With western countries putting up bailouts and buyouts of their banking and mortgage sectors, and China's announcement of a $580 billion "stimulus package", Dalton McGuinty's Ontario wine bailout got overlooked.

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Vintages has has just launched an online ordering service. You can't order any of their in-store or catalogue wines, there's about a two- to four-week wait, and you can't have product delivered to your home. But some of the online wines are terrific.

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The Gourmet Food & Wine Expo - the annual blowout of wine and food at the convention centre - runs from the 20th to the 23rd of November and this year's theme country is France.

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The third annual International Value Wine Awards was held at the University of Calgary in June. The results have now been published in the October/November issue of Wine Access.

With over 1,000 wines from 17 countries and hundreds of wineries evaluated and rated, this year's competition was the biggest ever. Judges included wine writers David Lawrason, Anthony Gismondi, Chistopher Waters and the reigning "Canada's Best Sommelier" Veronique Rivest. According to Anthony Gismondi, “We thought 2007 was a banner year, but registrations increased yet again over last year and it looks like we will see the best ever representation in the category ‘Best Wines in Canada Under $25.'”

In terms of wine, the concept of "value" is a bit like "how long is a piece of string?" It might be an incredible bargain to get, say, a 2nd Growth Bordeaux from a good year at $90, but it would be a heinous rip-off to get a tetrapack of South African chardonnay for $15. Nevertheless, this "value wine" summary as delineated here is more like an "almost all wine" summary: according to the organizers' figures, approximately 97% of the wine sold in Canada costs less than $25 a bottle.

The issue is worth getting a hold of for its very lengthy list of good quality lower priced wines: heck, there are enough lower priced wines here to get you through the looming recession...

For more information, visit www.valuewineawards.com

Like Ottawa residents bringing beer back from Hull without a second thought, visitors to the Okanagan had wines shipped home to Manitoba and Ontario. Well, someone at the LCBO dusted off an old lawbook...

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Tim Hudak (MPP, Niagara West-Glanbrook), a conservative at Queen's Park, is again promoting a plan to allow "VQA-only" stores around the province.

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Top tasters sipped and rated over 60 wines from Prince Edward County. Norman Hardie and Rosehall Run took the top honours in the Artevino Wine Awards.

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Britain's Decanter magazine released the results of its World Wine Awards and, of the 9,219 wines entered and judged, one Canadian white achieved a "trophy" award - the highest honour in its category.

Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery's Birch Canoe Pinot Blanc was the only Canadian non-icewine to take top honours in its category. The wine won a "Trophy" award for "White Single Varietals Under GBP10" (C$20)

Here is the list of judges, which included Canada's own Tony Aspler.

The only Canadian table wine (non-icewine) to win a gold medal was Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Proprietors' Grand Reserve 2005, although the website doesn't specify whether it was the meritage, shiraz or cabernet-shiraz.

Silvers for Pelee Island Winery, Magnotta Winery, Flat Rock Cellars and Hidden Bench represented Ontario's best. BC's Mission Hill garnered silvers for its Select Lot Collection 06 Chardonnay and 05 Merlot, and Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery also picked up a silver for its pinot grigio.

Of course not every Canadian winery entered (not even most), so the Decanter Awards are by no means exhaustive. But the judging standards are rigorous and Decanter is a trusted arbiter of taste with a worldwide following, so congratulations are due to the winners. And you can bet these are solid tips on good wines that are generally only available in Canada, so buy with confidence.

For a searchable database of winners, click here.

I reviewed Birch Canoe when it was released in May. While I'm sorry to see I didn't consider it a Top Value Pick or a 90-pointer, I did like it and consider it a good buy. Here's my note:

Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery Birch Canoe Pinot Blanc 2006. $17.95 ** GOOD VALUE**
VQA Okanagan Valley
Here's a great opportunity to try a grape BC's staking a claim on: pinot blanc, one of the Alsace grapes, has a growing following in the Okanagan. Very pleasant nose of muted white fruit with floral hints. Smooth and clean on the palate, with some floral and even light grapefruit notes. Nice finish. 88 points.