mkjr

I particularly like their latest release - Yma Sumac. "Like the ridge of a record - this delicate white spins on and on and on... recalling the lost Indian love call of harvest-time." Memo ← The Port, I mean Pipe is always very good. Not something one wants to have more than a glass or two though at the end of the evening.

Always good wines coming out of SR. I do not think Conundrum is carrying Caymus on the label anymore. I recall there was a shift to only produce Cab's there.

I have heard positive things about this wine although I could not bring myself to spend that much on this wine (better places to sink my cash for less). Does anyone recall the article about BC wine pricing. I think it was about how BC wines are pricing themselves out of the market. I thought it was in City Food (sic).

I go to Bymark and sit upstairs. Not because of the place but because they have some good cocktails (usually triples). Two and its time to go home and usually well before 10. Other than that it is a nice bottle of wine at home. I do not go to Bymark often and only when I am craving a drink that no matter how hard I try I can never mix things that well.

please say it is not so Daddy-A

No cheesier than all the pretend Mediterranean villas! I think it's Persian, not Roman, by the way. ← Agreed. Many thanks for correcting me.

Question? Out of all the wineries to go in Napa, how did you settle on Darioush and Cakebread? Both are very solid mid tier wines but a rather odd pair. Did you BYOW the half bottle? The whole roman thing is a little cheesy at Dariosh. I prefer tasting in garages and knowing that the price I am paying for is not covering the morgage (although as others will know I am one to talk). Your whole post is making me want to go back to SFO ASAP - and fueling my desire to blow off Bay Street big law and try out Market Street big law (only reason is so I am closer to Napa since the hours suck just as bad). Too bad the current price of real estate is so evil in the bay area. Nice to see Dariosh is still making bottles that can be used as weapons.

Vincor is NOT sold yet. It only agreed to allow Constellation to acquire the shares its does not already own by way of plan of arrangement last week on April 2 and such arrangements remain subject to shareholder approval at the meeting to be held on June 1 (although with the board of directors of Vincor support behind Constellation plans approval is probably a slam dunk). If there is any change in the way Vincor handles business recently it has nothing to do with recent events - absolutely certain things would not change in only 10 days! Hell only people pretty senior and up at Vincor (read CFO, CEO, VP's) knew about the deal and then, only, then would it have filtered down to distributors, sales reps etc. after April 2. Also, up until recently Vincor was resisting Constellation at all cost. I mean who would have expected that following Vincor's sucessful defence of Constellation's hostile bid they would have turned announced a friendly deal. I thought that things were done on that one only to be surprised when I saw the wire come through on Canada Newswire. Structures do not collaps in 10 days.

You have pretty much pegged MM. Sending you the 01 instead of the 02 is very very poor form considering they lured you in on the list with the good year and then swapped it for the generally crappy 01 (without knowing what you ordered there may be some exception but generally I am not aware of too many producers who produced similar quality wines in both years and based on my tastings the 01s are not worth much time). I would have been pissed. The Photos of your adventure are great.

I was not really waiting but having seen the one for Ame I will absolutely be waiting patiently. What a great job on the other thread!

I can understand the original poster's point about not wanting to drive and have a few libations (something others have seemed to ignore). A cab is not an option to NOTL either and would cost well more than dinner. Although I have never been there, the steak place in Casino Niagara looked interesting and appeared to have a very good wine list. I recall they bought many bottles at the LCBO auction a few years back - was a little tough to bid against that bank roll. I think the name may have changed but it used to be called 21 Club. The menu at 21 Noir looks OK http://fallsviewcasinoresort.com/?SiteID=0...Profile+17+Noir but appears to be trying to be all things for all people - which I can understand - but really lacks much direction. My understanding is that Casa Mia is about 10 minutes away although never been there. I hear Capri might be OK. I am sorry but I think you are correct that the options are very limited.

I thought that I would temper my original response which was good luck. You can try Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar (www.jkkitchens.com/reserve.html). They take reservations for lunch and they may be open on May 22 (although who knows). I can only speak of places around where I work and live (which is Bay and Wellington) but I am not aware of any of Canoe, Bymark or Far Niente being open. I think also that with the size I suspect places may expect you to go through private dining and may not seat you in the main dining rooms (Canoe would absolutely require this although I called to check for you and they are not taking reservations on that day as they are still not sure if they are going to be open). Also try Crush Wine Bar (www.crushwinebar.com). The owner Jamie used to work at Willies in Paris and given the area may be open on this day. I will see what else I can think of.

The list is priced well and you should be able to get a good bottle under $100 or a half at $50. When I was there and similarly when I was at Per Se, I stuck with a nice white that could last for many course (i.e. a Nicolas Joly or a Dageneau should work or perhaps a Colin Deleger or Marc Colin white burg) and on the meat course shared a glass of red. Others have confirmed that the wine pairing is not cheap (but very generous). On a budget and eating and FL is an oxy moron and adding MM also adds to the pain. Try to stay under 4 digits at FL and you will be fine.

Please note Splendido is not open for lunch and closed on Monday's. This may be tough as I know many places are closed for on Monday period, regardless of the holiday.

Whistler is nice and all but I am not aware of (other than skiing the glacier - although not sure you can in August) an activity in Whistler during the summer that you can not partake in a place other than in Whistler in the summer. I think a day and a half is all you need. I think that if you were to rent a place for a night or two right on Alta Lake it might be quite romantic (avoid staying in the Village IMHO). I am probably the worst person to offer advice about outdoor activities though since my days of seasons passes at Blackcomb are long over and I am also still diging the rocks out of my hands from the last time I mountain biked in the summer up there. You can always hike up to the base of Black Tusk near Squamish which I have done a few times and take a nice dip in the glacial lakes if you dare. Around Kelowna, the other ideas thus far are great and brougt back fond memories of summer hockey schools in the area and tube rides between Okanagan lake and Skaha lake. Friends of the family also owned Sumac Ridge at the time and the golf course that used to be on the property was a hoot to play (very beat up but that was many years ago). Golf is one thing that the area is very well known for. Perhaps in August the residences at Burrowing Owl will be done and you can stay there - not sure when they are supposed to be done. If you do decide to travel south of Kelowna to the places some have noted (i.e. towards Penticton, Summerland, Oliver, and Osoyoos you may need to drive back on the number 3 as doubling back would probably take more time to go the number 5), although in the summer the road is fine (not so in the winter). Just keep it in mind and I would advise you drive the road during the day as it is not very well lit at night. I have relatives in Keromeos and I can not think of anything better than driving the number 3 and eating so much fresh fruit as you went along that you were going to burst.

This makes me very sad (for you) and very angry at the system. Hope all out there love the local wine (I refuse to buy from Ontario and BC because of this and have less than 12 bottles from Canada in total since Ontario and BC are the worst provinces for mark ups as I understand to protect their wine industries) and the associated protectionism mark up to protect the local wine industry. I think it has been long enough and the wine can hold its own, so why not let it. I mean why not have the LCBO or others take the same amount of tax they do from agents. It is well below the 70%. What is wrong with a 15% wine tax at the border (since my understanding is the provincial taxes kill you)? I would pay it. There must be an avenue of appeal since you should be able to show a receipt. What was the bottle? I wonder whether they used WS or not (if you know the searcher then you do) but I would not want to give the link away to the "man" as that searcher engine tends to often show the last few bottles of anything in the US at the highest possible prices. Very unfair and wine unfriendly of them. I guess my stuff in the US will have to wait and come up 2 at a time. I wish that someone in Buffalo would set up a proper wine storage facility so I can let stuff sit there for years.

Interesting. Are these wines still good? Saw some in California for $39.99 at Beverages and More? Seemed pretty good. I thought LVMH bought out Newton? I could be wrong. Also interesting to note the sales through agents get counted to the LCBO. I hear the LCBO gets the best prices in the world on Bordeaux. I guess they are not passing on the savings since its hard to pay futures prices that are close to or higher than US release prices – and if you see the futures prices like I do at K&L, Sam's, Beverages and More and several other places in the US, its hard to buy Bordeaux in Ontario at all - which I refuse to do.

Been wanting to try the new LSB since the last time I was at the one on Queen things were so so. I recall there must have been about 4 or 5 bottles on the wine list that I selected that were sold out. I guess that is to be expected with a long list. I walked by the new LSB after a dinner at Nectar and the room looks pretty amazing. Perhaps I will check it out with the whole BYOW and all. I note your profile indicates you are a "restaurant manager, sommelier and owner of company dedicated to wine". Care to share where?

Exactly. I would go to Lobby based on what I have seen and read as I too thought it was one of those see and be seen places only. I think I would go on Mon-Wed to take advantage of the BYOW.

"In the mean time, I'm drinking way too much of this: 2003 Chateau Sainte Eulalie La Cantilene Minervois La Liviniere serving it to guests at home and customers at work I've had 100% success with it" Seems like a good price. I thought I saw the Cuvee Presitige at the SAQ for $15.35 (which is giving it away) but am not sure on the price of the La Cantilene there.

Canoe is great for lunch but not quick and not cheap so be warned that this might eat into the travel budget. I think Jamie Kennedy's is also good. I always like Far Niente and it is much easier on the pocket book. Bymark is a little on the expensive side but also equally good. You can always try to get up to Osgoode Hall which has a great room and the food is very cheap and very good.

Just picked up 4 bottles of the 2002 Dominus. I suspect this one will be a hard one to get in the release. I was offered the 6L but figured I did not know enough people to share with and could not drink it all myself.

With the changes to shipping laws in the US, specifically NY, I am thinking about getting a storage locker in Niagara or Buffalo to receive wine from the various mailers I am on. I was previously getting things sent to Washington state. I know that there was some discussion about what it would cost etc. in Ontario. Has any additional specific details been determined (Customs does not give you a very straight answer). I would like to bring in a case at a time. I know there is GST etc. but if I am going to bring things like Harlan through I want to have costs really hammered out. I want to be entirely above board also. Does anyone know if there are any current lobbies on the Ontario Gov regarding the same that I can assist with. I also know there are agents out there that get some very good wines and keep them for themselves as the purchasers instead of making them available (I am sure if you dig a little you can find out who and what wine). Has anyone thought about setting up their own agency? Do you think it would work if you were on the mailers and were getting good allocations of this stuff and just bringing it through the LCOB as an "agent". Seems to me that some things come through agents at a reasonable mark up above the US retail costs even with the agents 20-25% cut (case in point the 2001 Shafer Hillside Select which was $250 through Rogers but is $175 US retail on release so that is a very good deal since if you were to purchase on your own and bring it up I suspect it may cost much more). There was a similar dicussion some time ago in the Montreal forum and there was a reference to a potential permit one could get through the LCBO but I suspect there is no similar one in Ontario?

Had an amazing WL dinner at Nectar on the weekend. FYI, the menu on the WL web site is not exactly the one they are serving so call and ask ahead as I suspect they may have done that to mix it up. Service was AAA+ and they even allowed BYOW (which I took advantage of - of course calling ahead to make sure the wine was not on the list - and brought a 1998 Meo Camuzet Vosne Romanee ($35 corkage) which was drinking very nicely indeed). I also ordered a glass of Moet and a glass of vintage port as I usually do when I BYOW and shared some with the wait staff. Funny that the people next to us seemed very put off on the whole meal but I have eaten at many places in the city that are nowhere near as good as the meal I had. This was a steal at $35. Egually as impressive was North 44 the next night (I am still thinking about the Tuna appatizer), which evidently also allows BYOW at $50 corkage. Both Nectar and North 44 had damn good wine lists with very reasonable mark ups on the mid range which is very nice to see, although it looked like North 44 only had two or three wines by the glass. Seemed odd and thought it must have been a WL thing and since I was pretty wined out from the night before, I went with beer (which is pretty rare for me). Neither place made us feel rushed. 4 Stars for each. Off to Bymark tonight.

Triple the Marquis choice. Sig other and I entrust David Lancelot et. al. and others at Marquis (Andrew, John, Kevin, Kristalla (sic - sorry about the spelling) etc.) with my Visa card, and their opinions, more so recently than in the past for reasons that others will know esp. DL. They are as good as it gets in the Province IMHO. I liked the store you are talking about but you really need to talk with the people that run the show. John at Marquis really seeks to get the best you can at a variety of price points. Sometimes price is no object (and I pay a lot a bottle - but likely can not even get it anywhere in the world) other times he gets deals for very low prices. Chances are you can walk in and ask anyone in the store what to get for a certain $ amount and you will walk away a happy camper. I will eat my words if that is wrong. Can not say the same about the LCBO in Ontario that is for sure.