Calamus Estate Winery

Posted on May 14, 2012 by mcshawn

Calamus Estate Winery made it onto our list for several reasons – first and foremost, our friend Rick Bates from Ajax and I were having a discussion at one point and I mentioned I hadn’t made it to Calamus. I was severely reprimanded and it was at that point that I decided I would make sure Calamus was on my list for the next visit.

Calamus also fits our model of wineries we tend to like – family owned, owner-operated, and smallish. At 5,000 cases a year (they actually have sufficient fruit to do more like 10,000), they definitely fit the niche. They have 22 acres at the Jordan winery site and another 10 acres in Beamsville.

Housed in a converted barn, we were taken upstairs to the large tasting area lofy (including a deck overlooking the vineyards) as the tasting area below was already hopping with Cuvée participants. We were treated to a great tasting including some great cheese and crackers to nibble on which were great for cleansing the palate.

There were 4 wines on sample and we had also been told we couldn’t leave without trying their Gewürztraminer. Here’s the notes of what we tasted:

2010 Unoaked Chardonnay: With a nose of light apple and stone fruit, the palate is much more dominant with apple, pear, and citrus notes. The acidity of the finish is extremely refreshing and leaves notes of lemon in your mouth long enough to cover the gap until your next sip. Great refreshing summer wine. $14.95

"Barrel-Kissed" Chardonnay

2010 “Barrel-Kissed” Chardonnay: When I opened a bottle of this after returning home, wine-writer Konrad Ejbich wanted to know if it was a French kiss! Indeed, it is French oak that has kissed this wine – Calamus managed to source some oak barrels from France that had only been used for 4 months (removing the strongest oak influence) and then aged their Chardonnay in these same barrels for a mere 9 months. These light, subtle oak influences result in the “barrel-kissed” label. If you read my reviews you know I like light oak influences on my Chardonnays and this one was extremely delicious – light butterscotch notes from the oak – apples, peaches and lime from the fruit, and decent structure to hold it all together. $17.20

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon: With 26 months on oak, the plum, berry, and kirsch-like notes shine through the moderate influence of the barrels. There are secondary notes of licorice and leather, adding a really nice complexity as the wine evolves.The wine is smooth, and more cherry-cranberry than cassis, likely due in part to the weather in 2009 which didn’t favour the warmer varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon.  Long cherry finish. I would pair this with just about any BBQ red meat this summer.  $19.95

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

2007 Meritage: I admit it. I have this thing for Meritage (Ontario’s version of  a “Bordeaux blend”…we just can’t call it that). With 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot – all from a great vintage in Ontario…I loved this wine.On the nose I detected cassis, vanilla, and dark chocolate. The palate seemed true to this and added more fruit notes from both red and dark fruits (red raspberry, black cherries). The tannins are already well integrated. I would likely only cellar this another 3-4 years at most, but if you wanted to break open a bottle now, it is raring to go. $27.20

2007 Meritage

2010 Gewürztraminer: I couldn’t leave without trying a Gewürzt from Calamus. Ontario’s cooler climate brings out great aromatics on the whites and this Gewürztraminer was no exception. The nose was all floral and lychee. On the palate, loads of sweet, tropical fruit that left a long, lingering lemon finish on top of the lighter tropical fruit notes. I was itching for Thai food now and it was barely lunchtime! $16.20

Lovely artwork on display in the loft

My friend Rick was right. I had definitely needed to visit Calamus Estate Winery. And I know I will be back to sample other wines when I have a bit more time.

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The Great Canadian Cheese Festival – June 1st-3rd in Picton

Posted on May 7, 2012 by mcshawn

So Friday I had the opportunity to drop in on the Ottawa launch of The Great Canadian Cheese Festival, hosted by the Savvy Company of Ottawa (presenting partner). And if the pictures 0f the sample displays below don’t get your mouth watering, then I guess you just don’t like cheese!

The event drew a couple of local cheese producers. Fromagerie les Folies Bergères (which translated equates to “cheese dairy of the mad shepherds”). Their pamphlets claim they are in Quebec, just “67km from Parliament Hill”. Clarmell on the Rideau is a new family-run goat farm (with a long history in dairy farming) who have joined forces with Glengarry Fine Cheese Factory in Lancaster, Ontario to produce 3 new cheeses (Feta, Chevre, and a goat-milk Gouda), all made 100% with their own goat’s milk.

Michael McKenzie of Seed to Sausage put out a spread worthy of the finest dining. There were chutneys from Ottawa’s Michael’s Dolce and Major Craig’s, and of course wines from Sandbanks Estate Winery.

I asked founder & director Georgs Kolesnikovs what had triggered the idea for an artisan cheese festival, and why he had chosen Picton for the location (he’s from Pickering). It all started because of his love for artisan cheese…and he got to thinking it would be neat if he could get artisan producers from different parts of Canada to gather in one place. Picton was chosen because it had a relatively central location to the 4 counties of Eastern Ontario (all of which have a long history of cheese-making), and has a great wine and food industry. I think it is the perfect location to express small, artisan producers.

Georgs Kolesnikovs Introduces the Event

Big Cheese, Little Cheese

Here’s my “Ten Reasons Why You Should Visit The Great Canadian Cheese Festival”:

1. The Cheese!With 36 artisan cheese makers signed up (literally coast-coast representation), there will be more than 125 cheeses on display, for sampling, and available for purchase.

Some Blue Cheese, Perhaps?

How About Some Creamy Cheese?

This One is Even Creamier

Perhaps Something a Little Firmer?

This Calls for Wine!

Great Cheese from Fromagerie Les Folies Bergeres

Great Names for Their Cheese

2. Wine goes great with cheese:About 15 County wineries are also participating. Find out which wines go best with which cheese.

Wine and Artisan Sausage from Seed to Sausage

Paired with a little Baco Noir from Sandbanks

3. More artisan food:More than a dozen small-batch producers will be sampling their wares – from chutney and shortbread, to meats, jams, and chocolates.

Great Chutney!

Seed to Sausage Wares

Seed to Sausage

Seed to Sausage

Michael's Dolce

More Food!

And More!

4. Craft Beer: Believe it or not, beer goes great with cheese as well. There will be at least 5 craft brewers in attendance.

5. Family Friendly: Although there are wines being sampled for adults on Saturday and Sunday, kids are welcome to attend the Artisan Cheese & Fine Food Fair. Some specific events are age of majority only (such as the Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala on Saturday evening).

6. The Site: The added bonus is that the festival takes place in the Crystal Palace in Picton – one of the most beautiful event settings you’ll ever visit.

7. Cooks & Curds Cheese Gala:8 top chefs will prepare courses pared with Canadian wine, beer, and cider.

Chef Michael Blackie Will be Attending

And THIS is What He Is Making!

More Closeups

8. The Region: You’ll find lots of other things to do – whether it is visiting great restaurants, stocking your vegetable garden, or biking around the rural backroads.

9. Cheese Experts:Like Savvy Company’s Vanessa Simmons. She knows a thing or 5000 about cheese. Just don’t break her “rules”! :-)

Vanessa Simmons of Savvy Company

10. The Wine!: OK I know I already might have mentioned the wine. But if you couldn’t get away for Terroir (May 26th), here’s another chance to sample some great county wines from passionate growers and winemakers. You’ve got to be crazy to make wine in this region and the crazy folks of PEC are making a statement around the world with their wines.

More great coverage of this event (and more cheese pictures that should get you salivating here:

Foodieprints: http://foodieprints.com/2012/05/lets-talk-about-cheese-the-great-canadian-cheese-festival/
The Food Gypsy: http://www.foodgypsy.ca/food_stuff/post-tgccf-its-great-its-canadian-its-cheesey/

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“Cellarific” tasting at Henry of Pelham

Posted on May 3, 2012 by mcshawn

Henry of Pelham Winery

Henry of Pelham was another winery that made my list for several reasons. First, I had tried several wines over the years that I had really enjoyed. I also liked the fact that this in a family business – the three Speck brothers run the winery. And of the course the last reason – it was another winery that we hadn’t made it to yet despite all the great things I had read and heard about them.

Before we jump into the tour though, a few words about the Cuvée gala we attended the previous night. When Regina from Wine Country Ontario had told us that she had included the tickets with our package, we were elated. I had read about Cuvée before, and everyone refers to it as the “Oscars” of the Ontario Wine Industry. It is rather unique in that the winners are picked by Ontario winemakers themselves. It is quite an event with plenty of great wine and great food – they had invited some of the areas best chefs to set up and provide food during the event. The great smiles from the multiple-award winning winemakers Jeff Innes (Palatine Hills) and Richie Roberts (Fielding Estate Winery) were awesome to witness first hand. If you are interested in more info on Cuvée, see the great coverage here and here, complete award winners listed here. With proceeds from the weekend going to the Niagara Community Foundation – there are more winners than just the wineries and winemakers, making this a great event for the region.

Admittedly it was rather early when we arrived at Henry of Pelham, and there was a little confusion for a few minutes as the tasting room was already busy with Cuvée guests. We had a few minutes to look around the tasting room and have a look at the wines set out for Cuvée weekend (1997, 1999, and 2000 1.5L Bottles of Merlot!!).

Cuvée Weekend Wines

Once settled, we were offered a glass of sparkling and the tasting was under way:

Cuvée Catharine Brut: Very tight bubbles that seemed to go on forever. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the Brut is ~3 years old (30 months on lees). Light citrus notes on the nose are followed by toast and apples on the palate. Quite dry and similar to champagne, it stays zippy on the tongue. $29.95

Cuvee Catherine Brut

2009 Family Tree Red: Before heading over to the cellar, we also sampled the Family Tree Red. A blend of Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Cab Franc, this blend exuded spicy leathery notes above the dark fruit. On the palate was dark cherries, vanilla, chocolate and both cigar box and peppery notes. A great, complex blend for $18.95.

We then headed over to the cellar. It resides underneath a rather large building but we were not prepared for the size once the lights illuminated the rows of barrels. This is one serious cellar, and I have to say that the directional lighting and use of lots of natural wood made this one of the more beautiful cellars we’ve visited. Inside they had a table set up with a special tasting for us.

Beautifully Lit Cellar at Henry of Pelham

Here’s what they had selected for us to taste:

2009 Speck Family Reserve Chardonnay: Those that read this blog know that I have a thing for lightly-oaked Chardonnay, and this one did not disappoint. Very fruit forward, the nose and palate were in congruence with apple, flint, light citrus and peach. The oak is present but just enough to add complexity and intrigue with light spice notes. With decent acidity, this had a medium finish with the apple dominating. $35

2008 Speck Family Reserve Riesling: The Reserve label is only used in special years where the conditions and the grapes allow it. This Riesling has great notes of peach and something tropical like pineapple, and light notes of petrol that I love to see in Riesling. The palate hinted at pear and the lemon-lime was a little more present. With a smooth mouthfeel, some cleansing acidity leaves a long mouth-watering finish. $30

Personalized Tasting - Nice Touch

2007 Speck Family Reserve Pinot Noir: This Pinot exudes a masculine approach from the nose to the finish. Great sweet spice and cherry notes first hit the nose, with a little earthiness following. As it warmed a little inthe hand I even detected kirsch-like notes, and the alcohol was definitely present (it is 13.7%). On the palate, raspberry and cherry dominate the fruit, and the sweet spice only hints at the moderate tannins that are still present. Given the big fruit and tannins, I think I would hang on to this for a few more years still. $40

2007 Speck Family Reserve Cabernet Merlot: Wow! I use that expression a lot, but this wine was interesting. Fruit filled without being jammy, the nose exudes fruit (raspberry and blackberry) and oak notes on an expressive earthy background. The wine is dry and spicy mid-palate with mocha notes above the delicious fruit. The tannins are a bit drying, the moderate acidity refreshing, and the fruit finish lingers beautifully. Loved this. $50

Did I mention the awesome ligthing?

2007 Baco Noir Reserve: I’ve had a number of the Henry of Pelham’s Reserve Bacos over the years but I don’t recall one ever being this good…so either it has aged nicely or I didn’t appreciate it at the time. The nose of this is so complex – everything from rich deep fruit like blackberries and blueberries – to tar, leather, cedar with notes of menthol and kirsch. The palate is just as complex – juicy ripe fruit, balanced tannins, and great zesty acidity. I was ready for a pizza to match with this one. Lovely at $24.95.

2009 Riesling Icewine: Like a bowl full of juicy peaches and pineapple – the sweet, honied fruit entices.Your palate expects the cloying syrup that the nose implies, but then the fresh acidity of the Riesling comes in and cleanses, leaving lasting notes of lemon lime, encouraging another sip. (I obliged!). Great example of what a balanced icewine should be. $49.95

Aging the Sparklers


Already running a bit behind schedule, we still stopped long enough back in the tasting room to quickly sample a 2000 Riesling that we added to our growing list of purchases, and we were off.

Given the ability to accommodate a group, and the beauty of the cellar, I’ll surely be bringing a group back to Henry of Pelham in the future.

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Why Your Winery Needs a Mobile Strategy

Posted on April 18, 2012 by mcshawn

I had to interrupt my posts about Niagara winery visits for this as I think it is pretty important.

I recently came across a great slide deck produced by Business Insider (www.businessinsider.com) that highlighted fundamental shifts in how people are accessing the Internet. I’ve captured some of the key points that really should matter to all businesses, but especially to wineries.

Key Data Points in the Business Insider slide deck:

1) Smartphones: In 2011, the number of Smartphones sold exceeded the number of PCs sold (Globally).
Takeaway 1: The world is moving to Smartphones at an electrifying rate. Apple and Rim sold well almost 5 Million smartphones in Canada in 2011 (2.85M Apple, 2.08M RIM). If the global stats apply to Canada, Android accounted for another ~4 Million devices, making the total sales last year for smartphones in Canada around 9 million units.
Takeaway 2:There’s no question that your customers will try to access your website/content from a smartphone sooner or later.

Smartphones Outselling PCs - Business Insider

2) PCs Will Become Minority: In a few years, the number of mobile devices (Smartphones and tablets) will completely DWARF the number of PCs.
Takeaway: Almost all of your customers will be accessing your site/content from a Smartphone or a tablet in just a few years.

Mobile (Smartphone + Tablet) Sales will soon Dwarf PC Sales - Business Insider

3) Demographics: Smartphones are used today mainly by young adults with money – greater than 75% of young adults (ages 18-44) earning more than $100K have a smartphone today. Even from ages 45-64 the number is greater than 48% today and growing.
Takeaway: This is the same demographic market you are chasing. You can’t ignore the penetration of smartphones as a “teen” thing.

Who Buys Smartphones: Age + Salary Distribution - Business Insider

4) Usage: People do on mobile pretty what exactly what they used to do on PCs; They look things up (general reference), they check email, they shop, and they buy/use apps (this last one is different).
Takeaway: Your engagement (website, content) with mobile users needs to account for the fact that they are not sitting at a desk with a 22″ monitor. They will be reading your email, clicking on links (and ads) from a smartphone or tablet. They won’t wait to get to their desktop PC to look you up.

5) Growth: Global internet users will double over the next few years and almost all of them will be mobile users.
Takeaway:The opportunity is only going to get bigger (I originally said the problem isn’t going to get worse).

Mobile Will Dominate Internet Usage - Business Insider

Ontario Winery Website Assessment

As an experiment, I recently visited the website for every Ontario winery I know of (all the ones listed in my free Uncork Ontario app) from my iPhone. Although this may be an “Apple-biased” view, what I found was disturbing to say the least. Here’s the data from that experiment:

Only 4 wineries have a mobile-optimized interface:

Joseph’s Estate Wines

Joseph's Estate Wines - Landing Page

and as you scroll down you see the menu

Joseph's Estate Wines - Landing Page

Ravine Vineyard

Ravine Vineyards - Landing Page

Again, as you scroll down you see the information clearly:

Ravine Vineyards - Landing Page

Carolinian Winery & Eatery

Carolinian Winery and Eatery

Carolinian Winery and Eatery - location

Muscedere Vineyards is a good example of what looks like the same WordPress plugin I use:

Muscedere Vineyards

Sprucewood Shores looked like it was mobile optimized but would not render properly on the iPhone (perhaps a Flash issue?).

Several wineries, although not mobile-optimized, have a complete listing such that the “Reader” functionality of the Safari (default) browser on the iPhone gave a readable summary of the winery, including hours, etc.

I haven’t listed them all here, but Caroline Cellars, Georgian Cellars, and Good Earth all had better than average landing pages that gave decent summary info when the “Reader” button was selected. Unfortunately, many iPhone users have no idea that this button exists, nor what it does.

"Reader" Function in Safari Browser

Most other wineries fell into the “not really mobile friendly” category, causing the user to scroll around and enlarge various parts of the screen attempting to find the information they were looking for (and quite possibly repeat that operation on the next page they selected).

Some designers have decided that they need to use Adobe Flash in their website designs, but because of the Apple limitation with rendering Flash, have excluded a large audience from viewing their website over mobile. Apple sold 2.58M iPhones last year in Canada, so that’s a pretty large audience to dismiss.

What Can You Do?

Technology and web design is not the forte of people making wine (except in very rare cases), and it shouldn’t be. But if you are paying others to update/build/maintain your site for you, you need to be asking them what it will take to make your site mobile-friendly. It shouldn’t cost a fortune, but if the company you’re working with tells you it will, it might be time to look for a new partner.

Last takeaway: In Ontario, there are already so many obstacles to getting your wine into your customer’s hands (and mouths). Don’t let your lack of a mobile presence be another.

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At Long Last…Marynissen Estates Wines (and 100 Marks Wines)

Posted on April 11, 2012 by mcshawn

Why “At Long Last”? Well I have a friend that has told me for some time that the one winery he visits every time to goes to Niagara is Marynissen. And only Marynissen. I’ve often wondered why someone would drive all the way from Ottawa, and just go to one winery. And I was intent to find out and therefor included Marynissen as the last stop of Day 1 of our Wine Country Ontario tour.

Getting late in the day, we were starting to run into folks heading out to get ready for Cuvée (the awards were starting earlier than the 7PM formal start for the gala). And such was the case with Marynissen winemaker Jeff Hundertmark, who had left the winery already. Fortunately, he left us in the competent hands of his stepson, Grayson Riordon. Grayson just happened to be extremely knowledgeable about everything to do with wine…making him the second “young” person on this trip who had really impressed us with their unbelievable knowledge at such a young age (Nadia Skorupski at Stratus was the other). Grayson explained that he had been working in the industry since he was 14, and had thus been around wine for quite some time despite his youth. He also mentioned that he was trying to get into the Viticulture program (I believe that was what he told us) at Niagara College, and had explained that it is quite a competitive program. Not that we have any influence at all over admissions people but both Debbie and I thought he would make a fine student.

Grayson explained that even though Jeff couldn’t be there, he had left a bottle of his 100 Marks Red for us to taste at the end of the Marynissen tasting. 100 Marks (a play on his last name) is Jeff’s own Virtual Label and his first releases are due out soon.

In Grayson’s capable hands, we were then walked through a great tasting.

2010 Road Block Chardonnay

2010 Road Block Chardonnay ($15): With vines that are 30-35 years old, there’s some history in this wine. A blend of American & French barrels, combined with unoaked juice creates a unique Chardonnay. The oak and buttery notes are very light on the nose, allowing the fruit to dominate. I detected lemon peel notes on a wave of fresh apples and the palate was true to the nose. Yet there is enough oak influence to smooth the acidity that a completely unoaked wine would have. That creamy smooth middle ends with enough acidity to keep the finish crisp and juicy. Absolutely loved this wine!

2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($16): Grayson explained that with the high sugars brought on by the heat of 2010, it was a challenge getting grapes harvested while the acidity was still high. This Sauv Blanc has perfumed, pineapple fruit on the nose – almost as if the fruit was candied. There is something akin to dried rose petals wafting in the background as the wine warms in your hand, and light vanilla notes from the used oak barrels that have minimally influenced the wine. Thankfully, the skillful hands of Jeff have kept this wine crisp and the citrus cleanses the palate on the medium long finish. We shared a bottle of this at a recent family gathering and it disappeared far too quickly.

2010 Summer Solstice White ($15): A blend of 60% Gewürztraminer and 40% Riesling, this wine exhibits the great qualities of both grapes. The perfumed floral nose with lemon lychee notes dominates and the mouthfeel is sweet and silky at first, deceivingly so that one would assume this is quite sweet (in fact it is <1 on the sugar scale). The acidic Riesling keeps the sweetness in check and aids with the long lemon finish. I opened a bottle of this tonight and realized I need to save the other one for June 20th!

Winter Solstice Red

2007 Winter Solstice Red ($22): A blend of Merlot/Syrah/Cabernet (52% / 25% / 23% respectively), this juice for this wine spent 364 days in individual oak, from Dec 22, 2007 – Dec 21, 2008. It was then blended into the finished product that oozes dark, rich, fruit, and leathery cedar notes that I’ve learned to call “cigar box”. The wine is incredibly juicy in the mouth with loads of fruit that keeps unraveling nuances missed at first. The finish is long, spicy, and somewhat peppery. As I tried it again I detected slight “terroir” notes – almost a bit of earthiness that reminded me a bit of an aged Italian wine. This will continue to evolve if you can leave it alone for a few more years!

The Marynissen Reds

2007 Cabernet Franc ($29): At 14.3% alcohol, this is a monster wine and the hints of alcohol are present on the nose, albeit in the background. This wine is all fruit (plums and raspberries) and sweet spice notes from the oak on the nose. The palate bursts with the same fruit, including an element of dried fruit like figs or raisins. There’s also dominant chocolate notes and hints of that earthiness in the Solstice Red appear. The tannins are still quite strong and I think this wine will hold for quite some time…or serve it up now with juicy red meat if you can’t wait any longer.

2007 Lot 66 Cabernet Sauvignon ($36): Grayson explained that John Marynissen planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon (Lot 31) for commercial harvest in Canada back in 1978. Although people thought he was crazy, it was his wife’s favourite varietal and amazingly (at the time) it survived and flourished. An amateur winemaker for years, he finally relented to pressure from friends and opened the winery in 1990. Lot 66, from which this wine was made, was planted in 1988 and as a tribute to John (he died in January 2009) this bottle depicts John with his favourite tractor. I believe Grayson said that they no longer owned Lot 66, so this wine is rare indeed. With huge deep rich fruit of blackcurrent and black raspberries, the wine is very fruit forward and has been matched with some pretty heavy tannins which means this wine will hold for a very long time if you want. There is a full, rich mouthfeel and secondary notes of vanilla and caramel show the oak treatment. A treasure to pack away in the cellar.

A Great Lineup

2007 Syrah ($25): With a strong white pepper nose, this wine says “Rhone style Syrah” from the start. The palate gives off luscious, full-bodied blueberry & cassis with earthy, leather notes that speak of terroir. The tannins are there but held in check with the fruit. I would love to pair this with some venison or even elk.

Love the eye-catching labels!


100 Marks Red: Although we had been bowled over with the big reds, I hadn’t taken my mind off the bottle of 100 Marks sitting on the tasting counter. I’ve come to love the care and attention paid to the artisan style wines that are being made at these virtual wineries and have been surprised by all that I have tasted. As Grayson introduced the wine, and explained how Jeff babied this wine, checking on it multiple times a day, my anticipation only grew. With a 90% / 10% blend of Pinot Noir / Gamay, the wine first presents an almost unbelievable red colour that masks the component fruit. The nose gives off bright cherry and sweet spice, and the palate follows with a luscious dark cherry, kirsch and vanilla notes. With palate cleansing acidity, it really is a beautiful wine. I was lucky enough to return home with the opened bottle and had a couple neighbours over to sample it and none of them would believe that it was a Pinot/Gamay blend. At $35, there will definitely be a lineup when this releases later this year.

We saw that there was also some 2002 Merlot available so we added a couple bottles of that to our purchase and we were finally ready to complete Day 1 of the wine tasting tour. I finally understood the reasons why my friend had for years visited Marynissen – the reds were indeed spectacular! I’m just surprised that he hadn’t told me about the whites, for all of the ones we tasted were irresistible as well!

(If you are interested in more details on Marynissen, here’s a few articles you may be interested in: Rick Van Sickle of Wines In Niagara and Tim Appelt of Wine Discovery.)

Posted in Artisan, Experience, Review, Tasting, Uncategorized, Winery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Niagara College Teaching Winery (Day 1 Stop 3 of Ontario Wine Country Tour)

Posted on April 8, 2012 by mcshawn

Wines on Display

I don’t know why we hadn’t yet made it to Niagara College. At Tastecamp, we had stayed at White Oaks resort which is walking distance to the winery but we had such a busy agenda that we’d never made it over even though we had wanted to. Intent on hitting as many new wineries as possible on our tour with Ontario Wine Country, Niagara College Teaching Winery easily made the list. I was particularly interested in the “Dean’s List” wines which I had heard a lot about.

Don’t let the brevity of this review fool you. Niagara College Teaching Winery has a lot of wine on offer – just with us trying to recoup some time we kept this visit brief an we focused on a couple of the Dean’s List wines in order to get our schedule back on track. I’d like to go back and spend more time at the winery as there’s lots more to discover. There’s all kinds of information, and one really neat wall displaying the work (wines) of Niagara College grads.

Large Tasting Bar Can Accommodate Many Guests

It turned out our enthusiastic host, Jennifer, was also from Ottawa. She had worked as a sommelier at the Empire Grill, a local restaurant with a great wine list that we used to frequent. We had a good chat about what had brought her to Niagara and how she was enjoying her almost snowless winters…at least this year!

Here’s what Jennifer suggested we sample:

Wines Tasted

2009 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay: With 10 months on oak, the nose gives off aromas of butterscotch and baked pie. On the palate the fruit and oak seem in great balance, with apple, light citrus, and peach notes in a toasty, sweet spice envelope. The acidity remains fairly high and the finish is long with light butter and apple notes. A nice deal at $18.95.

2009 Dean’s List Pinot Noir: This wine claimed second place at Cuvée later the same day that we tasted it. With spice and black cherry notes on the nose, the palate adds black raspberry notes and a smoothing vanilla component. This is a well integrated wine with moderate acidity and tannins that hold through the cherry-vanilla finish. Lovely example of Pinot from a great year in Ontario. $32.95, and worth every penny if you love Pinot.

2010 College Rosè : Jennifer suggested this as one of her favourites and pointed out that they were almost sold out, setting off the “Rare” alarm. Made from 100% Cabernet Franc, the nose and palate are all strawberry with a hint of raspberry on the finish. It is dry and has resreshing acidity. We’ve already opened a bottle since returning and guests were surprised (they had never tried a Cab Franc Rosè before). $11.95, but likely all gone by now. Watch for the 2011.

2009 Dean’s List Cabernet Franc: This wine also happened to wine 3rd place at Cuvée that evening. I detected a slight herbal/menthol nose behind the red cherry and plum. The palate added raspberry to the cherry and plum, complemented by smoky, cedar notes. Well integrated tannins, this is quite drinkable now. Very interesting and delicious wine. $27.95

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Cattail Creek Estate Winery (Day 1, Stop 2 of Wine Country Ontario tour)

Posted on April 7, 2012 by mcshawn

When we were deciding which wineries to visit as part of our trip package, we selected Cattail Creek for two reasons. First, it fell into the “small, family-based winery” category which we enjoy visiting, and second, we had previously enjoyed the clonal Riesling pack with our friend and neighbour Debbie Trenholme last summer. This clonal pack (detailed here by Rick Van Sickle) really showed the impact that different clones make on the wine, as well as allowing one to see the difference time makes as they had one clone from new vines and that same clone from old vines.

Having left Ravine Vineyard with a full belly, and already running late on only our second stop of the day, we soon arrived at Cattail Creek. We were greeted by Joe Krushelnicki who was working the tasting bar that day. Joe told us that Cattail has 100 acres planted, with between 40-50 acres at the location of the tasting room. As I discussed the clonal Rieslings we had peviously sampled, Joe informed us that previous winemaker Colin Ferguson had since left Cattail Creek. A fairly new entrant on the scene, the winery has only been open since 2006, although the family planted some of the first Riesling in Ontario back in 1976 and has been growing grapes for at least that long.

Joe took us through a great tasting of some of the older wines as well as a couple of pre-release wines so we could see what’s coming down the pipe.

Cattail Creek Rieslings - 2006, 2007, 2008

06 Riesling Reserve: Made from old vines (all Clone 21 for those of you interested in clonal details) planted in 1976 this wine exhibits a slight petrol nose with hints of tropical fruit and pineapple. With only 7 1/2 g/L of residual sugar, this is a fairly dry Riesling but one could be fooled by the slight sweetness mid-palate. The lemon-lime and pineapple is wiped clean by the dry, crisp finish. Some steely mineral notes. Joe noted that the vines for this wine are planted in an unusual East-West orientation.

07 Reserve Riesling: The nose on this one tells a little fib in that it seems to indicate a sweeter wine than the ’06, but in fact the residual sugar is almost the same at 7g/L. There are slight pool vinyl notes on the nose and definitely more stone fruit with notes of peach, honey and nectarines. Steely minerality and crisp acidity again.

08 Reserve Riesling: The nose has notes of tangerine and citrus, with very little petrol in the background. Another wine with high mineral content, the palate has tangerine and orange citrus notes. There’s a definitive minerality to all three of these Rieslings and this one is likely the most pronounced. I would pair any of these with creamy cheeses like Brie or seafood dishes (including Sushi).

Cattail Creek 2010 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay

2010 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (Pre-Release): Having spent 14 months in 4-5 year old oak, this Chardonnay has picked up just enough of the oak to add vanilla & coconut notes to the apple nose. On the palate it is all baked apple, with light buttery notes and a somewhat long nutty finish. As I’ve noted before, I tend to like muted oak notes in Chardonnay and this one is really pleasing to me.

2011 Chardonnay Musqué (Pre-Release): All I could say about this nose at first was “Wow!”. As I dissected the different notes, I came up with candied fruit, Fuzzy Peach (the candy), and those oblong, spongy banana candies from childhood. There is so much going on and the palate continues these candied fruits until the finish where the cleansing acidity reminds you that you aren’t at the corner store, spending your allowance on junk your parents would disapprove of. A great summer patio wine, this is one of my favourite Musqué tastings to date. Joe mentioned to me on Twitter that they are just awaiting labels to release this one just in time for patio season! I believe Joe said it will be $17.95 when it releases.

2008 Pinot Noir: With a nose of sweet, smooth spice and light cherry, the palate follows in an orderly fashion, exposing slightly tart cherry, red currant, and cranberry before the sweet spice notes finish. There is a very light note of earthiness or barnyard – something I like to call funkiness that keeps the wine interesting. Joe mentioned we should watch for a release of 2009 Old Vines Reserve Pinot in the near future.

2009 Merlot: A fruit forward wine, dark, ripe plums and notes of cherry dominate the nose. On the palate the dark fruit continues with lovely notes of both chocolate and vanilla. There is a very light herbaceousness in the background – although some would associate this description of the bell pepper notes in unripe Cabernets, this is a pleasant herbal note. Quite tannic still, this one could stand a decanting or another 1-2 years in the bottle.

2007 Cabernet Merlot (Estate): A blend of 51% Cabernet Franc and 49% Merlot, this one spent only 7 months in barrel. With dark cherry and mocha notes, the palate is aligned with the same dominant flavours. There are light vanilla notes on the medium finish. I found this wine has a slightly harsh edge to it (maybe a bit too acidic?), and I would recommend it with some juicy meat or even a burger to cut the edge.

Cattail Creek 2007 Cabernet-Merlot Reserve (from Instagram)

2007 Cabernet Merlot Reserve: Much smoother than the estate series, this one spent 15 months in the barrel. I had previously tasted a bottle of this just in February (Vintages Release) and tweeted a brief review here. With notes of dark, rich stewed fruit and sweet spice, this could be mistaken at first for a wine from a warmer region like Spain or even Portugal. The palate continues with gobs of dark fruit – plums, dried raisins and figs and light mocha notes…ending with a long dark cherry and vanilla finish. There are decent tannins to hold this in the cellar for a few years and see how it progresses, but very drinkable now.

Cab Franc Reserve2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve: With only 50 cases produced, this is a pretty rare wine. The nose gives off dark fruit, and toasty vanilla notes and a hint of pleasant herbs in the background. Dark cherry, raspberry and a hint of violets on the palate, the finish is long cherry and caramel notes. Very nice example of Ontario Cab Franc from a stellar year.

2008 Late Harvest Meritage: An unusual blend of 50% Cab Franc, 30% Cab Sauv, and 20% Merlot, this late harvest wine doesn’t have the cloying sweetness of a dessert wine. The nose says strawberries and the palate stays true with strawberry and raspberry. Fairly acidic, this wine is refreshingly good. We recently paired a bottle with peach upside-down cake and it was an amazing combination.

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Ravine Vineyard: A Food & Wine Extravaganza!

Posted on April 1, 2012 by mcshawn

Ravine Vineyard - Woodruff House on Left, Bistro on Right

We had previously visited Ravine Vineyard twice. The first stop was a dinner as part of the Tastecamp North experience and the 40+ of us that descended on Ravine after a day of tasting 100 or so wines meant that there wasn’t much left of our sensory capabilities, although the roast pork dinner had been a highlight (as was the great wine that disappeared far too quickly). The second stop was a very brief visit in August where we did a very minimal taste and purchase stop as the kids were waiting outside. With a love for wine, food, and old buildings, I was really looking forward to this first stop on our tour.

We met up with our “limo” driver from Airport Shuttle at the Pillar and Post for 10:45 sharp. Having been given the option of a Lincoln Town Car or a Lincoln Navigator, we chose the latter, figuring it had more “case room”! We were whisked off to St. Davids and dropped right at the door of the Woodruff House (the tasting room). I immediately recognized Paul Harber (Chef Proprietor) crossing between the two buildings with Shawn Spiewak (Food & Beverage Director). After quick introductions they took us inside.

Having read my post about local-boy (and Ottawa Senator) Zenon Konopka launching his own line of wines, and reading what a fan our daughter was of the Senators, Paul and Sean had contacted their friend Zenon and had secured a signed photo of him which they presented to us. For them, it was a small thing, but for my daughter it was huge. I think she’s starting to like the wine business more and more.

Paul Harber in full story-telling mode

Over the next couple hours, Paul unwound the history and background of the entire Ravine Vineyard in a story-telling worthy of being recorded (and I wish I had). It touched on his family’s history and linkage to these sites and buildings, and indeed his own journey to becoming a chef and the coincidental (fateful?) events that led to him ultimately landing back home running the food operations at Ravine. Some of the key points I captured (if I got them all right):

- Paul’s mother Norma Jean Harber is a Lowery, and her family originally owned the land where the winery sits today.
- Together with husband Blair, they rescued the farm from being turned into a housing development, returning it to a working farm by planting grapes.
- The Woodruff house (now the tasting room and offices) had actually been sold years ago to a couple in Caledon who never re-assembled it. The house had subsequently been sold and moved a couple times before they tracked it down and purchased it.
- The Woodruff house has it’s own history – William Lyon Mackenzie hid there during the 1837 rebellion, and escaped by exiting a 2nd floor window and hiding in a tree while the house was searched.
- An artist associated with The Group of Seven painted a picture of the house which coincidentally a friend saw in an art auction catalogue. Once again they were able to track it down and bring it “home”. It is now proudly displayed on one of the mantels in Woodruff house.

Woodruff House Painting reclaimed


- Their ancestors had run one of the first (if not the first) canning plants in the region. The Bistro today resides in a restored canning building.
- Other relatives had run one of the first quarries in the region with stone making its way into various famous buildings across Ontario. The “Sand and Gravel” line is a tribute to those roots.
- Most of the family businesses were lost over the years during the depression. Re-creating linkages to those family businesses all on the one site is the eventual dream, with other buildings planned.

Overall, the place (and the stories) evoke a strong sense of roots and place (I like the phrase “somewhereness”, although that is used by others for a different wine and food event). Knowing the history and the goals for the site, there’s a real sense of connection that occurs knowing that this family has been able to re-create something lost to their ancestors.

Here’s what we tasted:

2010 Sand & Gravel York Road: With most of their wines above the $20 mark and in demand, Ravine needed to bring out a non-estate series of wines to keep up with the demand and satisfy those on tighter budgets. A blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay Musquee, and Riesling, this is a great white blend at $16.95. With quite an aromatic nose, I detected sweet floral notes, citrus, and something a bit grassy. On the palate the wine at first seems off-dry, but the residual sugar is zero and the acidity is refreshing. Great patio sipper that will have your guests asking for more!

Sand & Gravel York Road

2010 Sand & Gravel Unoaked Chardonnay ($17.95): Although “unoaked”, about 20% of the juice spent time in 3rd year oak which imparted the slightest hint of oaking. The nose is fruit dominant with apple, pear, and light citrus. The palate gives way more to the lemon than the apple and pear, adds a slight spice note, and the judicious use of oak appears in the form of a very slight creamy, buttery component that lasts through the finish. The acidity keeps this fresh in the mouth. I’ve been enjoying more and more unoaked Chardonnay lately and this one has kept it really interesting with the hints of oak added.

2010 Sand & Gravel Riesling: An off-dry Riesling with lemon-lime and stone fruit on the nose, this wine bursts in your mouth like a ripe, Niagara peach right off the tree. The wine gives the illusion of being quite sweet at first (31 g/L residual sugar) until the decent acidity cleanses the palate. Mouth-watering burst of summer for $17.95.

2009 Estate Riesling: Botrytis, or “noble rot” is a form of fungus that can affect fruit that is located in a moist area. If the fruit is then exposed to drier conditions it causes a form of raisining, extracting the liquid from the grapes and leaving a very concentrated, sweet juice in what remains. The estate Riesling vineyard ends near a creek which seems perfect for creating this “noble rot” on the ripened fruit. As this is quite rare and robs a lot of the juice from the fruit, 100% botrytis-affected wines tend to be pricier, in the range of good ice wines. By blending 20% botrytis-affected juice with regular juice, they add some of the intriguing properties of the botrytis while keeping the price very reasonable. This one has so much more complexity than the Sand & Gravel Riesling with light notes of petrol, pine needle in addition to the peach and citrus fruits. On the palate, the wine picks up notes from the botrytis in the form of Earl Grey tea, spice, and some herbal notes. The finish on this just keeps on giving with repeating notes of peach and honey. At $28, it isn’t going to be an everyday sipper but if you want a special finish to a meal that isn’t as sweet as ice wine, I would heartily suggest this.

2010 Gewürztraminer ($22): With great floral notes (honeysuckle and roses) and tropical fruit (light lychee and kiwi) the nose and palate are in alignment. The palate adds some nice honied apricot and lemon notes as the wine finishes. The decent acidity keeps the sweetness in balance. Pair this up with your favourite Thai curry.

Sand & Gravel Redcoat

2010 Sand & Gravel Redcoat Blend ($17.95): With a lot of their red wines meant for aging, this one will appeal to licensees (restaurants) and those looking for something to drink now. This $17.95 blend combines 60% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc, and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from a fantastic year for reds in Niagara. The nose hints at what lies below, with dark, rich fruit notes and light sweet spice notes. On the palate the use of neutral (old) oak barrels results in the damson plum, blackberry and dark cherry fruit dominating, with only hints of vanilla from the barrels. This method has kept the acidity fresh and means that this wine will pair nicely with many meals right away.

2010 Estate Meritage: This is a big wine for $25. The nose gives way to strong notes of dark plums, cassis, and black cherry with brooding cedar and tobacco notes. There’s obvious alcohol too. On the palate, loads of luscious fruit, dark chocolate, and sweet spices. There are pretty strong tannins but they are balanced against the big fruit of this wine. This is a wine that would love to spend a bit of time in the cellar. This wine is available at the winery and watch for a Vintages release later this year.

2008 Cab Franc Reserve: At $55 from a year where big Ontario reds didn’t fare well, I have to say I was surprised at the quality of this wine. Paul explained that they dropped a lot of fruit ( 50% less tonnage per acre in some cases) in 2008 in order to concentrate the sugars in the remaining fruit. The only evidence remaining was the slight green pepper notes I detected. I don’t mind these and some will claim that they are varietally correct while others detest these notes, so it really is a personal preference. If we ignore those light notes, the wine is rich in raspberries, plums, and cherries and has well balanced tannins. There are some smoky vanilla notes from the oak, and the acidity has been kept fairly high keeping the wine light and lively. Fantastic example from a very tough year, you can hold this one for quite some time.

Ravine Vineyard 2008 Cab Franc Reserve

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ($55): Again from a tougher year for Ontario, this Cabernet Sauvignon gives no indication of its heritage. With jammy, dark fruits (blackberries and cassis) and strong vanilla notes, it could easily pass for a Cabernet Sauvignon from a much warmer year in Ontario. There is some earthiness, tobacco, and chocolate-mocha notes on the palate after the luscious dar fruit recedes. As with other Ravine reds (am I noticing a trend?), the acidity has been kept moderately high.

Ravine Vineyard's Paul Harber

Did I mention Paul was a great story-teller?

2010 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: How does “Super inky fruit bomb” sound for a descriptor? The 2010 Cab Sauv is inky black in colour, with luscious jam and sweet, smoky spice notes on the nose. On the palate, the luscious dark fruits mesmerize but the big tannins and distinctive acidity are keeping the fruit from running out of control. This one needs a rare steak, or a couple years hiding in the cellar but either way, is a beautiful wine. Watch for this wine to release later this year.

2010 Michael Stadtländer Red Blend: Paul Harber worked alongside famous chef Michael Stadtländer and the two remain friends. They produced one wine with him a couple years ago and Michael wanted to do another one with some of the proceeds going to stop the Mega Quarry project (Stadtländer was the organizer of Foodstock last summer which attracted tens of thousands). A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, this is another huge wine. With black cherries, ripe plums, cassis, and blackberries, there is a lot of fruit to be held in check. They’ve added some heavy tannins to this, adding smoky vanilla and toast notes. Another beauty to (be)hold or serve with rare meats. Release date TBD (Maybe soon as I heard they have received the labels drawn by Michael himself).

Paul explains how he ended up working alongside Michael Stadtländer as part of his path to Chef Proprietor at Ravine.

2010 Estate Merlot ($34): Rich dark plum, dark cherry, and vanilla notes on the nose. On the palate there is luscious dark fruit, sweet spice, and nice toast notes. Long tannic, vanilla & cherry finish. Great typicity for this varietal in a really good year for big Ontario reds. Release date April 21st.

2010 Estate Merlot

2010 Piccone Vineyards Cabernet Franc ($40): This is one of the top 3 Cabernet Francs I have had the pleasure to taste, and it almost didn’t happen. Paul couldn’t locate the wine in the cellar and thankfully his brother Alex (who looks after the wine side of things) showed up and he knew where it was squirreled away! The nose is dark cherries with a slight floral note. The palate has loads of luscious dark cherries, black raspberries, and rich, ripe plums, finishing with light spice and tobacco notes. The medium tannins, nice acidity and delicate care in integrating all these components mean that this wine will drink very nicely now or for the next 5-7 years. With only 160 cases made, the $40 price point won’t be high enough to keep this from disappearing very quickly after the April release!

2010 Picone Vineyard Cabernet Franc

By this time in our visit, it was almost time to leave for our next destination but hadn’t even eaten yet. Paul shuffled us over to the bistro dining room where we enjoyed a spectacular lunch. Between Paul and Collin Goodine, the Ravine Vineyard Bistro has already received acclaim as one of the best winery restaurants in the world. We had previously eaten there as part of a buffet style service with the Tastecamp crowd, so we were eager to see what was on the menu. Here’s what we had:

The appetizers – Deb went for the French Onion soup with smoked provolone and sour dough bread. I had the beet salad with blue cheese croutons.

Deb's French Onion Soup - no soggy bread crumbs in this one!

Beet salad, beets done 3 ways!

The Mains – I went for the tenderloin with cheddar risotto, while Deb decided on the Tuna Nicoise, a tuna steak with peppercorns crust and roasted garlic.

My steak and risotto, the perfect lunch-sized meal!

Deb's tuna steak, again the perfect size for a lunch

Desserts disappeared so fast that we had already dug in before we remembered to take pictures. Deb had the White Chocolate Crème Brûlée while I scarfed the Amaretto Pot de Crème. Both were delicious, and a fine finish to the meal.

We’re planning an organized tour this summer for a group of friends and we’re going to make sure that one of the stops is Ravine. Between the history, food and the wine, there’s many good reasons to make this a highlight stop on the tour! The Harber family really has succeeded in creating a destination with the re-building on this site, and indeed, there is a renewed sense of place here that people will connect with.

A Real Sense of Place

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Prize Package Fit for Royalty…Or Huge Ontario Wine Fans

Posted on March 26, 2012 by mcshawn

So to back things up a bit, the whole reason we ended up in Niagara at the end of Feb/start of March was because the day after returning home from our November trip, I was contacted by the Wine Country Ontario informing me that I had won a ““Design Your Own Wine Country Experience” contest (on Facebook) that included two days touring wine the Niagara region including a driver, two nights accommodations at one of the Vintage Hotels, lunch one day at winery of choice, and dinner one day at winery of choice.

Wine Country Ontario is a program operated by the Wine Council of Ontario. The Wine Council’s a mandate (snipped from their site): “Our role is to promote Ontario VQA wines and vintners, support the production of excellent local wines valued both at home and abroad, and build on the substantial economic benefits that the VQA wine industry brings to the province.” You will see the Wine Country Ontario logo at wine events around the province, including the fabulous “Taste Ontario” events in Ottawa & Toronto every February, as well as many of the wine and food shows across the province. If you haven’t been to one of the “Taste” events, it is definitely worth a visit.

Regina Foisey from the Wine Council and I exchanged several emails as we figured out the parameters and details of the trip starting back in January or so. I tried to surround the Cuvée weekend (March 2nd) as I had always wanted to attend Cuvée and figured this would be a great opportunity. In the end, Regina even managed to get us tickets to this fantastic event, making it just an even greater winning combo!

We chose the Pillar and Post out of the different hotels that Vintage Hotels run, and I think it was a great choice. It is a little secluded, nice and quiet, and I love the fact that the building it is in is an old canning factory with lots of the original architecture and detail intact. There is a pretty serious spa on site which we did not make use of but we did manage to get into the ‘hot spring’ pool outside on one occasion.

Debbie and I went over the winery list a few times…there were a couple wineries we wanted to visit, and far too many that we hadn’t visited yet. We tried to pick mostly smaller operations – we really like the interactions you get when you have a chance to talk to the people running the winery and/or making the wines. We settled on one day of wine touring in the Beamsville/Bench area and one day around Niagara on the Lake.

Here’s the list of wineries we picked to visit:

Day 1:
Ravine Vineyard (Tasting and lunch)
Cattail Creek Estate Winery
Niagara College Teaching Winery
Marynissen Estates
Cuvée (evening)

Day 2:
Henry of Pelham
Calamus Estate Winery
13th Street Winery
Legends Estate Winery
Dinner at Vineland Estates (evening)

The next series of blog posts will cover the details of this fabulous prize package. It was an amazing experience and we really felt like royalty being chauffeured around this great wine region!

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“Fielding” Home Runs

Posted on March 23, 2012 by mcshawn

The last stop of our first full day was Fielding Estate Winery. We’re members of the ‘Friends of FEW‘ wine club there so we pretty much see what’s going on in terms of wine releases, but we don’t always open the wines we buy (we have this habit of saving wine…silly I know!). We tried to catch Curtis Fielding before he left, but we were a little late getting out of Vineland after Brian’s extensive ‘tour of the 90′s’.

We joined the wine club a couple years ago and have always enjoyed the wines (especially the whites) coming out of Fielding, although in recent years some memorable reds have grabbed our attention. As some of these are ones we are holding, the chance to sample them and see how they are aging is invaluable. The next night at Cuvée (watch for that post soon), Fielding Estate Winery took home 3 awards for their Pinot Gris, Viognier and Cabernet Franc, ‘forcing’ us to make a quick stop on the way home to nab some of the Cab Franc that we had missed on this stop.

Here’s what we tasted:

2010 Viognier: This wine surprised me with the weight and mouthfeel…definitely bigger bodied that I imagined. The nose was honey and apple clafoutis (apples, cream, shortbread), honey, and a hint of something akin to marzipan. The mouth was sweet peaches, pears, and spice box, although the long spicy finish was refreshing, not cloying at all. I haven’t had a lot of Viognier (I plan to have more now), but this one was quite impressive.

2008 Gewürztraminer: With light floral notes, some honeyed peaches, and a light tropical fruit in the background, the nose on this sings Gewürztraminer (usually pronounced guh-voorts-tra-meaner, or as Deb says “the wine that you say with your mouth full of crackers”!). With a smooth mouthfeel and a nice sweetness (to tame your Thai food), the wine finishes with a nice touch of nutmeg.

Fielding Estate Winery 2008 Gewürztraminer

2009 Red Conception: A red blend that includes Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, this one brings strong central fruit on the nose and palate. It isn’t a “fruit bomb” in the hotter new world sense but it is very much a fruit dominant wine and would be very food friendly given the acidic backbone carrying the fruit. There’s lots of dark berry fruit from start to finish and a slightly smoky, spicy ending likely attributable to the Syrah.

Fielding Estate Winery 2009 Red Conception

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon: This is one big Cabernet and a beautiful wine. On the nose, the first impression is dark fruit, stewed fruit (figs and plums), and chocolate. The palate follows along in an orderly fashion, giving up more of the dark, rich fruit flavours and adding some smoky tobacco leaf elements. There’s lots of tannins left to hold the fruit in check for some time, and the finish on this one keeps giving up fruit for a long time. Makes me think I should start putting a rating scale on these reviews – like *** (out of ***)!

2007 Meritage: I picked up a couple bottles of this last summer (added to my shipment) so I was really interested to see what it tasted like and how “ready” it was. Did I mention we like to collect wine as much as we like to consume it? This was another big fruit driven wine, but everything held in check in a much more European style. Nothing flabby or sugary – just layers of luscious fruit (fig, plum, cassis) and spice that kept impressing. There’s lots of hints from the oaking with caramel and vanilla notes that keep intriguing. There’s a bit of heat and spice on the finish – pepper and a trace of smoke from the toasted oak. I think I will open one soon and hold the other for a few more years.

Fielding Estate Winery 2007 Meritage

2010 Cabernet Franc: So this wine wasn’t out when we stopped in on Thursday. After winning ‘Best Cabernet Franc’ at Cuvée, they pulled this one onto the floor so we had to stop on the way home and pick up a couple of bottles. We didn’t sample it, but given that I am a bit of a Cab Franc lover it didn’t matter. I did get around to opening one as I wrote this article, so you get a bonus review! :-) With a nose of raspberry, blackberry, and vanilla, I also detect light notes of a spicy pepper – more like a jalapeno. On the mouth it is more cherry and dark chocolate, smoky spices, and a lingering finish of dark cherry and vanilla. It has fairly high acidity and tannins but remains smooth even at this young age, and only will integrate further with a few more months in the bottle. Watch for the official release later this year.

Fielding Estate Winery 2010 Cabernet Franc

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