Looking for the perfect wine to deaden the pain of good weather and grilled seafood? You’ve come to the right blog. There’s a fantastic new white that’s crept into Ontario without much fanfare: the Licia 2007 Albarino from the Rias Baixas region of Spain ($19.95, Vintages #114397, 89/100). This is a fresh, floral wine that has something for everyone: fruity without being heavy, lively without being sharp, and clean without being simple. The main flavours are pink grapefruit and peach; it’s a peach of a wine....

Communism created terrible wine. I realize that a tolerance for plonk does not usually make it into history’s grand indictment of Stalin and his offspring, but I am just superficial enough to view it as a first-class tragedy. I’m especially moved after returning from a trip to the Czech Republic, where wineries are still finding their feet after decades in the totalitarian mud.

Under the influence of the Soviet Union, collectivism and central planning dominated wine-making all over Eastern Europe. The politburo had no interest in handcrafting wines that expressed the unique individuality of a parcel of perfect land. It wanted massive tractors to machine-harvest the fruit and industrial-scale fermentation. Wildly different grapes were tossed into the same vat to create homogenized bottles of crud. My theory is that wine was an ideological victim of communism. Wine appreciation appeals to elites and intellectuals. Revolutionaries don’t mind drinking Shiraz out of a box...

I just returned from a trip to Prague. Not only is it the most beautiful city in Europe, but it oddly resembles a Tootsie-Pop. The exterior of Prague is a thick layer of baroque and gothic architecture: gargoyles, statuary and spires. But if you delve underneath this crusty surface, you will find a golden interior: classic, turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau. The Hotel Central, the Hotel-Pariz, and Smetana Hall at Municipal House have an elegance that surpasses any Art Nouveau that I have ever seen, even in Paris.

The grandest expression of Art Nouveau of all is the formal dining room of the Francouzska Restaurace (French Restaurant). This is a room so stunning that it was given a feature role in the splendid Czech film I Served the King of England. I was led to the Francouzska by instinct: although Prague is a cheap city, I have an talent for finding the one place that absolutely exceeds my means...

When tasting red wines in Ontario, I often spit more than I swallow. This is because local wineries habitually grow grapes ill-suited to the cool climate of the Niagara region. Red grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are popular everywhere, but they require a long, warm growing season to ripen properly and this is iffy in Niagara. Unripe fruit whelps a wine that is nasty, brutish and short – something you find throughout the tasting rooms of Ontario wineries.

This climate leads many winemakers to plant Cabernet Franc, another of the “noble” red grape varieties of Bordeaux. Cabernet Franc ripens quickly, survives winter well and provides a generous crop. The problem is that Cabernet Franc doesn’t really have the chops to stand alone. In France, it is blended with other grapes to add fragrance and a touch of spice. But a bottle of 100% Cab Franc can be weak and tastes like green pepper. Blech.

Matthew drinks bad wine so you don't have to. Less spitting after the jump...