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More from VINTAGES April 13 Release, plus Portugal’s Dao Region
By David Lawrason Tasting season is revving up here in mid-April, with event after event. This week we divide and conquer, with reports and picks from different tastings. Sara reports on The CAPS Best Ontario Sommelier Competition and I handle the Wines of Portugal Grand Tasting (below). But first we offer more recommendations from the […] More
The CAPS Best Ontario Sommelier Competition & A Blind Tasting Challenge
By Sara d’Amato Sommeliers, wine agents and enthusiasts were drawn from all corners of Ontario and beyond this past weekend (April 14th, 2019) for the Best Ontario Sommelier Competition. This biennial event organized by the Canadian Association of Professional Sommelier’s Ontario Chapter (CAPS) drew record numbers to view five sommelier finalists compete live for this […] More
The Best of Argentina – Masterclass 12-pack
The WineAlign Exchange Presents: An Argentine Wine Masterclass 12-pack The WineAlign Exchange is excited to offer a trip to Argentina in a box: 12 archetypal wines (Malbec and much more), selected in unanimous accord by the WineAlign crü of critics, through tastings in Argentina and at our offices. Quality in all regions of Argentina has […] More
National Wine Awards of Canada
Discover Canada's best wines! In 2016, 22 judges tasted 1,535 wines from 230 wineries across the country to identify Canada's top wines.
View Award-Winning Wines
World Wine Awards of Canada
Seventeen judges tasted 1,000 wines in 21 categories in 2015 to find the world's best wines sold in Canada under $50.
View Award-Winning Wines
Albariño is the primary grape used to make dry white wine in the Rias Baixas (Lower Inlets) section of the Galicia region of Northwestern Spain. Considered by many to be Spain's premier quality white wine, Albariño is also known in Portugal as Alvarinho and often used as a component of Vinho Verde. Weather conditions in the Rias Baixas are generally cool, windy and rainy. Vines must be trained high and open to allow winds to dry them out and avoid the ongoing threat of rot, mildew and other fungal diseases. Notably, Albariño grapes develop thick skins here, contributing to their intense aromas. Typically, wines made from Albariño are very aromatic, often described as having scents of almonds or almond paste, apples, peaches, citrus, and flowers or grass. Albariño wines are particularly suited to seafood due to their bracing acidity - which some producers have tempered with extra roundness, by aging the wines on lees, giving them a fuller texture. This grape's inherent tartness should be embraced in youth, for wines made from albariño do not age well, and the vibrant aromas begin to noticeably fade within months of bottling.
