Christmas bottle
December 9, 2009 
 WineDiva.ca & WineScores.ca
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It's the time of the year that we start counting shopping days and weekends are relegated to parties.
Which means we are looking for interesting bottles as hostess/host gifts or a nice stocking stuffer...
Perfect timing for my annual Top 50 $20 to $50 wines.
The Top 50 are wines that have I have reviewed on WineDiva.ca in the past year and have scored 90+ points on my sister site WineScores.ca

If you are looking for party wines (or just everyday drinking wines) remember to check out my annual TOP 100 Best Buy Wines! These are wines I have reviewed on WineDiva & WineScores between November 11, 2008 & November 11, 2009.
They are wines under $20 and have scored 89+ points on my sister site WineScores.ca.
These are wines from around the world...red, white and bubble which stand out in the category of quality and price.

Pick up a copy of the BC Liquor Stores winter issue of Taste Magazine where I talk about having a white [wine] Christmas and Vines Magazine December~January issue to find out what I really think about Cava in Cava Confidential, on stands now.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter - TheWineDiva for updates on events, travels, tasting notes and a few cheeky subtitles...

Cheers,
Daenna


P.S Stay tuned for a special sparkling wine edition next week!

 Top 50 2009
 

Christmas bottle wrapped upright fp Here they are, the Top 50 bottles of 2009.
Wines that I have reviewed over the past year on both sites and that have received a score of 90+ on WineScores.ca.
Many of these are from small BC producers and some may only be available in BCLDN Signature Stores or small private wine stores - but I did try to make sure they were available in some capacity - somewhere.


You will notice (especially with BC wines) that several small private wine stores have signed on with WineDiva.ca to provide you with the availability of some of these wines in their stores in BC. The more private stores that sign up for access on WineDiva.ca & WineScores.ca the easier it will be for consumers to find these harder-to-find wines - so pass the word.
To have your store listed beside any wines you sell and have access to my sites email us at marketing@winediva.ca.


Top 50 here... 


 swoon-worthy
 Accordini Ripassa' del Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC, Italy, 2005

Accordini Ripassa

I call this a swoon-worthy baby Amarone.
It seduces you with intense aromas of kirsch, prunes, luscious chocolate and espresso with undertones of leather and baking spices. It's rich and densely weighted on the palate and has impressive concentration of sweet cherry, dried fruits, cocoa and coffee flavours with lingering warm spice on the finish. Very well balanced with a supple, elongated finish.
Excellent value.

$29.99


More Top 50 2009 here... 


 Top 100 Best Buys 2009
 

Top 100 WD











What are the Top 100 wines of 2009?
These are best buy wines - great value for the price. They are wines I have had the opportunity to review on WineDiva.ca & WineScores.ca over the past year. They have scored a numerical rating of at least 89/100 points on WineScores.ca.
This is the second year I have released a Top 100-Best Buys, the response last year was fantastic.
By releasing my Top 100-Best Buys of the year in November it has the added benefit of making your holiday shopping easier. Parties and family get-togethers require good bottles at reasonable prices. It's expensive enough at this time of year, and your time is limited so this is my gift to you...
Enjoy!
I know you'll find more than a few gems in this list!

Remember!
By accessing the WineDiva Tool Bar on each review you can:
*Send that individual review to a friend (as a hint...)
*You can find more wines from that particular winery/producer
*You can find similar wines (based on aromatic and flavour profile)
*But you can also score that wine out of 5 stars, and
*You can post that wine to your personal FaceBook page and create your own private cellar for friends to see...


See all 100 wines here... 


 An impressive stocking stuffer...
 Cave de Tain Saint Joseph 'Esprit de Granit' Rhone Valley France, 2005

Cave de Tain St Joseph


This elegant Syrah from the Northern Rhone appellation of Saint Joseph has aromas of fruitcake, dried plums and spiced cherries with undertones of wild herbs, leather, pepper and smoked-meaty hints. It has wonderful structure, the palate is bright, it's layered and complex with red fruit, spice and espresso flavours. Impressive length with fine grained tannins.
A great stocking stuffer idea!

$33.99


More Top 50 of 2009 here... 


 Down Under Opulence
 Heathcote Estate Shiraz, Heathcote Victoria Australia, 2006

Heathcote Shiraz


Fantastic ripe briary berries, loads of violets and rich chocolate with minty/eucalypt and roasted coffee aromas. This Shiraz screams Aussie style - it's opulent but not overblown with a fine dusty texture, the fruit is juicy, not over-ripe, and the oak is balanced. Flavours of berries, chocolate and mint, minerals and cedar with warm baking spice flavours lingering on the finish with sweet ripe tannins.

$43+


More Top 50 2009 wines here... 


 Local presents
 Tinhorn Creek 'Oldfield Series' Syrah, Okanagan Valley BC, 2006

Tinhorn Creek Syrah Oldfield



This reserve Syrah from Tinhorn Creek shows rich dark chocolate and black fruit aromas, pepper, roasted coffee beans and smoked spices. The palate is chewy, brooding and concentrated with robust flavours. Impressive structure with char and spice flavours lingering on the finish.

$35


More Top 50 2009 here... 


 Pristine White
 Pewsey Vale Riesling, Eden Valley Australia, 2008

Pewsey Vale Riseling



Pewsey Vale is a fantastic, historic punchbowl vineyard high above the Barossa in Eden Valley. The Rieslings here are revered for their pristine character.
This one has lime peel and loads of minerality, petrol and whiffs of delicate blossoms. A focused mineral and citrus palate is snappy and clean - your mouth continues watering long after you swallow.
Lovely.

$24+


More great Top 50 gift ideas here... 


 Retail/Agents Partners Program
 New menu feature - Affiliated Retailers

RPP where to buy bottle 300h

By partnering with WineDiva.ca and WineScores.ca readers will know where to find the wines they read about on my websites. Are you in British Columbia, Alberta...?
Readers and wine lovers will be able to simply click the link on each individual review for the closest store to them.
Agents can sign up individual stores to support a product and wine stores can list all my reviewed wines (on both sites)...and more! Your store name will appear each time that wine is searched and each time it appears in a newsletter page or in my "sure bets - food and wine pairing".
With 650,000 hits per month on my combined sites - a lot of people are looking for where to buy wine!


Check it out! Under Agents and Retailers on my left hand menu (WineDiva.ca & WineScores.ca) is "Affiliated Retailers" private wine stores and cellar doors and all over BC are listed - is your name on that list?
If you are interested in having your store name and location attached to my reviews email us at: marketing@winediva.ca


read more here... 


 Something a bit more traditional for Christmas...
 Bodegas Faustino 'Faustino V' Rioja Reserva DOC, Spain 2004

Faustino Rioja


I love this traditional looking bottle. It looks so simple yet delivers the goods... This is a lovely Tempranillo with aromas of red cherries, iodine and earth with coffee liqueur, saddle leather and strawberries. Juicy, is the best way to describe the palate, the flavours echo the aromas - red fruit, spice and cedar box. It is medium-bodied and bright with fine mouth-coating tannins and is delicate enough to pair with grilled fish or tomato based dishes.

$24.99


More Tops 50 - whites and reds... 


 The Tasting Room
 

TDM and DVM 300h

"...The Tasting Room is the radio version of an audio blend, a Meritage for the soul."
Terry David Mulligan and his guests discuss food, wine, viticulture...

Listen across Canada each Saturday to hear Wine Diva's weekly wine reviews.

The Tasting Room - is on Saturday...
10am - noon am 1150 in Kelowna on am 1450 in Summerland & Penticton or listen on www.thetastingroomradio.com
and now...


Listen for Wine Diva's weekly reviews...



Link to The Tasting Room Radio... 


 "My Favourite Wines"
 A super-cool new Facebook application

facebook button




We have built a new application for all you Facebook users, suitably called called "My Favourite Wines".

And it's so easy to use.
Each one of my wine reviews (on WineDiva.ca and WineScores.ca) has a Facebook button attached. Every time you see a wine you like it, click on the Facebook button (like the one above) and it will lead you through to a Facebook sign-in page. Sign in as you usually would and follow the prompts. You can post that wine (along with its bottle shot) to your wall, write your own review, tell your friends, and build your own cellar page with all of your "My Favourite Wines".
Now, when your friends come over they can simply look at your "My Favourite Wines" page and know what wine to bring!
Give it a try!


Try it yourself here... 


Coming next: Special Edition next week! BUBBLES!
Plus Spain, Argentina and more...

Don't forget to visit winescores.ca and winediva.ca for new wine reviews every day!
And follow me on Twitter - @TheWineDiva

Pink and Cheeky...

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