Aaron Winsor

Hello Prince Albert! Most wine drinkers can notice the difference in taste between a fine wine and an everyday budget wine. You can often see it on their face when they take that first sip; “Oh, this is good stuff!” They may not be able to specifically explain why they enjoy a wine but the common answer is both simple and true: they like the taste!

Flavor is an easy thing to recognize; you either like the taste of something or you don’t. What is less known is the technique used to create certain flavors in wine and with some training and education, these techniques become easier to recognize.

For example, in fine wine production malolactic fermentation is used to soften or round out a wine by converting tart flavors (malic acids) into creamy, milky textures (lactic acids).

What people may not realize is that budget wines also receive plenty of alterations/additions to enhance flavor, texture, acidity etc.

An excellent example of this is in the Bodacious Pinot Grigio and the 19 Crimes Red Blend I tasted this week.

Let’s start with the Pinot Grigio. This wine was delightfully crisp and fruity but was on the edge of tasting flabby (too much body and/or sugar). What saved this wine was an alteration known as acidification. As sugar levels rise in grapes, the acidity naturally drops which makes it difficult to produce a sweet but balanced wine. This can be achieved through careful management of the vineyard and winery. F

or budget wines however, the cost of this management can become prohibitive and shortcuts like acidification are sometimes necessary to deliver an affordable but delicious product. It was instantly noticeable that this wine had received a boost of acidity to offset its higher sugar content.

The 19 Crimes Red Blend seems to have had some manipulation as well which reminded me of a practice used in modern orange juice production: boosting the flavor by the addition of flavor packets (in this case, the addition of extra juice /wine into the main blend).

The wine tasted like it was pumped full of concord juice and possibly other flavor additions.

Does the possibility of flavor manipulation make the wine bad? Not necessarily. In the end, it comes down to the taste. I honestly liked the taste of all three budget wines this week and they have their place but I will mention that the recognizable taste of manipulation in a wine cheapens the experience.

This is true for me because winemaking is an art form and while alterations and additions are a necessary part of the process, it ends up feeling a bit like a lab experiment and less like an alchemical transformation of grapes into wine. Here are my wine picks of the week!

Bodacious Pinot Grigio: (Canada and imported). Medium-dry white, pale lemon color. Funky and slightly off-putting on the nose with peaches, pears and bright citrus. Medium-minus body on the palate, medium-plus acidity and quite fruity. The addition of acidity helps lift this wine greatly and makes it a pleasure to sip.

The off-scents on the nose point to the use of inferior juice but alterations make it very drinkable. Pair with chicken, fresh salads, pork or white pasta sauces like alfredo. The acidity is very palate cleansing! $5 (200 ml can), 12% ABV

Barokes Cabernet, Shiraz, Merlot Blend: (Australia). Off-dry red, deep ruby color with hints of purple. Offers a complex bouquet of blackberries, black cherries, cassis, cedar, green pepper, vanilla and plums. Medium-plus body with plenty of black fruits, licorice, black currants, vanilla, black pepper, high tannins and a long finish. Impressive for a budget/canned wine and a great choice for red meats like steaks or roasts! $5 (200 ml can), 13% ABV

19 Crimes Red Blend: (Australia). Medium-dry red, deep purple color. Rich, fruity and intense scents of concord grapes, cooked prunes/plums and cherries, animal notes (barnyard), cassis and vanilla.

To the taste, medium acidity, full body, cassis, soft black pepper, stewed black/blue fruits (blackberry, blueberry) and fresh cranberries. Medium tannins make this very silky and smooth with powerful intensity. Shiraz on steroids! $7 (180 ml bottle), 13.5 % ABV

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading!      

  Aaron Winsor is a Prince Albert local whose work experience with the SLGA is what ignited his passion for high quality wines, beers and spirits. He has continued his wine education through WSET (Wine Spirit Education Trust) and has achieved level 3. Check him out on Instagram  @aaron_the_wine_guy

Aaron Winsor

Hello Prince Albert! Everyone loves a good deal and this is especially true when the value far exceeds the cost of a product or service.

For this reason, my hunt for delicious yet affordable wines never ceases and new wines are always being discovered for great prices. Hopefully my wine choices this month will allow you to save a few dollars and also discover some new food pairings along the way!

During the holidays many foods will be prepared and passed around the table; family favorites, new recipes and classic dishes. Having turkey or chicken?

Pair it with a tasty pinot grigio or rose. If beef dishes make a regular appearance, try a beautiful Syrah. Fresh veggies will be complimented by all three of these wine choices.

One of the most important factors to consider when pairing with holiday meals is the main flavor component of the dish. For example, if cabbage rolls are served, tomatoes are the main factor to deal with (tomatoes have high acidity and need a matching acidity in the wine). Beef is simple, red wines with some presence of tannins and good intensity (cab sauv, syrah, carmenere, shiraz). When serving chicken, whites are obvious but don’t overlook reds as long as they are not too tannic or heavy they can still be paired successfully! Here are my wine and beer picks of the week!

Castelnuovo Pinot Grigio Garganega: (Italy). Dry white, pale lemon color. Bright citrus on the nose with lemon/lime peels and pink grapefruit pith. Plenty of citrus on the palate with citrus pith, earthy minerals and a crisp texture. Very refreshing! Medium-plus acidity, medium-minus body and high intensity. Affordable and delicious. Pair with seafood or chicken. $16, 13% ABV

Portada Wine Maker’s Selection Rose: (Portugal). Off-dry rose, medium salmon color. Juicy and simple on the nose featuring strawberry and fresh raspberries with hints of black currant juice. Soft on the palate with medium acidity and medium body. A touch of residual sugar makes this light and accessible and very easy to sip on. Pair with spicy Asian foods. $12, 11.5% ABV

Torreon de Parades Syrah: (Rengo, Chile). Dry red, medium purple color. Medium intensity on the nose with delicately cooked red fruits (raspberry and cherry) and hints of bread or yeast. On the palate: medium body and medium intensity with hints of vanilla spice and soft, red fruits. Very elegant and easy to sip on. Pair with lamb, venison or Gouda. $22, 13.5% ABV

Red Racer Outdoor Adventure Pack: (BC, Canada). This advent calendar is comprised of 24 – 500ml cans of one-time Canadian beers. Each beer is different and brewed specifically for this holiday season. Beers of note so far have been the Basil Lager, the Barrel-aged Imperial Porter and the Sweet Potato and Maple Ale. Great for the family beer enthusiast! Don’t forget to check those beers in on the Untappd app to get your beer badges! While you’re at it, add me as a friend on Untappd under Aaron Winsor. $75

Cheers and thanks for reading!   

  Aaron Winsor is a Prince Albert local whose work experience with the SLGA is what ignited his passion for high quality wines, beers and spirits. He has continued his wine education through WSET (Wine Spirit Education Trust) and has achieved level 3. Check him out on Instagram  @aaron_the_wine_guy

Aaron Winsor

Hello Prince Albert!

There is a tendency in the wine world to look down on boxed wine but how do people feel about wine from a can? Initial reactions to canned wine are both positive and negative: it is affordable, easy to transport for hiking, picnics or bringing to a party and the recyclable can is handy.

Let’s look at the negative reactions to wine in a can: some feel cans leave a metallic taste in the wine, the wine is too cheap to be any good and it is not an impressive way to serve guests.

Generally, canned wines seem to be held in lower esteem than their boxed counterparts. Never being one to judge a wine based on looks or cost, I tried a few cans of wine from Australian brand Lindeman’s and here are my thoughts.

The wines sampled were all 200ml cans starting with the Pinot Grigio, then the Chardonnay and finally the Shiraz to wrap things up. The Pinot Grigio was very neutral and had a low impact on the aroma and taste.

There were also some off-flavors (hints of sulfur) which can be resolved by aeration or decanting. This is a simple and easy-sipping wine which strays so far from challenging the palate that it ends up on the edge of boring.

After the basic flavors of the Pinot, the Chardonnay almost bursts from the glass with medium-high intensity. Floral, fruity and bright, this took things in the right direction and I was impressed by the amount of flavor in this affordable Chardonnay. There was a bit of effervescence with this chard which certainly livened up the experience and made it very food-friendly.        

Finally, time for Shiraz! As soon as the first sniff was taken, a rush of high-intensity scents jumped right out of the glass with a distinct grapey, juicy aroma. The scent was truly mouthwatering and I spent several minutes simply sniffing this fruity red wine. With its full body and high flavor intensity, this wine satisfies that itch for a full and flavorful Australian Shiraz.

Has this settled the canned wine debate?

The only way to make up your mind to is try a few and I would recommend the Shiraz or the Chardonnay from Lindeman’s. I would pass next time on the Pinot.

Here are my wine picks of the week!

Lindeman’s Pinot Grigio 2018: (South Eastern Australia). Off-dry white, pale lemon colour. A low intensity nose of stonefruits (pears, peaches) and lemon peels followed by hints of sulfur. Medium acidity and medium-minus body on the palate leave this feeling a bit flat. Neutral and simple with lemon citrus and pears. Easy to sip on but doesn’t impress. $5, 8.5% ABV

Lindeman’s Chardonnay 2018: (South Eastern Australia). Medium-dry white, medium lemon colour. Medium-plus intensity on the nose with fresh apple skins, field flowers, cooked peaches and vanilla. Zesty and bright to the taste with medium-plus acidity and medium-minus body. Quite intense and flavorful with peaches, pears, apples and a touch of soft honey. $5, 8.5% ABV

Lindeman’s Shiraz 2018: (South Eastern Australia). Off-dry red, deep purple colour. Pronounced intensity immediately with scents of dark cherries, grape jelly, red currants and grape-flavored Jolly Ranchers. Truly mouthwatering. On the palate, very grapey and flavorful with juicy cherries, concord grape juice, medium-plus body and medium-plus acidity. Medium tannins provide some balance and structure. Pair with steak! $5, 9% ABV

Cheers and thanks for reading!

   Aaron Winsor is a Prince Albert local whose work experience with the SLGA is what ignited his passion for high quality wines, beers and spirits. He has continued his wine education through WSET (Wine Spirit Education Trust) and has achieved level 3. Check him out on Instagram  @aaron_the_wine_guy

Aaron Winsor

Hello Prince Albert!

Does the vintage of a wine (the year it was produced) make a difference on the quality and style of a wine? The answer depends on the type of wine we are looking at. For example, large producers (those who release tens of thousands of bottles a year) focus on maintaining a specific style and will aim to create the same wine year after year with consistency in mind. Small, boutique wineries allow the particular growing conditions of each year to reflect in the style of the wine and for this reason their wines may taste different year to year. In the second case, the vintage becomes more important.

Those who are new to drinking wine will often believe that the older the wine is, the better the quality of that wine. This is not necessarily true for a couple of reasons: first, many of the wines found on our shelves are not designed to be aged and are in fact made to be drank within a year or two. They gain no extra complexity or quality with aging. And two, the quality of the wine is highly dependent on the growing conditions of the specific year.

That older bottle may have come from a year with poor conditions such as hailstorms or severe drought and the subsequent wine produced may have suffered for it. If you want to make an informed purchase, look up the year and region of the wine and look at the growing conditions for that year and area.

It is also possible to find wines that have no vintage at all. These are often blends or combinations of different wines mixed from multiple years.

When tasting wines without a vintage, you might find that they have a more generic flavour (this is not always the case) so people will usually choose these wines for simple meals or everyday drinking.

To finally answer the question, vintage matters when looking at higher-quality or boutique (small production) wines. The vintage matters less when drinking every-day, affordable wines. In the end what really matters is whether you like the taste or not!

Here are my wine picks of the week!

Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais Nouveau Primeur 2019: (Burgundy, France). Dry red, medium purple colour. This young wine presents an intensely fruity nose of fresh red cherries, raspberries, strawberries, bananas and plump red fruits. On the palate, young bush berries and red fruits with an element of soft, mild cheese and bright flavours of honeydew melon and sweet red licorice. Low tannins, medium body, medium-minus acidity. A bit thin but opens up with some decanting or time. Pair with roast chicken or ham. $23, 13% ABV

Gerard Bertrand Corbieres 2014: (Corbieres, France). Dry red, deep ruby colour. A jammy bouquet of black and red currants, juicy blackberries and hints of leather and black licorice greets the nose. Full bodied on the palate featuring raspberry, blueberry and cherry jam, licorice, smoked leather and blackberries. Velvety smooth texture with rich fruit flavours, medium acidity and a medium-length finish. Pair with wild game and roasts. $22, 14% ABV

Solpiantez Millesimato Spumante Brut 2016: (Italy). Dry sparkling white, medium lemon colour. Simple and fruity to the nose with peaches, lemons, pears and hints of limestone mineral. Medium body on the palate with big, heavy bubbles and high carbonation. Very frothy and active. Medium-minus acidity leaves this one feeling a bit flabby on the palate and slightly underwhelming but the addition of a creamy cheese like Boursin helps round it out. Pair with light appetizers and creamy cheeses (goat cheese, brie or Boursin). $20, 11.5% ABV

Cheers and thanks for reading!