Let the WineAlign Critics help you find the Right Wine
for the Right Price, Right Now!
Top 5 Brunello (Sangiovese) at the LCBO
If I Could Buy Only One – November 8th Vintages Release
We asked our writers, “If you could buy only one wine from the November 8th release, which one would it be and why?” Hacienda Terra D’uro Reserva 2011, Castilla y León, Spain$31.95, Wine AllianceMichael Godel – The Hacienda Terra d’Uro Reserva 2011, DO Toro label does not deceive. The times they are a changin’ and […] More
In conversation with Head Winemaker Ryan McKibbon By Sara d’Amato This feature was commissioned by Black Hills Estate Winery. The deep south of the Okanagan was among the later frontiers for modern, commercial vine planting in the Valley. At the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert, this sundrenched landscape seemed suited to little more than […] More
Buyer’s Guide to Vintages November 8th Release
John Szabo’s Vintages Buyer’s Guide November 8: Wines for Every Festive Moment & Careful where you Put Your Shovel: the Best of Campania Stories 2025 By John Szabo MS, with notes from David Lawrason, Michael Godel, Megha Jandhyala and Sara d’Amato A Flurry of Highlights Greeting us this year with unusually early snow, November does […] More
National Wine Awards of Canada
Canada's premier wine awards. In 2022, 24 judges tasted over 1,900 wines from 250 wineries across the country to identify Canada's top wines.
National Wine Awards of CanadaExchange Wine Club Subscription
The Exchange delivers an exclusive curated, mixed case of top quality wines directly to your door once a quarter. Mixed, All Red and All White options.
Exchange Wine Club Subscription
Brunello di Montalcino is one of the most prestigious appellations in Italy, born in the 19th Century in its present form thanks to the efforts of the Biondi-Santi family, who defined its rules and have largely guided it to the present day. The wines are made from 100% Sangiovese grape, in particular from a clone called Sangiovese Grosso, or also as Brunello - hence the appellation's name. Traditionally, the wine goes through an extended maceration period where color, tannins and flavour are extracted from the skins. Following fermentation the wine is then aged in oak. Traditionally, the wines are aged 3 years or more in "botti" - large Slovenian oak casks that impart little oak flavour and generally produce more austere wines. Some winemakers will use small French barrels which impart a more pronounced vanilla oak flavour and add a certain fruitiness to the wine. Whatever the approach, wines must be aged for for years (with a minimum of two years in barrel) before being released, according to appellation rules.
