Tastecamp Day 2 Part 2: Flat Rock Cellars and Treadwell BYOW Dinner

After the grand tasting at Vineland, my palate was just about shot. Which was not a good thing as we were put through different tasting challenges at Flat Rock Cellars!

Ed Madronich, Flat Rock Cellars

Our group started with Ed Madronich. His speech to us was an impressive, passion-filled story that makes you want to buy more wine from Flat Rock. His energy was nothing but infectious, and given the soggy weather and weary bodies, we needed some energy. Accompanying his speech was a glass of the Rogue Pinto Noir, a white Pinot that is sure to fool wine enthusiasts at many blind tastings in the future! As others have already mentioned, Ed had a great line about Flat Rock Cellars “…trying to make great wine, not just great Ontario wine….”.

We then followed winemaker Ross Wise down into the barrel cellar which is underneath the green roof where you can enjoy tacos with a glass of wine (more about that later). Ross presented us with three wines from three different vineyards and we were to figure out which wine came from which vineyard. It was really hard to pick out the nuances (at least for me at that point) between those three wines.

Three Vineyards - Which is Which?

Next we were off with Assitant Winemaker Greg Yemen. This challenge I thought would be much easier – we were given the component wines that make up the Twisted white blend from FRC, as well as a glass of the finished product. We were to figure out what percentage of each of the single varietals (Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling) went into the finished product. Should be easy right? In the end I knew which varietal was dominant, then the next, and then the least, but I was quite a ways off on my guesses.

Untwist Twisted

We gathered for some snacks from El Gastronomo Vagabundo gourmet taco truck, and the winner was announced (Girl on Wine, from Montreal). Adam from El Gastronomo makes the most amazing street food and is at the winery every weekend during the summer and at other various venues in the region during the week. If you ever get a chance – try one of everything he is serving. The food is amazing.

El Gastronomo (taken last summer)

After a short visit to the tasting room (and a quick glance at the iPad tasting menu they have), we were off to the hotel to freshen up for dinner at Treadwells. Did I mention the fog that seemed to start following us around this time?

Treadwells is renowned for “Farm to Table” cuisine and is one of the premier dining establishments in the region. Given that we had all been given advanced notice to BYOW to this event (Treadwell’s graciously waived the corkage fee), there was a lot of wine poured to accompany the fantastic meal. I was able to try wines from LENS thanks to Gary, old wines I had never even heard of, and some rare treats made by the attendees themselves, notably Julia’s Pinot.