What Kind of Wine Do You Drink at Breakfast?

My faith in the good 'ole last minute cram session is still true and strong... I received my marks from last week's Grape Varities exam, and I actually did better than I had thought. In addition to the exam review, last night's class focused on the Tempranillo, Zinfandel /Primativo, and Pinotage grape varieties. In this class, not only do we learn about where these grapes are grown, how they’re cultivated and the best winemaking techniques for each; we also learn about the origins of each grape – like how Pinotage is a cross between the Pinot Noir and Cinsault grapes… now a popular South African variety.

The highlight of the evening (for me) was the final tasting of Pinotage wines.
One of my favourite wines (which my sister Kim will attest to, as I made her dash out and buy the last few bottles from the Oakville LCBO just before Christmas) was served: Café Culture, 2007 from South Africa. This particular wine is made using heavily toasted barrels in the aging process, which imparts a rich coffee/mocha character to the wine. It actually truly smells and tastes like coffee!

So next time you wake up a little late on a Saturday morning – probably closer to brunch than breakfast, consider replacing your coffee mug with a wine glass and pour yourself some coffee wine! (it's 5pm somewhere in the world!)

The next release of Café Culture is scheduled for the August run at the LCBO… mark your calendars as this stuff doesn’t stay on the shelves for long. It will also carry a nice $15 price tag (just slightly more than your vente Starbucks latte!)


Before I sign off, I wanted to follow-up on the wine agent course I attended last Saturday. All in all, this course helped lay out all the steps needed to set up a wine import business. There truly is so much regulation on representing and importing wine. Steven’s seminar helped me sift through all the information and understand my next steps in setting up the business. One of my friends had decided to take the course with me, so perhaps between the two of us we can set up an agency and have a little fun in the meantime! I'm hoping to announce the agency name in my next post...