×
White
750ml
Bottle: $169.93
12 bottles: $166.53
Complex and super intense Palo Cortado, loaded with concentration. Salted caramel, toffee, walnut and some tangy...
12 FREE
WA
96
JS
96
White
375ml
Bottle: $13.00
12 bottles: $12.35
Sale
Sake/Fruit Wine
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $22.00 $23.16
6 bottles: $13.00
Natural lemon and orange fruit extracts. 100% Spanish Tempranillo grapes. Pair it with fresh fruit and cheeses....
Sale
White
Case only
Sake/Fruit Wine
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $11.52
Memories of the best summer vacation. Pleasant and fruity flavour with notes of citrus, red fruits and summer fruits...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.41 $15.83
This is bright for a cream Sherry, with green tea and singed ginger notes out front, providing heft to the date,...
WS
91
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.94 $15.83
Sea salt, Brazil nut and dried chamomile notes are racy and filigreed, with a stony edge on the finish. Drink now.
WS
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $69.95
6 bottles: $68.55
The NV El Tresillo Amontillado Fino is from the El Tresillo solera (hence the same name as the 1874 Amontillado). It...
12 FREE
WA
90
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $27.94 $31.19
Shows lovely focus and persistence, with a prominent thread of bitter almond that runs from start to finish, while...
WS
92
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $59.93 $64.79
The NV Villapanes Oloroso wears a dark amber-brown robe and has a very intense nose, showing some marmalade, dark...
12 FREE
WA
91
Rapid Ship
Sake/Fruit Wine
750ml
Bottle: $10.94
A delicious frizzante sangria made with Mediterranean citrus fruits, a good red wine made from Tempranillo grapes and...
Rapid Ship
Sake/Fruit Wine
750ml
Bottle: $10.99
A unique kind of sangria. Frizzante made from Mediterranean citrus fruits, white wine made from Macabeo and Airén...
Case only
Sake/Fruit Wine
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $19.25
Instore only
Sake/Fruit Wine
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $10.99
Orange flesh and zest with red grape aromas are strong in the glass. Super fresh flavors dance on the palate,...
UBC
95
Sale
Sake/Fruit Wine
3.0Ltr
Bottle: $35.67 $37.55
4 bottles: $26.39
Orange flesh and zest with red grape aromas are strong in the glass. Super fresh flavors dance on the palate,...
UBC
95
Instore only
Sake/Fruit Wine
750ml
Bottle: $6.99
Orange flesh and zest with red grape aromas are strong in the glass. Super fresh flavors dance on the palate,...
UBC
95
Sale
Sake/Fruit Wine
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $25.80 $27.16
6 bottles: $16.66
Sale
Sake/Fruit Wine
3.0Ltr
Bottle: $35.67 $37.55
4 bottles: $26.39
Sale
Sake/Fruit Wine
750ml
Bottle: $14.08 $14.82
12 bottles: $11.40
Sale
Sake/Fruit Wine
750ml
Bottle: $14.25 $15.00
12 bottles: $11.12

Japanese Whiskey Refosco Mencia Sherry Spain

Whisky might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of Japanese fine produce, but over the past one hundred years, this fascinating and multi-faceted country has diligently forged a unique whisky identity which is growing in popularity, and which is entirely its own.

The story of Japanese whisky begins in 1918, when Masataka Taketsuru was sent to Scotland to undertake a tour of single malt distilleries in the Highlands, and bring home a knowledge of whisky and distillation skills. He returned full of inspiration, helped no doubt by his new Scottish wife, and alongside his friend, Shinjiro Torii, set up what would become a successful whisky industry.

Today, the Japanese whisky industry is spread over a relatively small handful of distilleries, which continue to use Scottish techniques and recipes, but with a hefty dose of distinctly Japanese experimentalism. This is displayed most obviously in the barrelling techniques the Japanese use - to create a distinctly Oriental set of tasting notes, native Japanese oakwood casks are used for ageing, alongside casks taken from plum wine producers, which impart a beautiful set of floral flavors to the whisky.

While some distilleries produce some excellent single malts, the majority of Japanese whiskies are blended, which reveals a unique set of flavors and aromas ranging from honeysuckle and orange blossom, to toffee and acetone.

Sherry is made in a unique way using the solera system, which blends fractional shares of young wine from oak barrels with older, more mature wines. Sherry has no vintage date because it is blended from a variety of years. Rare, old sherries can contain wine that dates back 25 to 50 years or more, the date the solera was begun. If a bottle has a date on it, it probably refers to the date the company was founded.

Most sherries begin with the Palomino grape, which enjoys a generally mild climate in and around the triad of towns known as the "Sherry Triangle" and grows in white, limestone and clay soils that look like beach sand. The Pedro Ximenez type of sweet sherry comes from the Pedro Ximenez grape.

Sherry is a "fortified" wine, which means that distilled, neutral spirits are used to fortify the sherry. The added liquor means that the final sherry will be 16 to 20 percent alcohol (higher than table wines) and that it will have a longer shelf life than table wines.

Ever since the Phoenicians and Romans brought their knowledge of vine cultivation to Spanish soils, the country's culture has grown alongside wine production, with wine being a vital part of Spanish identity and Spanish traditions. Each region of Spain has a wine quite distinct from the others, and it is produced by smallholders and families as much as it is by large companies and established wineries. From the relatively mild and lush regions of La Rioja to the arid plateaus that surround Madrid, grapes are grown in abundance for the now booming Spanish wine industry, and new laws and regulations have recently been put in place to keep the country's standards high. By combining traditional practices with modern technology, Spanish wineries are continuing to produce distinctive wines of great character, flavor and aroma, with the focus shifting in recent decades to quality over quantity.