LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2022

WINES FOR UNFORGETTABLE OCCASIONS

Gifting one exceptional bottle to a happy couple or newly minted college graduate doesn’t just declare that they’re as extraordinary as its contents. It also encourages them to perform the special ritual of saving or cellaring fine wine, and it creates a future occasion for savouring it. They will appreciate you each time they think about its distinctive contents, or when they curate a spread with some thoughtfully paired delicacies.

Remarkable Reds › Caymus Cabernet

› Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 710426, $129.95 Representing a softer side of Napa, this Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant blend is lush on the palate and complex with herbal and floral hints from several other grapes. › Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 708982, $89.95 When this Napa Valley winery won the 1976 Judgement of Paris over French wine, it cemented its reputation for full body with elegant leather and tobacco accents.

Sauvignon VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 222877, $108.95 From a pioneering Napa Valley vineyard first planted in the 1960s, this wine’s global fame comes from rich plum, vanilla

and mocha notes plus firm tannins.

› Taylor Fladgate 20-Year-Old Tawny Port VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 149047, $69.95

Port is having a renaissance as a signature serve

with cheese boards or dessert. Sweet, garnet-coloured tawny tastes of dried fruits, toasted nuts and candied citrus.

The Future is Now Through the Vintages Bordeaux Futures program (lcbo.com/bordeauxfutures), you can invest in single bottles, magnums (1.5 litres), Jeroboams (3 litres) or cases of the 2020 vintage of red and white wines from Bordeaux, suitable for cellaring. Pay for it online now, while it’s still maturing in the Bordeaux region of France, and give your recipient a note explaining it will arrive in Ontario in 2023, for home delivery or pickup at any LCBO store. Gift a bright future, from $29 to $1,200 a bottle.

“With fine reds, send a full-size cut of aged beef on the bone.” Box and gift the wine, with a card that promises a delivery to come, which could include, “fresh meats, cheeses and fruits, or a charcuterie entertaining box—beautifully packaged, for the thrill of unwrapping.”

PAIRING PRESENTS Customers often bring fine wines into one of Pusateri’s Fine Foods (pusateris. com) Toronto locations, looking for foodie accompaniments to elevate it into the ultimate gift package. Here’s inspiration from proprietor Ida Pusateri.

CUSTOM GUEST BOOKS, FROM PAPER DECORUM, PAPERDECORUM.COM

112 FOOD & DRINK SUMMER 2022