A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1013: A Sunshine Week!

Posted on March 25, 2026 by tonyaspler

Saturday, March 14th: Deborah and I drove to the Park ‘n’ Fly at Pearson Airport to take a Porter flight to Cancun. We stopped for a quick lunch at Vino Volo – a sandwich and a $19 glass of wine. The wine was Riverlore Sauvignon Blanc 2024 from Marlborough, New Zealand. The cost of a bottle at the LCBO is $14.80. Outrageous mark-up!

Our flight was delayed three hours. The choice of wine on the flight was Jackson-Triggs Pinot Grigio or Jackson-Triggs Cabernet Sauvignon. At Cancun Airport, a small bottle of water costs US$6. We had booked a bus ride to our resort, Akumal Bay, as transport to the hotel was not part of the package. Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1012: A Week I’d Rather Forget

Posted on March 16, 2026 by tonyaspler

This was one of Steven Elphick’s iconic images

This has been a terrible week so I’m not going to document it, other than to write that a dear friend, who took our wedding photos and shot all the images for my The Wine Atlas of Canada, passed away (MAID). Another friend from my London days died. Another friend in St. Catharines was diagnosed with cancer.

The only bright spot was a lunch in Toronto at Pizzeria Libretto, on University, with Deborah’s sister Suzanne, Linda Stevens and John Moses. Ordered a bottle of Luigi Righetti Valpolicella 2024 (excellent!).

Luigi Righetti Valpolicella 2024Saturday, March 14th: We fly Porter to Cancun for a week of sunshine. Thank heavens.

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1011: Spanish Pig-Out and Pinots Envy

Posted on March 9, 2026 by tonyaspler

A grey T-shirt, worn by someone whose head is not visible, bearing the text IN PINOT NOIR WE TRUST

Saturday, February 28th: Our old friend Barry Brown came to visit for a couple of nights. Barry is the founding president of the Spanish Wine Society in Toronto and he brought along an impressive array of Spanish foods purchased at Spanish Pig, 77 Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto – various pork products, cheese and canned fish, and some great wines from his cellar.

Canned Spanish fish

Wines from Barry Brown’s cellar

Sunday, March 1st: I messaged Thomas Bachelder to see if we could drop by and taste some of his wines at the Bat Cave. Thomas, the generous soul, said, of course. He asked what we’d like to taste and I said Pinot so he lined up six 2023 single-vineyard Pinots – Bator, Lowrey, Wismer-Parke, Wild West End Wismer-Parke, Hanck and Ivy & Warren (Saunders). But we couldn’t leave without trying a couple of 2023 Chardonnays from neighbouring plots, Wismer-Foxcroft and Wismer-Wingfield. Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1010: Collab Wines and a Farewell to an Artist

Posted on March 2, 2026 by tonyaspler

Steven Elphick’s iconic photo of an Icewine vineyard

Monday, February 23rd: Dinner: Blackened scallops with grilled peppers, with Trillium Cellars Chardonnay 2019.

Trillium Cellars Chardonnay 2019

Tuesday, February 24th: Dinner: Beef and Short Rib Lasagna with Southbrook Cabernet Franc 2001 (mildly corked, unfortunately, but drinkable.) Continue reading →

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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 1009: A Joyful Wine-Filled Week

Posted on February 23, 2026 by tonyaspler
Trillium Cellars Cabernet Franc 2019

With pork ribs

Monday, February 16th: Dinner – pork ribs with a bottle of Trillium Cellars Cabernet Franc 2019. This wine is a collaboration between George Brown College and Niagara College Teaching Winery. The label was designed by Surzayon Ghosh.

Tuesday, February 17th: Dinner: pasta with Wolf Blass Shiraz 2025. Continue reading →

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