John Szabo’s Buyer’s Guide to Vintages July 19th Release

Nova Scotia & Outdoor BBQ

By John Szabo MS and David Lawrason, with notes from David Lawrason, Michael Godel and Megha Jandhyala

What’s the best winery in Canada? We hope you’re enjoying the daily instalments of results from the 2025 WineAlign National Wine Awards. The thrills culminate on July 30 with the announcement of all Platinum medal winners, the top 1% of wines, followed by the Best Performing Small Winery on July 31, and finally the most coveted award of all, the Winery of the Year on Aug. 1, published along with the Top Wineries Lists. Share the news with your friends — they’ll thank you.

Even post awards judging, we’ve been inundated by great local wine, with David, Michael and I just back from the annual International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C) held in Niagara. We were heartened to hear from several winegrowers, anecdotally at least, about the surge in Ontario wine sales over the past four months thanks to space on LCBO shelves and restaurant wine lists opening up due to the absence of American products. Canadian wine is gaining momentum. And on that note, don’t forget that you can now (legally) order Canadian wines from any province to be shipped anywhere in the country since the elimination of interprovincial shipping restrictions, another gift inspired by our neighbours. Your best money is spent on a Platinum Pack, a 12×1 mixed case of the very best from the awards.

The LCBO-Vintages July 19 release features “BBQ wines and outdoor entertaining,” so, if you missed getting our annual curated Summer BBQ case, we have suggestions for you in the Buyer’s Guide. And rounding out Canadian coverage, the mini-thematic this week is Nova Scotia, with a clutch of delicious, WineAligned maritime wines hitting shelves. Read on for details.

Nova Scotia’s 160 Billion Tons of Seawater

Vineyards in the Annapolis Valley (winesofnovascotia.ca)

Nova Scotia has about 20-odd wineries today, scattered as far as Cape Breton Island and the Northumberland Shore. But the heartland of the industry lies in the Annapolis Valley, centered around the charming town of Wolfville about one hour by car northwest of Halifax. The region is most heavily influenced by the adjacent Bay of Fundy where the world’s highest tides see 160 billion tonnes of seawater flow in and out with each tidal cycle. Air movement accompanies the water flow, keeping vineyards refreshed and bathed in salty sea air as early ripening grapes simmer slowly to maturity over cool summers.

Forget hearty cabernet and merlot. Nova Scotia excels at light, crunchy, maritime wines, sometimes effervescent, always fresh and naturally low in alcohol. It’s as though nature conspired to provide ideal conditions to produce wines that seem inexorably destined to wash down the abundant seafood and shellfish for which the province is rightly famous.

Wine Regions of Nova Scotia (vineyards.com)

Three Nova Scotia wines are worth your attention in the July 19 release, starting with Benjamin Bridge’s wildly successful Nova 7 sparkling, which Michael describes as the “True OG in Canadian wine.” I’m not entirely sure what he means, but in any case, this sweet-sour, light and tangy, exotic and aromatic blend of muscat, ortega, riesling, geisenheim, l’Acadie, and vidal is like a proper sea shanty in a glass. Whatever that means (delicious).

Nova Scotia also boasts the only appellation wine in Canada in the true sense of the meaning, where grape blend, place and style are prescribed by a set of rules. The province’s signature wine is called Tidal Bay, an appellation created in 2011 to define white wines made, of course, from 100% Nova Scotia grown grapes, from a list that includes L’Acadie blanc, seyval, vidal and geisenheim, among others. It’s further defined as light-bodied with around 10–11% alcohol, off-dry but with less than 20 grams of sugar per liter, fragrant but without oak influence, all aspects that are assessed by an independent tasting panel. Simon Rafuse from Blomidon makes an exemplary Tidal Bay that delivers the magic of instantly conjuring up an Atlantic sea breeze and a plump, briny Crassostrea virginica freshly shucked.

Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards

Red wines are rarer in the province, and red vinifera varieties even more so, so expect a range of hybrid grapes that are ultimately better suited to the province’s growing conditions. The best wines invariably lean into the genuinely cool climate, where natural conditions favour light, zesty, crushable reds that have become so fashionable of late, the kind best served with a chill. A fine example of the genre is Lightfoot and Wolfville’s 2022 Fauna Red, a lighthearted blend of Léon Millot, marquette and petite pearl, soft, fresh and easy. Called it a seafood red. Call it a charcuterie red. Call it a grilled sausage or red-sauced pizza red. You get the point.

With momentum for Canadian wines growing, it’s a fine time to discover a taste of the east coast.

BBQ and Outdoor Wines

I tend to prefer more intensely aromatic and flavourful wines when drinking outdoors, especially when a breeze kicks up or smoke is wafting from the grill. Subtle wines get lost, blown away, railroaded by a raft of competing smells. For this reason I also tend to leave my most prized wines in the cellar — it’s rarely an ideal time to enjoy all of the nuances for which you presumably paid a tidy sum. Leave those wines for more contemplative indoor dining and reach instead for more simple pleasures.

Whites in this release that fit the bill include Tasca d’Almerita’s Sicilian classic, the 2024 Regaleali Bianco, now into its 64^th vintage. It’s a delightfully fresh blend of inzolia, catarratto, grecanico and a splash of chardonnay, and I particularly like the savoury-herbal-tonic flavours, like the Sicilian countryside itself, and the gentle salinity that draws one back for additional sips.

Closer to home, Charles Barker’s 2023 Laundry Vineyard Riesling from the Vinemount Ridge sub-region of the Niagara Peninsula is an excellent wine with terrific density and depth. It packs an unusually weighty flavour punch at just 11.8% alcohol, which also means that you can sip it in the sunshine without the dizzying effects of higher alcohol, and maybe even enjoy a second glass or three.

A red that stood out for me for pleasure and value is the Pipoli Aglianico del Vulture 2021 from Fantini Wines. Fantini is a massive company with vineyards and wineries throughout southern Italy, which, with economies of scale and a fine terroir like the slopes of the extinct volcano Mount Vulture in Basilicata, spells out value. I’ve been a big fan of these wines since first visiting the region over a decade ago, more rustically charming than the bigger, sturdier aglianico of Taurasi in neighbouring Campania. It’s a little cooler on Vulture at higher elevations, and the particular biotype of the variety grown in the region is different enough to yield a unique style, lighter but especially savoury and pot pourri-inflected, as in this well-priced example. Expect a mid-weight palate with succulent acids and fine-grained tannins, perfect to wash down a flank steak with chimichurri or a grilled portobello.

See below for more options and enjoy the heart of the Canadian summer and all the great outdoor adventures it affords.

Buyer’s Guide Vintages July 19: Nova Scotia

Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 Sparkling 2024, Nova Scotia, Canada
$22.95, Lifford Wine & Spirits (Select Wine Merchants)
John Szabo – Nova 7 has been wildly successful for Benjamin Bridge, captivating with its delightfully fresh and floral, botanical, orchard fruit profile on a medium dry palate bursting with flavour and framed by gentle effervescent. And at just 6.5% alcohol, it also ticks the box for those seeking lower alcohol alternatives with full flavour. Delicious stuff for the back patio, or dock or deck or terrace.
Michael Godel – True OG in Canadian wine, perfumed as it has ever been. Consistently low alcohol, ever so slightly effervescent, not unlike Moscato d’Asti. A light, refreshing and bloody delicious elixir best for sipping, but also magical to blend into cocktails.

Blomidon Tidal Bay White 2024, Nova Scotia, Canada
$26.95, Le Sommelier Inc.
John Szabo – A textbook Tidal Bay, light, fruity, saline, succulent and saliva-inducing, barely off-dry but offset by crunchy maritime acids, a delight to sip in the flower of youth. A squeeze of lemon and lime joins a splash of elderflower and green apple. Chill and go, seaside with shellfish, ideally.
Michael Godel – A mouthful of juicy flavours, not unlike what you may already recognize, as if this were made with sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and riesling. It all works, the alcohol is 10% and get thee to the dock to share a bottle midday. Good times will follow.

Lightfoot & Wolfville Fauna Red 2022, Nova Scotia, Canada
$26.95, The Living Vine
John Szabo – A lighthearted red blend of Léon Millot, marquette and petite pearl, this is a soft, fresh and easy wine best enjoyed with a chill, outdoors, around the BBQ. Balance is fine and simple pleasures afforded.

Buyer’s Guide Vintages July 19: White & Rosé

Feudo Maccari Olli Grillo 2024, Sicily, Italy
$16.95, Noble Estates Wines & Spirits Inc.
Michael Godel – Tasted just two months back at dinner with Alberto Cuseri as an aperitivo before launching into a horizontal of Sette Ponti Oreno. Do not miss the potential for pleasure by sipping this fresh grillo of generous spirit over the last six or seven weeks of Ontario’s 2025 summer.
David Lawrason – Grillo is a rising star of Sicily, offering a new set of semi-tropical flavours – fresh fig, marmalade, fresh herbs – in a richer, yet drier style. This one is quite fleshy and warm but surprisingly is only registering 12.5% alcohol. Great value, and interesting.

Tasca D’almerita Regaleali Bianco 2024, Sicily, Italy
$17.95, VIN PASSION (The Case For Wine)
John Szabo – A blend of inzolia, catarratto, grecanico and a splash of chardonnay, Tasca’s classic Regaleali bianco is a delightfully fresh Sicilian white designed with simple pleasures in mind. I like the savoury-herbal-tonic profile, the gentle salinity that draws one back for additional sips.
Michael Godel – As longstanding a sku as any for Alberto Tasca’s Regaleali estate, now into 64 years of production. Ripeness and freshness, linearity and pulpy character, perfumes and flavours.

Gunderloch Red Stone Riesling 2023, Rheinhessen, Germany
$19.95, Mark Anthony Group
John Szabo – From the red slate soils of riverside Rheinhessen vineyards, there’s a highly attractive reductive, wild edge to this riesling with appealing tonic bitters chiming in to add a sense of refreshment to the vibrant acids. The 11.5% alcohol declared belies the apparent density and flavour concentration on the dry palate.

Mega Spileo Assyrtiko 2023, Peloponnese, Greece
$19.95, Kolonaki Group Inc
David Lawrason – Assyrtiko was made famous on the island of Santorini but has transported nicely to this larger region on the Peloponnese peninsula. It carries similar energy, linearity and elegance as Santorini examples, with slightly tropical pineapple, lemongrass, mineral/flinty notes.

Attems Cupra Ramato Pinot Grigio 2024, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
$19.95, Mark Anthony Group
John Szabo – Ramato is a classic northern Italian variation on pinot grigio made with skin contact to yield a slightly copper (“ramato”) coloured version, somewhere between rosé and “orange” wine in style. This is a superior example from Friuli, one in which everything fits together nicely in a savoury and highly drinkable expression.

E. Guigal Côtes Du Rhône Rosé 2024, Rhône, France
$23.95, Vinexx
Megha Jandhyala – A robust rosé, more in the Tavel idiom than the light and subtle Provençal style. Warm and supple, it is awash in sweet cherries, blood oranges, and garrigue. An appealing feature is its versatility at the table, pairing well with seafood, cheeses, and vegetarian dishes.

Charles Baker Riesling Laundry Vineyard 2023, Ontario, Canada
$32.20, Stratus Vineyards
John Szabo – There’s terrific density and depth here, still quite tightly wound but showing underlying ripeness and concentration; I love how long the finish lingers. At just 11.8% alcohol declared it packs a weighty punch, while more exotic jasmine and daisy flower notes join, carried on a zesty acid wave. Cellar another year or two at least to enjoy its full flavour offering.
Michael Godel – Feels like petrol notes are sure to emerge after three-plus years in bottle. Speaks to the probability of things getting really interesting after 2026, even more so two to three after that.
Megha Jandhyala – This is an understated yet compelling riesling with a sense of restraint, clarity, and focus. I love its mellifluous texture and taut, pitch perfect acidity, as also its delicately layered finish.

Ferox Fabien Ries Silver Lion Collection Riesling 2022, Ontario, Canada
$35.00, Rogers & Company
David Lawrason – This is impressive, intense, off-dry riesling with a very lifted nose of peach mango, lemon blossom, riesling’s distinctive petrol and perfumed linden blossom. It is medium weight with vibrant acidity perfectly pitched against some residual sugar. Great intensity and length.

Jean Max Roger Cuvée Marnes Et Caillottes Sancerre 2023, Loire, France
$39.95, Connexion Oenophilia
John Szabo – The name references the soils on which the vines for this cuvée grow, offering a more generous expression I find than the pure Caillotes (more stony limestone) from Roger, thanks to the denser expression of the marnes (clay-rich limestones). Acids are creamy and supported by appealing underlying salinity; length is excellent. Another fine wine from this ever-reliable producer.
Megha Jandhyala – A sophisticated yet approachable and inviting Sancerre, perfumed with notes of orchard and citrus fruit, nuances of botanicals, and the delicate scent of white spring blossoms. Its ripe and fleshy yet balanced structure is as appealing as its refined flavour profile and delicate, lingering finish.

Buyer’s Guide Vintages July 19: Red

Pipoli Aglianico Del Vulture 2021, Basilicata, Italy
$17.95, Profile Wine Group (Barrique)
John Szabo – I’m a big fan of aglianico from the slopes of the extinct volcano Mount Vulture, rustically charming as they often are, savory-earthy and pot pourri inflected, and in this case attractively priced. Expect a mid-weight palate, succulent, zesty acids and fine-grained, gritty tannins. Lots of pleasure here.
David Lawrason – Wow, what a bargain! Aglianico from the volcanic slopes of Mt Vulture is often very terse and rugged. You can still sense its core energy here, but it is draped in sweet red cherry fruit and shrubby herbal fruit with well-balanced warming alcohol and burry tannin.
Megha Jandhyala – Flavourful and expressive, this aglianico nimbly balances cheerful red fruit and fragrant flowers with savoury notes of herbs, spice, and leather. I love how much character this wine packs with a price of less than $20; I am inclined to buy a case or two!

Vignerons De Bel Air Juliénas 2023, Beaujolais, France
$20.95, Rogers & Company
David Lawrason – Julienas makes bigger, broader gamays than most other Beaujolais cru villages, and this fits the mold. But it remains charming, easy and generous – almost succulent – with a lovely, floral and jammy profile. Chill for summer evenings on the deck.
Megha Jandhyala – Approachable in every sense of the word, this cru Beaujolais is full of character. A perfumed overture, all roses, and violets, is followed by a rich, peppery-savoury-fruity narrative, and a memorable finale.

Kanonkop Kadette Cape Blend 2021, Stellenbosch, South Africa
$21.95, Noble Estates Wines & Spirits Inc.
Michael Godel – Were we to make a shortlist of Western Cape houses that make age-worthy wines, then Kanonkop would be right there amongst the best. Kadette delivers succulence and a playfulness, but do not sleep on the sneaky structure of this red blend.

Clarendelle Medoc 2019, Bordeaux, France
$30.95, The Case For Wine
Michael Godel – Clarendelle is part of the group of Bordeaux wines that include Châteaux Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion & Quintus. Clarendelle from 2019 has done its aging and the vintage is simply ideal for such a wine to be prepared for this
David Lawrason – This is an almost nostalgic, traditional Bordeaux maturing very nicely into its sweet spot, where red and blackcurrant fruit is nicely meshed with herbs, pine needle, tobacco and wood notes. It is medium-full bodied, very evenly balanced and elegant.

Mission Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, British Columbia, Canada
$37.95, Mark Anthony Group
John Szabo – Terrific aromatics lead here, well within classic varietal lines, complete with cassis, evergreen, graphite, fresh tobacco and damp earth, complex and engaging. All things considered, this is sharp value, outperforming plenty of more expensive examples from south of the border.
Megha Jandhyala – This is a representative yet riveting rendition of cabernet sauvignon from the Okanagan Valley. Inky with colour and flavour, layered, and graceful, it is beautiful now but will continue to mature over the next few years, developing even more complexity.

Black Bank Hill Cabernet Franc 2022, Ontario, Canada
$39.95, SHAUNPIERRE INC
David Lawrason This stunning Platinum winning cabernet franc shows immediate appeal with terrific aromatic lift and intensity – riveting classic raspberry, violet, fresh herbs, cedar and tobacco – a poster for this variety in Niagara. It is smooth, elegant yet lively, propelled by a subtext of volatility. The length is excellent, but I wanted even more.

Château Beau Site Haut Vignoble 2016, Bordeaux, France
$54.95, Nicholas Pearce Wines Inc.
John Szabo – A beautifully maturing wine from a fabulous vintage, this is approaching peak drinking but should continue to give pleasure for at least another decade. It’s a classy, sophisticated red Bordeaux all in all, a marvel of balance and composure.

That’s all for this report, see you ’round the next bottle.

John Szabo, MS

Use these quick links for access to all of our July 19th Top Picks in the New Release. Non-premium members can select from all release dates 30 days prior.

John’s Top Picks – July 19th
Lawrason’s Take – July 19th
Megha’s Picks – July 19th
Michael’s Mix – July 19th

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