Category Archives: VQA Four Mile Creek

‘London Calling’ for Canadian wine

PHOTO: NASKO/FOTOLIA.COM

as seen on canada.com

Just in case you were under the impression that Canadian wine is made solely for and consumed only by Canadians, think again. The world is hungry for our prized grapes and unbeknownst to 99 per cent of the 35 million inhabitants of this vast country, the A-Team is out there in the field.

As I write this, Canada is re-introducing itself to the world by way of an essential and comprehensive tasting hosted today by The Canadian High Commission at Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London. A group of wine luminaries and emissaries are pouring sparkling wines, red wines produced from Pinot Noir, Bordeaux blends or varietals, Syrah or Gamay, white wines produced from Chardonnay or Riesling and Icewine. REDISCOVER Canadian Wine is an unprecedented event, working in conjunction with London’s Westbury Communications to remind and renew a European media and trade contingent of the quality and international viability of the wines from Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

Canada House, London (Photos: Janet Dorozynski)

The dream team is led by Dr. Janet Dorozynski, Global Practice Lead, Canadian Wine, Beer and Spirits, Global Business Opportunities Bureau, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Dr. Dorozynski’s deputies along to help promote the Canadian wines in London are the Wine Council of Ontario’s Magdalena Kaiser-Smit, Director of PR and Linda Watts, Project Manager, Canadian wine expert ambassador Tony Aspler and Barb Tatarnic of Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute.

Winemakers, owners, vignerons, wine consultants, international sales directors, export directors and marketing consultants have made the trek after wineries from across Canada were invited to submit their wines in a blind tasting judged by a panel of Canadian judges. The panel previewed over 250 Canadian wines and selected 89 wines from 37 wineries to qualify for the London, England tasting.

With help in partnership with Foreign Affair and International Trade Canada, Wine Country Ontario, support from The Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) at Brock University and from The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Canada House event is fully and completely positioned to raise the profile of the Canadian wine industry abroad.

London Calling: REDISCOVER Canadian wine

British wine scribe Stephen Brook notes, “Canada has long been out of the ‘promising newcomer’ category. These are wines we all need to discover.” Gerard Basset OBE MW MS adds, “I have discovered some superb wineries and producers with both flair and talent.”

For more information on the event click here.

In celebration of the calling to London, here are tasting notes on eight wines being poured today in London.

Flat Rock Cellars Gravity Pinot Noir 2010 ($30, 1560, winery) from A wine pentathlon reels in Twenty Mile Bench fruit in a warm vintage as well if not better than any of its peers. Founder Ed Madronich is clearly slope and soil obsessed and this Pinot Noir is a study in topography and geology. To paraphrase Madronich, it’s  ”more Pommard than Volnay, in a deeper and more masculine way than the Estate bottling.” Pinot barrels most representative of the Gravity style were chosen for the final blend, in this case noted by woodsy black cherry and spiced root vegetable. “Get a little savagery in your life.” 90   @Winemakersboots  @UnfilteredEd

Cave Spring Cellars Riesling ‘CSV’ Estate Bottled 2009 ($29.95, winery only) from Come together, over wine comes from the oldest, lowest-yielding vines at the estate grown on the limestone, Beamsville Bench terrace. A three month rest on its lees imparts honey on the nose though the palate is dryer than off-dry. Mineral, pop-driven even. A hoovering, wizened Riesling, puckering, turning inward, yet to hydrate. Unique for Escarpment ’09 and will realize a quenching later than most. I for one will put this aside and revisit at the end of the decade, when “golden slumbers fill your eyes.” 89  @CaveSpring

Charles Baker Riesling ‘Picone’ 2011 ($35, winery only) from Come together, over wine trembles with nervous energy and will need some bottle time to shed its shocking, A16 soda popping feeling. Right now “he got joo joo eyeballs.” Give it a year, or even two for the Vinemount Ridge clint (citrus and flint) to come together in a fit of focused, piercing acidity. This is Baker’s sharpest, knife-edge Riesling in the block and while I never thought it possible, this one is sure to outshine 2009. For Charles Baker ”one and one and one is three.”  93  @cbriesling

Exultet Chardonnay ‘The Blessed’ 2011 ($35, winery only) from You can lead a county to the city is exemplary even if it may not be proprietor Gerard Spinosa’s favourite vintage. Commands an ineffable presence in gold sheen and parses meaning through balance and poise. The new oak is very noticeable but the ’11 acidity is grand. Their integration is seamless, the wine shines and a few years time will only increase its lustre.  92  @ExultetEstates

Pillitteri Estates Cabernet Franc Reserve ‘Exclamation’ 2010 (Alex Kolundzic, $35, winery only) from Top juice flows at Cuvée 25th anniversary from family vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake ventures into voluptuous, black forest, fruitcake territory. A 24-month soak in French oak imparts espresso and leather and it’s as if this CF was raised in Napa or designated IGT. But this is NOTL were talking here. Improbable and believable. Tasted twice.  91  @Pillitteriwines

Hidden Bench Estate Pinot Noir 2010 ($38, winery only) from A wine pentathlon takes my previous impressions to a higher plane. Standing correct by calling it a “a vintage relative release” but it’s so much more than “a quaffable, generous fruit sui generis.” Beets turn into plums. Opaque hue reminds of graceful Nebbiolo with a dancer’s legs in aperture. Wins in judicious use of French wood. Tannins persist in the rear-view mirror. Big ’10 that speaks of another level in Beamsville Pinot Noir. “Think about it, there must be higher love.” 91  @HiddenBench  @BenchVigneron

Château Des Charmes Equuleus 2010 (Paul Bosc, $40, ONT, winery only, SAQ,  11156334, $41.25) from Top juice flows at Cuvée 25th anniversary from the Paul Bosc Estate Vineyard is a classically styled blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 25% Merlot, only made in exceptional years. Apropos choice from 25-year old vines (in 2010) from the warmer St. David’s Bench for Cuvée’s 25th show.  Poised, balanced and regal yet this mare is temporarily a head-shy, sensitive equine red. Will trot out furlongs of tobacco and meaty aromas from now and through maturity in five plus years. A saddle of round, red fruit will age gracefully.  92  @MBosc

Stratus Syrah 2010 ($48) from Stratus and Momofuku: Modernity incarnate is picked early as compared to other well-known varieties like the Cabernets and this vintage saw a 25% yield decrease/concentration increase. Pretty, focused and indicative of candied flowers in replay with a note of citrus blossom. A Syrah that clearly speaks of Groux’s infatuation with aromatics. “What I do know, my Syrah is improving overall.”  90  @twineswines  @Stratuswines

Good to go!

A wine pentathlon

Casa Loma in Toronto PHOTO: ALISONHANCOCK/FOTOLIA.COM

as seen on canada.com

Wake up and smell the grapes. Put those lame excuses on the shelf and get over yourself. Time to cease and desist the dissing and dismissing of Ontario wine. I used to be like you but now I participate any chance I get, by invitation or by uncorking at dinner, to sample, savour and immerse myself in Canadian and more specifically, Ontario wine.

“5-Star” at Casa Loma (Photos: Michael Godel)

I was there when thirty wineries from The Niagara Peninsula, Prince Edward County and Lake Erie North Shore regions were assembled on Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 in Toronto’s Casa Loma by The Ontario Wine Society. No fewer than 127 wines (plus a few under the table ringers here and there) were poured at the “5-star” event that focused on the signature, cool-climate varieties produced in Ontario. Sparkling wines shared company with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Cabernet Franc. I loved the pentalpha conceptualization, realized by a narrowing of the field to a focus of five. Working endurance wine tastings tugs on the olfactory and taste bud strings, demanding maximum mettle, so this was a welcome format.

The Ontario Wine Society is a necessary and viable provincial institution. The not-for-profit society was formed in 1991 and continues its mandate to discover, appreciate and support local wines. The industry knows to thank and give back to the OWS and other organizations who likewise set out complimentary mandates to champion local greatness. Like the VQA leader with respect to growth and sustainability Wine Council of Ontario (WCO) and the oenological education leader Cool Climate, Viticulture and Oenology Institute (CCOVI) at Brock University, the OWS is all about championing greatness stemming from our vineyards.

Shout out goes to OWS President Ken Burford and Vice-President Sadie Darby for orchestrating the oeno-pentathlon. The feat was neither small, nor insignificant. The local tastings ramp up in a big way in April and May with events like County in the City,  County Character, County Terroir, The Niagara Food and Wine Expo and culminating in June with the inaugural National Wine Awards of Canada (formerly the Canadian Wine Awards) presented by Wine Align.

From left: Flat Rock Cellars 2008, Southbrook Vineyards Triomphe Chardonnay 2011, Stanners Pinot Noir 2010, Vineland Estates Elevation Riesling 2008, and Tawse Cabernet Franc Van Bers Vineyard 2009

Many of the wines presented had been previously reviewed so with such a big line-up to get through I did not always re-taste, including the following:

Rosewood Estates Natalie’s Süssreserve Riesling 2010 (258806, $14.95) 88

Flat Rock Cellars 2008 Riddled ($24.95) 87

Green Lane Old Vines Riesling 2010 (283432, $29.95) 91

Bachelder Saunders Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 (324103, $44.95) 91

Coyote’s Run Estate Winery Rare Vintage Pinot Noir 2010 ($44.95) 91

Here are eight highlights from the OWS Casa Loma tasting, to the tune of Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.

Southbrook Vineyards Triomphe Chardonnay 2011 ($21.95, 172338) binds FSO2 with jack or durian, febrile fruit. For now hard to figure, like a grey rose or a Pink Floyd. Offers up a creamy warmth in resonant echoes but amplified as if still trapped inside the barrel. The best days remain ahead for this certified and biodynamic Chardonnay, which in two to three years time will “come streaming in on sunlight wings.” 89  @SouthbrookWine

Tawse Riesling Quarry Road Vineyard 2012 ($23.95, winery only) picks up where the piercing ’11 left off and should be enjoyed in near time while that prototypical QRV fleshes out. This vintage is all about the here and now, citrus bright, immediately inviting, a slice of limstone pie with clay icing. While some age on Riesling is certainly and always welcome, this one begs to be looked at in the present. 90 @Tawse_Winery  @DanielatTawse

Lighthall Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 ($25, winery only) has that crazed look in its eye, as does vintner Glenn Symons when he talks about it, knowing full well this Prince Edward County juice is a bursting and rising, rocket launching supernova. Steely like Chablis, sharp and shimmering in defiance to the heat of the vintage, the LVC is a dartle to the collective consciousness of the County. Startling revelation. It’s all about the rocks. 91  @lighthallvyard

Lighthall Vineyard wines

Stanners Pinot Noir 2010 ($30, winery only) combines 60% (horizontal) County fruit with 40 per cent (vertical) Niagara (Lincoln Lakeshore) grapes in balance and with finesse. Simply apply the distance formula to figure out the length of the hypotenuse. Bridging the kilometres that lie between, though inadmissible to some, comes by way of a deft winemaker’s vision and touch. Plum good, mineral rich and perceptibly tannic without breaching a threshold of varnish. Cherry toffee speaks of the sunshine and indicates time is of the essence. Will look forward to full-on County issue for 2013 in the hands of Cliff and Colin Stanners. 89  @StannersWines

Vineland Estates Elevation Riesling 2008 ($30, winery only) poured as a youthful and “hello” pleasant surprise though it’s just beginning to display secondary character. Has shed its CO2 ferment skin without compromising the inherent citrus zest. Nectar lit by just emerging perky propellant and the ubiquitous, underlying of St. Urban’s stones all combine forces to a life of amarita. All this to make believe 2028 will be just another year in its evolution. 92  @VinelandEstates  @benchwineguy

Flat Rock Cellars Gravity Pinot Noir 2010 ($30, 1560, winery) reels in Twenty Mile Bench fruit in a warm vintage as well if not better than any of its peers. Founder Ed Madronich is clearly slope and soil obsessed and this Pinot Noir is a study in topography and geology. To paraphrase Madronich, it’s  “more Pommard than Volnay, in a deeper and more masculine way than the Estate bottling.” Pinot barrels most representative of the Gravity style were chosen for the final blend, in this case noted by woodsy black cherry and spiced root vegetable. “Get a little savagery in your life.” 90   @Winemakersboots  @UnfilteredEd

Hidden Bench Estate Pinot Noir 2010 ($38, winery only) takes my previous impressions to a higher plane. Standing correct by calling it a “a vintage relative release” but it’s so much more than “a quaffable, generous fruit sui generis.” Beets turn into plums. Opaque hue reminds of graceful Nebbiolo with a dancer’s legs in aperture. Wins in judicious use of French wood. Tannins persist in the rear-view mirror. Big ’10 that speaks of another level in Beamsville Pinot Noir. “Think about it, there must be higher love.” 91  @HiddenBench  @BenchVigneron 

Tawse Cabernet Franc Van Bers Vineyard 2009 ($49.95, winery only) from the Creek Shores Appellation is proof that a well rounded grape has no point. The Van Bers is winemaker Paul Pender’s purlieu, edgy, outlying, unconcerned with the norm or the banal. Makes full use of a cool vintage with heart-stopping acidity and eye-popping verve but not without delivering Soul, in the form of flowers and a fruit basket to your doorstep. “It’s like thunder and lightning.” Capers, camphor and a knock on wood add R & B complexity. 91  @Paul_Pender

Good to go!

Lock, stock and sparkling wines

PHOTO: MICHAEL GODEL, FOR CANADA.COM

as seen on canada.com

 

Some invitations are just better than others. On the rarest of occasions the thrill is easily won, such as my recent inclusion at an epic wine and food tasting. On Tuesday I sampled nine delectable dishes prepared by Chefs Todd Clarmo and David Chow at Stock Restaurant in the Trump Hotel Toronto.

The invite came by way of Wine Country Ontario and PR Director Magdalena Kaiser-Smit. The purpose? To sample 18 Ontario sparkling wines, presented alongside Chefs’ cuisine, by house Sommelier Zoltan Szabo. The food and wine pairings were sublimely orchestrated, elevated by the assistance of and in turn, kudos is to be fired out Master Sommelier John Szabo‘s way.

Be immersed in the emerging industry that is Ontario Sparkling wine and you will find yourself amazed. Angelo Pavan of Cave Spring Winery spoke to the group and was emphatic in saying “Niagara is not trying to make Champagne,” but, he added, ” I think we in Niagara can do Sparkling wine better than anywhere in the world, with the exception of Champagne.”

Lead by the pioneers Château des Charmes, Trius and later, Henry of Pelham, production of Ontario bubbles began to take off after 2000. Pavan didn’t want to try at first because, “it was too much work.” At some point he realized that our climate is more than ideal, most notably because acidity does not drop off in Niagara, due to an extended harvest time. Warm climate producers (like California, South Africa and Australia) may have a two to three-day harvest window and they have to pick at night, or else the grapes begin to oxidize. Pavan sees warm climate, New World fizz as very drinkable, if soft, lacking in acidity and balance.

The production of vintage-dated fizz in Ontario is certainly fashionable, as witnessed by more than 60% of the wines present, but for the purposes of consistency, local weather conditions should see the future trending a non-vintage path.

Sparkling Wine Tasting

Stock Restaurant at the Trump Hotel

December 11th, 2012

First Group of Nine

Casa-Dea Estates Winery, Dea’s Rosé 2011 ($19.95) charms like Strawberry seltzer with a sappy tang and the chalky, calcareous limestone schist of Prince Edward County.  87

Château des Charmes, Rosé Sparkling Wine, Estate Bottled 2009 ($28.95) elevates pink bubbles from a good, acidified vintage with red pear, pink grapefruit aromas. A bit unpronounced, though that works for balance, keeping the A16 and confiture in check.  87

Angels Gate, Archangel Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs 2010 ($21.95) bursts forth in a big, barm way. I hope that I don’t fall in love with this B de B. Inflection the colour of lime and duly scented, but also pithy lemon. Parochial attitude, cutting to tonic at closing time and “the music’s fading out.” Didn’t happen.  86

Mike Weir Wine, Sparkling Brut 2009 ($24.95) shows off a premium mousse with the finest mist yet. Minor atomic note, with pear, mild toast and a touch of residual sweetness. Honeycomb gives way to the slightest charred, cabbage accent. Not unlike Loire Vouvray in that sense.  88

Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate, Entourage Grand Reserve Brut 2009 ($22.95) is a sweet-smelling misty mousse waterfall where white grapefruit replays from vapor to flavour. Dryest fizz yet playing the Angostura angle. Good length.  88

Cave Spring Cellars, Blanc de Blancs Brut NV ($29.95) sees no malolactic fermentation and sits at the top end of dry (12-14 dosage). Most of the fruit is 2008, despite the NV designation. A soda fountain of argon and nitrogen bunsens forth through clean lines and carries an entire cider house orchard of Spartan apple. This one certainly hints at Champagne-like characteristics, of brioche and toast. The apples never relent.  89

Flat Rock Cellars, 2008 Riddled ($24.95) is a completely different animal. “It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.” The key might be the yeast that brings animale to the wine. A bit fat and flat, with tropical notes of lychee and almond. Speeds up but is a bit of an acquired taste.  87

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery, Cuvée Catharine NV ($29.95) is a classic bottling, quite refined, offers the most yeast yet and is obviously the most Champagne-like of the eight so far sampled to this point. A go to Pinot and Chardonnay blend, essential bubbles for holiday cheer.  89

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery, Cuvée Catharine Estate Blanc De Blancs ‘Carte Blanche’ 2007 ($44.95) turns the brioche quotient up several notches and is consistent with last month’s note: “combines the exceptional ’07 growing season’s rich fruit with early harvested acidity and extreme patience to result in one serious Ontario sparkling wine. A frothing tonic of citrus zest, baking apples, soda bread, cut grass and creamy grume. Long and true.” 90

Ontario Sparkling & Culinary Tastes

Begin

Baby Kale & Heirloom Carrot Salad

russet apple, québec goat cheese

Cold Poached Lobster Salad

organic greek yogurt & bergamot dressing

Hamachi, Fennel & Citrus Crudo

chilli and tarragon

The Grange of Prince Edward, Sparkling Riesling 2010 ($24.95) seems more late harvest, Spätlese than Sparkling. Nectarous juice with a squeeze of suspended honey and a light citrus spritz. Waited for the sear but it didn’t arrive. Good Riesling though.  85

Trius Winery, Trius Brut NV ($24.95) emerges as elegance defined for dry, Niagara effervescence. Pear, poivre and candlenut do battle then the wine turns and walks silently away. Had its moment in the sun but is perhaps not so refined.  87

Tawse Winery, David’s Block Chardonnay “Spark” 2009 ($39.95) has thankfully shed its baby fat, the cheesy whey that sat atop all else last time I tasted. Today the epoisses is now mild Niagara Gold, or a creamy, Triple-Cream Brie. Still a wine of lees and leisure, with tangy green apple and sharp, piquant flavour.  88

Continue

Braised Veal Shank

yukon potato gnocchi, picholine olives

Roasted Magret of Duck a L’Orange

buttered savoy cabbage

Maple Broiled Black Cod

edamame puree

Huff Estates, Cuvée Peter F. Huff 2008 ($39.95) works expertly alongside the veal. Austere, dry, flinty wine of slate, like Chablis. Green apple, lemon, lime and almond. A bit tough but well-built.  90

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery, Cuvée Catharine Rosé NV ($29.95) and its fine, strawberry mousse is at the head of its Ontario class. Vanilla, Ida Red apple and bitter nut combine like a smooth, creamy, Mediterranean spread to dip the warmest, fresh-baked bread.  91

13th Street Winery, Premier Cuvée 2008 ($34.95) perpetuates the apple theme but here it is subdued, sweet and with blossoms too. There is honeycomb, citrus and an herbal, grassy component no other wine has shown. Lean, perhaps but that’s the minerals talking. Very pretty.  91

Finish

Coffee Crusted Pecorino Romano

clementine gratin

White Chocolate Ganache

greek yogurt, carrot, yuzu

Pain Perdu

tangerine, lychee, marcona almond

Cave Spring Cellars, Blanc de Noirs Brut 2006 ($34.95) is age apparent, tanning ever so slightly. Dry, amber toast, nutty notes, really well-balanced. Fun to see this development, even if it’s fading gracefully.  90

Inniskilin Wines, Sparkling Vidal Icewine 2011 ($79.95) is delicious, don’t think it isn’t, but the high proportion of ice wine makes it just that. Not convinced the bubbles add any depth. This is Icewine first and Sparkling wine second.  Novelty.  88

Hinterland, Ancestral 2012 ($25.00) is not the best wine but it steals the show. The dayglo colour should lead to a cloying sweetness but no, it’s remarkably off-dry. Cherries, not strawberries are here and yes, in a Kool-Aid kind of aromatic way. The taste is very savoury and the sweetness is brought out by the Pecorino.  90

Good to go!

Wine and remembrance

<em>File photograph, National Post</em>

File photograph, National Post

“Wine, wit, and beauty still their charms bestow,
Light all the shades of life, and cheer us as we go.”

On Sunday Canadians gestured in solemn contemplation to the fallen, lest we forget and celebrated heroes. We also gave the thumbs up to a local champion. Congratulations to Moray Tawse, Paul Pender and their team for being chosen Canada’s number-one winery for the third straight year in a recent Wine Access magazine poll.

Pender’s vision for Tawse, while wholly modish in tune, remains deeply rooted in an “antediluvian” wisdom with respect to making wine. The same cannot be said for a mess of ethanolic ferment proliferating present day LCBO shelves. Off I go towards yet another personal hermeneutic. This fall I have nosed, tasted, sampled and jotted down notes on more than 1000 wines. More than half have weighed in above 14% alcohol by volume. One in four have pushed the 15% abv envelope and beyond.

Biblical thought says there was a time when “wine” was simply the juice of pressed fruit, non-fermented, void of alcohol, the “pureblood of the grape.”  As Ben Franklin noted, before the flood the Antediluvians Were All Very Sober. They may as well have been drinking unadulterated milk.

Then, according to theological theory, along came Noah, vintner number one. The post-deluge patriarch purportedly discovered that if you let natural yeasts run wild they would turn grape juice and sugar into mocker, “strong drink.” Researches say that ancient barm barely peaked at 12% abv.

Thousands of years passed and nothing really changed, save for theories on the Babylonian effect of wine upon a godless and anarchistic populace. Today the real Babylon resides in extreme ripeness hyper-extending to alcohol levels once thought impossible. Cooler heads do sometimes prevail, perhaps not exactly to antediluvian standards, but at least with a degree of sanity. The great Chilean poet wrote, “let the simple man remember, to think of the soil and of his duty, to propagate the canticle of the wine.” Here are four current releases to stem the tide of vinous revelation.

Related – More from the VINTAGES November 10th, 2012 Release

Château Peyros Tannat/Cabernet 2007 (208249, $14.95) shocks as a direct current of dry, dusty and impenetrable “out of the sight” fortress of pitch. Alternatively, Supper’s ready with figs dipped back in black chocolate, roasted chestnut, truffle and the mind blow of seven trumpets getting “right down inside your soul.” Yowza and at a respectable 13.5%.  88

Vieil Armand Médaille Gewurztraminer 2010 (260158, $17.95) is a classic. Gewurz as gewurz, off-dry, lychee floral, tropical spice, crisp and fresh. No bitter pith.  88

Coyote’s Run Red Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 (79228, $24.95) shies away from the Burgundian mushroom, Epoisses and bourse, not to mention the Beaune-like price of the sister Black Paw. Yet like a good villages Pinot, the Red Paw weighs in at 13% abv framed by cocoa dust, red earth, density and girth. Swelling and a bit dirty like a proper Martini tsunami.  89

Regali La Lus Albarossa 2008 (291575, $24.95) can be nothing short of an ancient miracle. A Nebbiolo and Barbera hybrid, Albarossa is the Baco Noir or Cinsault of Monferrato. A whisper of vanilla oak imparts elegance into the finest leathery hide. Good on the Banfi conglomerate for this uniquely homogeneous half-blood.  89

Good to go!