It would seem that Ridgepoint is back with a vengeance, with a new winemaker and a new lease on life focusing on Italian varietals in Ontario soils. Here we have a Sangiovese (the grape of Chianti / Tuscany / Italy) aged 24 months in older oak barrels. It’s an Italian wine with an Ontario-twist, and it is delicious. New winemaker Barclay Robinson is a big fan of Italian grapes and the wines they make – his plan was to finish school and head off to Italy to work with his favoured grapes, but he also loves Ontario and when he learned that Italian varietals were being grown her he had to get involved. This Sangiovese has a nose of sour cherry and white pepper – pretty simple really; but the palate is the lure of this wine, sure the sour cherry is there and so is the pepper, but there is a sweet mid-palate fruit component that makes this wine sing and pop in your mouth – it’s the flavor that’ll keep you coming back sip after sip after sip. Price: $22.95 – Rating: ****