It is that time of year, when the cellar will get raided for some gifts to give over the Christmas season.  The funny thing is that the wines seem to go in cycles, in what seems to go out each year.  For some years in a row, it was Clarets in all of the different permutations of the blends, then there were the years of Merlot wines, and now Pinot Noir seems to be in the cycle.  Some people will try to buy wines from the cellar, thinking that if it is there, it must be good, and they do not have to do any shopping, because the research has already been performed.  This is all fine and good as there are a few bottles there, and I don’t think that my Bride and I will run out of wine in the foreseeable future.  The magical part of the season, is that some individuals will buy wine as gifts for us, while others are intimidated.

One of the gifts that I received is an Italian wine with Toscana IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica), which only a few years ago, because it was not a DOGG wine, would have had to list itself as a table wine.  These are the “Super Tuscany” wines that had taken a lot of press and interest these days.  The DOGG wines of Tuscany are made of Sangiovese grapes; these new wines have introduced horror of horrors, French varietals that are not local and traditional to the area; mainly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  The bottle that I received was a Terrabianca Campaccio Toscana IGT 2007.  This wine is 70% Sangiovese and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.  This particular wine has had some good reviews and it seems that it will be best from 2014 to 2027, which tells me that should cellar well, and be a most enjoyable wine.  I am sure that I have the patience to delay opening the wine without too much problems, and I am sure that I will still find a wine in the cellar to enjoy in the meantime.

Another gift that we received was a gift set from Peller Estates with a VQA Niagara Peninsula designation from Ontario, Canada.  The last time, my Bride and I were up near the falls, we stopped at a couple of the wineries and did some tastings, and Peller Estates was one of the stops.  This particular gift set is a small bottle; I would say the size of an airline bottle of wine of Peller Estates Cabernet Franc Icewine NV and some dark chocolate Icewine Truffle candies as well.  A lot of the Icewines that we tried from this region was of the Vidal varietal, and when my Bride was informed that it was a Cabernet Franc, she was very interested.  Perhaps I may even get a chance to try it, if I am a good boy.