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who we are Peng Hock Tan
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When it comes to providing excellent real estate services, Peng Hock Tan always puts the interest of his client’s at heart first. Creativity and patience are the substance of his ability to provide the necessary guidance and clarity in assisting his clients during their crucial decision making process. Aside from real estate, Peng Hock Tan enjoys sharing his passion for food and love for gardening!
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table of
CONTENTS April - May 2019 volume 06 issue 02 MARCH REAL ESTATE INDEX
GTA DETACH AVG PRICES (2019 • $788,335 | 2018 • $784,514 | +0.48%) SALES (2019 • 7,187 | 2018 • 7,188 | -0.01%) 1 YR MORTGAGE (2019 • 3.64% | 2018 • 3.34% | +8.98%)
04 ................... Shared Ownership of Homes on the Rise 05 ................... March 2019 GTA REALTORS® Release Monthly Resale Housing Figures 06 ................... Toronto’s Affordability Problem Doesn’t Look so Bad - On a Global Scale 07-08 ................... Why the Global Economy Can’t Handle Higher Interest Rates 09 ................... Federal Budget 2019: 'Flowery' Housing Incentives Do Little To Help Millennials 10-11 ................... The TanTeam Spring Listings April-May 2019 12-13 ................... Wine & Life Style Section 12 ................... Fine Wine Price Growth Outstrips Watches, Cars and Jewellery in 2018 - report 13 ................... Why Don't We See Pinot Noir Much as a Blend In Still Wines?
You can have it all. Just not all at once.
-Oprah Winfrey
Shared Ownership of Homes on the Rise A LISTING FOR A SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE ON MAIN STREET IN VANCOUVER IS SELLING A 50 PER CENT SHARE OF THE HOME AND PROPERTY FOR AN ASKING PRICE OF $748,888.
JOANNE LEE-YOUNG VANCOUVER SUN MARCH 01, 2019
home and have all four of them coown both the main house and the new laneway house.
For that, the buyer would get half the home - the first floor is 800 square feet with two bedrooms and one bathroom, the second floor is 700 square feet of unfinished basement space - as well as half the yard on a 65-by-90-foot corner lot.
Tay and Sin own 47 per cent of the whole property and, along with two young children, live in the newly built, 1,170-square-foot laneway home. The other couple owns 53 per cent of the whole property and lives in the older, main home, which measures over 3,000 square feet.
"Why would you buy a townhouse when you can own (this)?" the listing asks. Listed by Vancouver realtors Rimpy Hothi and Giles Pan, the house was coowned by friends for decades, dating back to the mid-1980s. One of them died recently and the estate is selling his 50 per cent share of the property. Co-owning isn't a new concept. Many immigrant families have shared ownership of homes for decades, with multiple generations living together under one roof. As prices have skyrocketed throughout the Lower Mainland over the past decade, coowning has become more common and taken on various forms. Nick Tay and Lena Sin co-own an east Vancouver property with another couple. It's a double lot on which sits a main house and a laneway home. Tay knew one of the other co-owners from work; they had been friends for years before deciding to buy the property together in 2005.
The ownership breakdown isn't based on square footage, but rather, on the amount of money invested by each side, Tay said. Of the various trade-offs, he said: "Their maintenance costs are much higher the (main) house is over 100 years old. But they're protecting our investment, too. And we are happy living here in a (smaller, but) newer place." "There are many advantages (of this arrangement) over owning a townhome or an apartment," Sin said. "We have a garden and we don't share walls with anyone. There are no strata fees." But they acknowledge that, while coowning a property like this is something you can do, to do it these days "your budget still has to be high," Tay said, thinking of how much the cost of land and construction has increased. Although Vancouver real estate prices are declining somewhat, so is affordability, based on local incomes.
"We had been through a lot and knew each other well," Tay said. He was still cautious about mixing money and friendship, but "we said, after five years, we can sell and divide the profits."
A recent National Bank Financial study estimated the jaw-dropping number of months it would take to save enough money for a down payment on an average non-condo home, based on saving 10 per cent of a buyer's income.
Instead, by the time that date came in 2010, they had each met their significant others and agreed to sign a fresh agreement to build a laneway
In Vancouver, a homebuyer would have to save for 340 months (or more than 28 years), compared with 102 months
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in Toronto and 34 months in Montreal.
The same study found mortgage payments as a percentage of income are 75.8 per cent in Toronto, but in Vancouver, they have "crossed the psychological threshold of 100 per cent, as it would now require 101.5 per cent of pre-tax median income to pay for a representative home."
per square foot, compared with the going rate of $700-$800 per square foot for condos in the area. Last spring, he started holding monthly "mixers" to connect people interested in the idea. About 20 people showed up to the first gathering.
"Are only the rich able to buy a home these days?" asked RBC chief economist Craig Wright.
"There are some who have been coming repeatedly to events," Dolgin said, although he admits that solidifying a match that leads to a co-owning arrangement is a challenge.
He estimates the income needed to cover ownership costs of an average Vancouver home and clear the mortgage stress test is $211,000 in Vancouver, compared with $167,000 in Toronto and $154,000 in Victoria.
Sharply escalating prices mean that many legal agreements being drawn up for co-ownership involve the gifting of wealth from the Bank of Mom and Dad to their children, said Khushal Bains of Vancouver law firm Bell Alliance.
Vancouver realtor Noam Dolgin wonders if collaborating to own could be an answer for those who still dream of living in a house with a yard. Instead of trying to buy an entire single-family property, they might be able to co-own one, or put another way, buy a share in one.
In general, Bains said, it has become "too much money to risk doing with your friends" or another party.
Or, for retirees who already own a single-family home and want to live in a smaller space, selling a share of their freehold property could be a way to cash out some money and continue to live in their home. There are many different ways such homes and lots can be divided, Dolgin said. "Two families could (together own) a Vancouver Special house, where there are two floors of about equal floor space, where one family would live upstairs and the other downstairs and they could do a 55 per cent/45 per cent split" of the ownership. "Or two parties could share a property and one would live in a main house and the other in a laneway house." On a per-square-foot basis, he said, it makes sense when you consider that a 2,500-sq.-ft home in east Vancouver is selling for about $1.5 million, or $600
There have been instances where coownership ended with a court battle after the relationship soured. A few years ago, two families who met in a motherand-baby group and co-owned a home in North Vancouver for almost eight years had to go to court when their once close friendship ended. Vancity, which offers mixer mortgages that allow for two parties sharing a property to have different interest rates and terms, has a checklist for wouldbe coowners, said senior mortgage development manager Ryan McKinley. The list includes all co-owners taking out life insurance under the same policy so that shares of the home are protected in case of death, deciding on a process for resolving disputes, and setting up a joint fund for emergency repairs.
March 2019 GTA REALTORS® Release Monthly Resale Housing Figures TORONTO REAL ESTATE BOARD APRIL 3, 2019
Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 7,187 residential sales through TREB's MLS® System in March 2019. This result was inline with 7,188 sales reported in March 2018. For the first quarter of 2019, sales were down by one per cent compared to Q1 2018. "The OSFI stress test continues to impact home buyers' ability to qualify for a mortgage. TREB is still arguing that the stress test provisions and mortgage lending guidelines generally, including allowable amortization
periods for insured mortgages, should be reviewed. The supply of listings in the GTA also remains a problem. Bringing a greater diversity of ownership and rental housing online, including 'missing middle' home types, should be a priority of all levels of government. TREB is happy to be taking part in the City of Toronto's consultations for the Housing TO – 2020-2030 Action Plan, and will certainly be raising the supply issue during these discussions," said Mr. Bhaura. "While the City of Toronto's recently announced Housing TO – 20202030 Action Plan is exciting and commendable and TREB looks forward
to contributing solutions as a Member of the External Advisory Committee, the recently proposed increase to the Municipal Land Transfer Tax on higher priced properties is problematic. As the recent City budget process showed, the MLTT is not a sustainable revenue source from which to fund municipal programs. On top of this, additional MLTT on higher priced homes could have a trickle-down effect on the supply of homes throughout the housing price continuum," said TREB CEO John Di Michele. The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 2.6 per cent yearover-year in March, while the average
price for March sales was up by a lesser annual rate of 0.5 per cent to $788,335. The average selling price for Q1 2019 was up by 1.1 per cent year-over-year. "Market conditions have remained tight enough to support a moderate pace of price growth. Despite sales being markedly lower than the record levels of 2016 and early 2017, the supply of listings has also receded. This means that in many neighbourhoods throughout the GTA, we continue to see competition between buyers for available listings, which provides a level of support for home prices," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Chief Market Analyst.
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Toronto’s Affordability Problem Doesn’t Look so Bad - On a Global Scale SHANE DINGMANREAL THE GLOBE & MAIL JANUARY 31, 2019
Everyone knows Toronto has an affordability problem, but is it a world-class affordability crisis? Not according to a ranking by Berlinbased apartment listings service Nestpick, which found that, out of 50 of the highestdemand cities in the world, Toronto is middle of the pack in terms of costs for renters. Nestpick, which says it has aggregated more than 500,000 apartment listings in 200 cities, crunched the numbers on the most expensive neighbourhoods (many of the areas that are actually so large they should be called subregions of cities) and tried to figure out what kind of wages a solo worker would need to earn in the local market in order to rent a sweet pad in a swanky area. Its top 50 were selected as being both economic engines adding the most jobs, or lifestyle-oriented cities (such as resorthavens such as Monaco). Turns out Toronto is only the 27th most expensive city to rent in. On a neighbourhood scale, downtown was Toronto’s most expensive area, but only the 233rd-most unaffordable neighbourhood in the 50 cities surveyed. Mid-town and the inner suburbs weren’t far behind. Nestpick calculates a minimum wage worker would need to toil 195 hours a month to afford to rent a single-person apartment in Downtown Toronto (once you get your 40hour weeks in you only need to find another 30 hours of side-hustle/overtime, apparently). This calculation is based on their estimate that an upscale Toronto renter would need to earn $5,499 a month to afford a one-bedroom, or $8,499 for a family-size apartment (two-plus bedrooms). The city-wide average suggests 143 hours a month could net that singles apartment – about 67 per cent of disposable income. The most expensive neighborhoods in the world – in terms of minimum salary required to afford a single-person apartment – are located in Monaco, Seoul, Bermuda and San Francisco. There are some cities (mainly in Asia) where rents are completely disconnected from the minimum wage or lowest available wage; in Shanghai the most expensive neighbourhood would require the lowest-paid workers to clone themselves or invent a time machine to churn out the required 825 hours a month to afford an apartment. Downtown Los Angeles is the most out-of-reach area for minimumwage workers in North America (though at a much more reasonable 374 hours per month to afford a pad). Montreal also showed up in the report; the Vieux-Montreal neighbourhood’s prices are more than double the city’s average (222 per cent more expensive). Renters would be advised to find an apartment in Ahuntsic/ Cartierville, where rents are just 45 per cent of the city’s median price.
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For family-living, London, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Manhattan required the highest monthly salaries to live in the priciest neighbourhoods (somewhere between $21,603 and $15,000 a month). Again, downtown Toronto is a relative bargain at under $9,000 a month. “We created this index, in part, to help the huge numbers of highly talented workforce moving from lower-income countries to understand the true cost of living in some of the world’s most popular cities," said Omer Kucukdere, managing director of Nestpick. "For instance, take the thousands of STEM workers coming out of India every year and relocating for jobs in the United States, [Britain], Canada and elsewhere. Take cities like San Francisco where employees, especially those in tech, are earning very high salaries but still need to live hours away from work due to the exorbitant rent prices.” The Canadian Rental Housing Index,a project built by a collection of non-profit housing associations, digs a little deeper into what Toronto’s unaffordability looks like. In Toronto, 47 per cent of households were spending more than 30 per cent of income on rent and utilities, and another 23 per cent are even worse off spending 50 per cent of income. As much as 19 per cent of households are over-crowded. This is a city with more than 524,000 rental households, compared to the more than 586,000 owner-occupied households. In an effort to tackle the issue, Toronto city council has pushed for 11 city-owned sites to be developed into more than 10,000 units, a portion of which are intended to be rented below market. Mayor John Tory made those projects of his pledge to get 40,000 units of affordable housing built over 12 years. Nestpick’s survey only looks at renting. If you’re hoping to buy, a whole other set of calculations is required. Point2Homes, a North American real estate search site, recently released data on what Canadians hoping to own a home – particularly first-time buyers or the budget conscious – should look at. Point2Homes found that Canadian property hunters aspire to detached and semidetached home ownership (those housing types are searched online 7 per cent more often than other housing types), but the most likely property these searchers will buy is a two-bedroom condo. And they are more likely to pay a little extra for lake views than mountain views. As for where to buy, Toronto is not on the affordable list. The most affordable communities with lots of units for sale in Canada are Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg; all markets with properties for sale under $100,000. If you’re willing to push the budget to $200,000, Windsor, Ottawa or Halifax are the places to look.
Why the Global Economy Can’t Handle Higher Interest Rates IN APRIL, 2009, THAT BANK OF CANADA GOVERNOR MARK CARNEY CHOPPED INTEREST RATES FOR THE FINAL TIME, TAKING THEM AS LOW AS THEY COULD GO, WITHIN A HAIR OF ZERO.
IAN MCGUGAN HUFFINGTON POST MARCH 29, 2019
Canada marks a significant anniversary this year, even if it’s not one that is going to be celebrated with cakes and fireworks. It was 10 years ago, in April, 2009, that Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney chopped interest rates for the final time, taking them as low as they could go, within a hair of zero. He framed his decision as an emergency act, a temporary measure designed to meet the needs of an economy caught up in a global financial crisis. Unemployment was rising quickly, on its way to nearly 9 per cent. What is remarkable is how little interest rates have budged since then. In the intervening years, the Canadian economy has bounced back from its crisis-era layoffs, with the unemployment rate now at 5.8 per cent, near a half-century low. However, the central bank’s key interest rate has only inched up slightly – to all of 1.75 per cent, a rate that before the crisis would have seemed remarkably low. This was not the way things were supposed to work. Policy-makers expected a far quicker, far more vigorous rebound in interest rates that would take us back to normal in short order. But Canada and the rest of the globe are discovering an inconvenient
truth: Once you enter the world of low interest rates, it is awfully difficult to leave. Is this a good thing? For home buyers, yes. They have benefited for years from unusually low borrowing costs on their mortgages. Stocks, too, have received a boost as microscopic yields on bonds and savings accounts have driven many savers into the equity markets. However, for anybody who would like to see their savings increase in a bank account, or for those concerned about the economy as a whole, the past decade raises some disturbing questions about the unintended side effects of easy money. Consider, for instance, the way that debt has soared in response to lower borrowing costs. Canadians have continued their borrowing binge in recent years, sending household and corporate debt to record levels as a percentage of the overall economy. Residents of other countries have also gone deeply into hock. So, too, have companies and governments across both the developed and emerging markets. Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins noted this month that global debt is now US$100-trillion higher than just before the financial crisis. (Yes, that is trillion with a “t.") You don’t have to be a central banker to worry about the financial fragility that
goes along with that unprecedented level of financial leverage. “Whether you are a homeowner or a businessperson, you know firsthand that high leverage can leave you in a vulnerable financial position,” Ms. Wilkins said. “It’s no different for economies.” It’s not just the amount of debt that has people worried; it’s also what happens when the global economy hits its next downturn, as it inevitably will. Central banks typically slash interest rates by four to five percentage points in recessions to help restart the economy. But if rates stay as low as they are now, monetary policy-makers won’t be able to offer much help. Any attempt to severely lower rates would quickly run them down to zero, at which point it would become difficult to lower rates much further. Canada is just one of many countries facing this constraint. “Should a recession arrive, the U.S. Federal Reserve would ideally be able to cut interest rates by five percentage points, as is customary in such situations,” Brad DeLong, an economist at the University of California at Berkeley, wrote this month. “But with short-term safe interest rates currently at 2.4 per cent, it cannot. And with euro and yen interest rates still around zero, the European Central Bank
and the Bank of Japan would be unable to help much either.” Why haven’t central banks raised rates more aggressively in good times, to give themselves more room to cut in a downturn? The answer is they have tried, but without success. Japan is the purest example of the problem. This year marks the 20th anniversary of its zero-rate policy. Over the past two decades, it has attempted to raise rates on several occasions, but always runs into resistance from a faltering economy. North American central banks are now bumping up against the same resistance. This past fall, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell were both signalling higher rates ahead. They seemed, at long last, to be making a clean break from the unusually low rates that had prevailed since the financial crisis. Then, as stock markets swooned late in the year and evidence grew of a global slowdown, both central bankers had to perform an about-face. They reeled back their talk of rate hikes and pledged to be patient and wait for new data before making any further move. Maybe their retreat was just a temporary halt, the result of concerns over Brexit and China-U.S. trade tensions. However, it is legitimate to wonder whether the economy is now hooked on low rates, to the point where withdrawing from them would be too painful to contemplate. Raising rates too far might mean falling home prices, crumbling stock prices, a slowing or contracting economy. Continued on the following page...
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All this sounds great on paper. However, the Phillips Curve has been missing in action since the financial crisis. Yes, rates have gone down and unemployment has dived in both Canada and the United States. However, inflation has only flickered modestly upward and economic growth has remained mostly mediocre. As a result, there has been little pressure to bump up interest rates. Could it be that we don’t know as much as we thought we did about how modern economies work? Stephen Williamson, a professor of central banking at the University of Western Ontario, notes that it has always been difficult to see any type of stable, reliable Phillips Curve in real world data. Yes, countries with higher nominal interest rates tend to have higher inflation, but it’s not clear which causes which. Continued from previous page...
half a percentage point.)
The build-up of all that debt may have made the economy exquisitely sensitive to any attempt to raise rates. If so, the current era of low rates could last a long, long time.
The idea that rates could resume their downward course after years of already low rates does not jibe easily with textbook explanations of how the economy works. By now, many observers are beginning to wonder how well we understand the levers of the financial system.
The bond market certainly thinks so. The yield on the 10-year Government of Canada bond has tumbled in recent months and hit its lowest point since mid-2017 this past week at 1.53 per cent – just a hair above the yield on two-year bonds. That suggests investors think we are unlikely to see any substantial rise in interest rates, and therefore bond yields, for the foreseeable future. If bond buyers figured rates were set to climb sharply in coming years, they would be demanding much more of a premium to tie up their money for a decade. Other market indicators agree that rates aren’t going up any time soon. In the United States, the yield on three-month government bonds moved higher than the 10-year yield earlier this month, signalling that more rate cuts may be on the way. The futures markets are betting that both the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve will cut rates at least once this year. (On Friday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told news outlet Axios that he wanted to see the Fed cut rates immediately by
“Stunning” is how Justin Wolfers, an economist at the University of Michigan, described the most recent set of Federal Reserve forecasts. It “would have seemed almost unthinkable a decade ago,” he noted, for a central bank to predict exceptionally low unemployment, but with no inflationary pressure and with interest rates below 3 per cent. One of the biggest question marks in the current debate is the Phillips Curve, a time-honoured notion that insists there is a trade-off between unemployment and inflation. The Phillips Curve provides the standard explanation for why central banks do what they do: By lowering rates in times of slow economic growth, policy-makers supposedly boost borrowing and goose business activity. This leads to more jobs and a more vibrant economy, which then spurs higher inflation and ultimately a return to more normal interest rates.
“People at central banks find [the Phillips Curve] a useful way to explain what they’re doing, even if it’s not actually theoretically or empirically useful,” Prof. Williamson said in an interview. His comments point to the lack of consensus about the best path forward. While Prof. Williamson dismisses the Phillips Curve, other experts, such as Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff, are willing to double down on the power of lower interest rates. He argues that much lower rates – negative rates, in fact – are going to be required if the economy takes a serious stumble. This is not just a theoretical debate. The stockpile of global bonds with belowzero yields has hit US$10-trillion, according to Bloomberg data. In at least 18 countries, mostly in Europe, investors receive negative yields on at least some government bonds, meaning that buyers of these securities are paying for the privilege of saving. It’s entirely possible that negative rates could come to North America as well if a severe recession were to hit. But whether that would be a good idea hinges on what is ultimately driving the trend toward lower rates. One of the more intriguing views comes from Larry Summers, the Harvard economist and former U.S. Treasury secretary. He presented a paper
earlier this month, written with Bank of England economist Lukasz Rachel, in which he developed his argument that the developed world is suffering from secular stagnation, a long-term slowdown in economic growth. In Mr. Summers’ view, demographics are one of the major reasons for this slowdown. People are living longer, enjoying extended retirements and having fewer children. As labour force growth slows, so does growth in consumer demand. Yet, longer lifespans and longer retirements mean people are trying to save more than ever. The result? A glut of savings is overwhelming the ability of the private sector to put those savings to productive use. In other words, there’s a lot of capital available – but not enough demand from businesses to invest it all. Since the supply of money is ample but the demand for it is weak, the cost of borrowing money goes down. This process has been going on for a generation, but has become particularly noticeable over the past decade. As things now stand, we have entered an era of “extremely low interest rates, weak demand, and low growth and inflation,” Mr. Summers writes. Just like Japan. His preferred prescription is for governments to spend more aggressively, running up deficits that can usefully absorb some of that pile of savings. In addition, he suggests looking for ways to reduce the need for people to save – perhaps by offering them more in the way of government-paid retirement benefits. As you might imagine, his proposals aren’t universally loved, especially by people who object to the potential explosion in government debt. But the mere fact that such ideas are being discussed a decade after we hit an interest-rate bottom underlines how unusual this economic environment has been. Canada and the world still have a long way to go to reach anything that looks like normalcy.
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Federal Budget 2019: 'Flowery' Housing Incentives Do Little To Help Millennials THE GOVERNMENT SAYS IT'LL CONTRIBUTE TO DOWN PAYMENTS OF FIRST-TIME BUYERS, IF THEY QUALIFY. SAMANTHA BEATTIE THE HUFFINGTON POST MARCH 19, 2019
The federal government's plan to help first-time homebuyers through increasing retirement fund borrowing and covering a portion of their mortgage is "quite puzzling," says one expert. The Liberal's 2019 federal budget, the last one before the election, introduces incentives meant to help first-time buyers, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, have access to more funds for a down payment. Now, they'll be allowed to withdraw $35,000 from their RRSP, up from $25,000. First-time homebuyers whose household income is less than $120,000 will also be eligible to finance a portion of their home purchase through what the government is calling a "shared equity mortgage" — essentially a zerointerest loan — with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The new measures come as homes in Canada's largest cities become increasingly unaffordable. The average price of a condo in Toronto and Vancouver, for example, is more than $600,000, according to their real estate boards. But whether they'll actually help this demographic of Canadians is up for debate, said principal broker Vince Gaetano at MonsterMortgage.ca. "The changes are quite puzzling," said
Gaetano. "I think this budget is designed to make more friends than enemies. It's a little bit disappointing." In terms of the shared equity mortgage, Gaetano described what's been released about the process so far as "sketchy." The federal government said in its budget that homebuyers will be offered a 10 per cent shared equity mortgage for a newly constructed home, and five per cent for an existing home. This means the government has a 10 or 5 percent stake in the home, which will be paid back when the home is sold. The specific details of the program still need to be ironed and will be revealed later in the year. "These are complex-type programs that will require a lot of work to implement from lenders to the people processing the mortgage payments," Gaetano said, questioning if insurance rates will be higher for these types of mortgages, whether the owners will be allowed to rent out their home, and how the government will earn back the money if the home is sold at a loss. "We may see a spike in real estate values as people try to take advantage of the incentives," he said. The mortgage and incentive amount cannot be more than four times the home buyers' annual household incomes. The largest mortgage that a home buyer could have using the program is $480,000 — disqualifying
the vast majority of prospective home buyers in Toronto and Vancouver. In terms of the increased RRSP borrowing cap, Gaetano said, "I think it's a nice flowery tool that isn't going to get much traction at all." Most first-time homebuyers won't have anything close to $35,000 in their RRSP to take advantage of the change, he said. In his experience as a mortgage broker, very rarely are these clients taking out the current $25,000 cap. And they have to pay it all back in 15 years. Parvathi Subramanyam is the demographic the Liberal's housing changes are targeting — a 29-yearold professional in downtown Toronto. In 2017, with an annual salary of about $80,000, she was on the hunt to buy her first home, but wouldn't have qualified for either of the incentives. After a half dozen bidding wars, she secured a one-bedroom-plus-den condo for $490,000 in 2017, too much for the shared mortgage equity program. When she drew some savings from her RRSP, they fell considerably short of the $25,000 cap, nevermind $35,000. "Honestly, because I'm so young and only recently started contributing to my RRSP, it really wouldn't have made much of a difference," she said of the rule change. The greatest impact she said the government could have on the housing
market isn't changing borrowing rules, but addressing a more systemic problem. "Building more affordable housing is part of it, we don't have enough supply," Subramanyam said. The Liberals are promising to build 42,500 affordable units across Canada by allocating $10 billion over nine years to a rental construction financing initiative. Overall the changes are unlikely to help urban dwellers, but will help those in smaller cities and rural areas, said Gaetano. "This definitely provides a tremendous boost outside of big cities, the rest of Canada will do extremely well with this plan," he said. The budget does not address the controversial mortgage stress test, introduced a year ago. The test requires homebuyers to prove they can handle a mortgage at a rate two percentage points higher than the current rate. It also does not give firsttime homebuyers the option of taking out 30-year mortgages, instead of 25, which groups like the Toronto Real Estate Board have been pushing for. "Current market realities indicate the stress test and federal limitations on 30-year mortgage amortizations are not warranted," said John DiMichele, the board's executive director in a statement. "This is especially true at a time when first-time buyers are facing serious challenges in achieving the dream of home ownership. We applaud the federal government for acknowledging that housing issues are a top priority for Canadians, but current mortgage restrictions still need to be addressed."
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NEW RECORD NEIHBOURHOOD PRICE!
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WINE & LIFESTYLE • CRAFT WINE • PRODUCT UPDATES • STORE PROMOTIONS • STORE EVENTS • WINE REVIEWS • LATEST WINES • CRAFTERS CHOICE •
HAND MADE CRAFT WINE FOR ALL OF LIFE’S SPECIAL MOMENTS AND OCASSIONS • FOR A LIMITED TIME OUR WHITE SANGRIA FOR $99.99 - COME W/BOTTLES/CORKS/COLORED SRINK CAPS/MATCHING LABELS
Can You Taste
Amphora Ageing? SIMON WOOLF MARCH 9, 2019 DECANTER MAGAZINE
Fine Wine Price Growth Outstrips Watches, Cars and Jewellery in 2018 - report
RICHARD WOODARD MARCH 7, 2019
DECANTER MAGAZINE
The
increase
performances
of
outstripped
the
watches,
cars,
furniture, coloured diamonds, stamps and jewellery during the year, with wine matching the 9% rise recorded by art and by the overall index.
THE LA ROMANÉE-CONTI 1945 THAT BECAME THE MOST EXPENSIVE WINE SOLD AT AUCTION - $558,000 USD (OCT-2018) CREDIT: SOETHBY'S
However, it lagged behind coins – up 12% on the year – and whisky, which marked its debut on the index with a 40% increase compared to 2017. The year was marked by high prices for the rarest wines, including a bottle of La Romanée-Conti 1945, which was sold for US$558,000 by Sotheby’s in October, making it the most expensive bottle of wine sold at auction. Nick Martin of Wine Owners, the fine wine trading platform which supplied the index data, said: ‘Just when we thought the limits at the top of the market were being tested, 2018 saw further rapid price escalation for Burgundies, notably top Grands Crus from the “Rs” (Raveneau, RomanéeConti, Roumier and Rousseau), driving our Burgundy index up 33%.’ He also highlighted the performance of California wines (Wine Owners’
California index rose 17.5% on the year), and a resurgence for ‘undervalued, accessible’ Riojas such as those from Tondonia and CVNE. Martin added: ‘It’s hard to predict where the top end of the market will go from here, but it’s likely this pattern of polarisation favouring blue-chip wine from top producers will continue, with prices accelerating, in particular as the wines approach their drinking windows.’ The surge in interest in and prices for rare whisky was illustrated by a number of record-breaking bottles of 60-yearold Macallan, distilled in 1926, coming to auction, culminating in the £1.2m paid for a bottle hand-painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon at Christie’s in London last November. Looking at long-term trends, Knight Frank’s wine index has risen 147% over the past 10 years, leaving wine sixth in the rankings behind whisky (+582%), coins, art, cars and stamps, and lagging behind an overall index increase of 161%.
Can you taste that a wine has been aged in amphora when tasting blind? William McMurray, Inverness, Scotland asks: Is it possible to discern that a wine has been aged in amphora when blind tasting? What kind of character would it give a wine in the glass? Simon Woolf, an expert in natural wines and author of Amber Revolution, replies: This is an important question, as the use of amphorae for fermentation and ageing is spreading beyond their heartlands in Georgia or Italy to every corner of the globe. The simple answer is no – it should not be possible to detect, blind, that a wine has
been aged in amphora. The neutrality of clay as a storage medium is one of its prime attractions, compared to oak which often imparts flavour as well as promoting gentle oxidative ageing. Tasters sometimes remark on earthy or earthenware-like notes in wines produced in amphora, but most experts agree that this only happens with dirty vessels. A perfectly cleaned and well maintained amphora, or qvevri, should not impart any flavour. That said, the character of amphora-aged and/or fermented wines tends to show less oxidation than comparable ageing in wood, and less reduction than wines aged only in stainless steel. It’s possible that a very astute taster could hone in on these characteristics and make an educated guess.
CARAFE WINE OF THE MONTH
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What is stuck fermentation? What Does It Mean & What Causes It? ELLIE DOUGLAS DECANTER MAGAZINE MARCH 18, 2019
Jane Anson, Decanter’s chief Bordeaux reviewer, mentioned there could have been ‘potential issues with stuck fermentations’ in her Bordeaux 2018 vintage preview – in this case, due to high sugars and high pH levels.
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‘A stuck fermentation is essentially an alcoholic fermentation that stops before the winemaker wants it to,’ said Matt Walls, DWWA regional chair for Rhône.
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There are a range of factors that can cause this to happen, and it can be more of a problem for anyone not using
temperature-controlled fermentation vats.
‘These days it’s often caused by a lack of nitrogen in the grapes, which yeast cells need to grow and develop,’ said Walls. ‘Very ripe grapes can also cause problems, because high sugar levels lead to high levels of alcohol, which can also pose a challenge to yeasts,’ said Walls. What does this mean for the wine? ‘It’s a serious problem, because the part-fermented must is prone to bacterial spoilage and oxidation,’ said Walls.
‘Stuck fermentations can be very difficult to restart, particularly because when yeast dies it secretes a compound that inhibits the future growth of yeast cells in that batch.’
What can you do to prevent stuck fermentation from happening? As well as temperature control mentioned above, the ‘addition of nitrogen and cultured yeasts that are resistant to high temperatures and high alcohol levels can help prevent stuck fermentations’, said Walls. ‘But these may have undesirable effects on the finished wine, like affecting the flavour.’
Why Don't We See Pinot Noir Much as a Blend In Still Wines? ANDY HOWARD MW FEBRUARY 16, 2019 DECANTER MAGAZINE
Lindsay Dawn Schultz, by email, asks: The only red blend I’ve ever come across that contains Pinot Noir is Silk (66% Pinot, 18% Malbec and 16% Petite Sirah) from California’s Ménage à Trois label. Why are Pinot Noir blends so rare, and are there any other red blends you know of that contain Pinot Noir? Andy Howard MW replies: It is certainly
true that red blends are rarely made with Pinot Noir, although it’s clear that Pinot blends well as it is a major component in many top Champagnes. Why is this? The answer is in part related to Pinot Noir’s unique character – thin skins, pale colour, refinement and elegance, silky tannins, a complex and distinctive nose, notable acidity, ageworthiness and high quality. Winemakers want to make wines that emphasise these qualities, rather
w carafe meadowvale EVENTS
Exclusive than dilute them with other varieties. Commercially, Pinot Noir is a strong ‘brand’ and most producers prefer to focus on 100% varietal Pinot as this is a better marketing message. Growing conditions provide another reason as the key requirements for successful Pinot viticulture are different to many of the varieties more commonly used in blending – Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo. You’re right that there are few blends using Pinot Noir – however,
Do You Know Amarone Wine? ELLIE DOUGLAS MARCH 27, 2019 DECANTER MAGAZINE
What is Amarone wine? Amarone della Valpolicella is a wine made with partially dried grapes in Valpolicella, Veneto, North-east Italy. There are three geographical sub zones; Classico, Valpantena and ‘Est’, the extended zone. ‘Each of the three geographical zones has its own identity,’ said Michael Garner, in the 2018 Decanter Italy supplement. ‘In broad strokes: Amarone from Classico tends to be the most elegant and aromatic, versions from the Valpantena are generally lighter and fruitier, while the so-called ‘extended’ zone (beyond Classico and Valpantena, bordering on the Soave) tends to produce richer, more muscular wines with a higher alcohol level.’ Grape varieties - There are a few permitted grape varieties in Amarone wine – the main ones being Corvina,
Corvinone and Rondinella, plus some lesser known ones. ‘The aromas and flavours of Amarone are determined invariably by Corvina – and to a lesser extent Corvinone,’ said Garner. ‘Elegance and perfume (especially a telltale note of freshly ground black pepper) are hallmarks of the former, while Corvinone has deeper colour, more tannins and tobacco-like aromas.’ ‘Some growers talk up the current favourite Oseleta despite the low ratio of solid-to-liquid (skins and pips to must), which makes the variety a less suitable candidate for appassimento.’ Oak ageing - ‘Amarone spends a minimum of two years in wood, though can remain there for up to nine or 10 in rare cases (Quintarelli, Zyme). Barrels vary from French and Slavonian oak through to chestnut, cherry and even acacia,’ said Garner.
‘Newer, smaller barrels, usually oak, are commonly used and have a distinct effect on both aroma and texture (mouthfeel) in particular, though there seems to be a return to the more subtle and seasoned notes promoted by larger and older wood.’ History - Over the first decade of the new millennium, the number of bottles produced annually tripled and now averages above 18 million. Amarone’s traditional role as vino da meditazione (a post-prandial to be sipped while discussing the finer things in life) was called into question. High alcohol and sugar levels make the wine a tricky match with food and, given the massive upsurge in production, Amarone had to find a place at table to keep pace with the consumer’s changing lifestyle. Many producers went back to the drawing board: the rediscovery of long-forgotten grape varieties; more ‘complete’ fermentations heading towards a drier style; experiments with different-sized barrels and wood types, etc – all aimed at reshaping the wine’s identity. Others dug their heels in and remained faithful to the time-honoured ways. Indeed some continued to accept the presence of a small proportion of the fungus in its ‘larval’ or nascent form, ie: before full sporulation. As such, Muffa nobile or noble rot can confer expansive and developed aromas of macerated fruits plus the honeyed notes typical of botrytised wines and, in addition, boosts glycerol levels, enhancing the wine’s velvety texture. Three key styles - The upshot of this activity accounts for the surprisingly wide spectrum of aromas and flavours typical of today’s Amarone. Three styles dominate current production. A simpler version usually with less wood ageing showcases its friendlier side. Many belieeve that Amarone is best drunk by its 10th birthday when the wine is still all about roundness, softness and harmony. Smaller batches of a grower’s very finest fruit are fermented separately
a particularly delicious one is Doña Paula’s Blue Edition Velvet Blend – an Argentinian blend of Malbec, Pinot Noir and Bonarda. California also has a history of blending in some Syrah – a wine labelled Pinot Noir can legally be just 75% Pinot Noir (although this generally applies to cheaper wines). Meanwhile, the French AC of Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains must contain at least one-third Pinot Noir, but here it must be blended with Gamay prior to fermentation. and often given extra wood ageing; this ‘premium’ or Riserva version is capable of lasting for up to 20 years or so in bottle. Finally, the more ‘modernist’ interpretation of Amarone embraces a more concentrated, longer-lived and less oxidative style of wine through the use of controlled appassimento and mainly smaller (225L or 500L) new oak barrels. Appassimento - Appassimento is the method of partially drying out the grapes, which are then slowly pressed, and slowly fermented, to make Amarone della Valpolicella. ‘Amarone is about winemaking as much as anything else,’ said Susan Hulme MW, in our 2017 panel tasting. ‘Decisions around drying the grapes, length of appassimento, and time fermenting on skins make dramatic differences to style and quality.’ Amarone: Know your vintages 2015 – A long, hot and dry summer gave big, ripe and rich wines with good phenolic maturity. Potentially excellent wines which mainly need keeping.
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Join us for our first paint night complete with fine wine and cheese in the store! No painting skills required! $35.00/ person. Please Contact Tina in store for more details! Seating is Limited.
Spring Ahead To Summer Promo!
Limited Edition Orchard Breezin' White Sangria While supplies only last, in just 4-6 weeks enjoy the wine of summer for $99.99 which includes, bottles, corks, colored shrink caps and matching summer labels! Don't get caught without being able to beat the heat, bottle soon and enjoy the slightly-aged notes!
Custom Wine Label & Gift Wrapping Available in store, Talk To Tina Today For Info! Looking to get that perfect label on bottled wine to perhaps mark a special event or occassion? Perhaps even a label made especially for the recipient? We can also help with putting the perfect touch on the finishing bits such as the gift wrapping and maybe even a box of chocolates? Yes, we have partnered with Lindt! Contact Tina for more information!
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Meet and socialize with like minded people! Whether you are looking to learn a thing or two about how to use your computer to learning a new language or skill, education is a life long persuit and knowledge in today’s day and age is power! If you feel you are competent with your field of knowledge and would like to conduct a class/workshop - please contact Tina for more information in store!
Make Your Wedding Wine Here! Custom Wedding Wine Packages Available Tying the knot soon? Know someone else who is? Don't keep us a secret! A wedding isn't complete without the wine! Custom packages available with gift wrapping/ labels, contact Tina for more info!
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2014 – A notoriously wet and cool year: while many wines are perfectly drinkable, they are not great either. To be drunk young. 2013 – A cooler than average summer was followed by a warm and sunny autumn. The wines are particularly aromatic and the best show real finesse. Drink from 2020. 2012 – Weather conditions turned patchy after an intensely hot summer. These big, generous wines are beginning to drink well. 2011 – A highly touted vintage producing balanced wines which are approaching their peak. Drink or keep for three to five years. 2010 – A cooler than average vintage: while perhaps lacking flesh, the wines have good aromas and are mainly fully mature.
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