Shelves

shelves: This Thursday column reviews the best of dozens of GL wines tasted, with a special spotlight on newcomers to all shelves. We have two this time that survived my cruel judging curtain to emerge victorious, according to The Star. I like including an Ontario wine among my winners, but its a real chore to find a fine red under $20. We finally did, with the Peninsula Ridge Merlot, under $15, but dishing up plenty of flavour and character and It looks like the endless winter of 2014 with its contorted jet stream is making spring seem like a drunkards dream. So forget patio lantern fantasies and lets keep our focus on General List wines on all shelves all the time with a special focus on winter reds. The two making a solid debut are Bellingham Big Oak Red from South Africa, which is already flying off shelves despite being released only four weeks ago, and a Tuscan seducer, Caparzo Sangiovese, which so far remains a sleeper and relatively undiscovered. Both are inexpensive heart warmers, very mellow and suffusive overall. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.