June Wine Deals #16

Find that really good bottle. 54 great value for money wines (7 new & 11 90+ wines) Independently reviewed, on sale until July 1

Photo by Brent Gushowaty

Hello and welcome back.

New Feature - “Rarer Birds” Wine Picks

I have added a new selection of wine picks within the Wine Style categories. It’s called “Rarer Birds” and was created to include noteworthy wines that don’t fit the usual Wine Picks profile.

The “Rarer Birds” category replaces the “A Step Up” or “A Step Out” tags you might have seen in some previous issues. These “Rarer Bird” wines might be a little less available, made from unusual grapes or have a price that rides up a little over the $30.00 mark but are very much worth seeking out. As with normal Wine Picks, “Rarer Bird” wines are also great value wines and can be found in B.C. Liquor Stores. Again, a link is provided in the wine profile to locate the stores that stock them.

Sale priced, value for money wines are still the main focus in the newsletter but Rarer Birds will let you know about other wines of interest that have landed in B.C. Liquor Store branches.

Lots of great value wines on sale again this month including eleven 90-93 point wines. This month’s sale goes until July 1. There are 54 great value wines in all, including 6 new Wine Picks and 9 Rarer Bird selections.

Scoring

You will notice that I have now added scores on the 0 to 100 point scale to help you in choosing a wine. The 100 point scale is far from ideal but it is familiar to most wine drinkers, so I have added it to form part of the picture for each wine chosen, along with price, wine style, tasting notes and background information where I can.

Since wine writers are supposed to be the “experts” I think it’s our responsibility to provide a reasonable amount of information beyond a score and a list of descriptors. Choosing a wine by its score or “grocery list” of aromas and flavours alone may not be enough to help you find that “really good bottle” you will truly enjoy - e.g. a 90 point oak influenced style chardonnay won’t be pleasing to you if you don’t like oaky chards.

As always, new wine picks are placed at the top of each wine style category, previous picks now on sale are listed below that and last are the Rarer Birds.

This month, at the top of the newsletter are my best 5 value-for-pleasure wine picks for this month. These top 5 are chosen for a combination of their quality and the time limited discounted pricing currently available for them.

Note to Free Subscribers

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• #7 - 14 Pro Tips on Wine Touring and Tasting Room Etiquette

• #5 - You May Need Glasses -Basic Suggestions For Your Essential Wine Utensil

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June Wine Bargains - Let's Get Started

The wine bargains below are independently reviewed by me and are widely available from B.C. government stores.

For this month the wines chosen are in these styles:

Ripe Fruit Forward Reds (14 wines, 1 new, 1 rare) | Savoury Fruit Reds (15 wines, 3 new, 4 rare) | Lighter Fruit Reds (4 wines, 2 rare) | Medium Bodied Smooth Whites (7 wines, 1 new, 1 rare) | Bigger, Oak Influenced Whites (3 wines) | Crisp Dry Whites (7 wines, 1 new, 1 rare) | Aromatic Whites (1 wine) | Rosé (1 wine) | Sparkling (2 wines)

For detailed descriptions of the wine styles see An Illustrated Guide To Wine Styles

TOP 5 VALUE-FOR-PLEASURE WINE PICKS FOR JUNE

Ripe Fruit Forward Reds Style

TOP PICK #5. CIGAR BOX PINOT NOIR - CHILE $15.99 reduced to $11.99 until July 1 - 750 ml.

It is usually difficult to find a pinot noir under $20.00 that is lighter, supple, balanced and with good pinot noir fruit character. Chile usually gets closest to clearing the bar and this one does. It is well named as the pinot noir fruit is a little spicy with notes of chocolate, tobacco leaf and baking spices (cloves, cinnamon). It is a very enjoyable, interesting, balanced pinot noir, has no adverse flavours and is fair value at the regular price. It is an excellent bargain at the deeply discounted price (on a percentage basis) this month. Tasted ✓ 87 Points

Fi)nd Store Nearest You SKU 234901

Crisp, Dry White Style

TOP PICK #4. SOGRAPE GAZELA VINHO VERDE - PORTUGAL $12.99 reduced to 10.99 until July 1 - 750 ml.

This Vinho Verde is a very different, interesting Summer white wine style. A Portuguese wine whose literal name means "green wine” but indicates a "young wine" as it is usually released three to six months after harvest. Vinho Verde shows a slight effervescence, that originally came from the tail end of malolactic fermentation but these days, the slight sparkle you taste is added via carbonation. Alcohol levels are also usually lower in Vinho Verde, typically 10-12% and this Gazela is 9% alcohol.

The result is a white wine that is slightly lighter or lightly slighter perhaps than the majority of white wines. In a way, the structure usually provided in wines with higher alcohol is replaced by the wine’s light spritz.

The aromas here are very light but include matcha, green apple and honeydew melon. In the glass it is lightly fizzy, dry and evenly crisp with, apple, melon lemon/lime and pear skin. It has surprisingly good structure for a low alcohol wine. The body and intensity are light and it is delicately well balanced. The lemon/lime notes carry on nicely into the finish. Great value here for this non-vintage wine. Tasted ✓ 88 Points

Find Store Nearest You SKU: 141432