Wine Tasting

Wine Appreciation

For further information or questions please contact Wine Convener - Michael Preston.

The Applewood PROBUS Oenophiles:
“Oenophile , a person who enjoys wines and is not a connoisseur.”

Wine Tasting is a pretty broad topic. I’m sure that most, if not all of you, have tasted wine in an informal setting. I’m sure too that most of you have either been on a wine tour, visited a wine cellar, a wine bar or all of the above, and experienced some of the formalities in their tastings - noting colour, clarity, aroma/bouquet, grape type, hints of fruit, coffee, chocolate, sour grapes etc.

Well, Applewood Probus Tastings, from my experience, incorporate some of this formality, but REALLY, we are just enjoying the wines. We do use an evaluation sheet to score our impressions on each wine tasted - Appearance; Aroma/Bouquet; Taste/Texture; After-taste and more. It’s amazing how at times everyone’s scores can be so similar, or so very opposite, which causes immediate “guffaws” and much friendly discussion.

Personally, the tastings have exposed me to wines that I may not have otherwise tried, as well as helped me develop a “do not purchase list”. Above all, it’s a great social gathering in a very informal setting, where there is a good group of guys, plenty of conversation, opinions and laughter.

The groups decide for themselves what works best for their meeting every month. All groups meet at least 8 times per year, (usually excluding July and August). Each group member hosts at least one meeting per year, with the other members contributing $20 - $30 (the group’s decision) to cover cost of the wines, cheese and crackers, etc.

There are currently four groups,each consisting of 8 - 9 members. Those who prefer to participate occasionally may register on a”Spares” listing.

The present group coordinators and meeting days are:
Group 1 (Mike Read) - 2nd Tuesday of the month.
Group 2 (Mike Preston) - 4th Wednesday.
Group 3 (Reg Perkin) - 3rd Wednesday.
Group 4 TBD
Group 5 (Dave Stubbert) - 3rd Thursday.

Our wine groups are encouraged to invite “spares” as well as members of other groups to make up their usual complement (in case of absenteeism). Probus has a culture of fostering socialization.

If you would like to join the Wine Appreciation Group, or have an interest in changing to another group, let it be known to the Group Coordinator or myself and we will try to make it happen.

PLEASE ENJOY RESPONSIBLY

Cheers Mike Preston

Group 3 - March 18, 2026

I hosted the Group 3 Wine Tasting Meeting on March 18th, 2026 and chose SHIRAZ/SYRAH, an old favourite.

Only one of the six tasted was called SYRAH.The rest were called SHIRAZ. This is the name of the grape used to make the wine. There seems to be no distinction between syrah and shiraz grapes.

Three of the wines were from South Australia, two from Canada and one from South Africa.

See below for details:

Ranking	Location	Name	Vintage Year	Price	LCBO #
1	Canada	Copper Moon	2020	$11.95	153311
2	Canada	Creekside	2020	$25.95	66634
3	Australia	Bin 555	2023	$16.05	441643
4	S Africa	Porcupine Ridge	2024	$17.95	863290
5	S Australia	Promised Land	2021	$13.95	441813
6	SE Australia	Smoky Bay	2021	$11.15	17650

The Canadian wines ranked one and two. This is better than the ranking three years ago when when I chose shiraz for the tasting.
I would like to think the Canadian wines and/or tasting has matured and improved with time.

There seems to be an effort in marketing the wines as shown by the catchy names. The names have some significance. For instance Copper Moon indicates the grapes were harvested at night.

Paul Walters

Group 2 - February 2026

Mike Preston, Victor Fornasier, Bob Ewart, Bob Weese, and David Luckock met at Jim Christie’s home. We also welcomed two new members Mario Furtado and Brian Divell.

Group 2 sampled two Pinot Noirs (one Canadian and one Chilean), two Shiraz (one Canadian and one Australian), and two Cabernet Sauvignons (one Canadian and one Argentinean).

Collectively the group preferred the Canadian Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, but liked the Australian Shiraz over the Canadian. Unusually (for our group) we also gave the highest marks to the most expensive bottle and the lowest marks to the cheapest bottle.

Jim Christie

Wine	Location	Name	Score (out of 20)	Price
1	Chile	Cigar Box - Pinot Noir	13.2	$12.05
2	Niagara	Henry of Pelham Painted Wagon - Pinot Noir	14.6	$21.95
3	Australia	Sidewood - Shiraz	15.4	$19.95
4	Niagara	Peninsula Ridge - Shiraz	14.1	$16.95
5	Argentina	Kaiken - Ultra Cab Sauv	15.1	$22.95
6	Niagara	Reif Estate - Cab Sauv	16.5	$34.95

We hosted the Group 3 Wine Tasting Meeting on March 18th, 2026 and chose SHIRAZ/SYRAH, an old favourite.

Only one of the six tasted was called SYRAH.The rest were called SHIRAZ. This is the name of the grape used to make the wine. There seems to be no distinction between syrah and shiraz grapes.

Three of the wines were from South Australia, Two from Canada and one from South Africa.

See below for details:

Group 3 - Janurary 21, 2026

Our group of seven tasters… Bryce Atkinson, Jim Demeroutis, Jack Doney, Reg Perkin, John Spence, Marty Wanat and myself were challenged with the evaluation of a variety of red wines from Ontario acknowledging the theme of “ Elbows Up “. Unfortunately, Neil Paget, Doug Gilpin and Paul Walters were unable to attend, but they were capably replaced by John and Jim.

We tasted six wines… two Cabernet Sauvignon’s and four blends… Pinot Noir, Merlot, Bordeaux and Cabernet franc.

The top ranked wine was from Trius Winery… “The Icon”. “This wine shattered expectations in 1991 when it was named the best red wine in the world. 35 vintages later it remains Canadian, classic, bold, refined, and unapologetically original.”

Everyone enjoyed the selection of wines, camaraderie, and a considerable number of interesting conversations.

Don Steen

Group 2 - November 26, 2025

On November 26, the Group 2 Wine Appreciation section met for a tasting at The Fairways home of host David Luckock.

The event was staged as a blind tasting of six wines, arranged in three pairs. The two wines in each pair were made from the same grape varietal. The first was Sauvignon Blanc wines, one from from Chile and the other New Zealand. The second pair were Rioja wines, (Tempranillo grapes) both from Spain. The final pair were from the Rhone Valley in France (Grenache based blends).

After blind-sampling each pair in sequence, participants were challenged to identify the country of origin, the growing region, plus the grape variety from which they were made. In conformity with our group’s long track record on such questions, our guesses were wide-ranging on all counts, with accuracy proving elusive. No matter. The next questions about each pair were much easier to answer: “Which wine do you like better?", followed by “Why?”. Replies to this demanding test were unusually consistent for our distinguished panel of eight tasters.

Only at the end of the tasting was it revealed that each pair of wines included a rock bottom priced example and a (sort of) top priced example.

Typical prices (for the reds) were about $12 and about $44 per bottle.   So the real objective for this blind tasting was to discover whether higher priced wines are invariably better. In the case of the Sauvignon Blancs and the Rhone Valley wines, there was unanimous support for the better wine. In the case of the Riojas, the group strongly preferred the much less expensive bottle. That may have been due to a predominant “earthy” quality of the more expensive version, which many found unpalatable.

Perhaps lubricated by the wine consumption, our group engaged in a spirited debate about the state of Canada’s public healthcare system, with consideration of the need for a major overhaul (as presently being contemplated in Alberta).

For anyone interesting in trying our tasting samples for themselves, here are their specifics:

Santa Carolina                Sauvignon Blanc (Chile)       LCBO # 269597    $9.90
Stoneleigh Latitude       Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand).    LCBO # 40137    $23.95

Mesta Tempranillo D.O. Ucles Organic    (Spain).        LCBO # 40137    $10.80
Urbina Especial Reserva 2006        (Rioja, Spain).     LCBO # 10494    $44.95

Chemin Des Papes Cotes du Rhone   2024   (Rhone Valley, France). LCBO # 36056     $11.95
Famille Perrin Les Sinards Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022 (Rhone Valley).   LCBO # 926626 $43.95

Group 5 - November 20, 2025

Wine group #5 met on November 20 hoping to finally answer the question:

Do you really have to spend a king’s ransom to get a wine that would satisfy the most discerning Probus palate? To help shed light on this puzzle, we tasted 3 relatively inexpensive wines alongside of their somewhat more expensive counterpart. We compared the following:

SANTA CAROLINA Sauvignon Blanc VS. STONELEIGH LATITUDE Sauvignon Blanc Chile #269597 $9.90 New Zealand #40137 $23.95

MESTA Tempranillo D.O Ucles. VS. Urbina Especial Reserva 2006 Spain # 44591 $10.80 Rioja, Spain 10494 $44.95

CHEMIN DES PAPES VS FAMILLE PERRIN LES SINARDS Cotes du Rhone France Chateauneuf- du-Pape #36056 $12.00 #926626 $43.95

The conclusions were less than definitive. While everyone generally agreed that the more costly wines displayed more character and complexity, with fuller bodies and more well developed and defined tastes and noses. Not everyone agreed that they were worth the extra expense.

It appears that we are going to have to do a lot more tasting before this question is finally resolved. :)

Dave Litner

Group 5 - July, 2025

WINE TASTING GROUP 5
JULY 17, 2025
Group 5 met in July and tasted both Rose and Red wines. Below are the rankings for each wine
TWO IN THE BUSH BIRD IN THE HAND SHIRAZ 2022 Australia - $18.95

2, SMOKY BAY ROSE – NE Australia $11.00

3. SIDEWOOD STABLEMATE SHIRAZ 2021 Australia $17.95

4. WITTS END LUNA SHIRAZ 2022 - South Australia $15.95

5. TORO BRAVO Shiraz Garnacha Rosado 2024– Spain $10.50

6. PROTEA ROSE 2024 - South Africa $15.00

Group 1- June, 2025

Five members of Group1 convened at Denis Bailey’s home on Wednesday, June 11, to sample 6 wines from Eastern European Countries, 2 whites (numbers 1 and 2) and 4 reds (numbers 3 – 6). We usually meet on Tuesdays but on this occasion the members opted to reserve the immediately preceding Tuesday for playing golf. All of the wines were obtained from the LCBO, some with more difficulty than others because most LCBO’s have only very small selections of wines from this region. The wines we tasted were the following:

Wine	Country	LCBO#	Price
1. Kremetal DAC Grüner Veltina 2022	Austria	375022	$17.95
2. Empress Classic Grašvina 2024	Croatia	22685	$17.95
3. Vicelic Peljesac Plavac Mali Red 2020	Croatia	24640	$33.50
4. United Stars Mukuzani Dry Kakheti 2021	Georgia	460501	$20.00
5. Teleki Selection Villányi Kékfrankos 2019	Hungary	34429	$16.95
6. Terra Tangra Black Label Rubin 2019	Bulgaria	39376	$17.95

Both white wines were light and enjoyable, but the Grüner Veltliner from Austria was zestier and more flavourful and was favoured. The four red wines also very enjoyable, with prominent fruit flavours and variable tannins, but the Plavac Mali from Croatia and the Kékfrankos from Hungary stood out and were preferred. Individual scores were not recorded to avoid comparing entire countries’ wine industries based on the assessments of single wines. In addition to politics and wars the group discussed the wines we tasted, and were generally surprised at their high quality. We suggest that other members of the club consider looking at these and similar, reasonably priced wines from this region.

Denis Bailey

Group 2 - May 2025

Five Group 2 members and guest John Mark recently tasted six “old world reds”. As usual it was a convivial gathering with much banter to accompany the tasting and informal rating process. Three wines from Spain and three from Italy were sampled. While the grape varietals differed, the average ratings were closely grouped with one exception - the lowest rated wine trailed the others noticeably.
The results in descending rank order were as follows:

1. Borsao - Tres Picos Garnacha 2021 ($21.95). Spain.   VINTAGES# 273748
2. Zensa - Nero D'Avola Appassimento Sicilia DOC. ($15). Italy.   LCBO# 31801
3. El Goru   ($14.95). Spain.   LCBO# 443945
4. Luciano Arduini - Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore 2021 ($25.95). Italy. VINTAGES# 12407
5. Cantine San Marzano - Primitivo ($11). Italy. LCBO# 13494
6. Priorat - Clos de Tafall   2021   ($20.95) Spain.   VINTAGES# 574616

Group 3 - May 2025

Doug Gilpin hosted Group 3 Winetasters on May 21, 2025; the attendees were Reg Perkin, Marty Wanat, Jack Doney, Neil Paget, Don Steeen, Paul Walters, and guest Ron Kawchuk.
The theme of the event was "Bold Wines", defined on the website "Wine Folly" as very dark red wines, usually with alcohol by volume of 14% or greater, and from tropical vineyards. A chart "Red Wine Boldness" was provided.

The group ranked the six wines in the following order of preference:
1. Boschendal Pinotage 2012, South Africa, $19.75
2, Knappstein Clare Valley Shiraz 2021, South Australia, $19.95.
3. El Goru Monestrell/Syrah/Petit Verdot, Spain, $14.95,
4. Red Stripe Wynn's Coonawarra Estate Cabernet/Shiraz/Malbec 2022, South Australia, $19.75.
5. Torres Gran Coronas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Spain, $19.95.
6. Monasterios de los Vinos Gran Reserva, Spain, $21.95.

As usual, discussion was lively and enjoyable.

Group 2 - April 23, 2025

Six members of Group 2, Jim Christie, Peter Crawford, Bob Weese, Hugh Turner, Bob Ewart, and Victor Fornasier met at Jim Christie’s house to sample a selection of Ontario red wines. During past wine tastings we had often included one Ontario selection in the wines to be sampled and had found the Ontario wines to be on par with the foreign selections. So, for this tasting six red wines from Point Pelee and Niagara on the Lake were selected. All six wines were found to quite drinkable and the general consensus was that Ontario red wines had now come of age. The six wines tasted in order of preference were:
1. Inniskillin Baco Noir, $16.95
2. Pelee Island Lola Merlot, $15.95
3. Jackson Triggs Reserve Merlot, $14.95
4. Pelee Island Cabernet Sauvignon, $18.95
5. Southbrook Triomphe Organic Cabernet Franc, $26.95
6. Chateau des Charmes Gamay Noir, $13.95