContinue reading “RKS Wine: Washington State’s Cosentino Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon 2016”

RKS Wine: Ontario’s Venerated Le Clos Jordanne: Jordan Village Chardonnay 2019:Pekaboo Time

I sense Ontario’s Le Clos Jordanne (LCJ) is making somewhat of a comeback perhaps now that winemaker Thomas Bachelder is back in the saddle after an absence from Clos Jordanne for several years. He rejoined Le Clos Jordanne in 2019 for the 2107 vintage. LCJ started in 2010 to great fanfare but closed shop inContinue reading “RKS Wine: Ontario’s Venerated Le Clos Jordanne: Jordan Village Chardonnay 2019:Pekaboo Time”

RKS Wine: Wildass Red: Can the Sum Total Overcome Certain Individual Varietals?

Ontario produces some superb Cabernet Francs. One might say it is Ontario’s red wine strength. There is Cabernet Franc in this obnoxiously named wine perhaps better suited to the rodeo circuit in Florida. But there is also Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah none of which individually craft remarkable wines in Ontario. However in the blendingContinue reading “RKS Wine: Wildass Red: Can the Sum Total Overcome Certain Individual Varietals?”

RKS Wine: Croatia’s Dalmatian Dog

I enjoyed Plavac Mali which is the king of red wine in Croatia with much of the grape being grown on the Dalmatian Coast. The Dalmatian Dog is from the Babić grape also grown on the Dalmatian coast. It is known under more than 30 different names. We get so little Croatian wine due toContinue reading “RKS Wine: Croatia’s Dalmatian Dog”

RKS Wine: 2014 Memories of the Douro: Exhaustion Mitigated by the Thrill

My media trip to the Douro in 2014 was memorable. It was early November and a chill had descended upon the Douro which can be furnace like in the summer. 5 days starting at 9 and ending around 5 hopping around from winery to winery in a Mercedes van with a guide. But that wasContinue reading “RKS Wine: 2014 Memories of the Douro: Exhaustion Mitigated by the Thrill”

RKS Wine: Confidencial Reserve Rosé from Lisbon

Confidencial is a label of Casa Santos Lima. They make a low-priced red that is a real winner and one of those old-style red wines that needs some serious ageing to flourish. This rosé is from “more than 10 grapes” and the winery considers the types as “confidential”. I suspect that with so many varietiesContinue reading “RKS Wine: Confidencial Reserve Rosé from Lisbon”