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White
750ml
Bottle: $13.94
12 bottles: $13.66
Made from 100% Chardonnay, half of which was fermented in oak giving lovely depth and complexity.
12 FREE
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $7.13
The Antico Fuoco Chardonnay exhibits attractive notes of apple butter and poached pears along with a lovely texture....
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.11 $12.75
12 bottles: $10.69
Sale
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $21.85 $23.00
6 bottles: $13.87
Straw yellow in color. A bouquet of pineapple and peach aromas, with hints of melon. The palate is fruit forward with...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.58 $14.30
12 bottles: $11.40
Straw yellow in color. A bouquet of pineapple and peach aromas, with hints of melon. The palate is fruit forward with...
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $36.79
6 bottles: $36.00
The nose is fragrant, delicate and harmonious. On the palate, this grappa is intense and complex, but with a smooth...
12 FREE
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $82.39
4 bottles: $81.60
Complex profile with multiple nuances attributable to spicy and fruity notes with hints of vanilla, morello cherry...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $22.48
12 bottles: $22.03
Chopped apples, cream, lemons, flint and salted crackers. Layered and smooth, with a creamy texture and medium to...
JS
92
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $40.08
6 bottles: $31.60
Bold and bright on the nose, hints of fresh fennel and black licorice dominate the nose, with slight touches of Meyer...
12 FREE
UBC
90
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $8.55
Straw yellow in color this Chardonnay has a perfumed, clean, harmonious nose with hints of golden apples. It is dry,...
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $20.94
Aromas of yellow peach, Golden Delicious apple and white flowers waft from the glass of this wine. Fresh and easy on...
12 FREE
WE
88
White
375ml
Bottle: $12.50
AROMA: Floral aromas, hints of exotic fruit, apples, yellow peaches and flint stone. TASTE: Fresh with a savory finish.
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.91
12 bottles: $17.55
AROMA: Floral aromas, hints of exotic fruit, apples, yellow peaches and flint stone. TASTE: Fresh with a savory finish.
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $20.80
Clear, lustrous straw yellow in colour. The aroma is flowery, fine-grained and delicate, with notes of acacia blossom...
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $10.23 $11.00
Subtle notes of apples, glazed lemons, honeysuckle and bakeries. Some spicy notes, too. Medium-bodied, creamy and...
JS
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $20.40
12 bottles: $19.99
White
750ml
Bottle: $41.20
6 bottles: $40.38
12 FREE
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $18.91
Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $81.80
6 bottles: $80.00
Majestic like the cypresses avenue of Bolgheri, in Tuscany. Patiently stored for long years in the underground...
12 FREE
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $57.59
6 bottles: $56.80
This bright gold color grappa exudes delicious ripe pear, peach and honey aromas. On the palate it is mouth coating...
12 FREE
UBC
95

Chardonnay Grappa Ribolla Gialla Italy Friuli-Venezia Giulia Veneto

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.

Like so many of the great spirits of Europe, Grappa was born from a need to make resources go that little bit further, to eke out the last drop of flavor and potential from the crops of winemakers. Indeed, Italian vintners invented Grappa as a way to make use of the pomace - leftover grape skins, stems, pulp and seeds - which remained after the juice was extracted from the fruit needed to make wine. Over the centuries, the process was refined, and the distillation of Grappa became an art in itself. Today, top Grappa producers use a range of state of the art equipment, from continuous stills to pot stills, to manufacture a wide variety of Grappas, each with their own distinct characteristics.


Most of us know Grappa from our local Italian restaurants, where it is commonly served as a digestif. However, in the twenty first century, there is a high interest in unique, boutique Grappas, which showcase the talent of the distillers through a range of interesting qualities. Grappa can be aged in oak, in which case it takes on a beautiful golden color, quite different from the clear Grappas we are most familiar with. The high end Grappas are a world away from the harsh spirit many of us have encountered, and have a smooth, gentle quality which can be nothing short of a revelation.

There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is an important Italian wine region, situated high in the northernmost parts of the country, and close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders. As such, there is a considerable Germanic influence on the wines of this region, with varietals such as Riesling growing alongside Italian classics such as Pinot Grigio. The finest wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia are considered to be those which capture the alpine essence of the region, with its pine scented terroirs and crystal mountain waters which run down from the mountains. There are also several interesting lesser known grape varietals processed in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which gives the region a unique wine culture which the local wine makers are immensely proud of, and which makes the region a fascinating one to explore.

As historically one of the most important regions in the world regarding trade and experimentation, it comes as no surprise to discover that Veneto has always been a well respected and innovative wine region. This area of north-easterly area of Italy benefits greatly from a continental climate tempered by the Alps, and plenty of influence from the Germanic countries it is near to. Veneto is most commonly associated with beautifully elegant white wines, such as those of Soave, and has over ninety thousand hectares under vine. Impressively, within that area, over a third of the vineyards in the Veneto region have been granted official AOC status, and many of the sub-regions and appellations of Veneto have gone on to be world-famous in regards to quality. One such example is Valpolicella, where some of Italy's finest and most complex red wines are produced.