Alvento Winery

Jerzy Maslanka from Calgary writes about Nebbiolo

2012-07-16T12:27:00.000-04:00

www.ohnebbiolo.com

Properly Aged for your Delight

2012-05-02T16:25:00.000-04:00

Dear Wine Lover,

In Bordeaux, the famous wine region, wines of the great chateaux are produced with low yield to obtain great extract and mature tannins. Up to two years, the wine is matured in an oak barrique to favour a slow oxidation that matures the tannins. In this way the wine becomes rounder and finer.

Once in the bottle, it is kept in a cellar at ideal temperature for maturation up to 6 or 7 years. A very good vintage with a lot of tannins requires the longer period. In the old days, to consume a Bordeaux red before the age of 6 was a “sacrilege”. Many of these wines called “Clarets” in the UK were stored by the merchants and only released at the right age.

Today, especially in the new world, many wines are released after only 3 years and usually sold and consumed right away. Few consumers have a proper cellar to store them up to six years. At ALVENTO, the wines produced with Bordeaux grapes are aged in oak barrels for about 2 years and are kept in the cellar. The 2006 vintage is now six years old.

Our three different blends reflect the regions of Medoc, St-Emilion and Pomerol. We have kept them in our cellar for you so there is no danger that they would be consumed too early. But now, they are ready. Before consuming it is important to let the bottle breath for a few hours. No decanting is necessary unless the wines are really old. These 2006 wines can of course be aged even further developing the flavours of older wines.

We are inviting you to come and taste these now mature and marvellous wines, paired with some cheeses. See you at ALVENTO Winery.

Sincerely,
Elyane and Bruno

Read Zoltan Szabo's impressions of our St. Emilion blend.

2012-01-29T11:38:00.012-05:00

Special Sale - Sondra '06 $175/case

2011-12-17T14:30:00.001-05:00

We are absolutely delighted by the response to our Elige 04 holiday sale. Discerning wine lovers have bought all we had in stock. The sale seems to have set off a bit of a frenzy - our Elige 05 and Vio 06 have also sold out!

We don't want the rest of you to miss out so we are placing our Sondra 2006 on sale for $175 a case. That's a 40% reduction from the normal price! David Lawrason called it "One of Niagara's best from 2006. 90 points"

We'll hope you'll consider blessing your holiday tables and cellar shelves with this excellent Merlot / Cabernet Franc blend (90/10).

Contact us at 416 562 1212 or info@alvento.ca and we will arrange to deliver your wine in time for the holidays.

Remember 2004?

2011-11-30T12:32:00.000-05:00

It was the year with no summer.

We made our first wine from new shoots from ground level because the previous winter had frozen the trunk. The wine was green in the beginning, but with a very intense colour. The colour was an indication that there is something to hope for because it means good tannins.

And the wine did develop! After seven years it has become a good food wine. It pairs well with ribs, steak or soft spicy cheese. It will develop even further if you are patient enough to wait another few years. If not, well, you are only human!

We are now putting this wine on special for $120.00 a case.
($10.00/bottle, retail price is $15.65)

We invite you to visit us in Vineland and taste the 2004 ELIGE, a delightful bordeaux blend of Cab-Sauv, Merlot and Cab-Franc. If you would like the wine delivered, please contact us at 905 562 1212 or info@alvento.ca, and we will be pleased to make arrangements.

Alvento Winery Video Tour

2011-07-29T14:11:00.004-04:00

A very pleasant and informative visit with Bruno Moos, maker of fine Alvento wines.

Aria 07 will be released July 2nd

2011-06-17T12:09:00.005-04:00

What you see in the picture is Nebbiolo 2011 "en primeur". We are hoping the summer will turn these little bunches into a mature grape to make the perfect wine.

To stimulate the weather gods, we are pleased to announce the release of the 2007 Aria on July 2nd, 2011. It's still young, but full of everything that you find in a Nebbiolo.

Aria a slow wine and the grape is the same as in Barolo or Barbaresco, the great wines from Piemonte, Northern Italy. It's no coincidence that Piemonte is also the birth place of the Slow Food movement. Patience pays! This wine is ready to drink but gets better and better with a long life.

Here is what Zoltan Szabo had to say about Aria 07:

We were both truly impressed by the Nebbiolo. It was so Nebbiolo, from colour to finish. Red currants, cherries, pink peppercorn, floral – tar – leather aroma mixture. Medium to full bodied with great ripeness and opulence, lively acidity and velvet tannins. Pure, smooth and elegant with 13% alcohol, unnoticeable oak and citrus – pink grapefruit – pomegranate seed notes on its extremely long finish. After a while, soft, fresh – turned earth – tobacco, animal and limestone – graphite nuances started showing in between the fruit, with spicy nutmeg accents on the finish. We debated if this is the best Nebbiolo we tasted outside of Piemonte and listened to an aria, “Ah perfido” by Beethoven.

Price: $34.95

Elige 2007 Vintages Release

2011-06-15T16:19:00.002-04:00

John Szabo's picks

Alvento Elige 2007, VQA Niagara Peninsula
Ontario, Canada

Here's an intriguing, classy, old world style Bordeaux blend with above average complexity and depth from former Tuscan winemaker Bruno Moos. The palate shows wonderfully complex earthy-savoury notes over mature red and black berry fruit, while acid-alcohol-tannin are well balanced. Wood is still a little dominant, meaning that another 1-2 years in the cellar should set this up nicely. Lots of character and depth for the money for those seeking a more 'traditional' expression. Tasted May 2011. Value Rating: *** (226019)

Fog, rain and cold

2011-05-28T10:59:00.007-04:00

Spring is on hold. We lobby for it to come.
The vineyard is now ready to go. All is tidy and attached with the willow branches harvested from our willow trees.
Will the sun come? We start to see a little green.

Zoltan Szabo comments Aria 2007

2011-04-20T10:36:00.004-04:00

Aria 2007 (Nebbiolo) is for the gourmet. Read all about it.

http://wp.me/pDR5F-2VA

Pruning

2011-03-18T14:18:00.007-04:00

Now, that we are into pruning, we want to explain to you what we are doing in the vineyard.

This is the season. If the ground is frozen, it is easy to move around in the vineyard, but if it rains, ...oh la la.. the soil sticks to the boots or the boots stick to the soil and it does not go well.

Pruning appropriately determines the yield with the vineyard layout giving the primary framework. Remember, the tighter the vineyard is planted the less yield you have, but the more vines there are to prune. If you want to bring the grapes to full phenolic maturity, the method of pruning is critical.

The length of the pruned branch also determines the quality; more buds equals more grapes and vice versa. The trick is to find the ideal balance between bud quantity and quality of grape.

The quality of grapes is not only measured by the sugar content but also by the sugar quality or phenolic maturity, that determines also the quality of all other components of the grape such as acids etc.

The photos show you the phases of our work.

Favourable Sondra Reviews

2011-01-15T13:58:00.002-05:00

Some nice compliments over at winealign.com:

89 Alvento Sondra 2006 $23.95

Evolved, spicy, earthy, herbal, very intriguing, with an almost Italianate profile. The palate is mid-weight, with light dusty tannins and above average length. This wine has evolved very favorably since I first tasted it almost two years ago, and it looks promising for further development. Tasted December 2010. Value Rating: **1/2

A pleasant, nicely maturing mid-weight merlot (90 per cent), with considerable dill, tobacco, vanilla and wood spice on the nose. Not a fruit-driven wine, but appealing regardless, especially if you like Bordeaux reds. It’s quite smooth, with dry but not austere tannin on the finish. Very good length. Best 2009 to 2012. Score: 88 (David Lawrason)

Sondra 2006 Now Available in LCBO Vintages

2011-01-09T22:46:00.004-05:00

It is no longer necessary to come to Vineland to get our great Sondra 2006.
As of today it is available at LCBO Vintages stores.
The product number is 207332.

Sondra 2006
12.5% alc/vol - 750ml - $23.95
Grapes: Merlot 90%, Cabernet Franc 10%
Colour: Deep garnet
Nose: Red Fruit and cinnamon
Palate: Rich and dry with flavors of black cherry, plum, and toasting oak in the lingering finish.

Excellent aging potential
David Lawrason: "One of Niagara's best from 2006. 90 points"

Elige 07 released in December

2010-11-23T16:29:00.003-05:00

We are pleased to announce the release of our Elige 07. David Lawrason gave it 92 points saying: "This is a terrific, youthful blend of New World-Niagara vibrancy and Old World elegance and depth."

On the weekend of December 11th and 12th it will be available in our store for the amazing price of $19.95. Look for it in LCBO Vintages stores in June of 2011.

Alvento Elige 07 13% alc/vol - 750ml - $19.95
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 33%, Cabernet Franc 2%
Colour: Deep ruby red
Nose: Cassis, leather, blackberry, and anise
Palate: Full palate, very long finish, well structured tannins ensuring a long life, will develop into a voluptuous wine.

Tracing Ontario’s wine history

2010-11-23T16:22:00.005-05:00

It was nice to be reviewed in Beppi Crosariol's Globe and Mail article on the history of the Ontario wine industry. The article is of interest to anyone who follows Ontario wine.

Here is what he had to say about Alvento Sondra 07:

"A blend of 90-per-cent merlot with 10-per-cent cabernet franc, this is a very dry, impressive red from a relatively new winery in Vineland run by Elyane and Bruno Moos. Full-bodied, delivers plum and dark berries on a carpet of earthy underbrush. Try with beef or roast chicken. SCORE: 88"

New Fall & Winter Hours

2010-11-01T10:22:00.003-04:00

Our tasting room is open from Friday to Monday 11:00 - 18:00.

Top Marks for New Releases!

2010-10-02T15:17:00.006-04:00

Outstanding reviews are starting to pour in!

"There is no doubt that Alvento Winery, planted on a former cherry orchard on Jordan Harbour in the Lincoln Lakeshore appellation, is making some pretty exciting wines."

A nice article from Rick VanSickle on our newly released 07 Reds and 08 Viognier!

"After nearly 45 minuts of tasting every wine he had at the event, I was hooked."

4.5/5 from Suresh Doos at Spotlight Toronto

"There is no doubt that Alvento Winery, planted on a former cherry orchard on Jordan Harbour in the Lincoln Lakeshore appellation, is making some pretty exciting wines."

Thank you St Catherines Standard!

How does 2010 compare with 2007?

2010-09-01T16:00:00.003-04:00

In conversation with Alvento winemaker Bruno Moos

James:
How does 2010 in the Niagara Region compare with the famous 2007 growing season?

Bruno:
The famous 2007 was dry, no rain. There were long days of sunshine. But we didn't have the dry stress that we could have had. We had weeks through our whole growing season that were as if it had rained. Which was funny. Even the grass was green. You'd pull out the grass and it would be dry underneath.
This year, everything really was accelerated by the fact that it periodically rained but rained mostly at night. So we didn't lose any sunlight to rain. During the day it was very good. We've had very few days with clouds. This year everything was faster and more intense and the result is that we are going to harvest earlier which is an advantage because you don't need to worry about mildew so much. This year will be better than 2007. For the reds especially. Whites, Riesling for instance, like lower temperatures and lower sunshine. Viognier is doing OK. I'm sure Chardonney will be fine. But all the reds are going to do very well. Nebbiolo's going to be the Nebbiolo of the century.

Alvento Releases Two Highly Anticipated 2007 Reds

2010-08-24T15:35:00.015-04:00

Finally we believe some of our 2007 reds are ready to be tasted by your sophisticated palates. We have held these wines back as they were not showing their full potential. As everybody knows 2007 was a great vintage for Niagara, and the wines definitely reflect that. The patient connoisseur will enjoy these wines now but will discover their full potential in the future.

You are invited to Alvento Winery on August 28 & 29 and Sept 4 &5 to taste and buy.

Sondra 2007: 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc
13% alc/vol - $26.95

Tasting Notes:
Color: Deep Ruby Red
Nose: Wild berries, plum, roses, chocolate, and baking spice
Palate: Full bodied, complex and persistent with

well integrated tannins.

David Lawrason declared our Sondra 06 as one of Niagara's best.

Emilie 2007: 70% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot
13% alc/vol - $29.95

Tasting Notes:
Color: Bright Ruby Red
Nose: Raspberries, dried fruit, cedar, anise and spice
Palate: Full palate of wild cherry and coffee
Very long finish.

Both wines are very young, have excellent aging potential, and will develop into voluptuous wines in the future.

Alvento's Aria (Nebbiolo) Stands Up to the World's Best from Piemonte

2010-06-04T10:42:00.005-04:00

May 6, Alvento ARIA was invited by David Lawrason to compete in a tasting with world famous wines by the makers ANGELO GAJA and PIO CESARE.

The Italian champions had more mature wines. Pio Cesare had a 2004 Barolo. Gaja’s Barbarescos were a 2000 Sperss and a 1995 San Lorenzo.

Alvento ARIA was a very young 2006 and Nebbiolo is a new grape in Niagara. So it was with trepidation that Bruno Moos offered his ARIA for comparison with such world famous names.
Our edge was that the grapes were nurtured, hand picked and hand selected.

The wine amazed all there. It stood out among the great and was praised for its pronounced nose of pleasant chocolate. ARIA aroused the interest of those who tasted it.

When marks were handed out, we won’t say whose, but Aria not only matched some but beat out a $600 Italian.

Alvento’s ARIA is now available at VINTAGES for $26, far less than the $600 of its competitor.
We encourage you to drink it like any other Italian Nebbiolo. Open it several hours before and allow the flavors and your own anticipation to grow.

ARIA 2006 pairs beautifully with grilled lamb. Find our recipe here.

They Called Alvento Amazing

2010-05-13T17:23:00.002-04:00

Sitting in a restaurant recently, I overheard someone at the next table tell the others that he was ordering a bottle of Alvento “Vio”.The first response was….who??? what???

Thankfully there was one person at the table who had experienced Vio before and I assumed he liked it because he replied “Alvento is a little known winery in Niagara Canada that makes amazing wines and the one that’s on this list is a Viognier called “Vio”.

He continued, “I can promise you that if you don’t love this wine I’ll personally pay for any other bottle on the list”.

I now boldly looked around their table and noticed a few smug looks.

Needless to say I wouldn’t be telling you this story if the outcome was in favor of those looking smug.

Two bottles later, the adjectives made me wish I had a tape recorder with me.

“This wine truly is amazing” ….“elegant, full of flavors, superb”

“How is it that I've never heard of Alvento?”

“Where can I buy it?”

The above incident took place in London England sometime in April 2010, at a restaurant that doesn’t just buy labels, only quality and value.

Are the wines of Alvento really amazing? Many people think so.

Find out for yourself. Click here to order or better still come on out to the winery.
Two minutes off the QEW’s Victoria exit in Vineland.

UK Restaurant Touches Home

2010-04-29T13:14:00.004-04:00

I was approached recently at the Hamilton wine show by a couple from Grimsby Ontario who just returned from London England.
They regaled an experience while eating at the famous BRASSERIE ROUX –SOFITEL on Pall Mall.
After ordering their wine they noticed a small card on the table. Their selected wine arrived, was promptly opened and poured around.

They read the card and were intrigued and amazed that here was a highly recommended wine in LONDON ENGLAND that came from Niagara.
They promptly ordered ALVENTO VIO and after one taste, pushed the first bottle aside and enjoyed the experience of discovering a wine from their “backyard” half way around the world.
The card was written by one of the world’s famous chefs and restaurant owner, ALBERT ROUX of LE GAVROCHE fame.
So intrigued was he and his team of sommeliers (6 restaurants) that our 120 case shipment was sold out in record time.
Imagine a Niagara wine on a list alongside wines of up to $2000 a bottle.
It seems the London aficionados loved ALVENTO so much so that we now have a request for our Emilie 2006 (Cabernet Franc).
The LCBO (Vintages) know great wine too and now feature our ARIA (Nebiollo) .
Want to find out what the Brits know that some of you don’t?
Click on our order page and taste for yourself.

Sondra, Nellie and Escoffier (& Alvento)

2010-04-29T12:58:00.005-04:00

At the turn of the last century (1900 give or take a few years), the great soprano Nellie Melba was dining at The Ritz in Paris. The great chef Escoffier asked Ms. Melba if he might name a dish after her. She readily agreed, and the famous "PEACH MELBA" was invented.

Flash forward a hundred or so years and the scene is the famous Harry's Bar in London.

I was having a late supper with the world famous soprano Sondra Radvanovsky. Sondra had just performed Cyrano at Covent Garden with Placido Domingo. Her performance evoked a 10-minute curtain call. What a night! I reminded Sondra of the night many years ago at the Ritz and asked her if I could name an Alvento wine after her. She excitedly agreed and the Alvento merlot became Sondra.

Today our Sondra corner in the sales room tells of Sondra's triumph at La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden and many other opera houses around the world. Sondra visits Alvento regularly and not only drinks Alvento wines exclusively (she pays full retail) but has passed some on to her many friends not because of the name on the label but because she loves the wine.

Today as well, Alvento's Sondra enjoys rave reviews in the United Kingdom and in Canada.

Sondra's engagements for the season include performances as Lina in Stiffelio at the Metropolitan Opera with Placido Domingo conducting, Elvira in Ernani at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Elisabetta in Don Carlo at the Paris Opera - where she had her earliest European success. Her debut solo CD, Verdi Arias, was recorded in Moscow with the Philharmonia of Russia and is to be released in April, 2010. Read more about Sondra here.

Alvento will soon be featuring Sondra's CD at the winery. Drop in soon to listen to an incredible voice while sipping a glass of Sondra.

Aria available at LCBO Vintages stores

2010-04-15T21:06:00.006-04:00

On April 17th, Alvento Aria will be available in LCBO Vintages stores.

David Lawrason writes:

"I love improbable, romantic tales and none better in this release than the story behind Alvento 2006 Aria (nebbiolo). Bruno and Elyane Moos owned a winery in Tuscany for many years before putting down roots in Niagara, which they felt might be a good region for nebbiolo given latitudinal and climatic similarity to Piedmont, where nebbiolo creates famed Barolo. They struggled through tough Niagara winters in 2003 to 2005, but finally made their first Aria in 2006 – something so unique and controversial you must try it for yourself. On May 6 it will be poured alongside Barolos from Pio Cesare and Gaja at a fundraiser for Provindence Healthcare Foundation. And by the way the 2007 still in barrels (to be releases in 2011) is even better."

Grilled Leg of Lamb

2010-04-14T10:46:00.001-04:00

Servings 6

1/3 cup hoisin sauce
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp garlic, minced
¼ scallion, minced
1tbsp honey
½ tsp salt
6 lb leg of lamb, butterflied

In a bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, minced scallion,
honey and salt.

Trim as much remaining fat as possible from lamb and in a shallow dish large enough
to hold lamb flat spread marinade over both sides of it. Marinate lamb, covered and
chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight.

Bring lamb to room temperature and grill on an oiled rack 10 minutes on each side,
or until meat thermometer registers 140F for medium rare meat.
Transfer lamb to a cutting board and let stand 20 minutes before carving.