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THE
FRUGAL OENOPHILE
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Wine Buying AlternativesOne piece of advice I hand out without reservation is to find a good wine store. That's a good policy for most of the world, but unfortunately here in Ontario there really is no such thing as an independent wine store. There's the government's company store, but if you don't want what they got, then what options do you have? Well, you do have options, although it can take a bit of work to take advantage of them.LCBO Consignment ProgramIf someone imports it into Ontario, there is a good chance you can buy it. The LCBO runs a program whereby you can purchase wine -- by the case only -- from any wine agent, and then have your wine shipped to an LCBO store of your choice. This is a good option if you find a wine you like at a restaurant or a wine show. Find out who represents the wine (the OIWBSA website is a good place to start) and then contact the agent. They will take it from there and see that the wine gets into your hands. (You can buy from local wineries this way too, but why bother? See below.)Vintages Classics CatalogIn addition to the Vintages stores and “corners” at LCBO stores, the monolith also has a catalogue store, known as the Classics Collection. As described on their website: “Whether it is the wines of the top châteaux of Bordeaux or Grand Crus from Burgundy, Super Tuscans from Italy or top-flight Shiraz from Australia, you will find variety, quality and prestige in The Classics Collection.” They’ve even been known to include an occasional Canadian wine!The wines on offer tend to be high end, and sometimes in limited quantities. You order through the website or by phone (416 365-5767 or toll-free at 1 800 266-4764) and your order will be delivered to an LCBO outlet of your choice. Shop the WineryWith more than 100 wineries in Ontario, there’s bound to be one near you. But if a personal visit is not an option, most wineries now offer shipping. As long as the shipment is within the province, there should be no problem. The advantage here is that the winery's entire book will be available, from newest releases to bin ends to library items. You may be required to purchase a case, but often you can buy just a bottle or two. Some outlets will absorb the shipping fee if you purchase a certain number of bottles or a certain dollar value. A number of wineries have what they call a wine club. For a fixed “membership” fee, they will send you a selection of wine. You can sign up for a set number of bottles and the offerings are usually monthly.A good way to locate wineries in your area is to drop by a regional wine producers association, and I've collected a lot of these on my website. For example, to find Ontario member wineries, visit the Wine Counsel of Ontario. And in North Carolina, for example (yes, they make wine there), you can visit the North Carolina Winegrowers Association. There's also a website for Fruit Wines of Ontario. You should be able to find a winery association for just about every state in the US and every province in Canada. Company StoresCompany stores can be very handy, provided the parent company makes wine that you like at a price you’re willing to pay. In Ontario we have a small number of stores that serve as outlets for brands from Vincor (Wine Rack), Peller/Hillebrand (Vineyards), Colio Estates and Magnotta.The wines in the stores are a mixed bag. Because these are large, well-established wineries, most are able to offer Cellared in Canada wines. So far only Magnotta makes an effort to tell consumers which of these wines are not from Ontario -- or even from Canada. Elsewhere in the stores you’ll find a good assortment of VQA wines, most of which can’t be had from the LCBO. Buying On-lineThe internet wine store saga would make a good novel -- it’s filled with intrigue, plot twists, power maneuvers, and a fair amount of cloak and dagger. Mostly the business is slowed by the cross border issue. First, check to see if the online seller can ship wine to your location, then start looking for those online bargains (remember that internet stores are supposed to pass on the savings from not having store-fronts and showrooms to maintain).There are two retailers active in Ontario, and their reach is rather telling. Winery to Home specializes in the wines of Ontario. It's a great way to discover Ontario VQA wines without making the trek to Niagara, Erie North Shore and now Prince Edward County. The company’s wine picks are run past veteran wine writers Tony Aspler and David Lawrason. It’s possible to buy small lots and mixed cases, which is a nice feature given the restrictions on other buying methods. Wine Online also runs an online wine store in Ontario. They handle imported as well as Ontario wines, and you can purchase small lots and mixed cases. The main problem here is shipping. Winery to Home ships only within Ontario, and Wine Online ships to Ontario and Nova Scotia. As this form of business becomes more popular -- and if governments can manage to become less paranoid -- we may yet see more options rolled out.
Wine Clubs/Tasting ClubsSome wine clubs, in addition to organizing tastings and wine junkets, make special wine purchases available to their club members. The best known of these is the Opimian Society, named after the Roman consul Lucius Opimius (c. 125 BCE), who was a man who truly appreciated his wine. The club sources quality wines, announces the offer in its newsletter, and then take orders from its members. In Ontario, the wines are delivered to an LCBO outlet, where members can pick up their purchases -- in case lots only, as per local regulations. The wines are usually good value, though not necessarily cheap, and may not be available any other way. A club can be a great way to socialize and learn more about wine as well as to make unique additions to your cellar.Only in BC, you sayAn interesting development in British Columbia is the appearance of VQA stores. These outlets carry brands from different Canadian wineries, the only qualification being that the wine must be VQA certified. This is something I’d like to see happen in Ontario, but I'm not holding my breath.Wine AuctionsCharity wine auctions are big business these days. Both the Toronto and Kingston Symphonies do a large part of their fund-raising through annual wine auctions, as does the Canadian Opera Company. The LCBO's Vintages group also does an auction each fall, and it usually features a good number of cult and collector wines. The best auctions will put out a detailed catalog well before the event so you can scout out items and lots you may be interested in.When the industry is controlled by a state or province liquor commission, there is generally no means for an individual to sell wine. Auctions give you an opportunity to hand off your surplus wine (they won't accept junk) and exchange it for a tax receipt. While this may limit the potential of wine as an "investment", it at least gives you a way to turn over those extra bottles. Farmers’ MarketsSome jurisdictions allow farms that make fruit wine to include their wines as part of their farm market selections. Once again, it's a well-established tradition throughout the world ... but not in Ontario.Try, don't buyAn interesting initiative that blossomed recently in Quebec is a wine store where you can’t buy wine. The stores are tasting outlets where you can sample locally produced wine. The idea is that you'll stop by, taste the wines, and be blown away by their quality. Then, when you find out that you can't actually buy anything, you’ll be appalled at the government’s lack of support for the local wine industry. The move hopes to draw attention to the way the government retail chain -- the SAQ -- has shut out Quebec-produced wine in favour of off-shore imports. So far the reception has been much what the organizers were hoping for -- a good thing.Texas Wine Grower Going BattyIn the second half of the 19th century, a nasty little bug called phylloxera ransacked Europe's vineyards. Today, an equally nasty bug is threatening vineyards in the Southern US. Pierce's disease is a bacterial infection of the vine for which there is no cure. Normally the disease is quite isolated, but in the last few years an insect known as the glassy-winged sharpshooter has been spreading the bacterium from vineyard to vineyard. One grower in Texas decided to try a natural approach. Don Pullam of Mason Texas installed two bat houses in his vineyard. He then stocked the bat houses with Mexican free-tailed bats -- more than two hundred of them. The experiment hasn't been tried before, but Pullam believes that the bats are doing something worthwhile. Each bat eats roughly 2000 insects each evening, for a total of more than 1/2 million bugs a night! So far there's been no evidence of Pierce's disease in the vineyard. If the bats are the reason, then it's an environmental win-win that may be the solution the industry needs. And it's cheap! Looking for an Instant Party? Tastoria to the rescue!I received a phone call earlier this year inviting me to participate in an on-line wine tasting (on-line tasting ... is that an oxymoron?) I've seen a few on-line tastings where the host drools over the wine selection, I guess with the intent of enticing the viewer to do the same. Not my cup of tea, but this online tasting promised to be different. Tastoria will do it all for you, except set the table. I'm going to assume they make their money from selling the mid-priced packages of wine selected for the tasting. But I can tell you, having put on enough tastings myself, the value of this experience is well beyond what the invoice might say. I was unable to attend the "live" tasting session in February, so I arranged a tasting with friends to sample the wines Tastoria had selected. We set up in the new family sun room (what better way to christen an extension to the house) and tuned in to the prerecorded Tastoria session using the largest computer screen I could find. Note to self: Get a bigger monitor. The theme for the tasting was "Valentine Romance in Paris". The wines were pretty much what I might have selected myself. Had we been doing the tasting in real time, we would have signed into the session and then been able to participate with the hosts and exchange comments with other viewers, although this is not required. The session began with a warm welcome from host Amanda Laden, followed by some film footage of Paris and nearby wine regions. This seemed a bit drawn out, but it's a necessary part of the process while viewers sign on and technical problems get resolved. Then we began our tasting. When I do a tasting, you get me ... usually with a clean shirt. It would be nice if I could bring along a chef, a sommelier and a winemaker or two to fill in the gaps. Well, Tastoria does just that, and we were treated to a different guest for each topic of the tasting. The festivities began with someone doing "sabrage" with a Riedel wineglass. Sabering is a technique of opening a sparkling wine by dramatically knocking its top off with a short sword. Impressive enough, but to do it with the base of a crystal wineglass ... that's really cool stuff. My guests found the presentation quite entertaining. All had a great time, and thoroughly enjoyed the selected wines. International Myopia PrevailsI received a very positive press release recently from Konzelmann Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, who were recently written up in that bastion of wine elitism, the Wine Spectator. I was hoping that the wine potentates at "the Spec" had finally discovered the merits of Ontario wine, but the wine choices were predictable almost to the point of despair. Ontario wines have been steadily improving since the first vinifera vines were planted here more than 30 years ago. Yet the world's wine reviewers seem to think that Canada can only produce icewine. I heartily praise Konzelmann for the well-deserved recognition they've received, yet I'm disappointed that their non-icewines were very nearly ignored -- 10 out of 13 wines reviewed were icewine or late harvest. (This is especially poignant for me as I've adopted their '06 Pinot Blanc as our "house white", and have always been impressed with their Merlot, Pinot Noir and Zweigelt.) Let's hope that local buyers are less biased when they visit Konzelmann and other Ontario wineries. WWF says: "Plant a cork tree"Cork trees are good for wine. They're also good for the environment and good for endangered wildlife: Spread over the Mediterranean region, the cork oak forests have maintained a unique balance between people and nature for centuries; however as a result of increasing human pressure and changing markets, these landscapes, its inhabitants, and indeed a way of life, is at risk. If you'd like to help rehabilitate Mediterranean cork groves, drop by the WWF gift page and adopt a cork tree or two. The Iberian lynx will thank you. From "The Frugal Oenophile's Lexicon of Wine Tasting Terms" Dumb Phase A transitory period during bottle ageing of fine wines when aromas fade, only to return after more ageing You can buy my Wine Lexicon and other items at my Online Store
Inspirational Quote
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material is Copyright 2008 by Richard Best - The Frugal Oenophile.
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