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D’Amato & Szabo: Wine Thieves – Episode 32
May 7th is Sauvignon Blanc day but we’ll be celebrating all week! Join the Wine Thieves at ground zero for new world sauvignon blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand. John and Sara explore its rise to prominence from the first plantings in the 1970s, through to its explosion on the international scene in the 1990s, and […] More
If I Could Buy Only One – May 1st VINTAGES Release
We asked our writers, “If you could buy only one wine from this release, which one would it be and why?” Michael Godel – Finding value in old world European regions gets increasingly harder every year. The key to understanding where to look lies in the “lesser” appellations located in near proximate vicinity to the […] More
Buyers’ Guide to VINTAGES May 1st, 2021
Our Favourites and the Wine Thieves in New Zealand By John Szabo MS, with notes from Sara d’Amato, David Lawrason and Michael Godel This week’s report features a bevy of good wines from the Vintages May 1st release. The main theme is “customer favourites”, and here we bring you our favourites of your favourites, with […] More
National Wine Awards of Canada
Discover Canada's best wines! In 2016, 22 judges tasted 1,535 wines from 230 wineries across the country to identify Canada's top wines.
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World Wine Awards of Canada
Seventeen judges tasted 1,000 wines in 21 categories in 2015 to find the world's best wines sold in Canada under $50.
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Meritage is pronounced Meh-rih-TIJ, rhyming with Heritage. This is a made-up word, registered as a US trademark, that wineries must pay to use on their wines. Back in 1989, wineries were all choosing names for their various blended wines, and it was getting hard to keep track of them all. An association was formed to try to define a "Bordeaux Blend" of grapes that was done on non-French soil. They had over 6,000 people submit choices for the name of this blend, and "Meritage" won. Just like Bordeaux, since they're made with the same grapes, Meritage wines tend to have a rich, full aroma. Depending on the particular blend, it can be blackberry, black cherry, spices, chocolate, and vanilla. Most Meritages have the Bordeaux signature flavours - cigar box, rich fruits, with a hefty feel. They're great with a steak, or with game meats - venison, pheasant etc.
