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AND AWAY WE GO! KWM 2021 Whisky Calendar Day 1: That Boutique-y Whisky Co. 24 Year

Posted on December 1, 2021

by Evan

Welcome to the 2021 Kensington Wine Market Whisky Calendar!

Today is the day! We have finally reached the time to start diving into the 2021 KWM Whisky Calendar. Time to crack open the larger-than-other-doors door number one. Pull out that glass, read the scroll and take a look at that beautiful first mini of whisky! What do we have here? A 24 Year Old on day number one?!?!

That's right. We are opening on the well-matured side of things this year. This is That Boutique-y Whisky Company's Speyside #4 Batch 1 24 Year Old. That is a mouthful. But what does it all mean?

That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC) is part of the Atom Group, which also owns the UK retailer Master of Malt and several other subsidiaries. They are a dynamic and innovative firm that was the first to develop and release a Whisky Advent Calendar concept. Established in 2012, TBWC bottles whiskies from around the world, though the bulk of their offerings are of Scottish origin. Most of their bottlings are small-batch releases, Blended Malts, and Blends. Their "Head of Whisky" is Canadian Sam Simmons who ages ago operated a great blog titled Dr. Whisky. He also spent a few years as Global Brand Ambassador for Glenfiddich.

We are big fans of That Boutique-y Whisky Company and are proud to carry a large number of their offerings. What sets them apart from other independent bottlers is their quirky and geeky sense of humour, which is showcased on the label of every bottle they sell. Each 500ml bottle from TWBC contains a comic-book-esque picture telling a story about the distillery the whisky comes from or some of the staff at the company doing something weird. Sometimes both are portrayed in the same picture. These labels are also typically laced with hidden elements or easter eggs related to the distillery or its history.

You can browse our current selection of That Boutique'y Whisky Company bottles here

Now, back to the bottle at hand.

This is Batch 1 of Speyside #4, which still doesn't tell us very much. What do we know? It is a Speyside Single Malt, bottled at 47.8%, after 24 years. We did have 30 bottles of this in full-size about a year and a half ago. We cracked one and loved it, so when we found out that we could 50ml bottles of it for our KWM Whisky Calendar we jumped at the opportunity. Here is some information on the funky label directly from TBWC themselves:

"This label is based on the beginning of a Manga-inspired story featuring Dave Worthington as a ‘Wild West of Scotland’ a whisky warrior. This will be the first story of the series of labels of his detailed adventures. Beginning with this one the bestowing of his powers by the Whisky Gods. The setting is dark with just a few single spot lights on Dave to give light around him. T...

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Going Natural Wine Club - November 2021

Posted on January 19, 2022

by Abi

Blog Post # 6 – Low Intervention Convention

Delinquente Wine Weeping Jaun Pert-Nat

Petillant Naturel. Naturally Sparkling. It’s unfiltered, cloudy and funky, but its light, delicious and so much fun. Spritzy and yeasty, with bracing acidity bouncing off sweet dark plums and berries.

Delinquente is a small batch, single vineyard handmade Australian wine company. They work with organically grown, Southern Italian grape varieties from the Riverland, fermented with wild yeast and minimal intervention.

The Riverland can be very hot and very dry, especially in the during the grape growing season. For that reason, the team at Delinquente has chosen to work with Southern Italian grape varieties – varieties that are suited to the climate, need less water and are naturally drought resistant, are late ripening and retain natural acidity. This means that they can focus on more environmentally sustainable vineyard practices and produce wines with lower alcohol levels and lots of freshness and flavour.

This year’s Weeping Juan is a blend of crunchy Nero D’avola and juicy Vermentino!

I have to be honest; I did select this before the new 2021 vintage landed on the market and before we had a chance to taste it. Why you may ask? Because, Deliquiente wines are always delicious, and they have made it clear that 2021 is the best vintage yet!! I should note, I have enjoyed 2 bottles of this wine since and it is insanely delicious!

The reason that the 2021 vintage was better than their previous ones is due to the environmental phenomena of the La Nina Cycle.

“...a La Nina cycle [brought] a good spring rainfall, mild summer temperatures and cool, crisp nights. The Bassham Family Organic and Biodynamic vineyard, bursting with natural vitality and life, took full advantage of Mother Nature’s gift and produced beautiful quality fruit – sweet, layered, and with piercing acidity – and plenty of it too!”

It is refreshing to hear that the 2021 vintage was kind to some wine regions, considering much of this year has been filled with news articles talking about how Europe was affected by a devastating frost in the early spring, which has heavily decreased the output of the 2021 vintage.

Peter Wetzer Pinot Noir

We don't see a lot of red wines from Sopron, Hungary in our market, so it was an easy decision to include the Peter Wetzer Pinot Noir in this month&rsqu...

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Going Natural Wine Club - October 2021

Posted on October 15, 2021

by Abigail

Blog Post # 5 – Low Intervention Convention

Alice Fiering, the leading writer on Natural wines, says that there are faults within organic agriculture. Within the certification, you are allowed to use anything that is derived from a natural source. Alice says:

“Even though it’s derived from natural sources, doesn’t mean [the herbicides/pesticides/fertilizers] are nontoxic. For example, one organic product derived from marigolds is so dangerous that farmers must wear full protective bodysuit to use it.”

It is also known that within the North American Organic Certification, farmers can still spray up to 150 different types of chemicals, this includes Copper. So, unfortunately, just because a winery has organic certification, it doesn't necessarily mean that they have the environment's best interest as their primary concern.

Alas, there is hope: Producers like Anne-Sophie Dubois and Anthony Buchanan focus on creating a healthy environment within the vineyards, using little if any additional chemicals (minimal sulphur is added before bottling).

Anthony Buchanan Trois Orange

Okanagan, Canada

Gewurztraminer (51%), Chardonnay Musqué (28%), and Sauvignon Blanc (21%)

Tier 2 – Goldilock's Natty Sips

“For me, winemaking is a combination of art and science. I don’t follow a blueprint or a set recipe in the cellar because each year brings new challenges in the vineyard and I believe the best wines are made when we work with what Mother Nature gives us.”

- Anthony Buchanan

Trois Orange is a unique orange blend sourced from three different vineyards within the OK Valley: Sage Brush Vineyard planted in 2007 on the Black Sage Bench, Vintoro Vineyard planted on a South-East facing slope in East Kelowna and Malhi Farm in Oliver. Each plot is farmed with minimal intervention in mind, which continues with Anthony in the cellar. He takes a simple yet elegant approach to each vintage, focusing on the advantages of each season. This also means it’s a rarity to see some of his cuvees for more than a single vintage. He creates different/unique cuvees each year to elevate what the fruit is naturally giving him. This is a little bit of a maverick approach, but it is paying off!

The wine is fermented on skins for three weeks, and then is transferred into third fill Russian oak with acacia heads and concrete tank for élevage.

I don’t know about you a...

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Going Natural Wine Club - September 2021

Posted on September 13, 2021

by Abigail

Blog Post # 4 – Low Intervention Convention

Keltis Zan White and Venturini Montelocco Lambrusco

Welcome to the month of September!!!

The days are getting shorter and the evenings are getting colder. The hands of autumn are slowly taken hold. The leaves are starting to change colour, the autumn fashion is starting to appear and we are all getting our jackets ready for our morning commutes.

This is the time of year we typically see those light, refreshing summer wines slowly disappear from the shelves, and we start to welcome those more flavourful, complex styles into our inventory. This month of Going Natural is no different. We selected two of the newest wines to market that showcase some of the best styles to drink during the changing seasons.

First up is Keltis Zan White.

This is going to be a fun one. This small little production is coming from the region of Bizeljsko, Slovenia.

Now, Slovenia isn’t necessarily the first wine country that pops to mind, but it is very important for Eastern Europe. The area of Slovenia, previously Yugoslavia, has been producing wine for thousands of years, and was one of the richest viticultural areas during Roman times., we never really hear about it. Why do you ask? Well, it all has to do with the USSR. Once Yugoslavia and the other Eastern European countries fell to the communist regime, wine became stagnate. The wine was produced within communal wineries, where all the grapes from multiple vineyards were placed into the same vat to produce the same, communal wine. There was no single-vineyard production, or even single estate bottlings; just the same communal wine.

Yet, the powerhouse of Yugoslavia was producing a ridiculous amount. In the 1970s, Yugoslavia was one of the top ten wine-producing countries...IN THE WORLD. All of this wine was being supplied to the USSR, with very little reaching the outside world. (There was one production of Riesling that made its way to western Europe, but that was just a drop in the ocean of wine produced in the country).  outside the communist states really knew about the wine potential of Eastern Europe. So, when the Iron Curtain fell in 1991, it was as if these small countries had to start over and get their names out there to the wine world.

Alas, these wines are here to stay. Not only do they offer unique grapes and approaches, but they also offer such value!

Bizeljsko is a small sub-region located in South-East Slovenia, which is made up of a narrow strip of land along the northern bank of the Sava River,...

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Going Natural Wine Club - July 2021

Posted on September 13, 2021

by Abigail

Low Intervention Wines and the Growth of the Underdogs

For this July, I was debating countless options for this blog post. Could we talk about the need for low-intervention wines? Or could we have a casual conversation about the attitude towards this category of wine? The list was endless. But, with the arrival of our newest Kensington Wine Market Exclusive wine, the Grape Republic Dela Fresca, I thought it would be a great month to talk about how Low Intervention wines have allowed small, inconspicuous regions to gain traction.

As you may be aware, the wine world is ‘obsessed’ with a handful of regions. We always hear about Bordeaux, Tuscany, California and Burgundy, to name a few. Even though these regions are fantastic, they do create a shadow on the smaller areas.

Working in wine, it can be interesting to hear some customers surprise when we tell them Greece, Romania or Bulgaria produce wine, some of the oldest wine countries in the world! This is to absolutely no fault of the consumer, in fact, it's to the fault of the wine industry itself. We tend to focus on the wines that will easily grab people's attention, which typically are wines with high points, high demand or from regions people feel familiar with because that’s what sells!

Yet, we are seeing a new demographic moving in and changing things up; Millennials. As a millennial myself, I know the hate my generation gets, and the wine industry is no different because we are shaking things up! With the ever-increasing cost of living and with millennials having more debt than the rest of the population, this generation isn't as interested in buying $100 Bordeaux to age for 20+years. Millennials want to buy wine they can drink! They also think more about where they are spending their money and who benefits from their purchases. Unfortunately, that’s not Bordeaux or Tuscany.

This new generation of wine drinkers have also lived all of their lives with the imminent threat of climate change. This may not be a big deal to some, but when you are raised with the constant ‘force-down-your-throat' approach on climate change politics, it has changed the way this generation operates. They have been told to be more conscious of their purchasing, reduce where they can and recycling is a must! It was only a matter of time until we saw the effect on the wine industry and with the increasing demand of low-intervention wines, we can agree that the millennial influence has arrived!

Millennials are becoming the new driving force behind wine purchasing and production. We have ...

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