For some of the world's best cabernets and merlots - blended of course - there's always Bordeaux.

> view previous releases

With some of the finest pinot noirs and chardonnays ever made in Niagara, Le Clos Jordanne is the hot winery right now. Production is still very small due to “winter kill” of many vines during the harsh winters of 2003 and 2004, and the entire production run was sold out more or less immediately upon release last year. Pretty much the same is happening this year, but expect big things next year and beyond.

Le Clos Jordanne is a winery you should know about.

>>>

Champagne is the finest sparkling wine, appreciated even by people who say they don't like wine. The region's strict quality control standards are so high that pretty much any champagne is good, but there are further gradations of quality. The range – from fine older vintage examples to full-bodied luxury to austere elegance – is intoxicating. (Click to see a larger image of the champagne boy.)

Here’s a report from the cradle of sparkling wine.

>>>

If anyone should be smiling, it’s Mike Weir: he beat Tiger Woods at the President’s Cup in Ile Bizard, Quebec this summer. Weir’s consistently good performance on the links makes his focus on golf clear – laser-like by all accounts.

That makes it all the more impressive to see his imprimatur on some of Niagara’s better wines.

>>>

Master Sommelier John Szabo led a tasting of cool-climate wines from Australia at the Design Exchange recently. Before you say “hey, wait a minute!” there are cool climate areas in Australia – and some of the producers are crafting some very interesting wines.

A knowledgeable panel gave us background on new developments Down Under – including details on a rather ominous multi-year drought along the Murray-Darling river system, the lifeblood of the country’s south east: yield is down 50% in some vineyards. But they’re still making good wine.

>>>

Put on your Ermenegildo Zegna jacket, reach for your D&G shades, pick up the keys to the Cayenne and head down to King Street East: it’s time for the finest wine auction in Canada.

Between October 12th and 15th, over $3 million worth of wine will change hands in the Ritchies bidding room. Sip champagne and look all inscrutable as you get ready to raise your paddle.

>>>

There are no starters, mains, lunches or brunches at Colborne Lane. “I don’t subscribe to mainstream,” declares chef and co-owner Claudio Aprile. “It’s boring and homogenized. I want to create food that’s original.”

And original it is at one of the city's current hotspots. The wine list is small but appropriate, with a few Alsatian aromatics and even that rare Spanish treat, Albarino – great for the seafood and strong flavours. Here is a profile of the star chef.

>>>

It's no secret that this CIA leads the way in American kitchen intelligence. And it has a great wine program in its Napa outpost as well.

The Culinary Institute of America, with campuses in New York and California, is one of the world's leading cooking schools. I went for a visit and was impressed.

>>>

Locals refer to the area as "the Deep South", but they have a point: on a late-August visit, 22 degrees and rain in Toronto at 1 p.m. became 28 sunny, humid degrees in Kingsville at 5 p.m. Mexican labourers, who harvest Essex County's bounty, rode their bicycles after a day in the fields.

Here's my look at two an often overlooked wine producing areas: Lake Erie North Shore and Pelee Island. There are some promising winery developments at the southern tip of Canada.

>>>