The Goats Do Roam Wine Company offers two premium wines to Ontario consumers. The 2004 Goat-Rotie ($19.95, LCBO# 943175) is a 96% Shiraz 4% Viogner blend that won a Gold Medal at the 2006 Decanter World Wine Awards. The 2004 Goats do Roam in Villages ($15.95, LCBO# 566851) showcases 90% Shiraz matched with 6.5% Pinotage and 3.5% Mourvèdre won a Silver Medal at the 2005 Decanter World Wine Awards. Both wines showcase specially selected fruit from pre-designated vineyards across the western Cape of South Africa.

The Goat-Rotie is a great Friday night steak wine: rich and spicy with good fruit tones. At $19.95 it's a tremedous comparative value to other established South African or even Australian Shirazes.

The Goats do Roam in Villages was first made to commemorate a donation of a herd of Fairview Winery's famous goats (see the story of the goats below) to an Aids orphanage in Namibia. The milk from the goats fed the children and the winery honoured the animals who were now truly roaming the African villages nearby with a wine made from reserved fruits. Slightly spicier with its emphasis on Shiraz the "Villages" makes a great tasting comparison with the original Goats do Roam Red. Good fun to bring to a dinner party or to serve at a casual gathering.

Find an LCBO Vintages store carrying the Goat-Rotie by clicking here.

Find an LCBO Vintages store carrying the Goats do Roam in Villages by clicking here.

Goats Do Roam Rosé: A Winter Treat

Many a sheep will tell you that you can't drink rosé past Labour Day, but The Goats know better. Winter weather doesn't get in the way of a great white or sparkling wine, so why abandon the most versatile of all wine styles for eight months a year?

The Goats Do Roam Wine Company's 2006 Rosé is blended from Shiraz, Pinotage, Cinsault, Grenache and Merlot, which makes it crisp, vibrant and well structured for a pink wine. Try it with antipasti like olives and cured meat, or even salsa and tortilla chips: it's an aperitif that can stand up to these sorts of robust flavours that white wines have trouble with. Of course, it's equally good as a companion to the main course. Try the Goats Do Roam Rosé with:

• All varieties of fish dishes,

• Roast chicken or turkey,

• Exotically spiced cuisines (think Indian or Thai).

Life's too short not to have fun with your wine. Surprise your guests and even yourself with a splash of pink on a wintry evening. The 2006 Goats Do Roam Rosé is $12.95 and widely available at LCBO Vintages stores throughout Ontario. Click here to find a store near you or scroll down to learn more about other great Goats Do Roam wines.

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The Goats Do Roam Wine Company has long blended serious winemaking with playful irreverence [see the history of the label below] and The Goatfather may be their most whimsical project yet. Priced at the cusp of premium labels at $16.95 (a remarkable value by any measure), the "GT" presents an informal sophistication perfect for Italy's great cucina povere export pizza. What could be better? Find an LCBO with a bottle near you by clicking here.

Ontario's love affair with The Goats Do Roam Wine Company's wines shows no sign of abating. As if mere popularity weren't enough for the 'Goats', the labels continue to garner critical praise. Senior wine writer David Lawrason writes, in the most recent issue of Toronto Life, that the 2005 Goats Do Roam Red ($12.95 - LCBO# 719840) is "the best-value red in the Vintages Essential collection of continuously available wines". He continues to note that "there's no better winter wine for the money".

While lots of wines use animal imagery on the labels, Goats Do Roam (made by Charles Back's Fairview Wines since 1999, though the winery itself dates from 1695) is no mere marketing ploy. There really are goats who roam the property where the wine is crafted. In fact, Fairview has been making award-winning chèvre cheeses since 1980. The whimsical name and label was honestly derived from the combination of the winemaker's herds and the Côte-du-Rhône grape varietals like Shiraz, Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvèdre Fairview had begun to grow along with South Africa's great red grape, Pinotage. If legend is to be believed, then the goats themselves had a hand (hoof?) in the creation of the wine. Charles Back maintains that one day his son and a friend literally let the goats roam when they mischievously opened the gate to their famous tower home. "As in the legend of the Yemeni goat herder, whose roaming flock first discovered the joys of coffee beans", he states on the Fairview website, "our goats picked out the best and tastiest fruit."

Whatever the origin of the name, critics and wine enthusiasts quickly got the references and lay praise on the big wine which blended with Rhône sensibilities with the unmistakeable spice of the South African terroir. The Goats Do Roam Red, and its growing list of sister wines soon became a global favourite.

Watch Gremolata in the following weeks as we explore the full range of Goats Do Roam wines available at the LCBO. Next week we'll look at the latest label: The 2005 Goat Father - a South African take on the great Italian bottles. Then, look for profiles on Goats Do Roam Rosé, all-season food-friendly charmer, and dynamic duo of Goats Do Roam in Villages and the Goat-Roti, each made from specially selected grapes synthesizing Old World elegance with New World panache.

The goats climbing Fairview's famous tower.

The label that started it all.