Canadian Sommelier, On-Air (TV, radio) Wine & Spirits Somm, Valpolicella Wine Specialist
Wine shouldn’t feel intimidating — it should be enjoyable, expressive, and accessible to everyone. Yet myths persist about how wine should be sealed, served, stored, or selected. To help cut through that noise, I recently joined Patricia Boal on CFRA News Talk Radio 580 to debunk some of the most common misconceptions using seven wonderful wines from Canada, Portugal and Italy.
Wine shouldn’t feel intimidating — it should be enjoyable, expressive, and accessible to everyone. Yet myths persist about how wine should be sealed, served, stored, or selected. To help cut through that noise, I recently joined CTV Your Morning to debunk some of the most common misconceptions using five wonderful wines from Canada and Italy. Each wine highlighted a different myth, and each proved it wrong in the most delicious way. Wine doesn’t have to be complicated to be extraordinary. Serve it properly, store it wisely, and stay open to discovery. Whether it’s a twist-top white, a powerful cool-climate red, sea-aged sparkling, or an iconic style like Amarone — the key is curiosity, not conformity. Afterall, wine is meant to be experienced, not overcomplicated. So remember, the best bottle isn’t determined by price, closure, or origin—it’s the one you enjoy, explore, and share.
This is a compelling sensory example demonstrating that underwater cellaring is not merely theatrical but, when executed with precision, can serve as a legitimate élevage method, influencing structural tension, mousse density, aromatic restraint, and preservation of freshness. Excellent now, but also a prime candidate for medium-term evolution under cork. Enjoy 2025-2035. Tasted November 2025. 94+ points. Matt Steeves – http://www.quercusvino.ca
Collectible Amarone: The Top Wines of the 2020 Vintage - A First Look at Amarone 2020: A Vintage of Elegance, Energy & Exceptional Balance. Full details at http://www.quercusvino.ca #Amarone #Anteprima #Valpolicella #Italy #Sommelier #Wine #TopRated #MustTry #WineAficionado #Verona #AmaronePreview #Cellarworthy #Backupthetruck #Winetime #2020Amarone #Corvina #LakeGarda #OperaPrima #Anteprima #WineCollecting #Cellaring #Consorzio
Kirby Estate Signature Merlot 2020 – Niagara-on-the-Lake VQA Nestled in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Kirby Estate is positioning itself among Canada’s top-tier producers. Proprietors Scott and Maria Kirby have spared no effort in showcasing the full potential of their distinctive K-shaped estate vineyards (as depicted on their label). Supported by renowned viticulturalist Craig Wismer and winemaker Matt Smith, their philosophy is clear: precision farming, meticulous selection, and an uncompromising pursuit of quality. The 2020 Signature Merlot represents the pinnacle of their craft. Sourced from 18-year-old vines planted in sandy loam soils, the grapes were handpicked in two lots (October 24 and November 7) at 23+ and 25+ brix, highlighting both patience and confidence in the growing season. After cold soaking, wild yeast fermentation, and 20 months in French oak (new and neutral), the wine was bottled unfiltered in July 2022 at 15.7% ABV. This alone speaks volumes about the exceptional ripening achieved in this cool-climate region. Signature Merlot 2020 is a deep ruby colour with a subtle garnet rim. Fragrant and layered, offering sweet plum, blackberry, blueberry pie, cassis, and dark cherry, supported by savoury herbs, graphite, and crushed stone. A vibrant expression of both vintage ripeness and vineyard precision. Silky and powerful with exceptional texture. Velvety tannins frame concentrated dark fruit and spice, gradually unfolding into a long, graceful finish. Despite its 15.7% power, the wine remains refreshing and balanced, with cool-climate acidity adding lift and elegance to the full-bodied intensity. A defining expression of Niagara Merlot: rich, structured, and beautifully composed, capturing remarkable ripeness while staying true to its origin. The 2020 Signature Merlot is a testament to what can be achieved when ambition, talent, and terroir align. The finest Niagara Merlot I’ve tasted. Enjoy now with a 2 hour decant or cellar and enjoy over the next 15–20 years. Tasted November 2025. 96 points. Matt Steeves – http://www.quercusvino.ca
Sabaini is a quality-driven family winery crafting expressive, terroir-focused wines from the Val d’Illasi, a celebrated valley northeast of Verona known for its limestone-rich hillsides and excellent natural ventilation ideal for appassimento. The estate sources its Amarone grapes from the Monte Castello d’Illasi and Monte Tomelon vineyards in the Val d’Illas, two elevated, well-exposed sites that provide fruit with freshness, depth, and signature balsamic-herbal lift. Working with careful bunch selection and traditional drying methods, Sabaini aims for balance and purity, producing Amarone that is both richly layered and elegantly structured. The 2020 Amarone is inviting and delicious. Opening with plum, fig, mocha, dark chocolate, and sweet spices, all supported by the fresh, mineral-driven character of its hillside Val d’Illasi vineyards. Subtle balsamic and herbal notes add regional complexity and lift. The palate is textural and refined, with firm, well-built tannins that make it an excellent pairing for braised dishes or charcoal fire-grilled beef. Rich yet balanced, this is a beautifully crafted Amarone that will evolve gracefully over the next twenty years. Tasted February 2025. 94 points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca
Zýmē, founded by the legendary Celestino Gaspari, is one of Valpolicella’s most innovative and quality-driven estates. An artisanal winery where deep regional knowledge meets cutting-edge precision. Gaspari, long regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of the appassimento method, brings a philosophy rooted in patience, purity, and terroir transparency. His approach begins in the vineyard, where meticulous bunch selection and careful monitoring of ripeness ensure that only the most expressive grapes begin the Amarone journey. Located in the heart of Valpolicella Classico, Zýmē works with a mosaic of hillside parcels rich in limestone, clay, and ancient rock, soils that give the wines their hallmark depth and mineral tension. The cellar is a fusion of modernity and tradition, where long, natural fermentations and extended élevage create Amarone wines that are simultaneously powerful, elegant, and unmistakably Zýmē. Gaspari’s wines are revered worldwide for their purity of fruit, structural precision, and ability to age for decades with grace. The 2020 Amarone Classico from Zýmē is a glorious, richly textured wine that embodies the precision and artistry of Gaspari’s team. Intense and expressive from the first swirl, it displays savoury dark fruit, leather, balsamic notes, and deeply perfumed dried dark fruit—an unmistakable signature of the estate’s meticulous bunch-by-bunch selection for their ultra premium wines. On the palate, the harmony is remarkable. The flavours mirror the aromatics perfectly: dark fruit, savoury undertones, dried figs and cherries, sweet spices, and a beautifully integrated balsamic lift. The richness and concentration are balanced by impeccable structure, making this a wine of both immediacy and immense longevity. Enjoy over the next 30 years as it continues to gain complexity and depth. Tasted February 2025. 96+ points. Matt Steeves – http://www.quercusvino.ca
Nestled in the heart of Valpolicella Classico, Ca’ La Bionda stands as one of the region’s highly respected family estates. Founded in 1902 in the historic commune of Marano di Valpolicella, the winery is now led by the fourth generation of the Castellani family, who farm organically and champion a pure, terroir-first expression of Valpolicella’s hillside vineyards. Their approach is patient and traditional—high-elevation terraces, careful bunch selection, and long natural fermentations—resulting in wines that balance depth with finesse. The estate’s crown jewel is the legendary Ravazzol cru, one of the most prized sites in all of Valpolicella. With its ancient marly-limestone soils, dramatic slopes, and excellent exposure, Ravazzol yields fruit that lends itself beautifully to Amarone’s appassimento technique. Ca’ La Bionda translates this into an Amarone style that is structured, savoury, and elegant—never heavy—making their wines among the finest, age-worthy expressions in the denomination. A stunningly elegant Amarone from one of Valpolicella’s great historic crus. The 2020 Ravazzol opens with a deep and complex aromatic profile: dried dark fruit, warm spice, flint, leather, balsamic lift, and a subtle salty mineral note that speaks clearly of its hillside limestone origins. On the palate, this is all about tension and refinement—chalky, savoury, and beautifully balanced. Waves of dark dried fruit mingle with spice and saline minerality, supported by youthful, tightly knit tannins that promise tremendous evolution. The structure is exceptional, and while it’s already expressive, the 2020 Ravazzol will be in a prime drinking window in about five years, with decades of graceful life ahead. Tasted February 2020. 95+ points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca
Corte Cavedini is a small, family-run estate tucked away in the Marcellise Valley, an under-the-radar part of Valpolicella just east of Verona where the rolling hills and calcareous soils yield wines of natural tension and elegance. Here, the Cavedini family crafts their terroir-driven Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG that favours balance over sheer power—beautifully ripened Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella (with a small portion of Merlot, Croatina, and Oseleta) grapes are gently air-dried for ~ 2 months then vinified, aged in French tonneaux for two years prior to bottling. The result, a lovely blend of dried fruit, red berries, pomegranate, and balsamic notes. The palate repeats with lovely dried red and dark fruit, fine tannins, harmonious texture on the long finish. Showing wonderfully now, this is a great go-to Amarone to enjoy now and over the next decade plus. Tasted February 2025. 94+ points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca
Zeni 1870 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico VigneAlte 2020 - Zeni is a historic family-run winery founded in 1870, which has deep roots in Bardolino where their main winery is located, but also in Valpolicella since the 1960s. Vigne Alte Amarone is sourced from higher-altitude hillside vineyards in the Valpolicella Classico zone, the traditional heartland of Amarone production. The combination of calcareous-basaltic soils and the cooler diurnal range of elevated slopes yields grapes with intense concentration yet remarkable aromatic lift. The nose is super-decadent, imagine a hedonistic interplay of black cherries, black-forest cake, kirsch, and dark chocolate, laced with cocoa powder, sweet baking spice, and a graphite-mineral undertone from the basalt-limestone soils. Elegant hints of dried fig, espresso, and preserved cherry linger in the background, adding warmth and sophistication. The palate is velvety and expansive, unfolding in layers of black-cherry-filled pastries and cocoa-dusted spice, framed by supple, creamy tannins and balanced freshness. There’s a subtle saline–mineral tension that keeps the wine from excess, leading to an opulent yet finely tuned finish of fruit preserves, mocha, and spice that lingers luxuriously. A decadent yet balanced Amarone, marrying luxurious richness with poise and minerality. Tasted February 2025. 94 points. Matt Steeves - http://www.quercusvino.ca
Quercus Vino 