How do I know what style I’ll like?
Discovering your palate is one of the best parts about drinking wine. Finding out exactly what appeals to you is a completely individual experience with no right or wrong answers, it’s simply based on the merits of what you like. Why is this a personal thing? While the average person has roughly 10,000 taste buds, this number can vary greatly depending on the person and change individual levels of sensitivity drastically. And this is just one of the many factors that can affect a person’s palate. To demonstrate the difference in people’s tastes, think about something like black licorice. Some people love this intensely flavourful treat praising it for its salty sweetness. For others, just the sight of black licorice makes them turn their nose up remembering the last time they tasted something so terrible. Whether you love or hate this candy, this demonstrates that everyone tastes things differently and with that wine is no different. The same people who love and hate black licorice could taste the same award-winning wine and have completely opposite opinions about the quality and flavour profile. This is why we believe in the philosophy of ‘match the wine to the diner, not the dinner’. If you prefer sweet wine then dry old-world Chianti may not be your thing. If you have your heart set on trying white wine with steak then we’re not going to stand by and tell you that you’re making a terrible decision. It’s your dinner and your wine. People experiment with food, fashion, music and art, so why not...
What about craft beer?
For beer fans you ‘ll be delighted to know that we stock over 125 craft beers on our shelves at any given time, which are also organized by style. Like wine, beer has also undergone it’s own resurgence in popularity where the number of beer producers and styles that you have to pick from are staggering. Gone are the simple days when your choices included: Kokanee, Molson and Labatt’s. At Vine Styles you can browse through our beers in the following 5 style sections: Clean, Balanced, Fruity, Intense and Robust. If you’re looking for something clean, easy drinking with a touch of hops then you have a selection of lager, pilsners and pale ales to choose from. In the winter it’s always nice to have something that’s a little bit more concentrated to pair with heartier foods, which is why we’ve created a Robust section for porters and stouts. Looking from something with a something a little sweeter? Then you should probably check out our Hefeweizens, ciders and blanche...
Where is the French section?
We like to do things a little different and for that reason you won’t find wines displayed by region or country. Instead, our wines are organized by style. At Vine Styles, you’ll discover 8 different wine style sections, as well as several thematic displays, that will help you navigate to just the right bottle that suits your taste. We believe that in order to learn more about yourself and your palate, a style based organization allows us to focus on taste as opposed to geography. To elaborate further, let’s say you’re looking to try a French red but you don’t know what kind of French wines you like. There are so many options to pick from; you have elegant Pinot Noirs from Burgundy, fruity Beaujolais’, austere Left Bank Bordeaux and the meaty Malbecs from Cahors. Where do you begin? Alternatively, you might be looking for a specific wine for a particular scenario or mood. Maybe it’s a nice warm day outside and you’re looking for something cool to enjoy. That’s a perfect opportunity to visit our ‘Crisp’ section where you’ll find a great assortment of refreshing Sauvignon Blancs, fresh Pinot Grigios and Vinho Verdes with a little zing. Or say it’s Friday night and the hedonist in you is looking for something big, rich and delicious to start the weekend off right. This might mean that you’ll find what you’re looking for in our ‘Bold’ section, which will be stocked with a sinfully delicious collection of hearty Zinfandel, monolithic California Cabernet and big spicy...