On a lighter note

Something tells me the writer of this headline has recently acquired a dog. I’m not sure what to make of the main article. Part of me wants to say something along the lines of: Of course the whole organic thing has gone corporate, what did you expect?

Pinot Gris for summer

There are still a few of these left in the system, though not as many as I thought there would be: Pierre Sparr 2004 Pinot Gris Reserve, 13%/$16.95. (Vintages April 28 release.) I’ve always been a bit ambivalent about Pinot Gris, J. more unqualifiedly enthusiastic, so it was good to find a bottle we couldcontinue reading

The Lives of Others

Although I suspect it won’t be here for much longer, contrary to what I told TB yesterday it looks like The Lives of Others is going to be in the theatres at least for the weekend. We finally got around to seeing this movie after J. saw the Globe review maybe two months ago. It’scontinue reading

Beyond Mateus

Vintages has always brought in a few wines from Portugal but I’ve never paid much attention for whatever reason–I think they’ve never really made a serious attempt to market them. Not so any more. Last Saturday’s release includes over a dozen Portuguese wines, mainly red, ranging from about $12 at the low end to $40continue reading

Perfidious 2005, yet again

I recommended the 2004 Terrale here a while ago. They’ve replaced the 2004 with the 2005 at the LCBO and unfortunately it is a pale version of the 2004. Sic transiit gloria Siciliae(?). (With apologies to GH for unwittingly unloading a bottle on his household earlier this week.)

If you *can* say something nice

It seems wrong to fulminate for two posts without posting something positive about something. We had a great $10 wine ($9.95 with deposit) with our pizza two Sundays ago, Domaine de l’Ameillaud, VdP de Vaucluse at 13.5%. This is a southern France Vin de Pays, predominantly Grenache-based apparently. It does a convincing imitation of acontinue reading

Luisa Miller

While I’m at it, by comparison Luisa Miller isn’t half bad. The production suffers from indifferent (and occasionally bizarre) sets and costumes, but whatever, all these things cost big money and we don’t seem to have that kind of money around here. (By far the best sets this year were Lady MacBeth, and those werecontinue reading

Travestiata

We went to the COC Traviata this evening with a sense of foreboding, since Kenneth Winters wrote a thoroughly negative review in the Globe a few days ago. Unfortunately I have to agree with him. There’s really nothing whatsoever wrong with the music–the singers are all quite good, the orchestra plays very well etc.–but thecontinue reading

Aussie wine fun

There are still lots of bottles of d’Arenberg “The Hermit Crab” Viognier Marsanne in Toronto Vintages stores. We uncorked a bottle to celebrate my last in-class exam on Wednesday, to go with a yummy though artery-clogging pasta with prosciutto cream sauce. According to the LCBO Robert Parker somewhere says “notes of honeysuckle, apple blossom, andcontinue reading