Gewürztraminer
The Gewürztraminer grape makes wonderfully pungent and distinctively spicy wines. Expect these wines from Ontario to be light to medium bodied, very floral on the nose and a soft mouth feel.

Riesling
Riesling is the world's most underrated grape. Ample natural acidity makes for a very refreshing wine that marries itself very well with a variety of foods. The most profound examples of Riesling historically come from Alsace, France; however the Clare Valley in Australia is also producing very classic, long lived wines. The wines have a firmness, almost steeliness, of body, and fresh, crisp fruity acidity. Remarkably pure wines and very
good value.

Sauvignon Blanc
The Sauvignon Blanc grape makes very distinctive aromatic wine. Notes of grassy herbs, citrus fruits, gooseberry and marked fresh acidity are classic traits. There are excellent examples from New Zealand, versions coming from California will tend to be a little more oaky, and very crisp, fresh and mild mannered from Ontario.

Pinot Blanc/Pinot Gris
Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris in some areas of the world are very different. Pinot Blanc shares some similarities with Chardonnay, albeit, lighter and generally fresher in style. Pinot Gris is generally known as a heavier wine as shown by the examples from Alsace, and contrasting to that, it also makes the lighter more acidic versions from Italy known as Pinot Grigio. The Ontario versions fit nicely right in between these two wines styles.

Chardonnay
Very hard to make any generalizations with Chardonnay from the New World. The wines that are produced in the warmer climates tend to be fuller-bodied, showing tropical fruit flavours and generally with a strong oak character. The Chardonnay coming from the cooler climates will range from medium to full-bodied with more citrus characteristics, which lend to higher acidity and also these wines will have less obvious use of oak.

Burgundy
The white wines from Burgundy are named for their origin as opposed to grape varietal. All these wines from Burgundy are all 100% Chardonnay. The wines vary greatly from light-medium weight and straightforward Chardonnay to the firm, steely and crisp wines of Chablis, the very favourable Pouilly-Fuisse to the full-bodied, fragrant, smokey, well-oaked wines of Puligny-Montrachet.

Alsace
The wines of Alsace are labeled like the New World wines, by varietal, not by district. Alsatian wines represent excellent value, and great food wines. The Pinot Blanc will be light and soft; the Gewürztraminer will show the classic perfumed, floral spiciness; and the Tokay will have a wonderful earthiness with a hint of glycerin on
the finish.

Pinot Noir
Although lighter in appearance than most other red wines, Pinot Noir offers great complexity with wonderful fruit flavours in these New World examples. Typically without the aggressive tannins of Cabernet or Shiraz, it has more of a supple richness and very adaptable with food and with differing palates.

Merlot
A grape again that is grown pretty much everywhere, resulting in many different styles. Generally Merlot has a nice plumy, grapey lushness to its character and typically softer than Cabernet Sauvignon, this is especially pronounced in the wines from Chile, California and Australia. Merlot offers a great middle ground for those who can't decide on their wine for the night.

Zinfandel
The Zinfandel grape is only found in California? perhaps rightfully so. The grape seems to perfectly suit the warm, long growing season, producing fleshy, round and seemingly warm (alcoholic) wines. Very full, fruity feel without the relative acidity and tannin.

Cabernet Franc (and blends)
Generally used as a blending grape in Bordeaux and California to round out this grape's bigger brother, Cabernet Sauvignon. Starting to have great success as a stand alone variety in Ontario where it's resistance to frost and cold is greatly appreciated. These wines range from light to full-bodied, all sharing red berry fruit flavours and bouquet, nice, soft, chalky tannins and a good amount of acidity that compliments a wide variety of dishes
very well.

Syrah/Shiraz and Rhône-like blends
Syrah (alias Shiraz in Australia) makes wonderfully deep purple wines with plenty of tannin and peppery spice. A wine that has ample aging potential but also drinks very well in its' youth. From Ontario, it will be a much milder, earthier version. The wines from Australia will have a much greater fruit concentration and stronger spice. Look for the California options to fall nicely in between.Cabernet Sauvignon (and blends) Cabernet Sauvignon is planted everywhere and actually produces very accurate varietal characteristics wherever it grows. Spicy, herby, black berry fruit flavours and a pronounced dry tannic personality. Cabernet Sauvignon generally will reward the drinker if given some time to age. From the hot climates, Cabernet Sauvignon produces full-bodied very fruit forward wines. Cooler climes will produce more medium-bodied wines but will still carry similar tannin. To soften the Cabernet Sauvignon and to make the wine more enjoyable sooner, winemakers will add Merlot to the mix to turn down the tannin and to round out the wine. Wines carrying the name Meritage, Claret or Blend will all have higher percentages of Merlot and/or the other Bordeaux grape varietals (Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot).

Bordeaux
The wines of Bordeaux are difficult to sum up in a couple sentences. Bordeaux makes wines from blending Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and to a much lesser extent Malbec and Petit Verdot. The great Chateaux represent the height of these varietals. Bordeaux (claret) tend to be clean, firm, dry wines with modest tannin and typically more subtle than the California and
Australia Cabernet.

Burgundy
Pinot Noir and only Pinot Noir! Like the Pinot Noir from the New World, it has a paler appearance and a lighter weight than the other notable reds. The wines from Burgundy will have a pronounced earthiness and velvety character to them. The great examples manage to be soft, very full and rich in the palate without the aggressive tannins.

Toscana
The wines of Toscana (Tuscany) are primarily made of Sangiovese. The wines from Chianti are characterized by fresh flavours of black cherries, slightly earthy, moderately tannic, nice acidity with a slightly bitter quality, all of this endearing itself to the classic Italian cuisine. The Riserva wines have aged longer before release, not necessarily in oak and are slightly higher in alcohol. The wines from Montalcino are generally fuller and richer than those from Chianti. Montalcino uses a regional clone of Sangiovese called Sangiovese Grosso. Brunello spends a minimum of 2 years in oak and 2 more years in bottle before release, resulting in a very full, strongly structured and age worthy wine.

Supertuscan (Vino da Tavola and IGT)
Supertuscan is a term sometimes used to describe the new class of wines labeled vino da tavola and IGT. These wines are typically made from the classic French varietals and blended with Sangiovese. They do not adhere to regional rules but tend conform to a more international, new world style. These wines have been further sorted by the predominate grape varietal.

Veneto
Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara are the grapes in the wines of Valpolicella. Valpolicella is a wine that is soft and refreshing, offering aromas of tangy cherries and fresh almonds with a light to medium-bodied personality. Amarone is Veneto's most powerful full-bodied red. Amarone tends to be dense, chewy and quite heady (alcoholic), with typical flavours of spice, dried fig, cherry and raisin-like characteristics.

Piemonte
The wines of Piemonte are very diverse. The Barbera grape makes elegant wines that are very fresh, medium-bodied and with a good amount of natural acidity. Nebbiolo is the renowned grape of Piemonte. It is the only grape in the wines of Gattinara, Barbaresco and Barolo. It is intense, very aromatic with plums, roses and licorice, and very tannic. The greatest example of the Nebbiolo grape comes from Barolo, but these wines do need time to age. Barbaresco is also excellent and it offers good value, it is only slightly softer than Barolo and it is a bit more drinkable in its youth.

Port
Port has long been the preferred after dinner drink of the British and is now gaining popularity in North America. Aielli offers a variety of port styles from lighter tawny ports and late bottle vintage ports (LBV) which are intended for drinking on release, to very full bodied and rich vintage ports which require substantial bottle aging before consumption. Enjoy Port wines after dinner along with a selection of fine cheese and nuts or in our lounge with a fine cigar from our humidor.