Old world indeed, Castello di Gabbiano's story dates back 800 years, the property is surrounded by ancient castle walls built in 1124. With rich Tuscan soil, the producer has long been crafting some of the finest wines from the Chianti Classico region. Evolving and flourishing, Gabbiano just released the inaugural vintages of their Head Winemaker Federico Cerelli, who for a decade worked with other prestigious Italian wineries including making Tiagnello on the hills adjacent to the Gabbiano estate. 

Our first taste of Cerelli's wines, the Chianti Classico Riserva 2009 is an instant hit, with elegant fruit notes, cherry and spice, complex with a satisfying finish. We enjoy it immensely with our bison tenderloin and then afterward once again with a fabulous hunk of pecorino cheese! The pairings are sumptuous! 

Although this grape calls Galicia in Northwest Spain its home, many consider Argentina its home away from home, residing there quite heartedly and producing what many feel is one of Argentina’s white grapes with the most potential.

Our pick the Amalaya Torrontes Riesling 2011, from Salta, Argentina selling in Ontario for $10.95.

Big on taste, rich and creamy with a finish that long lingers!  Not exclusively Torrontes, 15% Riesling is in the blend giving it that “zip and zing”, the backbone or acidity that makes it refreshing and even more suitable to enjoy with food.  Aromatic, with notes of peach and ripe melon, even banana, we enjoyed this wine on our deck last weekend with grilled seafood including squid and scallops drenched in citrus and tropical marinade.

@TheWineLadies  @AmalayaBodega @winesof arg @Argentineanwine

On a Pinot Noir kick these days, Sonoma County Chateau St. Jean 2009 is a homerun!

Grapes are sourced from the Russian River Valley and the Carneros district, two cooler wine growing areas ideal for Pinot Noir. At Chateau St. Jean the grapes, thin skinned and finicky, as Pinot Noir is known to be, are treated with kid gloves, handcrafted gently, cold soaked before fermentation for optimal colour and flavour, while during fermentation the skins are pushed back down manually into the fermenting juice.

We enjoyed the Chateau St. Jean 2009 Sonoma County Pinot Noir with our mixed grilled and mushroom risotto.  It’s lush flavours of cherry and plum with the hint of leather and notes of toasty oak and long lingering finish was a great match for our Chef’s Table a la Georgia’s Backyard.

Margo Van Staaveren, is the winemaker at Chateau St. Jean, and the harvest of 2011 marked her 32nd harvest. She started out as a lab technician, then moved on to assistant winemaker, working with her husband as the head winemaker. After moving through the ranks, in 2003 Margo became the head winemaker. "Each vintage is a challenge, each wine is a challenge, I thoroughly love it!" This 2009 Pinot Noir is widely available in Canada including BC, AB, QC, NS and in Ontario for $29.95

Chateau St. Jean, one of the beautiful wineries in this glorious wine growing region.

@TheWineLadies @alyons_wine

Grapes are sourced from the Russian River Valley and the Carneros district, two cooler wine growing areas ideal for Pinot Noir. At Chateau St. Jean the grapes, thin skinned and finicky, as Pinot Noir is known to be, are treated with kid gloves, handcrafted gently, cold soaked before fermentation, for optimal colour and flavour, and during fermentation the skins are pushed back down manually into the fermenting juice.

We enjoyed the Chateau St. Jean 2009 Sonoma County Pinot Noir with our mixed grilled and mushroom risotto.  It’s lush flavours of cherry and plum with the hint of leather and notes of toasty oak and long lingering finish was a great match for our Chef’s Table a la Georgia’s Backyard.

Margo Van Staaveren, is the winemaker at Chateau St. Jean, and the harvest of 2011 marked her 32nd harvest.

Chateau St. Jean

@TheWineLadies @alyons_wine