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Introducing KWM's Going Natural Wine Club

Posted on October 13, 2021

by Abigail

Introducing KWM's Going Natural Wine Club

It’s time to join the low-intervention Convention!

This idea stemmed from a slow Sunday afternoon in 2017 where a couple of staff members decided to further explore the world of Organic, Biodynamic and Natural wines. These two started purchasing and trying bottles each Sunday, embarking on a journey that will open their eyes further to the weird and wonderful world of wines. It initially started as a way for the newest KWM employee and one of the non-wine team members to try more wines without limitation, but it soon became something more. It became a way to try these new, exciting and sometimes challenging wines without preconceived notions, opening the minds and palates to those around us. Now it is time for us to extend our hand and welcome you to the Low-Intervention Convention with our Going Natural Wine Club!

What is low-intervention?

Low-intervention is a style of winemaking that involves very little additions/subtractions from the wine, while also following biodynamic, permaculture or minimal intervention agricultural practices in the vineyard. These winemakers are focusing on the health of the vineyard’s ecosystem while producing delicious wines! Biodynamic, natural, minimal intervention and raw wines are all part of this category!

Why should we be excited about Low-Intervention wines?

In this day and age, a lot of people are realizing the realities of the world. We see unnecessary chemicals added to products, no transparency with certain productions, agriculture that is depleting ecosystems, and massive corporations that are just profiting on all of this garbage.

These Low-Intervention wines are created in a way where you know what you’re drinking, there is transparency between you and the winemaker, there are environmentally healthy practices behind each label, and each winemaker is focusing on bringing you the best wines without having to add colour, flavouring or anything else to the wines.

What can I expect from Kensington Wine Market's Going Natural Wine Club?

To enjoy delicious wines! That's basically it. We could go on to say that supporting these types of wine producers will help the environment in small ways, or that drinking fewer chemical flavouring agents will probably be better for your health but it is not just about that. It’s about drinking what you love and trying new things! Each month, we will select two wines that we are excited about. One will be white and one will be red. We may throw a sparkling wine or some rose in, who knows! We will have them listed in their tiers and will provide tasting notes. We will also be curating blog posts each month to keep you informed of the ongoing conversations in the low-intervention wine world. It will be at a cost of $60-75 per ...

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Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada April 2021 Outturn

Posted on October 13, 2021

by Evan

After the crazy-high ABV and Sherry-driven outturn we had in March, it would be understandable if the bottles we saw in April were a little bit... tamer in comparison. Well, the average cask strength may be lower in April, but this Outturn definitely does not lack flavour!

In our lineup of seven bottles, one of them is already sold out but we still have stock of the rest thus far. The bottle that is sold out went fast because we had limited stock and it was a 4.xxx (Highland Park). It was good, but in my opinion, it was not among the most interesting bottles in this month's lineup. Here is what we do have to look at:

68.41 - HILL-WALKING HAPPINESS is an especially strong start in the order. Blair Athol is not a distillery that gets mentioned a lot (or at all, really) when you ask somebody (anybody, really) where their favourite bottles of Scotch come from. HILL-WALKING HAPPINESS shows very well, though and was a revelation the second time through the order in our online tasting after it had time to open up in the glass. This is a wonderfully expressive bottle and worth a look, given the price, and also given that the SMWS Canada chapter is donating all profits they make from this bottle to the Canadian Cancer Society.

26.149 - HEILAND COUP D’ETAT was the first Clynelish we have seen from the SMWS Canada since September of 2020's 26.136 - CANDY FLOSS AND CAROUSELS, which is also a sister cask that was filled on the same date. CANDY FLOSS was a solid, refreshing dram, but the newer HEILAND COUP D'ETAT shows a lot more of the waxiness on the nose and palate that makes Clynelish such a hit with fans. The amount of waxiness is especially impressive given it is only 8 years old. Many Clynelish that I have tried don't show quite like this in their youth. This was a favourite of many that attended our Online SMWS Outturn Tasting.

Up next was 35.275 - A DESERT ISLAND DR(E)AM, sporting the special black and gold livery. This is a curious and exciting dram that spent its entire 25 years in a 1st fill Toasted Oak Hogshead. I love its Bourbon-like style that had some in the tasting guessing that it was either a Single Grain or something else due to the sweet oak influence that gives it a more up-front sweet nose and palate. We have seen Glen Moray in this style from the SMWS in the past, but not for a while. If you are a long-time SMWS Member, you may have fond memories of long-gone SMWS 35's such as 35.114 - A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN, 35.138 - MISS AMERICAN PIE, and/or 35.181 - TO INFINITY...AND BEYOND! Even if that is not the case you should take a close look at A DESERT ISLAND DR(E)AM.

Our fourth in the lineup is another Blair Athol! The SMWS Canada does put two bottles from the same distillery in an Outturn every once in a while if they feel there is enough of a contrast in style between the two. 68.28 - MONKBERRY MOON DELIGHT definitely...

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Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada March 2021 Outturn

Posted on October 13, 2021

by Evan

The lineup chosen by the SMWS Canada for March is insane.

Feel free not to take my word for it - I am an unabashed SMWS fan and I should not be trusted. Regardless - by bottle stats alone you know that this Outturn is going to be a wild ride. Of the seven bottles new bottles for the month, FOUR of them are higher than 60% ABV. Of those, THREE are North of 64% ABV. Now, take a look at how many bottles in the lineup have some sort of sherry cask influence imparted on them. Go ahead and scroll down to the SMWS info below my own tasting notes - I will wait.

Now, do you see what I mean? You may have also noticed that one of the bottles in this Outturn isn't filled with Scotch Whisky. Instead, it is the first time we have seen an SMWS bottle from a Swedish distillery. Fun stuff!

Read on for my own tasting notes on these bottles.

1 - 39.196 - ENRICHED GERANIUM
On the nose, I get some typical grassy and floral notes for a Linkwood along with the hint of waxiness, lemon bonbons, cotton candy and spicy ginger. The palate shows waves of orchard fruit including green apples, yellow pears, apricots and yellow plums along with juicy fruit gum and an earthy, peppery, grassy note. It all balances nicely with a surprisingly smooth finish.

2 - A CURIOSITY OF FLAVOURS
The nose on this Glenlossie shows golden raisins, dried apricots, coconut shavings, lychee. The palate goes toasty and shows some nice maturity with wood spice and waxy notes plus a bit of stroopwafel, shelled sesame seeds, Marcona almonds, and a tinge of minerality and a slight oaky dryness on the finish.

3 - FUNKY OLD BODEGA
Bodega indeed - the sherry is strong in this young and bold Glentauchers! The nose starts with fruit leather and keeps going right into full-on leather hyde notes along with pipe tobacco, pancake syrup, and full-on Shirly Temple mocktail notes, grenadine, fake maraschino cherry and all. The palate is, in a word, RICH. Deep notes of dates, dried blueberries, Chambord and Cassis liqueurs, and blackberry jam. Delicious stuff!

4 - STIRS YOUR SOUL
The nose on this Glen Moray shows that we are continuing into sherry territory on this one. Fresh wood varnish, bananas flambe, wood spice, cashews and Mackintosh Toffee all show up aroma-wise. The palate starts big and gets bigger as time goes on with notes of yogurt-covered raisins, polished oak, dates, dried apples, and walnuts.

5 - A BELTER OF A DRAM!
Big sherry again on this Macduff, but going more into balsamic and cherry cider notes as well. The nose also shows maple syrup glaze, fruit leather, strawberry jam, cherry cola, and hot buttered rum mix. The palate gives spicy cinnamon and ginger in a boozy fruit cake plus a touch of dark chocolate and cinnamon chewing gum.

6 - CHEEKY AND REEKY
The nose shows chicken soup with barley, lemo...

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Book Review: Wine Simple

Posted on November 7, 2021

by Abi

It is easy to get lost in the delusion of wine. Everyone including your grandmother has their own opinions and their own unrequested suggestions of what you should drink. Points this, points that. Bordeaux's Out, Burgundy’s in. Natural wine is just a phase of the millennial youth best paired with locally sourced toast and avocado spread. Shiraz is where it’s at.

Ugh. All of these opinions can be confusing and tiring, to say the least. But why? Why do we need someone else to give us opinionated advice on wine when we just want to try new and delicious things? We don’t! We know what tastes good to us, we just need to figure out what that means!

Many people have shied away from learning more about wine because they simply feel as if they will never know enough to enjoy wine because let’s face it, it’s daunting. It’s daunting as all hell! Even us, the wine professionals get overwhelmed with all the information! I’ll be the first to admit, I know a lot but I also do not know anything at all. Wine is one of those humbling experiences, where the more you learn, the more you understand that you will never be able to take in all there is to know. And plus, I get paid to be confused, navigating my way through mountains of wine books and articles to help you guys out!

Still, wine should be an approachable subject, right? I mean, most people drink the juice, so why isn’t it? Maybe it’s the institutionalized class-system, or maybe it’s the egos and the snobbery that sometimes go along with it. Who knows. Whatever it is, we are seeing more and more push back against much of the confusing and polarizing information. We are also seeing more bright spots in the wine world shine light on more inclusive approaches to wine. One of these stellar objects is Aldo Sohm.

Wine Simple: A Totally Approachable Guide from a World-Class Sommelier is as simple and as approachable as the title suggests. This is a book designed for people who simply just want to know more, so when they go to a restaurant or visit a boutique shop, they can be confident in what to look or ask for. It's an extremely well-put-together guide that teaches you the best jargon to use when you’re looking for a great glass or bottle.

One of his first notes is that “it's my job to help them find the perfect glass. But I can't do it without them.” Speaking the truth there, Aldo! Us wine professionals love to offer help and our ideas on what you should be drinking, but you are the only person that knows exactly what you enjoy. That is why we sometimes ask those annoying questions of ‘what do you like? What's your go-to wine?’ and so on. This book is an easy way to learn how to answer these questions, allowing you to find that delicious bottle!

Al...

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Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada February 2021 Outturn

Posted on October 13, 2021

Here is a Youtube link to the video from our tasting session for this SMWS Outturn

by Evan

For now, you can read on for my take on the bottles in the February 2021 Outturn below. Quirky (and possibly kinky) bottle names ruled the month in homage to Valentine's Day. Maybe you will find a new love for yourself or somebody else within this list!

44.129 - Based on the colour of the whisky, this 15 year old Craigellachie looks to be quite a bit different from last month’s sherried-high-alcohol insanity that was the quickly sold out 44.117. How will MUSCLE SPROUTS compare? On the nose, it is musty with plenty of tea-like notes as well as shredded wheat cereal, ginger, lemons, lime peel, and a touch of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. On the palate, it has a zingy beginning before broadening into richer - like a sparkling wine changing into a Rieslings in the mouth. It has notes of both, along with more lemon and ginger, thyme, and other savoury notes that I can’t quite put my finger on. It manages to be rich yet delicate at the same time - like a really good Pho broth.

35.263 - The nose of this 12 year old Glen Moray carries much of that winey-oily-fruitiness that the distillery does so well. It also shows plenty of fresh, dusty grain notes as well as buttered whole-grain toast, chalky hard candies, golden delicious apples and ripe grapefruit skin. On the palate, it is bursting with juice and fruit with sunflower seeds, cracked pepper plus a drizzle of olive oil over it all.

12.42 - This is the first Benriach we have seen in a while from the SMWS Canada. GETTING FRUITY IN THE MALT BARN is 10 years old, which means it was distilled during Alistair Walkers’ time in control of the distillery and makes me excited to taste it! The nose shows coconut shavings, jujubes, milk chocolate, an Arnold Palmer (mocktail made from a 50/50 mix of iced tea and lemonade), and toasted almond shavings. The palate is round and creamy with pear pie notes (crust and all), lemon tarts, vanilla and oak tones, and a bit of angel food cake and white icing.

Big Swirl - This is the Blended Malt Scotch with a sherried edge that the SMWS has put together. It has a stated age of 10 years and is bottled at 50% ABV. On the nose, it shows raisins and dried cranberries, a bowl of Licorice allsorts, strawberries in whipped cream, molasses and hints of something more spice-driven. The palate reveals cranberry juice, freshly picked raspberries, a bit of peppermint candy cane, red velvet cake, cherry pie, mint leaves, and the slightest dash of cinnamon. This is a very well-put-together dram. Others might prefer the richer sherry of Exotic Cargo, but this is more to my liking.

7.244 - This is the first Longmorn we have gotten from the SMWS Canada in a while. Like many of you, I am still trying to chase the dragon from an excellent run of 7’s we had a few years ago, which...

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