With so much good wine to talk about today, it's hard to decide where to begin. The feature of the Vintages release is upscale wines of Chile. And I was really excited about other wines from all over the globe when I tasted them and have been waiting to share the information. The coin toss says we'll talk about the global wines first.

CHAPEL HILL 2006 UNWOODED CHARDONNAY ($16.95, code 34397). The winery is in McLaren Vale, and the fruit is from various other regions of South Australia. By avoiding any wood contact, they've let that brilliant fruit shine. The wine is clean, fresh and racy, exuding smells and tastes of crushed pineapple, ripe passion fruit, papaya and green pears. A great midsummer quaffer.

BALTHAZAR RESS 2003 RIESLING SPATLESE ($26.95, code 47969). The price tag is pretty reasonable for this late harvest wine from the Berg Rottland vineyard overlooking Rudesheim in the fabled Rheingau region of Germany. It's developing the lovely lanolin-beeswax character great Riesling acquires with time. Loads of ripe fruit, leaning to apricots, ripe pears, mango, a touch of lime peel. A fine choice to wash down local peaches.

GALLO FAMILY 2004 LAGUNA RANCH CHARDONNAY ($29.95, code 544961). We think of Gallo as a source of everyday wines of good quality and good value, but the company also has a high-end single-vineyard program. Laguna Ranch is in the Russian River area of Sonoma, and here they've pulled out all the stops. It's opulent, powerful -- a "fruit bomb." The smell is intense, and the alcohol (14.5 per cent) detectable, showing grilled pineapple, orange peel and cloves. In the mouth it's rich, creamy, yet well-balanced between fresh and dried peaches and red grapefruit, and toast/vanilla/brioche/cedar wood.

FONTANAFREDDA 2001 BAROLO SERRALUNGA ($39.95, code 943290). Barolo, the great wine of northwestern Italy, is never inexpensive. Even at $40, this one is well worth the money. But it's not for now. It still needs years to develop fully, which is quite typical of Barolo. The fruit was sourced from one village (Serralunga) but selected as if from a single vineyard. The wine is huge and tannic, yet already showing fine structure. It is quite perfumed and intense, giving glimpses of strawberries, plums, violets and minerals. To emphasize the aging potential, I tasted the 2001 alongside the 1967, which is elegant but still vibrant, with surprising balance and flavours of tart cherries, plums, red currants.

And now for the Chileans:

VERAMONTE 2006 SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVA ($13.95, code 602649). Crisp and refreshing, not overly grassy or aggressive, offering grapefruit, lemon and ripe gooseberry flavours.

SANTA RITA 2005 MEDALLA REAL CHARDONNAY RESERVA ESPECIAL ($18.95, code 303628). Especial indeed. Smooth, polished Chardonnay with flavours of melons, pears, guava, vanilla custard.

SANTA CAROLINA 2005 RESERVA DE FAMILIA CABERNET SAUVIGNON ($19.95, code 684597). A steal for the money. Tons of fruit, a deep black colour, starting with red berries then quickly sliding to cassis, dark chocolate, black olives, with a surprisingly tender and well-meshed tannic backbone.

SANTA CAROLINA 2005 RESERVA DE FAMILIA CARMENERE ($19.95, code 34942). A big wine, lots of extract, with signature soy sauce edge, taste of black raspberries, herbs, cracked pepper, a touch of licorice.

VINA SAN ESTEBAN 2004 IN SITU WINEMAKER'S SELECTION CARMENERE ($13.95, code 37952). A nicely styled introduction to Carmenere (long thought to be Merlot in Chile). Ripe, sweet fruit, tart cherries and red raspberries, with that whiff of soy sauce, as expected.

MONTES 2006 LIMITED SELECTION PINOT NOIR ($14.95, code 37937). A lovely Pinot at the price. Bright cherry and red plum flavours, a touch of earthiness, a bit of onion skin tannin, good concentration.

Look for these wines at stores with Vintages selections: Dundurn Street, Fennell Square Plaza and Eastgate Square Mall in Hamilton, the two Fairview Street stores and Millcroft Centre in Burlington, University Plaza in Dundas, Meadowlands Power Centre in Ancaster and Waterdown Village Plaza.

* * *

Fielding Estate Winery in Beamsville is holding its FEW-esta Tomato festival Aug. 26. It's a celebration of the heirloom tomato season and the start of the wine harvest.

Tickets are $50, which includes four wine samples, a souvenir glass, barbecue lunch featuring tomato-inspired dishes, food samples and entertainment. Bring a lawn chair or picnic blanket. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and you must be 19 or older to attend. For details or to reserve a spot, call Whitney Jackson at 1-888-778-7758 or e-mail whitney@fieldingwines.com.

* * *

If you're curious about viticulture, you'll be interested in the Triggs Vinifera lecture series, hosted by Brock University's Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute. This year's guest speaker is Bordeaux consultant Alain Sutre.

The series runs for two days, starting Aug. 29 with a daylong visit to four Niagara vineyards and a discussion at each on vine management, canopy management, Niagara terroir and grape vigour. On Aug. 30, there's an evening lecture on optimizing vineyard performance.

Attendance is free, but you must register in advance; call 905-688-5550 Ext. 4949 or e-mail ccovi@brocku.ca. Visit brocku.ca/ccovi.

dkislenko@thespec.com 905-526-3450