Any of you following along on my Instagram account will know that in December I did #12winesofChristmas and it was so much fun. Myself and two friends from work actually made our own wine calendar. This all came about because I wanted to buy a wine calendar, but couldn’t find one to buy anywhere in Ontario, so we teamed up in work and made our own!
We made the wine calendar mostly from recycled pizza boxes, so it’s very environmentally friendly and we made it any chance we got in work – one of our offices is now known as the “craft room” after our wine calendar adventure! Brooke is an amazing artist, so all credit goes to her for designing the super cute front of the wine calendar! You can (and you should) follow her art Instagram account to check out her fabulous work!
The theme of the wine calendar was travel (surprise) and there was wines from Canada, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Chile and Australia. It was a great way to try so many new wines from different countries and it was my way to escape and travel through wine!
My favourite wine of the 12 was the Shiraz by Fat Bastard (France). I found this wine to be full-bodied and very flavourful. It was smooth and rich and would pair perfectly with steak and pepper sauce. Available for purchase at the LCBO for $14.95.
I also had some sparkling wine in there, because, is it even the 
Holiday period if you don’t have some bubbles? I really enjoyed Henkell Trocken which hails from Germany and is sold across the world. Who knew the Germans made good bubbles as well a beer?! I paired it with some sour candy from Squish candy, which was fantastic! I got that idea from girldrinkswine – thanks! Check out her blog for all things wine related! Buy it from the LCBO for only $15.
One of the French wines I tasted was from Cellier des Dauphins, Prestige red. I enjoyed this one but it’s not one you want to drink if you’re in the mood for a full bodied red. It’s pretty light and fruity – great with pizza or pasta. I think you can only purchase the small 250ml bottle in the LCBO – for only $4.95 it’s the perfect stocking filler!
I had three Ontario wines in the calendar and I really enjoyed them all. I started with Girls Night Out Rosé from Colio Winery and I loved it. It’s so refreshing with raspberry flavours and also a slight hint of sour cherry. Overall, it’s very clean and crisp and would pair well with a nice spicy Thai dish.
My next Ontario wine was a Cabernet Merlot from Peller Estates. I’m a big fan of Peller and am part of their wine club. This Cabernet Merlot is medium bodied and easy to drink and has fruit-forward flavours of cherry and blackberry. Would pair well with any barbecued meat.
My third Ontario wine was an ice wine which was a nice treat! Now, I’m not actually a huge fan of ice wine as I find it too sweet, however, I really enjoyed the Inniskillen Vidal Ice Wine and had it with some Lindt chocolates. It has a good, balanced acidity and is nicest served cold in a cold glass. As noted above, serve with smooth chocolate.
Overall, I had so much fun trying a new wine every second day throughout the month of December and will definitely keep the wine calendar going. Next time, I’m hoping to do a wine calendar made up of Ontario wine only. If anyone is interested in trying out the wine calendar, contact me to register your interest for December 2019 – we would love to make you your own wine calendar!
Until next time, cheers!
