deVine Thoughts

April 26, 2021

Subscribe to Our e-Newsletters

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 3:37 pm

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Author: Dirk Chan

For those of you who haven’t subscribed yet to our e-newsletter, its time to do so! The benefits are as follows:

1) you will receive our weekly online special every monday, with savings of 20% or more
2) you will receive our biweekly in-depth e-newsletter with feature articles, monthly cases of the month, pre-sell offers, feature articles and tastings info (when they happen again) and any upcoming special events.

Subscribe to our generic e-newsletter here..

Secondly, we are announcing that there will be a 2020 Bordeaux “En Primeur” Futures Campaign starting in May – you can subscribe to the Bordeaux Futures e-newsletter where you will receive offerings as they happen every 2-3 days in the month of May. Those of you who enrolled in the 2019 Futures Campaign last year are automatically enrolled this year.

You can enroll in our Bordeaux 2020 futures e-newsletter here..

NOTE: both of these e-newsletter subscriptions are TWO step enrollment, meaning in order to complete the subscription, you will have to go into your email and verify as a second step. This email verification is a very important step to complete the subscription.

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Weekly Online Offer for April 26

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 1:26 pm

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Author: Dirk Chan

Located in historic town of Vendée (an hours drive directly south of Nantes), the vineyards for Prieure La Chaume is in fact the southernmost vineyard of the Loire Valley, equidistant from the Loire and the Medoc of Bordeaux. Completely planted on chalky soil, one of the vineyards is planted on southern slopes, another third on western slopes facing the Atlantic ocean and more exposed to the maritime weather, and a remaining third on the plateau.

Our feature this week is their Prieure la Chaume Bel Canto – $29.99 (regularly $37.99), a 100% Merlot cuvee organically farmed featuring a deep mazarin redcurrant-y color with dark purple hints. First mouthfeel offers a supple and velvety wine, with black berries aromas such as blackcurrant. Both supple and meaty, this wine got a soft species finish with black pepper notes. The name is a tribute to the Opéra de Parisan opera singer, Genevieve XIV born in Nantes in 1879, who became famous for her performance of Bel Canto, said to be ‘soft, elegant and swingy’.

Bel Canto is vibrant, elegant and expressive. It is a wine to enjoy now. Classy, supple, fleshy, velvety with black berry fruits and a touch of spice and peppery notes on the finish.

2017 Prieure La Chaume Bel Canto (Loire Valley, France) – $29.99 (regularly $37.99)

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April 19, 2021

Weekly Online Offer for April 19

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 10:34 am

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Author: Dirk Chan

Castello di Volpaia is a winery located in the medieval village of Volpaia. The estate has over 900 acres (360 ha) divided between vineyards, olive groves, and woods.

The village of Volpaia sits on a hilltop north of the town of Radda in the heart of the Chianti Classico region in Tuscany. Volpaia was built in 1172 as a fortified village on the Florence-Siena border. The winery’s logo highlights the coat of arms from the della Volpaia family, who lived in the village and took its name from the town itself. Volpaia is a terra murata, a walled village although not all of the wall exists now, Volpaia is one of the best preserved villages of its period .

Our feature this week is their 2018 Castello di Volpiaia Chianti Classico – $27.99 (regularly $34.99), showcasing cherry, walnut and stone aromas and flavors. Medium bodied, firm and lightly chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Delicious red from one of the flagships of Chianti, made from organically grown grapes.

The vineyards reside in high altitude – over 400m above sea level on predominantly sandstone soils rich in skeleton suitable for the production of elegant and long-lasting reds, harmonious and aristocratic wines that manage to maintain the fruity aromas of the best Sangiovese for a long time. Enjoy with pizza or pasta.

2018 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico (Tuscany – Chianti, Italy) – $27.99 (regularly $34.99)

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Two Wine Spectator Top 10 Wines from 2020

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 10:32 am

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Author: Dirk Chan

The famous American wine publication Wine Spectator reviews 15,000 plus wines every year and have been dishing out their annual Top 100 Wines of the Year since 1988 based on quality, value, availability and excitement..

With the diversity in the wine world, we in Alberta get fewer and fewer wines that make the Top 100 list as the years go by and sometimes even when we do, the vintage is wrong.

Therefore, we are thrilled to offer to you for consideration, two wines that made the Top Ten from 2020. Note there are years when we don’t have anything to offer from the Top Ten list, let alone two wines. Both are very limited availability and will be sold on a first come first served basis. Thus, If you want something special with some clout to serve at dinner parties when the pandemic is over, or if you merely want to compare your palate with those of the critics, here is your opportunity.

2016 Massolino Filli Barolo (Piedmont, Italy) – $76.99

2012 Bollinger La Grande Année Brut – $249.99

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April 12, 2021

Weekly Online Offer for April 12

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 12:42 pm

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Author: Dirk Chan

Lambrusco, the frizzante (slightly spritzy) red wine from northern Italy in Emilia-Romagna, has become extremely popular in the last little while. Driven by its pleasurable appeal and great PR, this fresh, fruity bubbly wine that’s low in alcohol, with an fine quality price ratio is one of Italy’s top sellers as a new generation of Millennials and Generation X drinkers find it quite chic to order a glass when going out. Even sommeliers in prominent restaurants and wine writers are trying to play up Lambrusco as today’s hot new trend. Look for hip labels, designed to appeal to the younger crowd. Most are dry, with the cheapest ones being sweet.

Most people think of Lambrusco as a single grape. Yet it is a family of grapes that can produce a product deeply colored to very light – that said, the aroma and taste of Lambrusco is quite distinctive and fruity with violets and plummy notes – they should be drank young.

Our feature of the week is their Medici Concerto Lambrusco – $21.99, regularly $26.99 – Intensely brilliant ruby red in color with fresh red berries, strawberries, raspberries and cherries on the nose. Dry and fruity, round on the palate. Very clean with perfect balance that would be a perfect pairing with a 4 meat pizza or some charcuterie!

2019 Medici Concerto Lambrusco (Emilia-Romagna, Italy) – $21.99 (regularly $26.99)

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April 9, 2021

Two Wine Spectator Top 10 Wines from 2020

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 10:35 am

ws_top_10_small
Author: Dirk Chan

The famous American wine publication Wine Spectator reviews 15,000 plus wines every year and have been dishing out their annual Top 100 Wines of the Year since 1988 based on quality, value, availability and excitement..

With the diversity in the wine world, we in Alberta get fewer and fewer wines that make the Top 100 list as the years go by and sometimes even when we do, the vintage is wrong.

Therefore, we are thrilled to offer to you for consideration, two wines that made the Top Ten from 2020. Note there are years when we don’t have anything to offer from the Top Ten list, let alone two wines. Both are very limited availability and will be sold on a first come first served basis. Thus, If you want something special with some clout to serve at dinner parties when the pandemic is over, or if you merely want to compare your palate with those of the critics, here is your opportunity.

2016 Massolino Filli Barolo (Piedmont, Italy) – $76.99

2012 Bollinger La Grande Année Brut – $249.99

Return to devinewines.ca

April 5, 2021

Weekly Online Offer for April 5

Filed under: deVine's Daily Blog Article — Dirk @ 9:55 am

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Author: Dirk Chan

José Maria da Fonseca started his business in 1834, and the family has maintained it for six more generations since then selling its wines in all continents. It is the oldest table wine company in Portugal and famous for its Periquita reds.

Located in the little village of Azeitão on the Setubal peninsula, south of Lisbon, they invest in research and production methods, utilizing both modern techniques with traditional methods, such as combining the ancient Roman tradition of fermenting wine in clay pots with the latest technology. The vineyard is 700 hectares.

Our feature of the week is their Waterdog Red – $11.99, regularly $14.99. Loving, loyal and intelligent, Portuguese Waterdogs are a treasured breed originally from the southern coast of Portugal – near where their winery originates. This blend of 34% Castelão, 33% Trincadeira and 33% Touriga Nacional grape varieties offers up a nose of blueberries, black currant and baking spices. The palate is fruity with notes of red and black berries, balanced acidity and a touch of wood from the six months aging on French and American Oak. Perfect for current drinking, pair with BBQ, roasts, hearty pasta dishes. Open a bottle and enjoy the Portuguese way of life!

2018 Jose Maria da Fonseca Waterdog (Terras do Sado, Portugal) – $11.99 (regularly $14.99)

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