Having spent my childhood in England with summers enjoyed on the Mediterranean beaches in Spain, I grew up with wine as a familiar sight at the family table. I remember my parents remarking that it was cheaper to buy wine than water in Spain and in the times of water shortage, the wine would flow. When I asked to try a sip, a sip was always granted and even with that little thimble-sized taste, I knew I somehow liked it.
By mid high school I was working on weekends at a well-known Toronto restaurant owned and managed by the family of one of my school friends. I was enthralled by the endless bottles of what appeared to be beautiful and valuable vintage wines in the restaurant’s wine cellar and asked the sommelier to teach me about them. Over time, I learned the basics, understanding Italian bottles from French bottles and Spanish and California bottles, learning to read the labels and understanding what it meant if the wine was estate or chateau bottled versus bottled off the property. I also learned the wines were classified by the village they were from in Europe which often indicated the type of grapes used to make the particular wine. For example, I learned that the white wines from regions and villages in Burgundy, France including Meursault or Chablis are made from the Chardonnay grape.
In grade 12 I did my one of my final high-school projects on winemaking in Bordeaux. I studied the grapes, how they’re grown, the importance of the geographical location of the vineyard, the climate and the type of soil the vines are planted in. I wrote about how the wines from the left bank of Bordeaux from villages including Pauillac and Margaux are predominantly made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, while the wines from the right bank of Bordeaux including Saint-Emillion and Pomerol, are made from higher concentrations of Merlot grapes. I talked about how the gravel soils and moderate climate create the ideal conditions for growing these types of grapes.
After grade 12 and graduating from high school, I decided to take my thirst for knowledge to one of the great wine-making centres of the world – France. I lived with a French family in Paris for a year and had the privilege of experiencing French life, culture and wine through their eyes. Madame and Monsieur would drink their little glass of red wine every night with dinner – “it’s good for the health” he would tell me. I watched him select and decant fantastic French wines and was lucky enough to try a few myself.
It wasn’t until after I had graduated from university that I resumed my wine-learning journey. As luck had it, I was offered a job as a sales and marketing coordinator with Philippe Dandurand Wines, a Canadian importer and distributor of wines from around the world. I worked with famous wineries in France, California and Chile, helping to coordinate their listings and presence in the LCBO, organizing marketing and sales materials and formal wine tastings for the wine media in Toronto. Thanks to the sales team taking me under their wing I was taught how to properly open a bottle of wine using a traditional waiter’s friend corkscrew, how to taste a glass of Meursault, how to celebrate the Beaujolais Nouveau, and mostly how to experience and fully enjoy wine.
Recently I completed the Wine Spirits and Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 course in wine knowledge with David Lawrason teaching. I’m a member of a women’s wine tasting club called Wine Babes https://www.facebook.com/pg/WineBabes/photos/?ref=page_internal and I’m excited to start this blog to help others learn a little more about wine. My friends often ask me what wines they should be serving at various occasions and what to buy at the LCBO. My recommendations will be for budget conscious, informed and enjoyable selections. My goal is to help others feel more informed and confident about choosing their wines at the LCBO.