Vic's Picks: Wine Picks of the Season 
Vic Harradine has been teaching wine appreciation for a number of years at Algonquin. An avid wine taster, he samples about four thousand wines a year.
He writes reviews for about two thousand of them in the free wine e-newsletter: www.winecurrent.com which is published every two weeks to coincide with Vintages Releases at the LCBO. To receive yours, log on the winecurrent.com site and subscribe.
Vic's Top Three Wine Picks
Take a look at Vic's Top Five Wine Tips
Video Wine Tips
Enrico DeFrancesco, Coordinator of Algonquin's Sommelier program, appeared on CBC's Living in Ottawa.
View Enrico's Wine Tips
Cono Sur Viognier 2008 
Chile $9.95 (64287)
Add this to your list for the best-value wines in the LCBO. It's herbaceous on the nose with herbs, spice and passion fruit up front. The palate is treated to a gusher of flavours including warm sweet (13.7% alcohol) pineapple and melon that's moderated with a stream of bracing mouth-watering acidity. It delivers a superb sweet and tart finish that helps make it a versatile food partner. Pair with pan-seared fish or scallops, lemon veal or roast pork. This earned its final half star on its exceptional value.
Jindalee Shiraz 2007 
South East Australia $10.95 (591818)
This is a great crowd-pleaser with a nose of crushed, dried dark berry fruit and a generous wave of ripe sweet (14% alcohol) fruit flavours on the palate. Look for cassis, black currant and Bing cherry flavours that stream right through the lengthy finish. There's good weight, it's nicely textured and has enough zest and tang for reasonable balance. It earned its final half star on value; give it a go with burgers, lasagna or pizza.
Hungaria Grand Cuvée Brut Non-Vintage
Hungary $11.10 (619288)
This is my first tasting of this, even though it's been an LCBO mainstay for years, and I'm taken with the value it offers; it earned its final half-star because of it. Floral and slightly leesy (like rising bread dough) aromas segue a delightful burst of bubbles and flavours on the palate-citrus, peach, apple and pear, while the texture is very smooth. It's medium bodied and slightly 'off-dry' with enough moderating acidity for good balance. It's fermented in bottle, although not the bottle you're drinking it from, a.k.a. the 'transfer method', and the bubbles were consistent and lengthy-quite impressive.
Vic's Top Five Wine Tips
- Take white wine out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving as it will be too cold (reducing aromas and flavours) if you don't
- Put red wine in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving as 'room temperature' in most homes is far too warm - ideal serving temperature for red wine is around 16 C
- Sweet dessert and sparkling wine should be served straight from the fridge or ice bucket
- There is no statement of quality when a bottle is sealed with a screwcap rather than cork; most wines are made to be consumed within their first two or three years of life and screwcap is a great seal avoiding possibility of cork taint
- The best way to keep a part bottle of wine is to put the cork in, or screw cap back on, and keep in the fridge (red, white or sparkling) and drink within three days (if it's a really good wine, call me and I'll come over and help you finish it!)