deVine Thoughts

Our August Case of the Month – $220.22 is a great sampler case for those wanting diversity, discovery and affordability in everyday drinking wines. We choose wines for this case to showcase their true varietal characteristics from wine regions all over the world. It is seasonal in nature as well, more whites and pinks and lighter reds during the summer and more full-bodied reds over the winter. It is a great way to discover your palate besides always having some wine on hand.

August features wines from all over the world including France, Germany, Portugal, Chile, Spain, Argentina, Italy and Australia with a wide assortment of grapes for every drinking occasion.

You can purchase the August Case of the Month here..

Enjoy!

Return to devinewines.ca

Author: Dirk Chan

New to the store is the Austrian Riedel Veritas line of stems, it joins the ever popular Vinum Series that has long been is staple at deVine’s.

Riedel (pronounced Ree-dle) is the industry standard for stemware and decanters for the wine connoisseurs, it has been an illustrious history – family owned in Bohemia since 1756 (the same year as Mozart’s birthyear – it’s been that long!). With expert craftsmanship and a creative design team, their stemware and decanters are in high end restaurants and regular homes alike. It’s claim to fame is that the stemware was specifically and scientifically design so the first hit on your tongue accentuates the qualities of the grape varietal that the glass was designed for.

Besides the bestseller Vinum Bordeaux, Riesling, Scotch and Sparkling stems, we’ve brought in a bunch of new stems for your consideration (pictured going left to right):

Riedel Veritas New World Pinot Noir/Nebbiolo/Rose Champagne Glass – $41.99

Riedel Vinum Cognac/Brandy Glass – $39.99

Riedel Veritas Cocktail Coupe/Moscato d’Asti Glass – $41.99

Riedel Veritas Champagne Glass – $41.99

Riedel Bar Vinum Cognac/Hennessy Glass – $34.99

Riedel Vinum Grappa Glass – $29.49

For those interested in Riedel Decanters, here is a list:

Riedel Syrah Decanter – $39.99

Riedel Big Apple Decanter – $79.99

Riedel ‘O’ Decanter – $249.99

Return to devinewines.ca

Author: Dirk Chan

French pre-phylloxera Malbec vines from 1854(!!) are used to make the outstanding 2014 Bodegas Colomé Autentico Malbec – $55.99. Grapes from three vineyards (of four hectares each) planted in that year are still used to make wines at the Colomé winery. Located in the Upper Calchaquí Valley in Salta in the far north of Argentina, Colomé is reputed to be the oldest winery in Argentina, and also lays claims to own the world’s highest elevation vineyard.

Because the higher the altitude, the grapes are exposed directly to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, resulting in a thicker and darker skin to protect themselves. The fruit for this wine comes predominantly from the Santa Jakoba vineyard, so technically is a single vineyard bottling – the soils are sandy with layers of gravel which aid drainage. The vineyards are all biodynamically farmed.

Made with almost no intervention (no oak, no filtering, handmade), this has an intense inky colour with violet tones and deep, almost opaque black, very distinctive color. Aromas of ripe black fruit, cherries, white mulberry, figs and spice greet your nose. A robust, full-bodied and concentrated palate follows with fine-grained tannins, a crisp acidity and elegant minerally spiciness. This has both structure and balance. Amazing purity here and a finish that lingers for over a minute. You can taste the old vines and the sunshine!

Winemaker Thibaut Delmotte has made a gem of a wine. If you want to taste pure Malbec, then run don’t walk to get a taste of this new arrival! A great wine! Pair with grilled beef tenderloin.

Purchase Colomé wines online here:

2013 Bodegas Colomé Autentico Malbec (Calchaqui, Argentina) – $55.99

2013 Bodegas Colomé Lote Especial Tannat (Calchaqui, Argentina) – $30.99

Return to devinewines.ca

Author: Dirk Chan

Founded in 1996, Firestone Walker Brewing Company is a brewery in Paso Robles, Central Coast California, and in Buellton, California. Firestone Walker is California’s fourth-largest craft brewery. It was World Beer Cup Champion Brewery for mid-sized breweries in 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2012, and also winning three times at the Great American Beer Festival.

They began by brewing beers in the British tradition, but then joined the vanguard of breweries exploring the frontier of hoppy expression, and launched an extensive bourbon-barrel beer program, a dynamite sour program, and put a brilliant craft spin on the stodgiest of old world styles, the pilsner.

Original founder Adam Firestone, son of Brooks Firestone and great-great grandson of Harvey Firestone who started the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and his brother-in-law David Walker. The brewery is modern, churns up to 80 batches per week through its tanks, they began canning beer in 2015, using a German-engineered KHS canning line built on the Paso Robles brewery campus that can produce and fill 400 cans per minute!

deVine’s is happy to have Firestone Walker on our shelves, you can try these new arrivals, all in a six pack cans configuration:

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale (California, United States) – $22.49

Firestone Walker Pivo Hoppy Pilsner (California, United States) – $22.49

Firestone Walker Union Jack West Coast Style IPA (California, United States) – $22.49

Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion (California, United States) – $22.49

Have yourself a Firestone Walker Day!

Return to devinewines.ca

Author: Dirk Chan

Yet another new Gin from Manuel Barreira of Global Wine Merchants, the brand new Philadelphia Distillery Bluecoat American Dry Gin – $54.99 is the latest in the trendy American styled gin (featuring less/different juniper and more of the other botanicals) favored in new cocktail bars.

All Gins begin with Juniper berries and Bluecoat is no exception. However, Bluecoat exclusively utilizes organic juniper berries which transmit spicy, earthy notes as opposed ot the pungent pine-tree flavors of regular berries. A premium blend of oragnic American citrus peels and spices complement the rich juniper notes, giving Bluecoat its classic citrusy finish.

Only the smoothest, most flavorful cuts are bottled. The results are immediately noticeable: A quality spirit with a smooth and gentle mouth-feel, and a refreshingly light taste.

Purchase it online here..

Return to devinewines.ca

Author: Ed Fong

It has come to our attention a request has been submitted to the City of Edmonton for changes in zoning for 104th Street to support a mega-bar on 102 & 104th Street. deVines and many residents and other businesses are strongly against a 600 seat bar going in – do we want to end up being another bar street like Whyte Ave?

We are not opposed to vibrancy and licensed venues, but are opposed to something so large in scale that it could change the character of this neighbourhood drastically. Our Heritage Zoned street has a special “feel” and atmosphere to it, and a large venue of this size could destroy what we have worked so hard for quickly. It is a matter of compatibility with what is already in place on our street.

We ask all residents in our area to voice their disapproval to the city planner in writing before July 19. Please send to Carla Semeniuk, her email address is carla.semeniuk@edmonton.ca. Time is of the essence here everybody. Please act quickly to voice your opinion.

More detailed information in Ed’s official email letter to Carla here..

Return to devinewines.ca

Author: Dirk Chan

Great Bordeaux vintages are uncommon, and after four years of good but unexceptional wines for 2011 through 2014, the 2015’s are certainly the best since 2010 and its excellence is worthy of a futures campaign.

Our 2015 Bordeaux Futures Campaign is coming to a close, it has been a great campaign and customers who came forward at the start have a lot of great wine to drink down the road. For those of you still interested in purchasing some good wine for the cellar, the final deadline to purchase is midnight Sunday, July 10th so purchase online or come in the store before then.

Futures works in that you purchase the wines now and pay in full, and the wines will arrive in summer or early fall of 2018, whereupon we will contact you for pickup then.

Check out the current offerings here..

Return to devinewines.ca

Author: Dirk Chan

Rosé season is in high gear at deVine’s, due to high demand, we have brought in a larger selection than normal with three full shelves of offerings for you to choose from.

Rosés have been on fire at deVines for a few years now, but more so than ever…whether its for enjoying on the patio, in a picnic scenario, or just with charcuterie and cheeses or salads, these pinks are the way to go for the hot summer months. The lively bright colors range from light pastel, to salmon to bright ruby red, these dry wines are light and breezy, combining the best of both white and red and without pretention, it is merely to be enjoyed with family and friends as there is no wine snobbery associated with roses and that’s a good thing! The relatively low pricing is yet another attractive characteristic of rosés.

Here are some new arrivals and some old favourites since our last blog:

2015 Domaine Houchart Rosé (Provence, France) – $20.99

2015 Izadi Larrosa (Rioja, Spain) – $21.99

2015 Le Petit Berticot Rosé (Atlantique, France) – $17.99

2014 Kranz Spatburgunder Rose Trocken (Rheinpfalz, Germany) – $24.99

2015 Cellier de Marrenon Les Grains Rosé de Merlot (Languedoc-Roussillon, France) – $16.99

2015 Quails’ Gate Rosé (BC – Okanagan, Canada) – $19.99

2014 Domaine Maby La Forcadiere Tavel Rose (Rhone Valley, France) – $23.99

2015 Ochoa Calendas Rosado Garnacha Tempranillo (Navarra, Spain) – $16.99

2014 Langlois-Chateau Cabernet d’Anjou Rosé de Saumur (Loire Valley, France) – $19.99

Have yourself a Pink Day!

Return to devinewines.ca

Author: Dirk Chan

The 2015 Bordeaux Futures campaign is nearing the end with only a few ultra-premiums to come. The response has been exceptional thank you. 2015 looks to be an excellent vintage (certainly the best since 2010) where the Merlot based right bank appellations of Pomerol, St. Emilion are the highlights of the vintage. On the Cabernet based left bank, Margaux and Pessac-Leognan appear to be head of class. There are bargains in the right bank satellite regions, with an overall impression of fairly good value (for a change). Pricing is down from the highs of 2009 & 2010’s so this is the vintage to stock up on if you’re at all interested in cellar worthy Bordeaux from an excellent vintage.

If you’re at all interested in having some great Bordeaux to celebrate with down the road, don’t miss this opportunity. Payment is expected in full now, the wines arrive in summer/fall of 2018. Listed below are current offerings, quantities are limited and some only a few bottles remain. They are allocated on a first come first served basis so don’t delay. You are welcome to drop us an email with the desired wine(s) and quantity or you can also purchase online individually, but if you’re going to buy a lot, we’d prefer you email us and we can allocate for you now and do one invoice for full payment at the end of the campaign (makes it easier for us to manage) – the campaign ends at the end of June.

Check out the offerings here..

Return to devinewines.ca

Author: Dirk Chan

Father’s Day is coming up sunday and its time to Celebrate Dad. Here’s hoping your day is full of love, joy and plenty to drink! Here are our suggestions for the celebratory day:

Scotch (always a favourite):

BenRiach Sampler Pack (Heart, 12, 16 & 20 Yr) (Speyside, Scotland)- $46.99
Highland Park 12 Year Old (Orkney Islands, Scotland) – $67.99
Lagavulin 16 Year Old (Islay, Scotland) – $114.99
1988 Girvan Sovereign 26 Year Old Single Grain (Lowlands, Scotland) – $199.99
1988 Glenburgie Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask 26 Year Old (Speyside, Scotland) – $274.99
Glenmorangie Quarter Century 25 Year Old (Highlands, Scotland) – $524.99


Big Bottles (makes a big impact):

2012 Mulderbosch Faithful Hound (Stellenbosch, South Africa) – $59.99
2005 JM Fonseca Hexagon Red (Terras do Sado, Portugal) – $99.99
NV Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Yellow Label Brut (Champagne, France) – $159.99
2007 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany, Italy) – $179.99
2011 Montes Purple Angel Carmenere (Colchagua Valley, Chile) – $209.99
2005 Chateau Lagrange (St. Julien, Bordeaux) – $309.99

Stemware & Decanters:

Glencairn Crystal Iona Beer Glass (Scotland) – 14.99
Riedel Veritas New World Pinot/Nebbiolo/Rose Champagne Glass – $41.99
Riedel Veritas Cocktail Coupe/Moscato/Martini Glass – $41.99
Riedel ‘O’ Decanter – $249.99

Pictured Above:

1966 Taylor Fladgate Very Old Single Harvest Port (Douro, Portugal) – $279.99
2010 Antinori Pian delle Vigne Brunello di Montalcino Magnum (Tuscany, Italy) – $179.99
Laphroaig 25 Year Old Single Malt (Islay, Scotland) – $679.99

Happy Father’s Day to every father out there!

Return to devinewines.ca