Arpepe Sassella Stella Retica  is a red wine with a ruby red color. It has a complex aroma with notes of red fruit, such as cherries and raspberries, and hints of spices, such as cloves and cinnamon. On the palate, it is medium-bodied, with a good structure and balance, and firm tannins. The wine has flavors of red fruit, with a hint of earthiness, and a long and persistent finish. It is a perfect match for roasted meats, game, and aged cheeses.

Greco Nero hails from Calabria, the "toe" of Italy's boot and is another red wine for Alberta drinkers! Full-bodied, thick and rich, if you left this on your counter for 4 days, it would still drink like a boss! Full of blackberry, dried plums, floral, roasted coffee, leather and spice, it's complex!

Cala Civetta Ciliegiolo DOC is a red wine made from 100% Ciliegiolo grapes grown in the Maremma subregion of Tuscany, Italy. The wine has a bright ruby-red colour with violet hues and a complex aroma of red fruits, cherries, and violets. The palate is medium-bodied with soft tannins and a good balance between acidity and alcohol. This wine is an excellent representation of the Ciliegiolo grape, which is becoming increasingly popular in Tuscany.
A light red, it can be paired with chicken or pork tenderloin dishes

Barbacan Sforzato 2018 is a red wine from the Valtellina subregion of Lombardy, Italy. Made from 100% Nebbiolo grapes (known locally as Chiavennasca), the wine undergoes a unique drying process for several months prior to fermentation, resulting in a concentrated and complex flavor profile. It has a deep garnet color and a complex aroma with notes of dark fruit, such as black cherry and blackberry, along with hints of spices and tobacco. On the palate, it is full-bodied and rich, with flavors of dark fruit, leather, and earth, and a long and persistent finish. The wine is typically paired with hearty meat dishes and aged cheeses.

A fleshy cuirassier with notes of licorice, spices, and dark fruits. Cherry, currant, and blueberry blend harmoniously, creating a velvety and sweetly ripe taste with splendidly integrated tannins. San Rocco exudes great power and austerity, with an incredible aging potential. A pure complexity and strong character, this wine is monumental.

"Beautiful golden yellow in color, brilliant and luminous. The nose is intense and complex, with notes of ripe fruit – Mediterranean and tropical – and dried flowers, barely touched by a subtle veil of vanilla. Apples, bananas, hazelnuts, genista and passionflower stand out. On the palate, it’s pure velvet, showing perfect balance of flavors, delicate aromatic qualities, endless persistence. Excellent with chickpea puree and sautéed octopus with rosemary." (from the 2006 Guide Duemilavini of the Italian Sommeliers’ Association, A.I.S., on Capo Martino 2003)

The Tuscany Verruzzo di Monteverro was born in vineyards located in the Grosseto municipality of Capalbio, in the heart of the Tuscan Maremma.

It is produced with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese grapes, harvested exclusively by hand between the first ten days of September and the first of October. The vinification takes place entirely "by fall", so as not to deplete and allow the highest expression in the glass. Subsequently the wine ages for 12 months in French oak barrels before being bottled.

It has a bright garnet red colour with purple nails. The nose opens with floral aromas of rose and lavender, enriched with fruity notes of plum and wild strawberries. On the palate it is structured, soft and with character, with hints of rose, strawberry and melon.

Ideal in combination with lasagna and first courses with lamb ragù, this red wine is perfect to accompany medium-aged cheeses.

Tralcetto' translates as 'twig,' hence the stick-y vine cutting affixed to the bottle. The wine itself is made from 100% Pinot Grigio harvested by hand and aged in stainless steel to preserve the delicate aromatics. It's zesty and juicy, with apple, grapefruit and a touch of residual sweetness. Sip with hors d'oeuvres, or seafood pasta in a cream sauce.

Beautiful, resolved nose, a touch of delightful oxidation, coffee and chocolate but still that cherry ripe red fruit clarity. In the mouth it is silky and dense, a flood of quite meaty and fleshy black fruit, super ripe tannins and lovely plum and cherry skin acidity giving length. A beautifully resolved and complete wine.

Cantina Girlan is a cooperative winery located in the Alto Adige (South Tyrol/Südtirol) region, dating back to 1923 with 23 winegrowers. Today the winery belongs to 200 winegrowing families on a total of 230 hectares; hence, each grower farms an average of 1,15 ha. Grapes are harvested by hand and sustainable methods are utilized to protect the soil and overall environment. Native grape varieties, such as Pinot Bianco, Pinot Noir and Vernatsch (Schiava) are the focus.
Made from 100% Vernatsch, aka Schiava, this light bodied red wine has pretty notes of strawberries, ripe raspberries, lemon peel and rose petals.

Proud, majestic, complex and exuberant: this is a special cru version of Masi's gentle giant, Costasera. A benchmark for the Amarone category, which, together with Barolo and Brunello, makes up the aristocracy of the Italian wine world. Here Masi's unrivalled expertise in the Appassimento technique is used to give the grapes a long period of further ripening on bamboo racks and an ageing period for the wine of at least three years in casks made from the finest wood types. The expert use of indigenous grapes for the Valpolicella Classica area - Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara - is enriched by the addition of the unique Oseleta, a grape variety rediscovered by Masi.

Expect this Chardonnay sourced from fossil-rich clay-based soils to be floral, elegant, juicy and soft, with a refined minerality, notes of peach, lime and apple, and a mouth-watering acidity. A great match for seafood dishes.

Sangiovese, aka Brunello is grown all over Italy, but most prevalent in Tuscany. Valdicava wine estate produces some of the highest quality wines in the world by showing different expressions of this opulent grape variety. Located in the valley of Montosoli, to the north of Montalcino, the winery only produces two wines: a Rosso and Brunello, with the single vineyard, Madonna del Piano only produced in the very best vintages. This 2016 has attractive aromas of cherry nib, violet, tomato leaf, walnut, and orange rind. Full bodied with dusty tannins and a long, linear finish. 

Aged in virgin American white oak whiskey barrels, this smokin', oaken gin is a whiskey drinker's botanical dream. It features ten exquisite botanicals, including wild-foraged juniper from the Alberta Badlands and rogue-picked seaberry from the streets of Edmonton. Slow distilled and enriched by time, fire, and oak, this gin can be savoured on its own or enjoyed in a gin or whiskey cocktail.

"Citrus and floral nose; silky and fresh with notes of heather, dandelion and apple; superbly mellow with a creamy texture and unique style."

Nose: Citrus zest, juniper berries, floral notes
Taste: Smooth and well-balanced, with hints of pine, coriander, and green tea
Palate: Refreshing, with a touch of sweetness and a lingering herbal finish

Bags of orris root florality. This gin would work exceptionally well in an Aviation cocktail. Lingers well, nice texture. Pine could be boosted tbh.

From the Piedmont wine region, BARBARESCO 2014 is an intense and full-bodied Barolo with dark fruit, underbrush and earthy flavours on the palate and would benefit from a couple more years in cellar.

Winemaker Notes "All the different crus are vinified and aged separately with slightly different processes to underline the singular characteristics of each parcel and terroir. Fermentation occurs in stainless steel with daily cap submersion for extraction of flavor and color.Pair with a hearty stew, wild game, roasted red meats, and cheeses."

Fonseca White Port is a blend of wines made from white grapes grown mainly on the upper slopes of the Douro Valley, including Arinto, Malvasia Fina, Codega, Esgana Cão, Folgasão, Gouveio, Viosinho, and Rabigato varieties. These wines are aged in oak vats for approximately three years to develop mellowness and character before being blended into a rich white port in the traditional smooth, full-bodied style. Fonseca White Port is ready to drink upon release and does not require decanting. Serve chilled, this versatile port can be enjoyed as an aperitif or as a sweet dessert wine.

Big and very eventful with a great adventure of aroma and flavour journey. Pecan notes, nutty with a bit flapjack, then some grape skin and floral flavours, a little rose and berries, blackberry - fresh and fruity.

This is a luxurious brandy with rich flavors of baked plum, lemon meringue, and French vanilla. An admirable sweetness leads the palate and saturates the tongue with delicious dessert-like flavors of pastry and cream.

The renowned Piper-Heidsieck champagne house was established in 1785 by Florens-Louis Heidsieck. Following his passing, the company was renamed Piper-Heidsieck when Henri-Guillaume Piper partnered with Christian Heidsieck, the founder's nephew. Piper-Heidsieck is recognized as one of the most dependable and consistent expressions of champagne, with their Piper-Heidsieck Rare taking the top spot in FINE Champagne magazine's Best 100 Champagnes list in 2011. The Head Winemaker, Regis Camus, has taken the quality and reputation of Piper-Heidsieck's expressions to an extraordinary level of excellence.

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2000 has barely budged in its evolution since it was bottled and released in 2002. After ten years in bottle, it still reveals a dense opaque purple color along with a potentially sensational bouquet of blueberries, black currants, graphite, asphalt and background oak. Extremely powerful, full-bodied and superbly concentrated with good acidity and high but round tannins, this massive La Mission-Haut-Brion should take its place among this estate's most hallowed vintages when it hits full maturity in another one to two decades. I was surprised by just how youthful this wine tasted at age 12. If tasted blind, I would have guessed it to be around 4 to 5 years old. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050.

A blend of 44.7% Merlot and 55.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2020 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion has an alcohol of 14.3%. It rolls effortlessly out of the glass with seducing notes of warm black plums, black cherry compote and blackberry pie, plus suggestions of lavender, crushed rocks and underbrush with a hint of sassafras. The medium bodied palate is delicately played and refreshing, offering lots of soft spoken black fruit and earthy layers with a soft texture and seamless acidity, finishing with a spicy kick.

Contention as one of the top vintages produced here, the wine is strong on its floral characteristics. Once past the opening bouquet of white flowers and dried roses, you find plums, black cherries, black raspberries, mint and cigar wrapper nuances. The palate provides a lush, opulent, vibrant, energetic backdrop for its wealth of deep red fruits and oceanic influences. The finish has a touch of salty chalk that adds complexity to its wealth of silky, ripe, red fruits.

This is a great Talbot, a real success for the château. Subtle and deft touches throughout, from the smoked turmeric notes that lace the black fruits to the finessed aromatics that accompany the body of the wine. Balance and freshness, and a saline edge to the finish that is extremely moreish. Three years with Jean-Michel Laporte as director, and he is doing great work.

Chocolate shavings and smoked coffee bean on the nose, it's a vintage where you can't get away from the tannins, but here they have sinew and juice, like the best translation of the tannins in the year. This has a real purity of fruit (very low SO2 addition at Palmer) and the gourmet touch you want in Alter Ego. 45% of overall production. 3.73pH. Survived mildew better than in 2018 because of my experience in dealing with the conditions. August 15 to 29 for the harvest.