We ask the folks in the know—chefs and somms, wine shop owners and managers, importers and agents—for what they would like to see under the tree from their wealthy and generous relly and their more-style-than money friend.
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Patrick Saurette, The Marc
Cash-strapped Friend
2020 Grange Tiphane Trinqu’âmes Touraine Sauvignon
(Loire, France) $24
Delicious, simply delicious and what value! This lovely Sauvignon Blanc over- delivers on every sip, but please, pause and enjoy that lovely fresh herbaceous hit of citrus and lemongrass first. I promise you will be smitten with the wine’s freshness and saline minerality as you sip away—it’s a zippy little thing with a nice roundness in the mouth. It would be brilliant with a crispy panko-crusted sole and potato Lyonnaise and I feel it would stand up to chips and a helluva dip while you trounce your partner at Yahtzee. The vines are 40 years old, the winery is organic, the winemaker is someone to continue to watch and this $24 bottle of wine drinks like a $48 bottle. Thank you, friend.
Rich Uncle
2019 Xavier Gerard Côte- Rôtie
(Côtes du Rhône, France) $100
The sun-baked, steep granite slopes of Côte-Rôtie are home to some of the most sought-after Syrah grapes in the world and, in the hands and imagination of an amazing young talent like Xavier, Syrah becomes a beautiful play in many acts. The first act begins with a nose of olives and black cherry and just a touch of brett. Then you get lost in a bramble and dark cherry fruit basket, followed by tannins—velvety, silky and rich. Easily paired with a grilled steak or roast lamb leg or, on the vegetarian side, pair with bean cassoulet or roast aubergine. It is not a crime to drink this youngster but be assured it has a very bright future indeed.
Paulette Scott, Pacific Wines & Spirits
Cash-strapped Friend
2021 Yalumba Y Series Viognier
(South Australia) $20
Australia’s oldest family-owned winery (founded in 1849) delivers a deliciously affordable Viognier with wonderful aromatics of honeysuckle, ginger, white flowers and spices. It delivers more complexity than expected due to the wild fermentation and lees ageing. If you are looking for a wine that can handle food with heat, Viognier works wonderfully. A great house wine for every day.
Rich Uncle
Taylor Fladgate Golden Age 50-Year-Old Tawny
(Porto, Portugal) $350
I love the clove and rum and raisin aromas, along with the lush flavours of prunes, apricots and butterscotch. This Port exudes perfect balance, complexity, density and a selective smoothness—rich and elegant, yet delicate. Get the fire going.
Christina Masciangelo, Salivate Wine Consulting
Cash-strapped Friend
2021 Gruber Röschitz Grüner Veltliner
(Weinviertel, Austria), $24
Amazingly, I have not asked for this grape variety before, so this year I shall put two on my wish list. Grüner Veltliner (GV)
is a fantastic white grape, a speciality of Austria. It is always dry (except when it’s a dessert wine) and possesses great flavour intensity and freshness. This certified organic bottling is incredibly versatile as a starter or with seafood and white meats, as well as vegetarian cuisine.
Rich Uncle
2016 Markus Huber Grüner Veltliner Alte Setzen
(Traisental, Austria) $40
There are essentially two styles of dry GV—light, fruit forward, mouth- wateringly-fresh (see above) and full- bodied and complex, while still fresh and elegant. This wine is the latter style, coming from a single vineyard of older vines, giving it more concentration, then aged in neutral wood, for further texture and longevity. This 2016 is beautiful now and will be even more so in a few years. Markus Huber was awarded Vintner of the Year in Austria in 2015 and farms organically. I am salivating in anticipation.
Gabrielle Bergstrom, Garneau Block
Cash-strapped Friend
2021 Il Farneto Giandòn Rosso
(Emilia-Romagna, Italy) $25
Aromas of wild berries and bramble, cherry, raspberry, strawberry, plum followed by beautifully balanced acidity, with eucalyptus and blackcurrant lingering on the spicy finish. Rich and rustic, goes great with everything from tofurkey to roast beef and everything in between. Each of the varieties in the blend (Marzemino, Malbo Gentile, Lambrusco Grasparossa) are fermented separately with indigenous yeast, then blended in springtime before bottling.
Rich Uncle
2017 Keltis Cuvée Extreme
(Lower Styria, Slovenia), $75
Oh my gosh, this is marzipan, cardamom, apricots and evolves so stunningly in the glass. It’s one of the most beautiful orange wines I have tasted. Keltis has been making wines for over 250 years. Organic farming, hand-harvested, the average age of the vines range from 16-35 years. Riesling, Traminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Muscat Ottonel were hand-picked, with botrytis affecting 30 per cent (hence the marzipan and apricots). Five months of maceration, spontaneous fermentation, no filtration, no SO2 and aged for 24 months in used large barrels. Beautiful.
Tony Kokoroyannis, David Herman & Son
Cash-strapped Friend
2018 Gran Emotivo Rosso
(Veneto, Italy) $21
A rich and opulent red produced from late harvested grapes, 60 per cent Merlot, 40 per cent Corvina. Great value. Pair with roasts, hearty pasta dishes and hard cheeses.
Rich Uncle
The Matsui Single Malt Whisky Mizunara Cask
(Japan) $130
This unique single malt tastes of sweet vanilla, baking spice and a touch of coconut, along with a velvety mouthfeel balanced by toffee sweetness. It is aged in Mizunara oak casks which are difficult to work with and notorious for leaking.
Stacey-Jo Strombecky, 2851 Selections
Cash-strapped Friend
2020 The Winery of Good Hope Unoaked Chardonnay
(Stellenbosch, South Africa) $23
My cash-strapped friends can’t afford white Burgundy anymore. What is a mineral-loving girl to do in this economy? Thankfully for us, there are wonderful producers around the world who are hearing our cries for Chardonnay that is great value, awesome quality and has a clean, flinty and balanced fruit profile. My current go-to is this gem from South Africa, brought to you by the wonderful winemakers at Radford Dale. The Winery of Good Hope range stays true to their philosophy of triple sustainability— minimal intervention, environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Expect classic notes of tree fruit and citrus, with the medium-full body beautifully tethered by fresh acidity.
Rich Uncle
2019 Girolamo Russo Etna San Lorenzo
(Sicily, Italy) $100
Volcanic soils produce wines with distinct personality, balance and cellar potential. My pick from this incredible region is a small producer with a serious cult following, Girolamo Russo. Giuseppe Russo re-established his family winery (located on the north slope of Etna and named for his father) to express his desire to respect traditional values coupled with his own flair. The San Lorenzo is a selection from the vineyard’s highest point, with many plants over 100 years old. The result? A serious, more complex profile of Nerello Mascalese, offering unbelievable freshness, gorgeous aromas of oranges and red fruits, flowers and herbs, great structure and silky tannins. If you have the strength to hang on to this for 10-12 years, the reward will be epic.
Dianna Funnell, Sherbrooke Liquor
Cash-strapped Friend
2019 É Jamu Zimbatò Chianti DOCG
(Tuscany, Italy) $22
Intense red with violet reflections, with persistent floral aromas and full flavours of black cherries, wild berries and silky tannins. An gift-worthy Sangiovese.
Rich Uncle
2012 4G Winery Echo of G
(Western Cape, South Africa) $249
A stunning red wine from Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot selected from seven different vineyards across the area. Considered the first growth of the Cape.
Daniel Costa, Corso 32 Group
Cash-strapped Friend
2020 Abbia Nòva Passerina del Frusinate
(Lazio, Italy) $25
This Passerina (white grape native to central Italy) has salinity, dried apricot and notes of honey and a ton of freshness which I love. Great as an aperitivo with young cheeses.
Rich Uncle
2015 Antoniolo San Francesco Gattinara Riserva
(Piedmont, Italy) $110
I was lucky enough to have this gifted to me years ago and it has truly become one of the memorable wines of my life. The terroir of Gattinara offers a different expression of the Nebbiolo grape, which is more commonly associated with Barolo. The Antoniolo San Francesco Gattinara is intense yet vibrant with notes of spice, dark cherry and plums. Perfect with braised meat dishes.
Misun Bu, Braven
Cash-strapped Friend
2018 Carlisle Vineyard Zinfandel, Russian River Valley
(Sonoma, California) $45
All wine lovers need to know how good Carlisle wines are and how much value is in the glass. Mike Officer, a former home winemaker, now makes Zinfandel, Syrah and compelling field blends from old, old vines in Sonoma and the Russian River. The wine is deeply coloured and powerful, yet elegant and balanced with perfectly integrated fruit, tannin and acidity.
Rich Uncle
2016 Chateau La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge Cuvée des Cadettes
(Rhone Valley, France) $190
The concentrated, dark-fruited 2016 is lower in Grenache than most of the wines in the appellation. Generous and rich, scents of ripe plums and sandalwood, mocha, spice and a typical cured meat essence from such a great vintage. For CduP lovers.
Rob Filipchuk, The Glass Monkey
Cash-strapped Friend
2021 Sattlerhof Sudsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc
(Steiermark, Austria) $25
This white over-delivers on value and taste. The fresh, clean stone fruit flavours of balance wonderfully with the crisp, citrusy acidity. This wine was a real favourite this summer on our patio during the hot afternoons and warm evenings in Edmonton.
Rich Uncle
2013 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill
(Champagne, France) $320
Champagne is my dessert island wine, and this vintage Champagne is definitely one I would love to receive as a gift.
Juanita Roos and Kelsey Roos, Color de Vino
Cash-strapped Friend
2020 Heimann Szekszárd Kadarka
(Szekszárd, Hungary) $26
Grown on the hills of Szekszárd, Hungary and we love it! Ripe plums and hints of tangerine with the typical light tannins and famous spiciness make it an extremely versatile pairing wine. This bottling is dry, low alcohol, low sulphur and showcases the uniquely spicy and fruity character and fine acidity of the grape. Elegant, racy and ridiculously fabulous!
Rich Uncle
2018 AO Yun Shangri-La
(Yunnan, China) $650
It’s a big ask this year—the first vintage of this Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Fine wine from the foothills of the Himalayas, Yunnan, China. Why not! It’s rare, collectable and a very limited production.
Joe Gurba, Vino al Vino
Cash-strapped Friend
2017 Máquina y Tabla Terrazas de Serapia Garnacha Sierra de Gredos
(Castilla y León, Spain) $34
This wine is a slow-motion cinema of rural Spain. Winemaker Oriol Illa rents this mountain-top vineyard from a widow named Serapia in the remote Sierra de Gredos. These centenary, pre-phylloxera Grenache vines are the soul of Iberian wine. Serapia’s bush-vines are perched a kilometer above sea level on a sandy, granitic parcel of hermetic enchantment. The wine borne of this place is full-bodied at nearly 15 degrees alcohol, yet, somehow, so elegant—a giant, blessed with delicate beauty poised on calloused toes and powerful legs, dancing ballet. The aromatics bring to mind the candied fennel seeds beside the till at my favourite Punjabi restaurants, followed by an organoleptic train of bright plum, woolly mint, dried raspberry, fruit leather and so much else. A wine this rare is rarely this affordable.
Rich Uncle
2018 Domaine Stéphane Tissot Savagnin
(Jura, France) $99
Stéphane Tissot is an inspirational wine farmer, a man brimming with ideas and enthusiasm. He takes tremendous risks in his vineyards and these have paid off in wines of immense concentration and electricity. Planting his vineyards to double-density using hand-selected shoots and then pruning these down to only two or three bunches per trunk, his vines give fruit of extreme density while retaining their Alpine, posture- correcting acidity. Better known for his Chardonnays, Tissot’s rendition of the Jura’s calling card, the Savagnin variety, should not be overlooked. This vin jaune junior features the oxidative ageing style that lets the wine develop a layer of delicate yeast atop its surface, which imparts bewildering (and delicious) complexity. This was the most beguiling and attractive wine I’ve tasted in many moons. It threw a hundred paper planes of poetry straight to my brain with notes of fenugreek and apple chips and cooked cream and caraway and saltwater taffy, each character joining the plot like a well-paced novel.
Caitlin Fulton, RGE Rd
Cash-strapped Friend
2019 Tawse Sketches of Riesling
(Niagara, Canada) $21
We love wine that exemplifies taste of place and this Niagara Riesling fits the bill. The terroir of the escarpment continues to produce impeccable Riesling with characteristic mineral notes, a hint of petrol and bracing acidity. This Riesling is an off-dry example bursting with fresh citrus, pineapple and a distinct lime zest finish. The residual sweetness is well-tempered by firm acidity making for a very crushable glass. A perfect party wine to grab while heading out to a friend’s house, it will please many palates and go well with a variety of charcuterie, mixed hors d’oeuvres, ham and turkey. A can’t-go-wrong kind of wine, perfect for the holiday season.
Rich Uncle
2018 Inglenook Estate Winery Rubicon
(Napa Valley, California) $350
There are a few wines that make us feel rich when drinking them whilst also longing for more rich uncles. As one of the oldest vineyards in California, Inglenook has all the right ingredients for top pedigree and prestige—it is owned by film icon turned wine titan, Francis Ford Coppola, winemaking is helmed by Philippe Bascaules (formerly of Château Margaux) and it occupies one of the largest growing areas in Rutherford, flanked by other storied producers like Beaulieu, Cakebread and Grgich Hills. The Rubicon is the winery flagship for good reason; as a Cabernet-dominant, Bordeaux-style blend it is a serious wine made to endure as long as The Godfather films (the first two). It is surprisingly subtle for all its depth and seriousness. We would say it is not a typical Napa Valley Cabernet as it possesses more restraint and finesse than some other bigger or bolder Napa Cabs. Patience is rewarded as the wine opens up in the glass; the finely-integrated tannin structure and persistent acidity balance out deep berry, spice, anise and vanilla notes. The wine has incredible power and length on the palate and shines best when paired accordingly, we recommend locally-sourced, dry-aged steak from The Butchery by RGE RD.