The 500 Best-Value Wines in the LCBO 2010

I've been perusing a review copy of the newest edition of Rod Phillips' 500 Best-Value Wines in the LCBO (the 2010 edition, Whitecap, 2009) with interest. It's impressive to remember that some people actually do manage to taste every bottle available at the LCBO, and I really like the book; however, it also raises a few points for discussion, some having to do more with the LCBO than with Phillip' very useful volume.

I don't think 500 Best-Value Wines in the LCBO is intended as a guide for the very adventurous wine explorer, and it wouldn't fulfill that expectation, but it is perfect for someone who wants to be able to pick out reliable wines in the under-$20 range for dinners and gifts, and confidently pair them with food. I heartily approve of any book that makes wine seem less scary. If anything, Phillips possibly errs on the side of accessibility.

He writes that "We don't think of a wine having flavours of black plums or raspberries, or notes of red grapefruit, black pepper, or honey. And we certainly don't say we love wines with flavours of wet stones, smoky tar, or hard-ridden horses—the sort of descriptions loved by some wine reviewers." Instead, he uses common-sense, easy-to-understand language to describe the wine.

While I have to agree about the horses (which made me laugh), I do think the ordinary person does get useful information from the statement that this Riesling tastes more like tart apples, while that one tastes more like pears. (And I have to confess I've never quite grasped the sense of "full bodied", which seems to be one of Phillips' favourite terms.)

But this is a minor quibble; I think the book's great. What disturbs me more is that Phillips was only able to identify two good-value wines from B.C. among the LCBO's offerings, and only one from Greece (a Kouros, which is a pretty unspectacular – albeit budget-friendly – example of Greek winemaking.) Of 66 Ontario VQA wines, I couldn't spot a single one from Prince Edward County (could I have missed one?) I think this speaks to the limitations of the LCBO's buying practices, which I for one would love to see open up more in future.

That having been said, in his introduction to the Ontario wine section, Phillips gives a clear explanation of the difference between truly Ontario-grown VQA products and "cellared in Canada" wine, which, he remarks crisply, "are not included in this book."

For the record, the Ontario wineries he mentions are Angels Gate, Cave Spring, Château des Charmes, Colio, Coyote's Run, Creekside, De Sousa, EastDell, Girls' Night Out, Henry of Pelham, Hillebrand, Inniskillin, Jackson-Triggs, Konzelmann, Lakeview, Legends, Malivoire, Pelee Island, Peller Estates, Peninsula Ridge, Pillitteri, Reif, Southbrook, Strewn, Trius, Vineland... oh, and three others. To find out which three, check out my latest contest, coming up next!