Ah ... the Niagara new vintages festival, probably the lesser known of the big three Niagara Festivals, which are (in order of importance) the Wine (September) and Icewine (January) festivals, and encompass the whole of the Niagara region and its wineries. Participating wineries are featured in the guidebook and have an array of new wines (mainly whites) for you to try. Some have pairings of food; others do comparative flights of wine from back vintages, while others offer tours of the winery. 29 wineries in total participated in this year's passport (Discovery Pass) offerings, below you'll find highlights of the one’s I attended.
First, let me explain this year's passport program. In years past the "discovery pass" has been one set price ($30.00) and has allowed you access to all the participating wineries and their weekend programs ... some wineries have required you to pay a little extra on top of the pass because their offering was a little more complicated or special (i.e.: a lunch and tour), but at the same time offered a discount to passport holders. Without the passport you had to pay full price. This year the passport was called the “Discovery Pass” and contained five vouchers which acted like tickets granting you access to take part in the "Winery Experience" ... without the pass each winery had a fixed price of $10.00 for their experience. So your choice was pay $30.00 for $50.00 worth of "experiences" or pay-as-you-go. The best way I found to do the passport was to share - instead of using one ticket per person per winery, use one ticket between two and share; that way the passports got you into ten wineries instead of five … that way you could take part in more "experiences". The list below highlights the winery's I attended and whether it would have been worth your $10.00 to attend ... I use a $10 rating scale based on value for the money you would have spent.
Worth Every Penny …
Fielding Estate Winery outdid themselves. Their offering was boxed treats - served in a box - paired with their new Riesling sparkling wine (due for released July 1 – my review will appear in the Weekly Wine Note section and Podcast July 3). In the box was an elongated slice of French bread with cream cheese and smoked salmon; two strawberry halves topped with marscarpone cheese and crushed pistachios; and a cup of gourmet potato chips with a sweet curry Mayo - you were also given the choice of eating inside, outside on the deck or take a blanket to hunker down on the grass hill at the side of the winery. Value: $10.00 / 10.
Talk of the Town ...
Believe it or not, Legends, a winery you rarely hear from, was the talk of the Discovery Pass circuit. People you met, who were doing the Pass component, would talk amongst themselves and ask, "where have you been?" With a limited number of tickets you had to make sure you took full advantage of the best offerings. Fielding got the ooo’s and ahh’s, but next on most people's list was Legends; "they're doing it right", one person told me. They took you through the winery, to their new banquet facility called the Polonaise Room, poured a 2006 Semillon (an amazing wine and will be my Summer Selection wine in the July 5 newsletter) and matched it up with an array of nibblies which were crackers and pita you could dip into an artichoke-asiago, spinach-and-sun-dried-tomato, or roasted-red-pepper dip (heck all three were worth trying); and for dessert: chocolate covered strawberries. Value: $9.00 / 10.
Something Cool ...
With temperatures hovering somewhere in the high twenties or low thirties throughout the day, Creekside took us all down into their barrel cellar (which is a really cool place to visit - both temp-wise and sight-wise) to try five new wines: Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling, finishing the whole experience off with an icewine ... and all paired with a variety of cheeses and bread. Value: $8.00 / 10.
We Have a Tie ...
Three wineries ended with the same value score: EastDell; Lakeview; and Maleta, due to a variety of reasons and what they were offering. EastDell invited you out to their patio (a specially sectioned off part) which over looks their vineyard; sampled three of their new 2006’s (Unoaked Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Riesling) paired up with some complicatedly named appetizers like: smoked salmon cucumber rap with dill cream cheese and flying fish roe; quail and duck wrapped in bacon; and grilled pineapple topped with prosciutto and spicy aioli. Value: $7.00 / 10.
Lakeview’s offering was more wine oriented ... Riesling, and involved a little cellar-diving for the staff. A flight of Rieslings going back over ten years: the new 2006, the ‘97 and the ’92 (or was that ’94?). It was interesting to see how Ontario Rieslings evolve. After your tasting you were presented with a "special edition corkscrew" - gold in color and embossed with the Lakeview name and logo, the corkscrew memento was a nice touch and raised their score by three points, proving that you don’t always have to feed people, giving away a little trinket is just as nice. Value: $7.00 / 10.
Finally, Maleta hosted you in their cramped tasting room and anteroom to try a trio of new whites: Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling ... and finished off with a taste of their award winning Icewine called First Frost. The foodstuffs included a smoked-salmon-cream-cheese on a Tostitos; an elaborate crab salad served on a cracker and the piece-de-résistance a cup of icewine drizzled/soaked strawberries. Value: $7.00 / 10.
More Cellar Diving ...
Gewurztraminer fans would have been impressed at Palatine Hills Estate Winery, where 3 gewurzts were being sampled: the new 2006, the 2004 and the Ontario Wine Awards gold medal winning 2003. This structured tasting was led by a member of the winery staff and was thoroughly enjoyable. Jack, our staff member, was affable and friendly - always good for a quick joke or more serious wine talk - and any question he could not answer he looked up. A good-sized piece of cheese ravioli was served as an appetizer. Palatine was also releasing nine other wines on this day and all were open for tasting, including a BBQ ready Zweigelt. All in all a good visit. Value: $6.00 / 10.
A little aside...
Here's where the scoring gets a little dicey. Keep in mind that each event or "Winery Experience" had a minimum $10.00 price tag applied to it ... if you were a Discovery Pass holder you got five experiences for $30.00, which works out to $6.00 each. So for anything above this “aside” you definitely got your money's worth, anything below this paragraph, you would have felt cheated. Also remember, that with two passports you could only do a maximum of ten events (out of a possible 29), if you shared the experiences - so you really had to pick and choose based on the guides description. Unfortunately, the following three wineries did not make the grade with their offering.
This one's touchy ...
I have a slight problem with downgrading this winery because their winery experience as a whole is usually impeccable ... but remember as a regular Joe off the street you would have shelled out (in this case) $15.00 for this "experience"; or you would have used up a Discovery Pass ticket (worth $6.00). Vineland was pouring their 2006 Chenin Blanc and Gamay Noir and, as a special treat, their Verona Grand Italy award winner 2002 Meritage ... all fine wines indeed, but worth the money you would have paid, no. After that the bar was flung open to try whatever else you desired - and the array of different glassware pulled out to highlight each individual wine was impressive, it literally flashes and glistened before your very eyes, it’s a veritable show or as Robert De Niro says in the movie Wag the Dog “It’s a pageant”. There were other 2006's on the list including two Riesling, a Cabernet Franc, and a Chardonnay, plus other reds, whites and roses from past years ... and all open for tasting and served in the appropriate stemware. Vineland’s New Vintage value score $3.00 / 10 - but their overall experience score $8.00 / 10. But the way, they have another winner on their hands with that 2006 Cabernet Franc ($12.95) – outstanding value.
I paid how much! For this?
Inniskillin wowed the crowd with their tasting during the Wind and Herb Festival back in May, but this time it was not to be. They paired their new 2006 Pinot Grigio with a lemon caper shrimp ... nice delicate wine, good pairing, but you would have had to pay $10.00 for the opportunity to try it, and for the experience of sitting in their new demonstration kitchen ... is this how they are paying for this new room? Value: $4.00 / 10.
Sorry Stonechurch, I don't mean to keep picking on you, but this experience proved no better than the Wine and Herb weekend ... well, hold on, maybe it fared a little better. First, it's a Riesling comparative tasting between the dry and off dry - thankfully both the VQA - and both very nice wines under the winemaking hand of new winemaker Arthur Harder ... but where were the "scrumptious selection of tasty treats"? As we entered there was a menu for the patio grill ranging in price from $4 to $7 - were these the treats? And was this on top of the already $10.00 I would have paid without the Discovery Pass – even with the passport I paid $6.00 to try two Rieslings, really … 6 bucks? Both wines were scored a good value in my book, at $14.95 each. New Vintages score: $3.00 / 10. To end this on a high note – Stonechurch will be releasing close to 14 new wines in the next couple of months.
Final thoughts ...
I am still undecided about the new format of the New Vintages passport ... if more wineries were like Fielding, Legends, EastDell and Maleta then the limited number of visits makes sense – they actually do have “experiences”. And while Lakeview’s experience was more about age they did give away a little memento, and that is always worthwhile (if it is something that you can use). But if all you're doing is pouring your new wines and pocketing the cash without offering something special, then what's the point. Some participants I met along my voyage through Niagara steered me away from some wineries I had anticipated going to, because they said it wasn't worth the ticket, and when asked why the list was long and justified. Those wineries will remain nameless here, because I did not experience them firsthand, but you know who you are. You know when you're offering, and not offering, value to your (potential) customers. Keep this in mind - these festival “experiences” should not be used as moneymaking opportunities (except of course to sell the wine), but instead as customer building opportunities. The amount of people who'll return to Fielding and Legends will far outweigh the few bucks they shelled out to "do it right". Let's see how this plays out next year.
First, let me explain this year's passport program. In years past the "discovery pass" has been one set price ($30.00) and has allowed you access to all the participating wineries and their weekend programs ... some wineries have required you to pay a little extra on top of the pass because their offering was a little more complicated or special (i.e.: a lunch and tour), but at the same time offered a discount to passport holders. Without the passport you had to pay full price. This year the passport was called the “Discovery Pass” and contained five vouchers which acted like tickets granting you access to take part in the "Winery Experience" ... without the pass each winery had a fixed price of $10.00 for their experience. So your choice was pay $30.00 for $50.00 worth of "experiences" or pay-as-you-go. The best way I found to do the passport was to share - instead of using one ticket per person per winery, use one ticket between two and share; that way the passports got you into ten wineries instead of five … that way you could take part in more "experiences". The list below highlights the winery's I attended and whether it would have been worth your $10.00 to attend ... I use a $10 rating scale based on value for the money you would have spent.
Worth Every Penny …
Fielding Estate Winery outdid themselves. Their offering was boxed treats - served in a box - paired with their new Riesling sparkling wine (due for released July 1 – my review will appear in the Weekly Wine Note section and Podcast July 3). In the box was an elongated slice of French bread with cream cheese and smoked salmon; two strawberry halves topped with marscarpone cheese and crushed pistachios; and a cup of gourmet potato chips with a sweet curry Mayo - you were also given the choice of eating inside, outside on the deck or take a blanket to hunker down on the grass hill at the side of the winery. Value: $10.00 / 10.
Talk of the Town ...
Believe it or not, Legends, a winery you rarely hear from, was the talk of the Discovery Pass circuit. People you met, who were doing the Pass component, would talk amongst themselves and ask, "where have you been?" With a limited number of tickets you had to make sure you took full advantage of the best offerings. Fielding got the ooo’s and ahh’s, but next on most people's list was Legends; "they're doing it right", one person told me. They took you through the winery, to their new banquet facility called the Polonaise Room, poured a 2006 Semillon (an amazing wine and will be my Summer Selection wine in the July 5 newsletter) and matched it up with an array of nibblies which were crackers and pita you could dip into an artichoke-asiago, spinach-and-sun-dried-tomato, or roasted-red-pepper dip (heck all three were worth trying); and for dessert: chocolate covered strawberries. Value: $9.00 / 10.
Something Cool ...
With temperatures hovering somewhere in the high twenties or low thirties throughout the day, Creekside took us all down into their barrel cellar (which is a really cool place to visit - both temp-wise and sight-wise) to try five new wines: Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling, finishing the whole experience off with an icewine ... and all paired with a variety of cheeses and bread. Value: $8.00 / 10.
We Have a Tie ...
Three wineries ended with the same value score: EastDell; Lakeview; and Maleta, due to a variety of reasons and what they were offering. EastDell invited you out to their patio (a specially sectioned off part) which over looks their vineyard; sampled three of their new 2006’s (Unoaked Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Riesling) paired up with some complicatedly named appetizers like: smoked salmon cucumber rap with dill cream cheese and flying fish roe; quail and duck wrapped in bacon; and grilled pineapple topped with prosciutto and spicy aioli. Value: $7.00 / 10.
Lakeview’s offering was more wine oriented ... Riesling, and involved a little cellar-diving for the staff. A flight of Rieslings going back over ten years: the new 2006, the ‘97 and the ’92 (or was that ’94?). It was interesting to see how Ontario Rieslings evolve. After your tasting you were presented with a "special edition corkscrew" - gold in color and embossed with the Lakeview name and logo, the corkscrew memento was a nice touch and raised their score by three points, proving that you don’t always have to feed people, giving away a little trinket is just as nice. Value: $7.00 / 10.
Finally, Maleta hosted you in their cramped tasting room and anteroom to try a trio of new whites: Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling ... and finished off with a taste of their award winning Icewine called First Frost. The foodstuffs included a smoked-salmon-cream-cheese on a Tostitos; an elaborate crab salad served on a cracker and the piece-de-résistance a cup of icewine drizzled/soaked strawberries. Value: $7.00 / 10.
More Cellar Diving ...
Gewurztraminer fans would have been impressed at Palatine Hills Estate Winery, where 3 gewurzts were being sampled: the new 2006, the 2004 and the Ontario Wine Awards gold medal winning 2003. This structured tasting was led by a member of the winery staff and was thoroughly enjoyable. Jack, our staff member, was affable and friendly - always good for a quick joke or more serious wine talk - and any question he could not answer he looked up. A good-sized piece of cheese ravioli was served as an appetizer. Palatine was also releasing nine other wines on this day and all were open for tasting, including a BBQ ready Zweigelt. All in all a good visit. Value: $6.00 / 10.
A little aside...
Here's where the scoring gets a little dicey. Keep in mind that each event or "Winery Experience" had a minimum $10.00 price tag applied to it ... if you were a Discovery Pass holder you got five experiences for $30.00, which works out to $6.00 each. So for anything above this “aside” you definitely got your money's worth, anything below this paragraph, you would have felt cheated. Also remember, that with two passports you could only do a maximum of ten events (out of a possible 29), if you shared the experiences - so you really had to pick and choose based on the guides description. Unfortunately, the following three wineries did not make the grade with their offering.
This one's touchy ...
I have a slight problem with downgrading this winery because their winery experience as a whole is usually impeccable ... but remember as a regular Joe off the street you would have shelled out (in this case) $15.00 for this "experience"; or you would have used up a Discovery Pass ticket (worth $6.00). Vineland was pouring their 2006 Chenin Blanc and Gamay Noir and, as a special treat, their Verona Grand Italy award winner 2002 Meritage ... all fine wines indeed, but worth the money you would have paid, no. After that the bar was flung open to try whatever else you desired - and the array of different glassware pulled out to highlight each individual wine was impressive, it literally flashes and glistened before your very eyes, it’s a veritable show or as Robert De Niro says in the movie Wag the Dog “It’s a pageant”. There were other 2006's on the list including two Riesling, a Cabernet Franc, and a Chardonnay, plus other reds, whites and roses from past years ... and all open for tasting and served in the appropriate stemware. Vineland’s New Vintage value score $3.00 / 10 - but their overall experience score $8.00 / 10. But the way, they have another winner on their hands with that 2006 Cabernet Franc ($12.95) – outstanding value.
I paid how much! For this?
Inniskillin wowed the crowd with their tasting during the Wind and Herb Festival back in May, but this time it was not to be. They paired their new 2006 Pinot Grigio with a lemon caper shrimp ... nice delicate wine, good pairing, but you would have had to pay $10.00 for the opportunity to try it, and for the experience of sitting in their new demonstration kitchen ... is this how they are paying for this new room? Value: $4.00 / 10.
Sorry Stonechurch, I don't mean to keep picking on you, but this experience proved no better than the Wine and Herb weekend ... well, hold on, maybe it fared a little better. First, it's a Riesling comparative tasting between the dry and off dry - thankfully both the VQA - and both very nice wines under the winemaking hand of new winemaker Arthur Harder ... but where were the "scrumptious selection of tasty treats"? As we entered there was a menu for the patio grill ranging in price from $4 to $7 - were these the treats? And was this on top of the already $10.00 I would have paid without the Discovery Pass – even with the passport I paid $6.00 to try two Rieslings, really … 6 bucks? Both wines were scored a good value in my book, at $14.95 each. New Vintages score: $3.00 / 10. To end this on a high note – Stonechurch will be releasing close to 14 new wines in the next couple of months.
Final thoughts ...
I am still undecided about the new format of the New Vintages passport ... if more wineries were like Fielding, Legends, EastDell and Maleta then the limited number of visits makes sense – they actually do have “experiences”. And while Lakeview’s experience was more about age they did give away a little memento, and that is always worthwhile (if it is something that you can use). But if all you're doing is pouring your new wines and pocketing the cash without offering something special, then what's the point. Some participants I met along my voyage through Niagara steered me away from some wineries I had anticipated going to, because they said it wasn't worth the ticket, and when asked why the list was long and justified. Those wineries will remain nameless here, because I did not experience them firsthand, but you know who you are. You know when you're offering, and not offering, value to your (potential) customers. Keep this in mind - these festival “experiences” should not be used as moneymaking opportunities (except of course to sell the wine), but instead as customer building opportunities. The amount of people who'll return to Fielding and Legends will far outweigh the few bucks they shelled out to "do it right". Let's see how this plays out next year.
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