Early September in Ottawa runs two seasons at once. The mornings want a sweater. The afternoons are still shorts. You’re grilling on Saturday and braising by Wednesday, and the drinks have to keep up with both. So here are seven to see you through, from a can you pull out of an ice bucket on a warm afternoon to a Spanish red for those cool evenings. Three come from Ontario. One spirit is made in the Ottawa Valley.
This bubbly is made in a small town close to Venice, Italy. Winemaker Linda Trotta works with a family who has owned their winery for 90 years. The wine’s name itself captures their approach. Good things shouldn’t be complicated: don’t overthink it. That’s your Bread & Butter in life and in the glass. It’s crafted from Glera grapes with a little Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, with aromas of florals and citrus, ripe apple, pear and white peach. The acidity keeps it refreshing, the mouthfeel is creamy, and the bubbles keep arriving in soft layers through a long finish. It’s polished, effortlessly social and under $20. Serve it well-chilled with sushi nigiri, fried calamari, or lemon-herb popcorn chicken.
Medium Dry • 11% • LCBO# 21621 • $19.95 • 92 points
France has Champagne. Italy has Prosecco. Canada now has Fracette, a sparkling style the VQA recognized in its own right. The name combines “frozen,” for the Icewine that finishes it, with “facette,” for the layers in the glass. It’s a dry and complex sparkling wine. Winemaker Nicolas Gizuk builds this one from Niagara Cabernet Franc, then adds a splash of Cabernet Franc Icewine. It has aromas of raspberry, cranberry, and candied rhubarb on the nose, with dark plum underneath, and fine, creamy bubbles. Serve it with cedar-planked salmon, or duck breast with a cherry pan sauce.
Dry • 12.7% • LCBO# 53240 • $34.95 • 94 points
Volta is a spectacular new winery in Prince Edward County, and this is one of their first releases in the LCBO. Their logo is a barn swallow, a bird that flies long distances but always comes back to the same nest every year. This wine comes from vineyard manager Edgar Ramirez’s home vineyard. It’s one of three County vineyards Volta farms to create premium wines. This one is barrel fermented, so it’s rich and opulent like the finest Burgundy without the Burgundy price tag. You’ll taste the County’s racy limestone minerality running through the wild heart of this wine, with aromas of honeyed oats and baked apple. Pair with Thai green curry shrimp or roast chicken.
Extra Dry • 13.5% • Vintages# 53052 • $34.95 • 94 points
Mike’s is Canada’s original hard lemonade. Born in 1996, Mike’s is celebrating its 30th birthday. Three decades later, their fun, familiar lemonade flavours still offer a refreshing taste, especially on a warm September day. It now comes “harder” at 7% alcohol in 473 ml and 740 ml cans, and in the Mike’s Harder Mix Pack with strawberry lemonade and mango lemonade flavours. It has bright, zesty citrus notes with all the juiciness of lemon flavour behind it. This is great when you’re relaxing on the deck with friends, perhaps with some chicken wings.
7% • 12 x 355 ml • LCBO# 41999 • $29.95 • 92 points
Georges Duboeuf built his first mobile bottling line on the back of an old Citroën truck so his grape growers could bottle on site. He eventually went on to supply famous Michelin-starred restaurants like Paul Bocuse and the Troisgros brothers. This beautiful wine opens with ripe raspberry, currant and strawberry. It has a velvety palate with fine tannins. Serve it slightly chilled, 14 to 16 degrees, for refreshment. This would be great with a charcuterie board.
Extra Dry • 13% • LCBO# 122077 • $21.95 • 90 point
The Torres family founded this winery in 1870. Miguel Torres was the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon. Then in 1979, at a blind tasting in Paris called the Wine Olympics, his Cabernet went up against top-tier Bordeaux, Château Latour, and won the category. This wine represents the Torres family’s innovation and courage. It’s a rare Cabernet Sauvignon from Spain under $20. It has aromas of cedar, black plum and blackberry. Delicious! Pair it with lamb Bolognese, grilled New York strip loin, or braised pork shanks.
Dry • 14% • Vintages# 36483 • $19.95 • 93 points
Made in Cobden, an hour up the valley, which makes this the shortest supply chain in the column. Real lemon juice, local honey and their own Canadian whisky, nitro-infused so it pours with the soft, foamed top a sour usually only gets from egg white. It’s bartender quality in a can. Three simple instructions: shake, crack, sip. Bright lemon leads, honey follows, and the whisky’s caramel holds the base. This is effortless cocktailing. Pour it over one big cube with fried chicken sliders and pickles, or a sharp cheddar board.
10% • 222 ml • LCBO# 48705 • $3.50 • 93 points
Natalie MacLean offers Ontario’s most popular online wine and food pairing courses, tasting classes, drink reviews and mobile apps at nataliemaclean.com. Follow her on Instagram at @nataliemacleanwine. She is the author of Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking Too Much.
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