It’s just two weeks away! Taste over 250 wines from the Lifford exclusive portfolio of more than 100 wine producers. Meet winemakers and winery representatives from five continents:

• Argentina: Finca Decero, Humberto Canale
• Australia: Brokenwood, Greenstone, Hollick, Mitchell
• British Columbia: Laughing Stock
• California: Chalk Hill, Chamisal, Firestone, Francis Ford Coppola, Heitz, Honig, Inglenook, Ironstone, Joseph Phelps, Lincourt, Lyeth, Marietta, Pine Ridge, Robert Craig Winery, Seven Peaks
• Chile: Echeverria, Viña La Rosa, Seña
• France: Boutinot, Château de Beauregard – Maison Joseph Burrier, Château du Trignon, Compagnie Médocaine des Grands Crus, Domaine Bernard Defaix, Domaine de Nalys, Domaine des Sénéchaux, Domaine Zinck, Joseph Mellot
• Italy: Argentiera, Ca’del Bosco, Cabert, Colpetrone, Fattoria del Cerro, Fèlsina, Garofoli, Gigi Rosso, Grignano, Il Borro, Il Poggione, La Poderina, Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, Marchesi di Gresy, Pio Cesare, Rivera, Speri
• New Zealand: Craggy Range, Staete Landt
• Ontario: Malivoire
• Oregon: Adelsheim, Archery Summit
• South Africa: Meerlust
• Spain: Bodegas Pinord, Telmo Rodriguez
• Washington: K Vintners, Charles Smith Wines

Support a great cause. All proceeds to Delisle Youth Services.

Winemaker Thomas Bachelder, formerly of Niagara Chardonnay and Pinot Noir specialists Le Clos Jordanne, has boldly stepped out on his own with a unique experiment in winemaking. He has created three separate Chardonnays, using the same techniques, in three different regions. It’s perhaps the simplest way for wine lovers to learn about that thing we call “terroir.”

He rented cellar space in Oregon, Burgundy and Niagara and made the wines using the same approach in each place: organically grown grapes wherever possible, wild yeasts, older barrels for aging (16 months in each case). And now the wines are here.

The Oregon Chardonnay 2009, Bourgogne Chardonnay 2009 and Niagara Chardonnay 2009 were released on Saturday February 18th and are each priced at $35.

Reviews have been universally positive, with most critics recommending you purchase all three to conduct your own terroir tasting. Here’s Rick Van Sickle: “the typicity of the three regions shines through the wines. All are fine examples of where they come from but also represent what can happen in the hands of an accomplished winemaker such as Bachelder. Overall, the wines are defined by their fruit, not the oak, with a mineral edge that shows more in Burgundy than in the New World regions.” It would also be worth buying some of these wines to cellar, since the regional differences will develop even more as the wine ages.

You can use the handy LCBO Search to check availability near you for the Oregon Chardonnay 2009, Bourgogne Chardonnay 2009 and Niagara Chardonnay 2009. Conduct your own tasting and come back and make a comment. We’d love to hear what you think!

Special Event – Ottawa: On February 26th, join Thomas Bachelder as he presents the wines at Play Food & Wine. Each will be paired with a course specially prepared by the chef. Tickets are $95. More information.

Special Event – Toronto: On March 7th the Gladstone Hotel is hosting an intimate dinner event where the three wines will be paired with a special four-course menu. The dinner is hosted by Thomas Bachelder and his wife Mary Delaney, who will discuss the basis of the Trois Terroirs Project in more detail. Tickets are $85. Contact the Gladstone at (416) 531-4635, x7130 to reserve your place.

        Walla Walla's Ping Pong Kingpin

On Thursday February 23, legendary Washington winemaker Charles Smith (of K Vintners and Charles Smith Wines fame) will be visiting Toronto for the very first time, and he wants to play ping pong. Are you up for the challenge? If you work in Toronto’s hospitality industry, drop by anytime after 9pm at SPiN Toronto at 461 King Street West. Charles will be pouring some of his great wines (including the much-lauded Royal City Syrah) and introducing his new Secco Italian Bubbles, all while kicking your ass at ping pong.

To get on the list for this trade-only one-of-a-kind event, call Lifford at (416) 440-4101.

The New York Times has called her “one to watch,” and her W Network television show Candice Tells All is an inspiration to many. We’re excited that Candice Olson will be joining us for for Ladies’ Night on Thursday March 8th (which is also International Women’s Day).

After earning her degree at the School of Interior Design at Ryerson University, Candice launched a very successful commercial and residential design business. Her first foray into television soon followed. “Divine Design” reached viewers in 160 countries over its eight seasons. In 2005, she launched The Candice Olson Collections, her own lines of furniture, lighting, wallpaper, fabric, appliances and more. Her new show “Candice Tells All” is now in its second season and between Canada and the US (where the show airs on HGTV), she reaches more than 100 million viewers each week.

Although she lives here in Toronto with her husband and two children, she’s in demand all over the world and so we’re very lucky to have her. Along with other well-known Canadian designers, she’ll be presenting some tips and ideas for home decor while enjoying some great food and wine. All in support of a great cause, too. Funds will support the Women Moving Women campaign of the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit the Ladies’ Night web site.

Canapes and champagne introduce the evening. The theme is duck, with Aria Chef Eron Novalaski working his magic in the kitchen. Four courses, four opportunities to excite the senses. Pinot is up to the task, and the considerable library of the Lifford/Schiralli agency will be tapped for your tasting pleasure. Their archives are considerable, drawing on names like Louis Jadot, Kooyong, Felton Road, Carrick, Craggy Range, Schug, Freestone, Amity, St. Innocent, Frescobaldi Pomino, La Pineta and more. The best part? Guests will vote to determine the winner.

On Tuesday, February 28, a remarkable experience awaits. Join the lucky few and witness history, along with esteemed food writer James Chatto who will preside over the evening. In addition to dinner, wine pairings, cheese course and dessert, guests will receive a gift bag containing a premium item from Le Creuset and the Dairy Farmers of Canada. (One gift bag per couple or individual ticket holder.) Seating is limited.

Call 1-888-711-9399 to reserve your place at the table. Tickets are $225/each which includes champagne reception, food, wine and gratuity. Taxes are extra. For more details visit www.visainfinite.ca.

I have to admit that I was hoping the Hewitson Miss Harry 2009 was named after the singer of Blondie, the lovely Debbie Harry. Upon further research, I learned it’s named for Harriet Hewitson, who I am sure is just as lovely. The wine certainly is. A Rhône-style blend (or “GSM” as they’re called in Australia) of Grenache (50%), Syrah (40%) and Mourvèdre (5%), with the addition in this case of two other Rhône varietals, Carignan (2.5%) and Cinsault (2.5%), the Miss Harry is sourced from vines dating back to the 1800s on the Hewitson‘s Barossa Valley property.

Aromas are of ripe strawberries and intense red forest berries and rhubarb with layers of creamy complexity offered by the extended barrel maturation on lees. The palate is wonderfully full, showing ripe strawberries and red plums, with a concentrated core of fruit essence with a racy acidity that gives the wine incredible vivacity and an exceptionally long finish. But don’t take our word for it:

Come Saturday, you can find it in your local LCBO Vintages section for $23.95/bottle. Use the handy LCBOSearch service to locate bottles near you.

And now, just for fun, are TWO videos about Miss Harry. First Harriet:

And now Debbie:

Made with 100% Aglianico, this is a wine that fully expresses the outstanding characteristics of this unique and ancient varietal.

Come Saturday January 6th, you can find it in your local LCBO Vintages section for $18.95/bottle. Use the handy LCBOSearch service to locate bottles near you.

Did I mention that fortified wines like Port are one of the best bargains at the LCBO? The price/value ratio is simply astronomical. And best of all, the bottle will keep for several weeks after opening, so you can return for a taste again and again. But trust me, it likely won’t last several weeks.

Released on December 10th, you can find it in your local LCBO Vintages section for just $16.95/bottle. Use the handy LCBOSearch service to locate bottles near you.

From the heart of Tuscany’s Chianti Classico region, the Santa Margherita Chianti Classico 2007 ($19.95) presents a contemporary style of Chianti, well-balanced and rich with fruit. An exemplary representation of the traditional, distinctive Sangiovese grape: elegant with tannic austerity and complex aromas. With a deep, ruby-red hue, this wine has rich nuances of wild berries, spices, and well-integrated oak. It’s a great match for grilled beef, game birds or fettuccine with a hearty meat sauce.

Come Saturday, you can find it in your local LCBO Vintages section for $19.95/bottle. Use the handy LCBOSearch service to locate bottles near you.

“Roberto Anselmi is widely regarded as one of Italy’s leading white wine producers. He left university in 1975 and started working in his father’s winery. His grandfather had been forced to sell the family’s vineyards in the 1940s and 50s, so his father’s winery relied on bought-in grapes.

Roberto’s ambition was to buy back the family’s vineyards, and he started acquiring hillside vineyards, planted at high density. Currently he has 70 hectares of vines, planted at 6000 vines per hectare and trained to Guyot or permanent cordon, as opposed to the much higher yielding double pergola system common in the region. His clones of Garganega (the white variety of Soave) are the less productive, higher quality ones.

Frustrated by the low quality and general lack of ambition in the Soave region, in 2000 he chose to leave the Soave DOC, and his wines are now labelled as IGT Veneto. “Probably the best property in Soave is my property,” he says, “but I don’t like beauracratic logic in my life. No one is focused on the real quality. I use 7000 plants/hectare as opposed to 1200. I have 3 bunches per plant as opposed to 15. These are two different philosophies of life.” He takes a quality minded approach, starting in the vineyard, and extending to the cellar where he uses cold maceration and low temperature fermentation.

His wines are very impressive in quite a modern, forward style. The San Vicenzo is a favourite of mine: lovely fruit quality unobscured by oak, and at around £10, very good value.”

Here’s a local take on the Anselmi San Vincenzo 2010 ($14.95), which is part of the VINTAGES Essentials collection, wines that should be widely available at any LCBO store with a VINTAGES section:

You can find it in your local LCBO Vintages section for $14.95/bottle. Use the handy LCBOSearch service to locate bottles near you.