Canadian Wino(s)

On Tuesday June 16, the Sip and Savour Ontario tasting was held at the Distillery.  About 30 Ontario wineries showcased their wines including many of this year’s award winners.  The evening is a fun night out for most and an opportunity to sample the very wide range of wines and styles available from Ontario producers.

Every few tables there would be food stations set up by local restaurants to showcase their culinary talents and present some Ontario food/wine pairings.  Many of the pairings were very good.  The food offerings were tiny but tasty.  One memorable pairing was a smoked Georgian Bay whitefish with a Gewurztraminer, mmmm.  Another was an upside down apricot cake with a Sparkling Vidal Icewine (any dessert with apricot, peaches, or mango is likely to be a good match for Vidal).

Here are some highlights and themes I discovered at the tasting:

Whites:     With limited time to cover the large number of wineries and wines, I focused mainly on the reds, and sweet wines.  I tried a few of the whites and listened to the comments of the friends I was with and others at the tasting.  Ontario continues to be good for white wine.  ‘Riesling’ was on the lips of many – both figuratively and literally.  The 2006 Le Clos Jordanne Reserve Chardonnay ($30) was very good.  Unfortunately Peninsula Ridge, which won the gold medal for Chardonnay, was not there.  The best Ontario Chardonnay I recall tasting was an earlier vintage from Peninsula Ridge.  Call Peninsula Ridge sales manager Jonathon Kuhling at 905-563-0900 x 22 or email at jkuhling@peninsularidge.com to see about ordering straight from the winery.

Pinot Noir:    The biggest change I have noticed since going to this tasting starting in 2006 is the improvement in the Pinot Noir.  First of all, I should state my point of reference for Pinot Noir: Burgundy.  In my view, Burgundy produces the best Pinot in the world and is the benchmark against which all others should be measured.  Unfortunately Burgundy is very difficult to navigate as the ownership is so fractionalized, terroir changes from village to village.  Pinot Noir is susceptible to vintage variation.  In Burgundy, terroir can be different in different parts of a single vineyard.  So, if we can find a few good Pinots closer to home, and support local wineries too, that is a good thing.

Many new world Pinots, including those from New Zealand, tend to be bigger and fuller than what I would expect from Pinot but lack the elegance, and smoothness of a very good Burgundy.  Many just come off as big and rough FrankenPinot (wines that have been manipulated to target some new world vision of what the universal palate demands – bad and boring).  Even last year and the year before, I found this with some of the Ontario Pinots, and Gamay Noir.

The good news is that this year the Pinots were much more varietally correct in character:  bright cherry and strawberry with earthy undertones, medium bodied, and smooth.  This was true even for Pinots under $20.  Perhaps we can thank Le Clos Jordanne who actually teamed up with the French to produce Pinot Noir (and Chardonnay) here in Ontario that shows what one would expect from the French counterparts.  The 2004 Claystone Terrace showed signs of this character but was a bit thin (vines were very young).  It is now developing into a very good Pinot Noir.  Other winemakers seem to have followed suit and let the grape show what it can do.

If you have not tried an Ontario Pinot Noir recently, try one at the price level you are used to spending for other wines.

Sweet Wines:    Sweet wines remain the category that Ontario really excels at.  The hidden gems here are the Late Harvest, and a few Icewines.
Late Harvest wine is made by leaving the grapes on the vine past the regular harvest, but not as long as Icewine.  The grapes lose moisture and concentrate but to a lesser degree.  The result are wines with concentrated fruit that can jump out of the glass on the nose, but are not as sweet as Icewine and 1/3 or ¼ the price!  The big discovery here was the 2007 Caroline Cellars Momentum Series Late Harvest Vidal at $18.95 500ml. (See below for notes).

In the Icewine category there are many that are good but do come across as overly sweet or syrupy.  A really great Icewine has an abundance of fruit flavour balanced with acidity that creates intense aromas and flavour without tasting overly sweet.  Royal de Maria, the Icewine specialist www.royaldemaria.com , does this the best.  Others hit the mark from time to time.  The 2007 Riverview Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine was one such wine (see below for notes).  It won the gold medal, deservedly.  Dan Ackroyd had a very good Gewurztraminer Icewine but at $65 for 200ml it was too pricey for what it was.

Wines of Note:

2007 Black Prince Winery Cabernet Franc, Prince Edward County, $15.75

www.blackprincewinery.com Good Value
Soft and good with dark berry fruit.  Easy drinking.  Would pair well with a chocolate dessert as well as usual Cab Franc pairings.

2006 Caroline Cellars Winery Baco Noir, Niagara on the Lake, $10.20

Silver Medal www.carolinecellars.com Excellent Value Direct order only
Deep dark colour, smooth and medium bodied – good easy drinker.

2006 Caroline Cellars Winery Momentum Series Late Harvest Vidal, $18 500ml

www.carolinecellars.com Best Value
Excellent for $18.  Peach and apricot aromas jump out of the glass.  People who didn’t like Icewine liked this wine.  Friends who had just tried the Ackroyd Gewürztraminer Icewine which, was no doubt a great wine, tried this Late Harvest.  They were amazed.  This won out though for value for the money.  Pair with apple pie, or crisp, peach cobbler, or apple/mango crisp with some ginger, lemon, coconut, mmmm.

2007 Inniskillin Wines Sparkling Vidal Icewine, Niagara on the Lake, $59.75

www.inniskillin.com Good Value
Had this with the upside down apricot cake.  It was a great match.  The sparkling Vidal was a nice change.  It is pricey, but not compared to a good Vidal Icewine.

2008 Jackson Triggs Estate Winery Proprietors Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, $13.95

Niagara on the Lake         Excellent Value
www.jacksontriggswinery.com
This was one of the few whites I tried and I was glad that I did.  This was a very aromatic Sauvignon Blanc with peach notes on the nose, smooth on the palate, balanced with good acidity.

2007 Mike Weir Cabernet Merlot, Niagara Peninsula, $18.95

Niagara on the Lake         Good Value
www.mikeweirwine.com
Very good with nice tannic grip.  Flavours of dark berries.  Lived up to expectation after very good 2006.

2009 Pelee Island Winery Pinot Noir Reserve, $14.95

Bronze Medal         Good Value
www.peleeisland.com
Good, light and smooth.  Cherries on the nose.

2009 Pelee Island Winery Monarch Red, $14.95

Silver Medal         Excellent Value
www.peleeisland.com
Marchel Foch, Baco Noir, and Zweigelt…what a combo!  This doesn’t have the tannic structure to age, but for $10 this is a great value and one that should be tried.  Look for the big Monarch butterfly on the label and try some.  Should be a great BBQ wine.

2007 Riverview Cellars Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine, Niagara, $59.95

Gold Medal         Excellent Value    Special order from winery (min 3 bottles)
www.riverviewcellars.com
This Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine stood out from the rest.  The big strawberry nose was followed by strawberry and honey on the palate.  Nice big bright fruit without tasting too sweet.  Pair with cranberry biscotti, or chocolate and berry desserts.  This came at the end of the evening and was a great way to finish. winery@riverviewcellars.com  to order.  This drinks great now and will probably be at its best over the next 3-4 years.  Riverview Cellars is owned by Sam Pillitteri (brother of Gary Pillitteri of Pillitteri Estates Winery) and his wife Lina.   .  As Pillitteri has produced some very good Vidal Icewine and Cab Franc Late Harvest, it is not surprising that Riverview is excelling at the production of dessert wines.  Good dessert wines must run in this family!

Cheers,   Ross