As the holidays barrel toward us, the calendar fills up and the gift list grows, it's time to treat yourself to two things — peace of mind and wine. A precious little commodity that money can't buy, there's no more direct route to holiday joy than banishing stress by finding the perfect present. Gift the limited-edition Quvé x TasteToronto Holiday Wine Kit to yourself, and others, and you can bask in the serenity of finalizing your shopping with some stellar, sustainably-made juice.
Launching today, the Quvé x TasteToronto Holiday Wine Kit features four phenomenal bottles you'll be both tempted to stockpile and tickled to hand out, knowing they'll warm the hearts of those you love. Curated by Debbie Shing, a sommelier, CTV wine expert and 20-year industry pro, the box "is a bit of a sampler pack to get to know the unique wines in the Quvé portfolio." The two whites and two reds "are all sustainably farmed, and also delicious and holiday appropriate," adds Shing. Beautifully wrapped, the box makes an ideal gift intact or with the bottles doled out, one by one.
Founded in March 2020, Quvé was started as a way for Shing "to showcase my personal sense of taste that I've honed over the last 20 years in the industry," she says. "I have my wine diploma. I'm a certified wine educator. I've also worked in sales and marketing and hospitality." In addition, she says, "one of the main reasons I wanted to start my own portfolio was because I wanted to increase access of cool wines for young people, progressive people, for a more diverse consumer base."
Beyond introducing the masses to unique, diverse producers making seriously good wine, Quvé exists to uphold five core values — diversity and empowerment, honesty and transparency, partnership and community, creativity and fun and care for the planet. "Those five things are really at the core of what I'm trying to do," explains Shing. "Whether it's the restaurants I partner with that feature my wines in Ontario, the people that are consuming them, or even the wineries that I work with. … Everyone needs to know that this is a company founded by a BIPOC woman and we not only stand for wines that taste good but also are just made by great people that we love to work with."
Among those people, are the producers at Ca N'Estruc, Azienda Agricola Reassi, Marc Jambon, and KOOL. Each is represented in the Quvé x TasteToronto Holiday Wine Kit, with four unique wines wrapped up in each package. Made in Cataluña, Spain, from indigenous Xarel-lo grapes, the first is "beautiful, crunchy, light. … This is exactly the type of thing that you would be served in a tapas bar in Barcelona," says Shing. Next, a white that's "a little bit creamier, fruitier with slightly more body." Made from Manzoni Bianco grapes, this option from natural winery Reassi, in Veneto, Italy, has "quite a bit of perfume but you also get a nice complexity, a bit of stoniness or earthiness underneath the fruity tone, so it can be quite complex," she adds.
Reds range from a lighter option that could happily play out its last moments next to an elaborate cheese board, to a crowd-friendly Nerello Mascalese from Sicily. From France, the Marc Jambon Beaujolais offers "the same juiciness and fruitiness that we all love about Beaujolais but underneath has a bit more structure and tannin," says Shing. On the other hand, KOOL's contribution is "wild and fruity, with some really nice ripe strawberry flavours, and a hint of spice," she enthuses. "It has a little bite, more heft and weight. If you're into heavier proteins, things with a bit more substance, this is a delicious wine to pair it with," she adds.
This holiday season, make $149.95 go further than ever before. "There's a lot of wine boxes out there," muses Shing, "but this is a curated selection that's been put together by a globally-minded, diverse person with over 20 years of experience in wine in Canada." Gift the Quvé x TasteToronto Holiday Wine Kit and you'll deliver stunningly good taste, support a local business owned by a BIPOC woman and prove your fondness for exemplary companies working for the greater good.
Purchase your wine kit here for the perfect holiday gift (quantities are limited with only 300 kits available)! Boxes are priced at $149.95 plus tax and include free delivery in Toronto.
Photographs by Larry Heng.
