On the Road with the Grape Guy

Report from ... Verona, Italy - Day 3: Winery Tours - Sunday January 29, 2012

2012-01-30T18:47:00.001-05:00

Day 3. And it's up at the crack of dawn to jump on some buses and tour the wineries of the area. We have three days of this upcoming. We thankfully have broken down into smaller groups of about 7 or 8 so we don't descend en-mass at a winery - many of which, we have found out, can accommodate these small numbers but not many more. This makes it easy for us to taste wine and have more one on 8 conversations with the winery principals, than a gaggle of reporters shouting questions (yes, any more than 10 is considered a "gaggle". The big question about today was the church visits ... on the schedule were 5 churches and only 4 wineries - made us think the trip was being partially funded by the Catholic Church, so I guess a thank you to the Pope is in order. Interesting to note that all of the churches we visited throughout the day were closed ...a closed church? On a Sunday? It was hard for many of us to believe. Below I will continue my photographic journey through Italy with comments about the pictures and in some cases, between pictures (27,000 words were saved by showing you these).

Hi Ho, Hi Ho It's off to church we go (Pieve de San Floriano) ... Sunday morning ... it was closed

First stop: Ca La Bionda ... here is his line-up of wines, we tasted them all

Alessandro Castellani (owner) addresses the group about the winery's philosophy

This was the best wine we tried: a Valpolicella Superiore aged 10 years in barrel: floral, licorice and cherry accents with great acidity ... round, pleasant - delicious. (**** 1/2)

Amazing 2005 Amarone, spent 5 years in barrel and 2 in bottle before release (****+)

Bionda's Top 3 ... The 2008 Recioto had bright, sweet cherry fruit and chocolate, delicate yet seemingly dry on the finish (****+)

Next stop: Scriani - where we saw the pergola system at work in the vineyard, grapes hang down from the overhead wires ... this is used all over the Valpolicella region

Stefano Cottini, owner Scriani - I swear he looks like a young Yul Brenner

A Brit and an Italian look into a tank ... sounds like the start of a really bad joke (on left wine writer Stuart George of the UK - "stiff upper lift old man")

Barrel room at Scriani ... we're gonna see a lot of places that look just like this

One of the many wines tried at Scriani

Speaking of things we are going to see a number of times, this was lunch: Risotto a la Amarone - this is not the last time we see this dish

2008 Ripasso Classico Superiore: deep black cherry aromas, lovely cherry fruit with plum and cocoa notes, all brought together with delicate acidity (****)

We tasted through a vertical of Scriani Amarone: 2007, 2006, 2004, 2001 and the 2008 ... the '01 showed great finesse, elegance and delicacy

"Don't take that picture" said Marinela Ardelean, Scriani's Business Development Director - I think it completes the tough guy image ... minus the smirk of course

Church #2 ... Hey it's Sunday in Italy (I did not take pics at all churches)

Church #3 ... Pieve, Chiostro Ciborio, San Giorgio Ingenapoltron ... You actually had to pay to get the lights on in this place, and it was all automated ... 0.50 got you 1 minute

Gratuitous cute dog shot ... outside Church #3

Gratuitous cute dog shot #2 - at Accordini Igino winery, an unscheduled stop as we waited for Bolla to let us in

Bolla: a mural downstairs to honour Amarone - they were the first to commercially market the wine in 1953

Bolla: in the "grandfather cellar", these barrels are still in use - note the date (1900)

And this one ... one of the original barrels from the winery's start up: 1883

The awe-inspiring winery of SalvaTerra, where we had dinner ...

with the family

A wonderful night that started with Prosecco - a lovely floral and citrus nose, fresh and lively on the palate with a touch of lemon-almond on the finish (*** 1/2+)

The scene stealing 2009 Ripasso Classico Superiore (**** 1/2)

and closing with the Eros Passito made from 100% Gargenga (****) - perfect end to a perfect evening ... the food, the company and the wines were awesome. Thanks to Mirko and Eros for allowing us into their parents home. After all "wine is all about family"

Tomorrow it's 5 wineries and a number of Villas sponsored by the Italian Villa Board (IVB) ... okay about that I am kidding ... but the visiting of Villas I am not. Ciao for now.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... Verona Italy: Anteprima Amarone '08 - January 28, 2012

2012-01-29T17:54:00.001-05:00

The reason we are all here ...

This is the day we all came for, the tasting of the Amarones coming for the 2008 vintage. The press conference before hand gave everybody the background of the vintage, the economy we find ourselves in and whether or not Amorone, Valpolicella and Ripasso will continue its steady growth (though we learn that Valpolicella itself is on the decline both sales wise and production wise) ... plus an oenologist gave us an interesting presentation about the various regions of Valpolicella and how the wines differ from region to region. After the conference the media had a choice of two room in which to taste the 65 wines ... the blind tasting room, or the non-blind. I chose the blind room so as not to be influence by label or producer, because yes even a writer can be seduce by packaging.

My top five Amorone were as follows, all from the 2008 vintage ... most have already been bottled but there were also barrel samples in the mix, I will indicate as such:

Recchia (bottle)

Giuseppe Campagnola (bottle)

Ca Vegri (bottle)

Santi (barrel)

Roccolo Grassi (bottle)

After the tasting a little R & R time ... then dinner at Ristorante Rubiani, which was only a hop, skip and jump from the hotel Accademia where we are all staying..

Now I can sit and describe things to you but it might be easier to give you a little bit of a slide show ... because as someone once said, "a picture is worth a thousand words", if that is the case I give you 20,000 words of text in these pictures:

Empty Tasting Room for the Producers to pour their wines

Same room some 3 hours later ... is that guy (left) picking his nose?

Media tasting room - a little quieter ...

Bottles of 2008 Amarone for tasting ...

... More bottles of Amarone for tasting ...

... 65 bottles in total

That means 11 flights of wine like this one (minus one glass).

Make it through and you got some after snacks: cheese, bread, jams ...

more cheese, more bread, some meats ...

And don't forget the cookies, cakes and pies ... like I needed more sweetness

Dinner at Ristorante Rubiani ... a cornucopia of food and wine, more wine than food actually

Pasta e fagioli alla Veneta

Guancetta di mazo brasata (beef) con purea di sedano rapa (celeriac)

Zaletti caldi con gelato alla vanigla

The Wines ... of the 12 different wines tried this evening, here were the stars of dinner

spicy, dark fruit, plum and cocoa (****+)

smooth, slightly spicy but very nice across the palate (****+)

sweet plum, black cherry, white pepper, hints of vanilla, smooth and nicely balanced (**** 1/2)

red fruit, plum, spice and chocolate, lots of pepper on the finish - heat on the nose does not translate to the palate (****)

Back to the Hotel ... After dinner it was a 5 minute walk back to the hotel ... you might remember this street from yesterday's post, but it looks mighty different at night:

The walk home ...

Sobering moment of the day ... In the middle of the Palazzo della Gran Guardia - which is just outside the Musei D'Arte where the tasting was taking place, sat an actual deportation box car, a stark and sobering reminder of the "bad old days" during World War II when millions were deported out of Italy and the rest of Europe. I was shocked at how small this box car was and even after all that wine I was dumb-struck-sober by the sight both inside and out ... I thought I would share the outside - the inside was too dark to take pictures of ...

A sobering moment of reflection ... it looks bigger in the picture than it is in real life

Tomorrow ... Visits to four wineries, and some side trips along the way.

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Report from ... Arrival in Verona, Italy - January 27, 2012

2012-01-28T00:30:00.000-05:00

After more than 12 hours worth of travel and 24+ hours of being awake I am finally in Verona, Italy for the Anteprima Amarone 2008 ... the pre-tasting of the Amarone wines coming out on the world markets. Saturday is tasting day and later today there will be a Gala Dinner. I seem to have come down with a bit of a cold and with so many hours awake I fear I missed said dinner (yes I said missed) ... but not before I struck out into the streets near where I am staying to grab a few pictures ... I'll admit that none of these have anything to do with wine, okay maybe one picture does ... those of you wanting to read about wine will be thrilled with the next four days as there will be nothing but, though I think food is also on the agenda (these dinners I will not miss) ... but for those missing the look of the old world in their lives and some interesting sites feast your eyes on these:


Probably a better sign for when I'm leaving

Stores on both sides of the street

I haven't stopped in yet - but you know I will - too good to pass up

Check out the Centurion on the right

Market in the square

For Erica: Custom Embroidered Aprons - now if I could just find a cooking shop

Alley way wine shop - they have a vertical of Petrus in the window

Tomorrow it's all about Amarone ... for now ciao.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... Wrapped up in the Valley - November 2011

2012-01-20T10:33:00.001-05:00

While I was out hob-nobbing with the wineries, winemakers and pairings of Niagara-on-the-Lake for the Taste the Season event back in November, the folks in the 20 Valley were putting on their own food and wine extravaganza ... Once again I turn to the intrepid photographer, wino, bon vivant and man of leisure Fred Couch to bring us up to speed on what happened this year during "Wrapped Up in the Valley"

"Wrapped Up in the Valley"

by F.G. Couch

Each November, there are two passport events in Niagara – “Taste the Season” in Niagara-on-the-Lake and “Wrapped up in the Valley” in the Twenty Valley area. For one set price, passport holders could visit 23 wineries in the Twenty Valley. (24 wineries were supposed to participate but before the event, we heard the news that Wayne Gretzky Winery was closing for good. However, the brand will continue and the wine will now be made by Andrew Peller Limited). A food and wine experience is offered at each winery. The Grape Guy has already reviewed this year’s “Taste the Season” and he asked me to do a review of “Wrapped up in the Valley”. Unfortunately, November is a very busy time with back-to back wine shows in Ottawa and Toronto so I was only able to attend the one passport event this year. From all accounts both events were a great success and all events were sold out or close to being sold out. If my sources are correct, “Wrapped-up” sold 500 tickets for each of three weekends – a record number!

As an added bonus, and for no additional charge, passport holders could visit The Watering Can Flower Market in Vineland to make their own holiday arrangement. My wife and I made our way to Vineland early in the morning before the wineries opened. I had no idea what I was doing but with the assistance of one of the Watering Can’s employees, managed to put something together that had some semblance of a plant arrangement! We proudly put our arrangements in the car and headed for the first winery stop of the day.

Over the weekend, we were able to visit 20 of the 23 wineries. We were joined by friends from Toronto and we all agreed this was a wonderful event and well worth the $35 (plus HST) passport price. Most of the food and wine pairings were spot on and most wineries did a great job in presenting the visitor with a unique experience. However, there were a few disappointments! Every winery except one served the wine in a glass. Cave Spring Cellars had plastic cups for their 2009 Chardonnay Estate. When we commented on this, the server said that they were having a lot of tours, functions and a wedding that day and didn’t have enough glasses. Well, I’m sorry, but the winery knew that they could possibly get 500 visitors for this event and should have made arrangements. Even the smaller wineries were able to serve their wine in a proper glass.

The award for the smallest sample of food goes to Stoney Ridge Estates Winery. The mushroom and goat cheese in puffed pastry was smaller than a quarter and it was gone before you had a chance to taste in properly let alone with the 2009 Excellence Pinot Noir! Now, we weren’t expecting lunch at the wineries, but this serving was just ridiculous. Another disappointment was at Tawse Winery. The notes said that they were serving “locally grown grilled vegetable & goat cheese lasagna”. I was looking forward to this, but, instead we received something indescribable on a cracker. It sure didn’t look anything like lasagna. I’m not sure what happened. The redeeming feature was the wine – a 2009 Estate Chardonnay.

Enough of the negatives – ‘tis the season, etc., etc. Some of the highlights were at wineries where thought was given to the food and wine pairing, the presentation was unique or the pairing was, shall we say, interesting!

Our first stop on the tour was 13th Street Winery. A delightful pairing of the 2010 Red Palette with a Fall Mushroom Soup garnished with savory garlic & herb croutons was served.

GreenLane Estate Winery served their 2010 Pinot Gris-Riesling with a Gourmet Mac & Cheese topped with smoked pulled pork, aged white cheddar, ricotta, sautéed asparagus and mushrooms. This was served piping hot and an ample portion. One of my favourites of the day! Well done, GreenLane.

One of the most interesting pairings of the weekend was at Sue-Ann Staff’s Winery. Sue-Ann’s mom was busy at the griddle, preparing a Quebec Swiss & mozzarella grilled cheese sandwich with a slice of Granny Smith apple in between and an onion marmalade on top. This, of course, was paired with one of my favourite Sue-Ann wines, the 2008 semi-dry Riesling. This was not your typical grilled cheese sandwich made with Kraft slices!

Two wineries served chili – Harbour Estates with their 2006 Petit Verdot, Malbec blend and Hidden Bench (owner, Harald’s secret recipe?) with their 2008 Terroir Cache Red Meritage.

Special mention goes to Flat Rock Cellars – the 2008 Chardonnay was paired with a butternut squash & bacon soup topped with goat cheese; Megalomaniac 2008 Bravado Cabernet Sauvignon match with a country-style pate with homemade preserves (from August Restaurant in Beamsville); Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery – the 2009 Top Bench Red with a duck confit on cranberry focaccia with squash bruschetta – all delicious!

The event wouldn’t have been complete without some desserts and dessert wines. Vineland Estates Winery paired their 2006 Vidal Icewine and the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine with Blue Cheese – a wonderful pairing. The Vidal Icewine had a rich, orange colour and I had to look at the bottle to make sure it was, in fact, the Vidal!

I’m not a big fan of mead (honey wine) but I am a fan of desserts. Rosewood Estates Winery & Meadery served the 2008 Mead Royale with a harvest honey cake covered in a “blanket of Mead Royale frosting”. I could have easily been persuaded to have seconds it was so good.

Fielding Estate Winery was offering a choice of their 2010 Chardonnay or a 2009 Pinot Noir to go with an apple cider butter tart square from August Restaurant. We asked for a sample of each so we could decide which wine went best with the square. The unanimous decision was that the Pinot Noir was the best match. Unfortunately, the dessert was too sweet for the Chardonnay. A better match would have been a late harvest or an Icewine.

And so ends our tour of the “Wrapped up in the Valley” participating wineries. But, all was not over. Passport holders could pick up a box of 12 chocolate truffles prepared by “Toute Sweet” in Jordan. Each truffle contains a different wine. What a nice bonus to end a wonderful weekend and, hopefully, we can keep them long enough to share with our guests over the holidays.

A sampling of some of the truffles prepared by “Toute Sweet”, Jordan

Passports sell out quickly so if you’re planning on attending next year, check out the websites early for both
“Taste the Season” –
http://wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com/taste-the-season and
“Wrapped up in the Valley” – http://www.twentyvalley.ca.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... An Afternoon with Marcelo Papa (Concha y Toro) – October 24, 2011

2012-01-05T08:05:00.002-05:00

Heck, I just like the picture ...

I seem to be playing catch-up in the early part of the year ... Yes it’s January 2012 and I’m writing some of my late-year On the Road articles – as you can see I’m a little behind, but better late than never as I like to say. With that said there are some days you remember better than others and some you get very excited to share with others. This was one of those days. A group of press folks were getting a chance to meet and taste wines with Marcelo Papa, he is the winemaker behind the “super premium” Marques de Casa Concha label from Concha y Toro. Marcelo has been heading the Marques label since 1999 and has really raised the bar for these wines and their notoriety … it is truly one of the most consistently good wine values coming out of Chile at the under $20 price point. Marcelo has quite the resume including 2 winemaker of the year honors from his fellow countrymen (2004 – Chilean Wine Guide; 2008 – Chilean Food and Wine Writers).

Marques Wines …
I’ll start by (re-)introducing you to the Marques de Casa Concha wines – if you have never bought or tried these wines you truly are missing out on some of the best values from Chile:

2008 Syrah ($19.95) – very raspberry throughout with a good tannin backbone and a sour cherry finish. (*** ½+)

2009 Merlot ($19.95) – aged 60% in French and 40% in American oak for 18 months … this wine delivers the juicy, minty, blackberry you expect from Chilean Merlot with a smooth mouth-entry and delicious easy to drink palate. (****+)

2009 Carmenere ($19.95) – the Carmenere has 15% Cabernet Sauvignon added for structure as well as aged 90% in French and 10% in American oaks. A pretty nose of raspberry, floral, mint, and vanilla spice, all lead to a good mouthfeel and some blackberry, mocha, vanilla flavours on the palate … fresh and delicious. (****+)

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon ($19.95) – it says Sauvignon on the label, and 94% of it is – the other 6% combine Carmenere, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot into this juicy package. The nose gives it all up: chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, cassis, blackberry … and it all follows on the palate – a real pleaser of a wine that’s always available as a Vintages Essential (Ontario). (****)

The delicious new Marques Pinot Noir

2010 Pinot Noir ($19.95) – the newest entry into the Marques line is made from relatively young vines, planted in 2006, and has 25% new French oak involved in its 14 month ageing process. This is a welcome addition to the line as it seems to bridge the gap between the California juicy and the Burgundian earthy-minerality of Pinot. Juicy cranberry, cherry and strawberry combine with some coffee notes to give this one some focus on both aroma and flavours along with excellent length on the finish. (****+)

A New Line of Wine …
It sure was nice to get re-acquainted with the Marques wines, but the real news isn’t what lies in Concha y Toro’s past – but instead what is in their future. In 2005 Marcelo took on a new line of wines called Vina Maycas del Limari, these are wines that start their lives as grapes grown in the Limari Valley in the north of Chile, 450km from the Maipo Valley. Limari is considered a cool climate region within this hot country with foggy mornings and lots of calcium in the sub-soils, this helps to give the wines a different character than those grown to the south. The vineyards are 18-20km from the coast and, unlike their hotter more southerly vineyards, these grapes see January temps (Chile’s hottest month) of 25C – 12C, maximum to minimum. According to Marcelo: “the big problem in Chile is too much sun (heat), it’s good for sweet fruit but not good for acidity.” The Limari Valley help reduce direct sunlight on the grapes with its foggy mornings, a fog that doesn’t relent its cover till between 1-3 in the afternoon. It was after all this preamble that Marcelo presented these wines (thankfully they are soon to be in the Ontario market).

Maycas del Limari wines …
To call these wines excellent or outstanding just doesn't seem quite appropriate enough to let you know how good these wines really are. I gave each and every one of these wines (Chardonnay, Cabernet, Syrah), four-and-a-half stars which says a lot about - I also look forward to trying them again for Vintages tastings as they can only get better with more time in bottle. There are three reasons I am looking forward to seeing these wines in the market: First, I can’t wait till they hit LCBO shelves so that I can snap up a few bottles, and put them in my cellar to share with friends. Second, at under $20 they might just be the best quality for value wines you’ll see out of Chile all year. And three, these just might be the best under-$20 Chilean wines I’ve tried, period.

2009 Chardonnay, Reserva Especial ($19.95 – previously released) – a fresh, clean Chardonnay that delivers on all levels. Lovely fresh white fruit of peach, pear and apple, there’s also quite a bit of minerality that keeps this wine lively on the palate … great finish with palate cleansing acidity. For a guy who doesn't impress easily with Chardonnay I can tell you I was ... very. (**** ½)

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserva Especial ($19.95 - Feb 4, 2012 Vintages release) – the vineyard for this Cabernet is 45km from the coast, so the afternoon starts a little earlier (as the fog dissipates) which the Cab requires. The fruit jumps out of the glass: blackberry, cassis, cherry and blueberry – the palate is lively with fruit and an acidic backbone that keeps things from getting jammy … the fruit coats the palate but that acidity keeps it from sticking there. Rich, supple and tasty. 11% Syrah is also added to the wine. (**** ½)

2009 Syrah, Reserva Especial ($19.95 - June 9, 2012 Vintages release) – dark fruit and chocolate without being cloying and sticky, this wine has a freshness about it that is not often seen in hot climate shiraz/syrah. It’s juicy and jammy with tons of flavour in the mouth and those flavours seem to hang on forever, but there’s also a great seam of acidity that washes through the mouth keeping the finish clean and the palate ready for more - it would take more than a bottle to tire the palate out, but the brain might get a little fuzzy (14.5% alc). This is one fantastic and delicious wine. (**** ½)

Look for these wines ... you won't be disappointed

All these wines have wonderful cellaring potential of up to a decade – but they taste so good now it might be hard to keep your hands off them till then.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... Port & Douro Wine Tasting – October 18, 2011

2012-01-05T07:42:00.000-05:00

As a fan of Port wines I always have trouble understanding when people tell me they don’t like the stuff … what’s not to like: plum, cherry, chocolate all wrapped up with sweetness and alcohol; where’s the problem? But there are still those who won’t give Port a fair shake. The Douro is not just about Port though – there are also some pretty amazing table wines, both in value and in taste that come from the region - and I was noticing a trend to throw as many grapes into the blend as possible, with great results. But before I wax poetic about the benefits of Port and try to convince you why you should be giving this wine a(nother) shot, let’s take a peak at some of the interesting during-dinner wines that were on offer today, before moving on to what to drink after dinner.

Table Wines ...
Adriane Ramos Pinto 2004 Duas Quintas Especial ($72) – a field blend of some 40+ varieties, but they all seem to get along quite well in the bottle … in fact better than just quite well. (****+)

Quinta do Vallado 2009 Reserve Field Blend ($55) – this one is lovely with great flavours and aromas worth putting your palate around. (****+)

Jorge Manuel Nobre Moreira 2008 Poeira ($50) – another field blend made up from some 23+ grapes, even the winemaker lost count, with some vines being 80+ years old … nice fruit yet with earthy notes keeping it grounded, quite elegant. (****+)

Veedha 2008 Veedha DOC ($12.95) – amazingly good value with lovely red fruit: cherry, raspberry with a slight spice and good smoothness across the palate. (****+)

Other wines – minimal notes with rating …
Lavradores de Feitoria 2010 White – quite fresh. (****)
Lavradores de Feitoria 2007 Meruge – elegant. (****+)

Ports …
As for Ports, there are so many styles and enough producers to make one’s head spin – and that’ll happen if you drink enough of the stuff, at 18-20% alcohol these wines turn heads, in more ways than one. Here I’ll pick my favourite from a number of producers/houses I tried with a little explanation as to why:

Ferreira … Dona Antonia Reserve Port ($18.95) – this is a 6 year old bottling made in a Ruby-style, but with cherry fruit in the forefront and orange peel backing it up it comes off as a cross between a ruby and a tawny which leans more tawny, especially on the finish. (****)

Taylor Fladgate … the one thing I can say about Taylor is they are definitely consistent up and down their line, from the Late Bottled Vintage at $17.95 to the Vargellas Vinha Velha single vineyard ($275) they really put delicious and style into each and every bottle. I love the 40 year old tawny (****+) but at $224 I find it a little out of my price range for any bottle, no matter how good it is … the Vintage (2009) marks the first time they have made 4 vintage Ports in a decade (2000 / 2003 / 2007) … but for my money the Late Bottled Vintage 2005 ($17.95) is an absolute steal, very fruit driven with great acidity and the right amount of sweetness. (**** ½)

Sandeman … odd to see a Vintage Port under $20 but the 2000 VAU Vintage ($19.95) is a light refreshing take on the usual heavy vintage port and it drinks well right now. (****)

Hutcheson … 1999 Colheita ($29.95) – creamy smooth vanilla, toffee and dried cherries. (****+)

Calem … 10 Year Old Port ($19.95) – smooth with toffee dominated by spice. (****)

Quinta do Noval … 2005 Late Bottled Vintage (~$25) – a real beauty here, showing that 2005 was a great year for the Late Bottled Vintage stuff: peppery, spicy, blackberry and cassis with a sprinkling of cocoa; long spicy finish ends this one with class and elegance. Set for release in Ontario March 2012; my recommendation is to buy a few. (**** ½)

Quinta do Infantado … I’ve been a fan of this Port house since first we met a few years back. I have both their Ruby and Tawny in my cellar. Hopefully we’ll also see the 2007 Late Bottled Vintage ($N/A) on these shores sometime soon, as it was also well worth putting in the cellar for a spell. (****+)

Dow’s … 2005 Late Bottled Vintage ($16.05) – another fine example of the ’05 LBV’s being worth the price. (****+)

Warre’s … you’ve probably seen OPTIMA in its distinctive clear 500ml bottle, so far we’ve just been privy to the 10 year old version, but now here comes the 20 year old OPTIMA ($39.95). The 10 doles out sweet cherry and toffee; the 20 dishes up the cherry and toffee and adds a real nice orange peel sensation along with biting acidity and spice; good complexity here. (****+)

Graham’s … another house that shows a great deal of consistency in the bottle; here the choice was easier to make for a favourite though. Standing heads and tails above the rest of the line was the 20 Year Old Tawny ($36.95) – cherry, anise, orange zest and dried peel, toffee and some almond brittle all add to the intensity and enjoyment of this deliciously inviting sweetie. (**** ½)

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... Croatian Wine Dinner at Wildfire - November 3, 2011

2011-12-30T08:02:00.000-05:00

Now there are some wine events you go to just for their curiosity factor … and to be honest with you this was one of those evenings. I can count on one hand the amount of Croatian wine I have tried and would not need many of those fingers to count the memorable ones. But tonight I find myself at Wildfire Steakhouse at the north end of Toronto with three winemakers from Croatia in attendance … 6 wines are being poured with dinner, two from each winery: Trapan, Matosevic and Saints Hills.

60% of all Croatian vineyards are planted to a grape called Malvasia, a white grape that seems to be the calling card for Croatia, either as a straight varietal or as a blender.

To start the evening we had a selection of passed hors-d’oeuvres along with two wines, a red and white – the white was a Malvasia, while the red would best be described as “just wine” … unfortunately neither was more than average.

Sit down dinner opened with salad

We moved onto the 2nd course which consisted of Pink Grapefruit and Arugula Salad with honey walnut dressing, candied walnuts and goat cheese … this proved not only to be a tasty course but a real delightful pairing with the Matosevic Grimalda White 2009 (*** ½+) a blend of Chardonnay (50%), Malvasia (25%) and Sauvignon Blanc (25%) aged 12 months in French oak. “Grimalda” is a place located 300m above sea level where the grapes for this wine grow. Flavours were quite white fruit driven with good mouth-feel and acidity – the wine improved with each sip (which is always a good sign).

Third course was wild mushroom and ricotta ravioli served with another Malvasia based wine, this time the grape made up a majority of the blend (61%) with only Chardonnay as its partner … this one proved to be a little over-ripe and while the first few sips were interesting you found yourself getting tired of the wine quickly.

Beef tenderloin served with Syrah - see pic below

Fourth course was charred beef tenderloin, which gave us a chance to sample some of the heavier reds from the country, one of the wines was an absolutely horrid mess, but the Trapan Syrah Shuluq 2009 (*** ½+) was a real surprise. 15 months in French oak gave this Syrah hints of cinnamon and spice, with raspberry and white pepper and a good acid balance, but there was an abundance of oak here, though it helped with the long elegant finish … this was by far the best wine of the evening. I heard rumour that the price of this wine was somewhere north of fifty-dollars, which, aside from some of the nasty flavours, was the real drawback of many of the wines we tasted tonight: the price and of course their inaccessibility on wine store shelves. If the prices come down that will solve one of the problems and maybe will get more people to at least take a chance on these wines …

Best wine of the night

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Report from ... Le Donne del Vino / Women in Wine (Italian) - October 3, 2011

2011-12-30T07:46:00.002-05:00

This was an event featuring Italian women in the wine business ... from the hoopla surrounding it, you'd think it was about winemakers and owners, but nope, it seemed that if you had a woman in the company in any capacity you could be part of this group; sure you had your fair share of owners and winemakers but also on the bill were CEOs, Managers, Export Directors, Sales Directors and Vice Presidents. “Le Donne del Vino” is an organization that represents more than 750 Italian women involved in the wine industry … the most influential within their company and within the world of Italian wine ... 66+ wines from some 21 producers were presented, below a list of wines that scored 4-stars (very good) or above with some related notes about the wines …

Allegrini …
2008 La Grola ($35.00) a single vineyard Corvina with 20% Syrah added … a red fruit and mineral driven wine – tasty. (****+)
2007 Palazzo Della Torre ($25.00) a blend of Corvina and Rondinella with 5% Sangiovese … gentle spice mixed with nice red fruit. (****)

Bosco Nestore 2006 110 Riserva Montepulciano D’Abruzzo ($29.00) some really intense flavours of black licorice, spice and leather with a pleasant chalkiness. (****)

Donna Chiara …
2010 Greco di Tufo ($17.00) a real summer style pleaser with citrus fruit, mineral and grapefruit pith are dominant with a lovely long yellow grapefruit finish. (****+)
2008 Irpina Aglianico ($19.00) pure essence of red fruit with a delicious palate and medium-short finish. (****)
2007 Taurasi ($35.00) made from 100% single vineyard Aglianico … very concentrated and full bodied with the elegance of cherry and a slight touch of spice. (****+)

Grotta del Sole …
2009 Aglianico ($16.00) red and black fruit with some nice violet notes. (****)
2010 Gragnano della Penisola Sorrentina ($16.00) a secret blend of reds with a touch of fizzant … big and bold red fruit like cherry and strawberry with a nice dry finish. (****+)

La Gironda …
2010 Brachetto D’Acqui ($18.00) the red brother of Moscato … lots of raspberry, strawberry, floral and bubble gum notes. (****)
2008 Chiesavecchia ($28.00) a blend of the native, Barbera and Nebbiolo, and the international, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot … excellent structure, nice tannins, lovely dark fruit. (****)

Marchesi de Frescobaldi …
2006 Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino ($49.95) a wine always available through Vintages (Ontario) … robust and full flavoured: sour cherry, cranberry and powerful tannins. (****+)
2008 Tenuta di Castiglioni ($22.00) the only native Italian grape here is the 10% Sangiovese in the blend … elegant: fruit mixed with spice and hearty tannins. (****+)
2009 Terre More ($19.95) all international varieties … sweet fruit forward with cherry, raspberry then adds a touch of white pepper, chocolate and sweet black licorice – yummy. (****+)

Marchesi di Barolo 2006 Crus Storici Sarmassa Barolo ($59.00) chewy wine with spicy tannins and dark fruit. (****)

Marenco 2008 Red Sunrise Albarossa ($25.00) Albarossa is a recent grape planting, a cross between Nebiollo and Barbera … the wine itself is blend of those two worlds spicy red fruit with robust tannins and good acidity. (****+)

Massimago 2007 1883 Amarone della Valpolicella ($62.00) the family has owned the land since 1883 … 5 months of drying, 2 ½ years in barrel and 1 year in bottle has produced a big (16.5%) yet smooth drinking Amarone loaded with blackberry, plum and spice. (****+)

Orlandi Contucci Panno 2006 Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Riserva ($38.00) nice structure, dark berries with a slight peppery note on the finish and good tannins. (****)

Planeta 2009 Noto Passito ($40.00) a sweetie from south Sicily made from Moscato Bianco … really aromatic, fresh with well balanced acidity and a slight bite to the finish. (**** ½)

Vigne & Vini 2008 Papale Primitivo di Manduria ($18.45) plum, red cherry and vanilla with good acidity to balance all that lovely sweet finish. (****)

Zenato 2006 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico ($42.00) the dessert member of the Valpolicella / Ripasso / Amarone family … big red cherry start to finish. (****)

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Report from ... Wines of South Africa Workshop - June 15, 2011

2011-12-30T07:24:00.003-05:00

This was an all-day affair hosted on the 2nd floor of Morton’s Steakhouse (on Avenue Road). Four seminars all dealing with South African wine and their many ilk.

Seminar One – Chenin Blanc (10:30am) … We were here to taste some 39 wines starting with the (once and future) king of South African whites, Chenin Blanc, described as the Cinderella grape. Years ago the South Africans called it “Steen”, which means brick, because the bunches come off the vine in a seemingly heavy brick form … but recently the proper name for the grape is being used to market the wines outside of South Africa. Originally this noble variety was planted as a Brandy grape, but many winemakers have taken it under their wing and decided to make more serious wines from it. South Africa has the largest production area of Chenin, double its nearest competition for the grape’s affection, the Loire Valley in France. The reason for its popularity is simple: 9 out of 10 years the majority of regions of South Africa can ripen all their grapes. It represents 50% of all white production, 20% of all wine production, and 55% of all Chenin vines in South Africa are 15+ years old. We tasted 11 Chenins, with vintage dates ranging from 2006-2010 here is my top three:

FMC 2009 Chenin Blanc – this wine just had it all, the nose was full of buttery-toffee with n undercurrent of tropical fruit and vanilla. The palate had a sweet sensation with vanilla caramel and tropical fruits; lively and fresh with vanilla-butter on the finish. Lots of yum-factor here. The wine was barrel fermented in 100% new oak, left on lees for the whole time and the Chenin vines used are well over 40 years old. (**** ½)

Mulderbosch 2010 Chenin Blanc / Steen-op-Hout – honeydew rind goes from start to finish here with lively freshness; there’s a slight bitterness but it adds to the charm of this wine with a finish that has lime and grapefruit pith that lingers a long time. (*** ½+)

Bellingham 2010 Citrus Grove – lives up to its name with citrus and pear notes on the nose and a rather fruity palate delivering citrus and melon rind. (*** ½)

Seminar Two – Always Something New (11:30am) … The topic refers to sustainability and fair trade wines coming out of South Africa and focused on three wineries: Paul Cluver, Reyneke and Thandi, for a total of nine wines tasted. The Reyneke wines offered little to right home about, and Thandi’s 2010 Shiraz (70%) – Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), which was full of red berry and licorice flavours was the only reason to sing their praises (*** ½+); but each Cluver seemed better than the next, and somewhat surprisingly, all were white. 2010 Sauvignon Blanc was a lovely example of Savvy B with citrus and mineral on the nose, lime and guava on the palate and leaves behind a grapefruit pith finish (*** ½+). The 2009 Chardonnay was classically Chardonnay in style: vanilla toastiness with good mouth-feel and a touch of beeswax/lanolin across the tongue (****). Then came the low alcohol (9.75%) 2010 Close Encounter Riesling with its apple, pear and steely mineral notes along with a hint of sweetness; creamy in the mouth without being yogurty (****).

Seminar Three – Good Better Blends (2:00pm) … seminars three and four had a similar bent, mainly red wines and blends, but we’ll get to seminar four in a minute. Out of the seven wines poured during this hour only two were whites and one of those whites made my hit parade.

Waterford Estate 2007 The Jem – this seven grape blend that includes Barbera, Mourvedre, Sangiovese, Syrah and three other main Bordeaux varietal which spent 26 months in oak and was deliciously dark fruited and juicy, yet had enough firm tannins to remind you it could stand some ageing. Also found some raspberry and chocolate notes within … the wine had a whole whack of flavour (**** ½).

Nederburg 2008 Ingenuity Red – strange bowling pin shaped bottle hints not at what’s inside. This is an Italian grape blend of Sangiovese (45%), Barbera (45%) and Nebiollo (10%) with juicy red fruit flavours, starting with cherry leading to chocolate and red licorice; sweet fruited and drinkably tasty (****+).

Lomond 2009 Snowbush – this wine beat out my fourth place wine (Plaisir de Merle 2007 Grand Plaisir) by half a mark. A Sauvignon Blanc heavy blend (54%) with three other grapes mixed in (Nouvelle, Semillon/Viognier), good citrus tones with melon rind and tropical flavours … the finish is a pleasant mix of vanilla and honeydew (****).

Seminar Four – Flagship Reds (3:30pm) … a full dozen wines were poured for this round and I singled out a top three selection, and a bubbling under 2, for a top 5.

Warwick 2008 Three Cape Ladies – sweet red berries and spice with vanilla-raspberry tannins that massage more than rip across the tongue, than there are pleasing chocolate notes that roll along the mid-palate to the finish (****+)

MR de Compostella 2007 – this one has some of those typical tarry South African notes, but there’s also dark fruit, spice, cocoa and some red fruit action here, that helps carry things thru to its pleasing conclusion (****+)

De Toren 2004 Fusion V – this Cabernet Sauvignon dominant wine is smooth and juicy with dark fruit, spiced-vanilla, mocha and some charred wood and fruit sensations on the finish; this needs some time and was poured alongside the 2009 vintage of the same wine. If the ’09 is going where the ’04 is my suggestion is to stock up (****)

Bubbling under bottles …
Vilafonte 2007 Series C – chocolate coated dark berries with spiced-mocha on the finish (****)
De Toren 2009 Z – this is the other side of V, dominated by Merlot, here you’ll find a more simple wine than the more than its complex laden counterpart (Fusion Z), here we have the subtlety of blueberry and chocolate with decent tannins holding it together (*** ½)

In a Class All its Own …
During the Chenin tasting of seminar 1 we were poured a Kanu Kia Ora 2006 Noble Late Harvest, another version of Chenin Blanc, this time on the sweet side. Honeyed-apricot and pears, dried peach and mango with a vanilla-buttery finish … delightful and playful dessert wine that seemed out of place amongst all those dry versions, but it deserved to be singled out as something decidedly different and wonderful all at the same time (*** ½+)

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Report from ... The Cool Climate Chardonnay World Tour - July 23, 2011

2011-12-28T07:30:00.004-05:00

You might have heard that Ontario hosted the world to a Cool Climate Chardonnay weekend in July: dinners, music, events all surrounded around the most popular white wine grape on the planet. But one of the regions that made it extremely popular was not in attendance, and I'm not talking Burgundy; the reason that California was not in attendance was that much of the state is not considered "cool climate" - though there are some parts that could qualify.

Today, on one of the hottest days and evenings of the summer, Tawse winery hosted the world of Chardonnay in a massive tented area that stretched in a curve around the vineyard behind the winery. Tables were set up and, wouldn't you know it, in the grand tradition of Tawse doing thing BIG, Murray McLaughlin performed on stage ... the big question: was he paid in Chardonnay? (Only Murray, or is that Moray, Tawse, knows).

54 wineries were in attendance, including 26 from Ontario the others from France, Oregon, New Zealand, Austria, Italy, Chile (?), South Africa (?) New York and British Columbia. What follows is a list of the top international Chardonnays I tasted (in alphabetical order by winery) ... you can find Ontario Chardonnay reviews on my website (OntarioWineReview.com). If there was one thing I learned for certain on this day: France still has the touch when it comes to Chardonnay ...

Ataraxia Wines 2009 Chardonnay (South Africa) - smooth and creamy with good balancing acidity (****+)

Chateau de Meursault 2008 Meursault 1er Cru (Burgundy) - ****

Domaine de la Vougeraie Vougeot Clos du Prieure White Monopole (Burgundy) - ****

Domaine des Deux Roches 2009 Saint-Veran Domaine des Deux Roches Vieilles Vignes (Burgundy) - delicious, creamy and smooth, balances vanilla with caramel apple. (**** 1/2)

Domaine Laroch 2007 Chablis Grand Cru, Les Blanchots (Burgundy) - ****

Josef Chromy Wines 2006 Zdar Chardonnay (Tasmania) - **** 1/2

Maison Alex Gambal 2008 Puligny-Montrachet (Burgundy) - ****

Maison Roche de Bellene 2009 AC Montagny 1er Cru (Burgundy) - ****

Maison Roche de Bellene 2009 Meursault 1er Cru Charmes Dessus (Burgundy) - ****+

Mission Hill Winery 2009 Family Estate Perpetua (British Columbia) - ****+
Mission Hill Winery 2009 Family Estate Reserve Chardonnay (British Columbia) - sweet fruited with vanilla, pear and melon notes. (****)

The Millton Vineyard 2009 Opou Chardonnay (New Zealand) - ****

Vie di Romans 2009 Chardonnay (Italy) - ****

Two of the more interesting Chardonnays from Ontario were from two very different places. The 2008 Cuvee Dix-Neuvieme Chardonnay from the low-profile Pearl Morissette was wonderful, but with no retail space I can't tell you where you can go to get this wine, a restaurant near you might be one of the lucky ones to have snagged some of this limited edition wine. The other Ontarian making wine is a name you should all be familiar with Thomas Bacheldar, winner of the Ontario wine Awards winemaker of the year. Thomas made his name, amongst other places, as the man behind the wines of Le Clos Jordanne ... now we find he has struck out on his own to make his favourite wines (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) in his three favourite places in the world: Burgundy, Oregon and Ontario. Here he showed off his Ontario version (Bacheldar Wines 2009 Niagara Chardonnay) that should find its way to Vintages shelves in the new year.

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Report from ... Niagara-on-the-Lake Taste the Season 2011 - November 5-6, 2011

2011-11-14T14:32:00.001-05:00


The Ice House introduced us to Dornfelder Icewine - just one of the Delcacies at this year's Taste the Season

It's been a week since my compadres and I toured the Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries for this year's Taste the Season extravaganza of food and wine. I have spoken with each one to see who liked what and why, and it would seem there is quite a diversity about our favourites - which is a good thing. For those of you who still aren't aware of what Taste the Season in Niagara-on-the Lake is all about I'll encapsulate it for you: Each weekend in November the 26 wineries of this group (yes, now 26) pair a wine and food to celebrate the upcoming holiday season ... it's like their gift to you - or your palate to be more specific. The real star of the show is the food, we already know these guys can make great wines, some take the opportunity to bring out a new vintage or a back dated bottles. Since it is the food that makes this so interesting I'll just quickly give you a run down of my favourite wines of the day before diving into the foods and pairings on offer.

Reif's 2009 Reserve Chardonnay was quite a mouthful

Top 3 Wines (click through for full review) ...
Pillitteri 2007 Cabernet Franc
Reif 2009 Reserve Chardonnay
The Ice House 2009 Signature Series Dornfelder/Cabernet Sauvingon Icewine

The Food ...

There were some really good comments from my party of three this year that consisted of my wife, Erica, her friend Sarah (from New York - we now import our tasters ... and from what I've heard we may be getting more for next time) and myself. We agreed that there were more good pairings than bad and that the meat dishes (which there were quite a few) were substantial and filling ... there was no need (or want) to stop for lunch. And while we could not come to a consensus on an ultimate favourite we seemed to almost universally agree on our least favourites (that's not to talk you out of trying them, you have to make your own decision) - feel free to comment ...

Below a list of the favourites, and why, least favourites, and why, and some special shout outs to those who were memorable.

Favourites ...

With three of us on tour we ended up with quite the diverse list of favourites, in fact between the three top three lists there were eight wineries, with only Colaneri getting two second place votes.

Top wineries include: Chateau des Charmes (Erica) for their roasted mushroom salad crostini paired with the robust 2007 Estate Pinot Noir ... "layers of flavour. The aioli and crostini just melded so well together with the salad and the wine capped it all off nicely."

Inniskillin nails it with icewine

Pillitteri (Sarah) for the Vegetarian Chili paired with the '07 Cabernet Franc ... "it was just an excellent pairing, I enjoyed every mouthful ... I want the recipe."

And I am happy to announce that Inniskillin has finally raised their game back to previous levels as they took a risk that really paid off with their pairing of 2007 Vidal Icewine and Icewine sausage with caramelized onion mustard - an innovative way to use icewine, with of all things, meat. Bravo.

"Spezzatino" at Colenari

The girls agreed that the "Spezzatino" served at Colaneri was not only delicious ("a bowl full of yummy made with love"), but also the winery had the perfect setting in their open atrium-like room with full floor to ceiling bay windows ("they nailed the warm environment"). I, on the other hand, decided that Ravine's Lamb Confit with caramelized mushroom and shropshire blue took second place. It was served on a fresh bun, made in-house, and while there may have been too much bread for the amount of meat, if you opted to go with an open-faced sandwich you would enjoy every bite - plus you'd have a sauced soaked chaser (the other half).

"A refreshing twist on pizza"

The awarding of the Bronze medal saw three more wineries on the podium, but all had something in common: freshness. Sarah opted for the Strewn offering of Winter Green Salad with Icewine vinaigrette: "fresh, lively and different"; we chalked it up to her being a health-nut and a long distance runner, but it seems we were all bitten by the health bug in third place. Erica loved Reif's Mutsu apple, bacon, cold pack cheddar and walnut sage pesto pizza, calling it "a refreshing twist on pizza"; while I loved what the Ice House did. Using a pear slice as the base they piled on pancetta, goat cheese and Riesling Icewine reduction ... the innovation was the pear base (instead of the usual cracker or bread) that really livened up the bite of food; but what really popped was the vegetarian option: same base, same icewine reduction, the middle was fresh strawberries which sang on the palate with that Dornfelder red Icewine to match ... talk about fresh and wow.

Salad as pairing? Why not ... and it worked

The Not So's ...

There was more agreement here than with the favs ... I guess poor execution is just poor execution no matter what you wrap it in.

Everyone agreed that Konzelman's cranberry, pear gorgonzola and walnut strudel roll was not as advertised and not very good. Strudel roll indicates a cake base, but this was in a soggy, limp mini-phyllo cup. And this year the placement of the tasting was in the foyer instead of the usual back room ... we felt rushed like they wanted us to get-in and get-out.

There was also agreement that Southbrook's attempted Prosciutto and pear crostada with smoked comfort cream was a flop. They went to warm it up keeping us waiting and lingering about with our wine, enthusiastic about what we would be receiving (something warm), but when they finally served it the cheese remained unmelted and all they had managed to do was turn what was once crisp into a chewy and stale bite of blandness ... "if I could have spit it out I would have," said Sarah, "I just couldn't figure it out where. I just wanted it out of my mouth so badly."

Three other wineries under-delivered on their promise of goodness in the mouth: Hillebrand's Truffle Mushroom Broth was "too salty". Stonechurch's Smoked Salmon Mousse, mousse implies some lightness but this was more like a mouthful of fishy cream cheese (without the enjoyment and without the bagel). And Marynissen's Prosciutto slathered with fig spread served on ... name your cracker base here ... was anything but slathered and the vegetarian option was an under cooked, doughy phyllo wrapped something.

Special Mentions ... the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Coq au Vin at Lailey: "Help Mommy they're coming to get me"

Starting with the ugly, Lailey had a tasty little Coq au Vin offering, but when the lid of the chaffing dish was lifted it looked like something out of a Halloween horror show.

Very disappointing was Stratus' badly executed pulled lamb shoulder; it had great flavour, or would have, had it been warm and freshly served and not pre-prepared and left sitting out to get all dried out ... the crock pot was sitting right there, make 'em fresh, don't get lazy. Treadwell's went to a lot of trouble to make it tasty don't fail them on the very last step - serving it.

Cattail Creek pulled off their homemade gingerbread sandwich cookies with lemon crème. You know they're fresh and handmade because of the girl sitting out front assembling the sandwiches with a Tupperware container full of cookies and a bowl of fresh lemon cream beside her (ask for extra cream).

Other special mentions go out to some of our favourites previously mentioned: Inniskillin, while not making Sarah's list of favourite did get a shout out for "outside the box thinking. I don't like icewine because of the sweetness, but somehow this pairing did not taste sweet in any way - it was just plain tasty." And finally, The Ice House got an extra nod from Erica because "both options were delicious".

Being a meat eater and fiercely proud of it (following the theory of: there's room for all God's creatures ... right next to the mashed potatoes), I was impress to see wineries offering up a vegetarian option for those who would require or wanted it.

Final words ...
Another successful Taste the Season event that provided many more ups than it did downs ... and that's a great thing to see. Look forward to next year's tour to see who rose to the top and who crashes and burns at the bottom. As always, good, bad or ugly an outstanding effort by everyone involved. Happy tour and tasting everybody.

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Report form ... 6th Annual Stem Wine Group Tasting - September 20, 2011

2011-11-08T08:32:00.000-05:00

I know the name "Stem" is suppose to invoke grapes hanging on the vine, but after a few drinks you begin to wonder what else the principles of this agency were thinking about ... but that's neither here nor ... the important part of this tasting is the 100+ wines, beers and spirits that are being poured. Surely too many to be consumed in one sitting, but Stem offers a wonderful array from California, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Argentina and especially Italy. I would guess that over half of the Stem portfolio has an Italian slant, which is why it should come as no surprise that when Stem decided to create their own wine it would be one of Italian origin. That was the big news at this year's event: "a joint venture with Boroli (Piedmont) and 47 Anno Domini Vineyards Vinicola Tombaco (Veneto) to create Matto". Plus six new wineries (2 Italian, 2 French. a New Zealand and a US) have been added to Stems extensive offerings, just giving them more breadth to offer clients, and one of these new wineries made my list of favourites.

New Stuff ...
I tried the Matto 2007 Barolo and was impressed with the cranberry, strawberry and spice emanating from the glass on both the aromas and flavours; quite elegant and a decidedly good first effort. (*** 1/2+)

The Daniel Chotard winery from the Loire Valley has entered the Stem Family and the 2010 Sancerre is lovely, crisp with mineral notes and nice clean citrus on the finish. (*** 1/2+)

The U.S. winery that joined in this year was Husic Vineyards - three wines were brought into the portfolio, none better than the 2005 Husic Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa - a dark fruited, black cherry dominated cocoa infused Cab that plays nicely with the tannins on the tongue. (****+)

Most of all I really feel for the New Zealand winery that was added: Marisco Vineyards out of Marlborough ... the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc was quite New Zealand-esque (*** 1/2), while the 2010 King's Bastard Chardonnay was fruit forward with oak backing that didn't overwhelm all that lovely fruit (****) and the piece-de-résistance was the 2010 King's Wrath Pinot Noir, which came a close second as my favourite wine of the day (held by Rockbare out of Australia). This 400 case production Pinot spent 12 months in 40% new oak. Lovely aromas and flavours that straddle the line between California's fruit driven style and Burgundy's earthiness: great fruit to spice ratio with strawberry and raspberry leading the charge (**** 1/2). The booklet had all wines listed at $19.95, but this may have been priced in error and might hit our shelves at double that amount - but still very much worth it. Rumour was that if you ordered at the event you'd get the misprinted price. Check out the Marisco website to get the story behind these wines ... quite eerie yet very intriguing.

The Best of the Rest ... (by country)
Italy -
Boroli 2004 Barolo Villero (*** 1/2+) - $89.99
Ca'Del Baio 2009 Langhe Nebbiolo Bric del Baio (****) - 21.99
Cantina Produttori Colterenzio 2010 Pinot Bianco (*** 1/2+) - 19.99
Azienda Agricola Forchir 2010 Pinot Grigio 'Lamis' (*** 1/2) - 15.99
Zyme 2004 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico (****) - $135.99
Vinicola Tombacco 2009 Ca'del Doge Primitivo (****) - $11.99 - great value
Delibori Vigneti e Cantine 2000 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 'Fracastoro' (****+) - $100.00
Feudi di San Gregorio 2007 Serpico Aglianico (****+) - $84.99 - 185 year old vines

France -
Henri Abele NV Brut Champagne (****+) - $54.99 - company established in 1757

Australia -
Rockbare 2010 Mojo Shiraz (**** 1/2+) - $19.99 - favourite wine of the event

Rockbare 2009 Rockbare Shiraz (****) - $22.99

USA -
Michael Sullberg 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon (****+) - $16.99
Michael Sullberg 2009 Merlot (****) - $16.99 - great value Merlot, juicy and fruity
Hart & McGarry 2009 Napa Valley Chardonnay (****) - $24.99
Jax Vineyards 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (****) - $54.99
Merry Edwards 2009 Pinot Noir RRV, Georganne Methode a l'Ancienne (**** 1/2) - $89.99
Merry Edwards 2010 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc (****+) - $51.99
Merry Edwards 2008 'Klopp Ranch' RRV Pinot Noir (****+) - $89.99

Argentina -
Andeluna Cellars 2005 Grand Reserve Pasionado (****+) - $44.99
Andeluna Cellars 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon (****) - $15.49 - great value

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Report from ... Montes Dinner at Splendido - September 26, 2011

2011-11-08T07:18:00.002-05:00

It struck me on the way home, sitting on a bench at Union Station (downtown Toronto), that Aurelio Montes is making wines in the three most advantageous places in the world of wine: California, Argentina and Chile, all he needs to make the quad-fecta is a winery operation in Australia and he's working all 4 hip hot climates. What I'd like to see is how he'd fare in one of the world's cool climate regions: Bordeaux, New Zealand, Oregon, Ontario, just to see if he could spin his usual gold there. But I don't think these regions are on his radar for the future, sure he admits Europe seems a great place to conquer, but I suspect that depends where. All these thoughts run through my hazy noggin as I am returning from the Splendido Montes tasting on this Monday evening, where we tasted 8 Montes wines in a structured tasting (4 Alpha M's and 4 Folly) as well as another 8 with dinner plus 2 extras for the reception (sparkling and Chardonnay) - all told 18 wines were sampled.

Aurelio ...
Mr. Montes proved to be a really eloquent and enthusiastic speaker. After apologizing for his "rudimentary" English (having been born and raised in Chile) he went on to speak (in English) for a good half-hour about wines, his history, etc. with nary a linguistic mistake - now granted he doesn't have a proper British accent but with his Chilean-patter he did exceptionally well.

We learned that Montes wines are sold in 110 countries and that their wines are the only Chilean wines on 20 Bordeaux restaurants wine lists. That Montes was started as a "retirement project" that has become more full time than most full time jobs he has had.

Started in 1987, Montes was the brainchild of Aurelio Montes and Douglas Murray, who wanted to set a new standard "of excellence for Chilean wine". From there the Montes name has expanded into Argentina (2001) under the brand Kaiken and now as a Californian Angel (2006) with wines being made with both Napa and Paso Robles fruit; "I was just looking for a new challenge," Aurelio admitted in his talk.

Memorable Quotes ...
"In the beginning things were planted everywhere and anywhere, watermelons were beside Cabernet Sauvignon and carrots were beside Pinot Noir, in the same piece of land."

"People ask me about the music I play in the barrel rooms, they say: "what does music do for the wines?" I have no idea, but I love it." Said with a sly smile.

Kaiken means wild goose in local language of Argentina, "I'm just like the wild goose," Aurelio explains, "flying over the Andes, except I am not trying to propagate or feed, I'm just trying to make good wine."

And on this night we tried a boat load, along with some tasty food whipped up by Victor Barry, executive chef at Splendido.

Structured Tasting ...
Four vintages of Alpha M, named for the partners of Montes: Montes and Murray, Aurelio also joked it stood for money - referring to what the pair was hoping to make. Wines started at $89.00 and rose to $129.00 - so maybe not as jokey as originally believed. We tried the 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2007. "You'll notice you're having all odd vintages," Aurelio pointed out, "that's because the odd vintages just seem to be better than the even ones."

Alpha M is the Montes version of a Bordeaux-style blend with Cabernet Sauvignon being the dominant grape (left bank style) to the tune of 80%, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, which Aurelio calls his "wild partner" because it's the wild card of the blend - some years taking up to 5% while in others being only 2-3.

There was something interesting about each year's wine but the 2005 Alpha M ($99.00) just had everything going for it. Nicely balanced with great fruit, chocolate, black cherry and soft, silky tannins. This was a lush, plush sexy and smooth wine. (**** 1/2)

Montes Alpha M 1997 (***+)
Montes Alpha M 2003 (*** 1/2+)
Montes Alpha M 2007 (*** 1/2+)

The Folly Syrah is a different story: 100% Syrah from cuttings taken from the Rhone Valley in France. Folly is a silly wine with serious undercurrents, but this silliness has to do with how it came into being. We tried Folly from 4 vintages: 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006.

While the Folly 2005 was layered with aromas: mint, blackberry and chocolate; and flavours: mint, cherry, white pepper, sweet fruit with a touch of smoked meat (**** 1/2) and was my highest scoring Syrah - there was a little something to the Folly 2006, which showed a degree of finesse and elegance not found in the '05. So really it was a tough call dependent on what kind of Syrah you are looking for (****+). Aurelio called the '05 masculine and the '06 more feminine. Which stands to reason, since he had to work harder on the '06 than the '05 (his comment not mine).

Montes Folly 2001 (****)
Montes Folly 2003 (****)

Reception ...

Kaiken Brut - ****

The inaugural Canadian tasting of the Kaiken Brut (Argentina, $19.95) a 70/30 Pinot Noir to Chardonnay sparkler that has lovely toastiness, baked apple with a touch of pear, especially on the palate ... there's a slightly sweet note to the palate and a long luxurious finish that makes this quite a steal for $19.95 (****+). When they ran out of bubbles they poured the Montes 2009 Alpha Chardonnay ($19.95 - Vintages Now), which had vanilla, almond and a hint of coconut (****).

Dinner ...

Four courses, 8 wines ... below are the best of each pairing

Chile ...
Montes Purple Angel 2007 ($49.95) - blackberry and cherry with an elegance and structure that's goes far beyond its 50 dollar price tag - a palate of blueberry, cassis and mocha; juicy front leads to a peppery finish. (**** 1/2)
Other wine: Montes Alpha 2009 Carmenere ($19.95 - ****)

Argentine ...
Kaiken 2009 Ultra Malbec ($19.95) - same star score for each but price wins out here. Juicy red and black fruit with pepper, spice and really good structure for 5 years worth of ageing. (****)
Other wine: Kaiken 2007 Mai Malbec ($89.95 - ****)

California - Napa ...
Napa Angel 2007 Aurelio's Selection ($89.00) - a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and picked from the best grapes / best parcels of the 15-18 year vines where they buy their grapes from. Red licorice, cherry, vanilla with juicy red fruit, chocolate-strawberries and a dusty finish. (*** 1/2+)
Other wine: Napa Angel 2007 ($49.00 - *** 1/2)

California - Paso Robles ...
Star Angel 2008 Aurelio Selection ($59.00) - a mainly Syrah based blend with mere hints of Grenache and Mourvedre added for additional structure. This wine was full of both red and black fruit. (****)
Other wine: Star Angel 2008 ($29.00 - *** 1/2)

Thanks to Stephen Marentette for inviting me to the event.

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Report from ... The Pinot Affair - October 15-16, 2011

2011-10-26T07:51:00.000-04:00

You'll have to excuse me for missing this event. I hadn't been home for the past 6 weeks and the house just needed some attention ... inside and out .. and heck, I just needed some R & R on a weekend (feet up, glass of wine in the hand, a movie or two). Thankfully the intrepid Fred Couch, who has passed a few of his musing about events along to me in the past, was nice enough to share his experience of the Pinot Affair held in Niagara October 15-16, 2011.

“The Pinot Affair”
By F.G. Couch

An inaugural event for the Niagara area this year called The Pinot Affair. For one weekend in October, lovers of the Pinot Noir grape could visit eight wineries for a unique tasting experience. Four wineries were located in the Beamsville Bench area (Hidden Bench, Malivoire, Rosewood and Tawse) and the other four in Niagara-on-the-Lake (Coyote’s Run, Le Clos Jordanne (at Jackson-Triggs Winery), Lailey Vineyards and Inniskillin).

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate on the weekend of the event and many of the wineries had to change from having the event in the vineyards to an indoor venue. Everyone did an excellent job considering this last minute change and all of the wineries offered a unique experience. Since Pinot Noir is such a food-friendly wine, all but one winery served their wines with food.

Our day started with a sit-down seminar at 10:00 am at Malivoire with winemaker, Shiraz Mottiar. Shiraz poured barrel samples of the 2010 vintage and tried to demonstrate the difference between two vineyards (Estate & Mottiar) and two methods of fermenting the grapes – in older oak barrels and stainless steel. We then had a chance to try our own hand at blending using the four different wines. This was followed by sampling the finished wine from the 2009 vintage.

We then went on to Tawse Winery where we were able to try the 2010 Pinot directly from the barrel. This was followed by a tasting of two of the 2009 vintage wines accompanied by delicious canapés provided by August Restaurant, Beamsville.

There was a bit of a mix-up with the reservation process at Rosewood Estate Winery so we had to postpone our visit until the next day. This meant that we had to visit five wineries on Sunday – a really tough job but someone has to do it! [ed. note: 5 wineries? A tough job? Try doing 26 over the course of a weekend ... geesh, amateurs]. Our day finished with a great food and wine tasting at Hidden Bench. This ranked as our favourite event of the day. So good in fact, that when I went back the next day to take a photo for this article, gracious hosts, Retail Manager, Meg McGrath and owner, Harald Thiel, invited us to participate in the food and wine pairing again. The food and wine was so good how could we say no?

The Hidden Bench offering (described below)

This delightful presentation at Hidden Bench included two Pinots – the 2009 estate-grown and the 2008 Locust Lane Vineyard. The third glass contained möst, a partially fermented wine, traditionally served from pitchers with charcuterie, bratwurst and sausage plates. So to uphold this tradition, Hidden Bench presented a very delicious food plate with sausage, an assortment of cheese and a spoon of Harald’s own beef bourguignon served with crusty bread. This experience rated 5 out of 5 stars!

The next day we were able to return to Rosewood to participate in their event which included a demonstration of the “pump-over” process. This process is used for large batches of wine instead of “punching down the cap” which brings the grape skins in contact with the juice to extract colour and tannins from the skins. We then proceeded to the barrel cellar for a sit-down tasting of the 2007 Pinot which is now sold out at the winery, the 2009 Pinot Noir and the 2009 Reserve with natural fermentation. After the tasting we were served charcuterie and cheeses from local suppliers.

After our second visit to Hidden Bench, we went on to our next reserved event for a tasting of Le Clos Jordanne wines at Jackson-Triggs Estate Winery. At a sit-down tasting we were told about the four distinct vineyards – Talon Ridge, La Petite Colline, Claystone Terrace and Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard. The 2009 vintage from each vineyard was poured. A “favourite” wine could not be selected by the group because they all were so different and all very good. The wines actually changed in the glass after sitting for a time and they were much different with the accompanying food.

Jackson-Triggs doles out Le Clos Jordanne wines - "another 5 star experience"

The food presentation at Jackson-Triggs rated right up there with Hidden Bench. This included a mushroom quiche, duck pâté, salmon tartare and two cheeses served with crusty bread. We were then served a tasting of the 2008 Talon Ridge to compare with the 2009. As if this wasn’t enough, we were then invited to the tasting room where we could try the 2007 La Petite and Talon Ridge Pinots. This was another 5-star experience!

Feeling quite content, we moved on to Lailey Vineyard where winemaker, Derek Barnett, poured us the following Pinots from the excellent 2009 vintage – Niagara Peninsula (now, unfortunately, sold out), Canadian Oak, Brickyard (my personal favourite), Old Vines and Lot 48. Knowing that our group appreciated really fine wines, Derek raided the library and treated us to a sample of the 2007 Old Vines Pinot. The website said we would be given an opportunity to “punch down the cap” but because of the weather, I assume that plans had changed. Besides, with all the wines consumed, I’m sure some of us might have fallen in the vat! During the tasting we could help ourselves to the charcuterie and cheese selections offered.

Moving on to Inniskillin Winery just down the Niagara Parkway from Lailey, we were directed to the barrel cellar. I have to admit this was the most disappointing event of the Pinot Affair. I was surprised because their sister winery, Jackson-Triggs put on such a great tasting. There was not a lot of room in the barrel cellar. Four of us had to stand because there were only four seats available. Only two wines were served – the 2009 and 2003 Pinots from the Montague Vineyard. It was interesting to taste the difference six years of ageing made on the wine from the same vineyard. The food was a pork rillette prepared by Estate Chef David Penny. The presentation just did not compare with Jackson-Triggs or Hidden Bench. I would give this 3 out of 5 stars.

Seeing is believing, the dirt at Coyote's Run

Our last stop of the weekend was Coyote’s Run Estate Winery in St. David’s. This was supposed to be an outside event but the winery was able to set up a very informative experience inside one of their buildings. In fact, it was very seasonal with straw on the floor and harvest displays. We were led through the winemaking process by first trying the just-picked grapes and then the juice from the pressed grapes before fermentation. Then we were told about the influence that “terroir” has on the wines including the soil from which the “Red Paw” and “Black Paw” is made. We then could taste the finished Pinots with a selection of delicious canapés. We then went into the tasting room where we could try the 2009 “Rare Vintage” Pinot.

What the Coyote served

With the success of this year’s event, I’m hoping this becomes an annual “Affair” and that a few more wineries that are producing excellent Pinots in Niagara come on board. I would rate this inaugural event a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Congratulations to the organizers and participating wineries. Well done!

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Report from ... The Riesling Experience 2011 - June 9, 2011

2011-09-29T07:58:00.000-04:00

Are you experienced? Jimi Hendrix is famous for asking that simple question on a record album – but he was talking about music, here we’re talking wine – Riesling to be exact. With all the events this year surrounding one grape or another, be it Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, it seems that Riesling's gotten lost in the shuffle. Is it because Ontario wineries are trying to foist other grapes into the limelight? Or is Riesling safe in its position in Ontario? It would seem that it's the wineries that don't make Riesling are the ones that want to showcase other varieties, but consider this: Riesling is a variety that is 500 years old and the #1 variety in Niagara. Commercial planting started in Niagara around 1974. Riesling makes up 18.8% of all grapes planted in Ontario and 17.3% of all vinifera … and that leads the charge of grapes planted. And for those interested, the mostly widely planted Riesling clone: 21B, at 70%.

Today Niagara welcomed winemakers and owners from Michigan, Ohio and New York along with Pierre Trimbach from Alsace to speak to the assembled clan of Riesling lovers, and there were a lot.

Pierre Trimbach …
As keynote speaker Pierre had much to say on the topic and we all had much to learn. Pierre was described as the “Eric Clapton” of Riesling, which brings me back to my musical reference at the beginning of this report, I guess they couldn’t tie everything up in a neat package and call him the Jimi Hendrix of Riesling cause Jimi’s dead (and Pierre is very much alive); but it would have been more apropos at a “Riesling Experience”. Pierre talked about the make up of his vineyard (11 different grapes / 13 different soil types); he informed us that Alsace (the most northerly region in France) produces 10% of the world’s Riesling and at Trimbach (established in 1626) the grape makes up 48% of their annual production.

Notable Quotes – Pierre Trimbach:
“Petrol is a the noble evolution in a Riesling after 10+ years; in a young wine it’s something else.” Pierre went on to say a young Riesling with petrol notes is a faulty wine with high reduction.

When describing the ideal conditions needed to make good Riesling Pierre told us: “First condition: balance. Second condition: balance. Third condition: balance … and the rest is just blah blah blah.”

The Trimbach wines being poured

Michigan …
Representative: Lee Lutes – Black Star Farms
- Michigan is the 2nd most diversified state for agriculture behind California
- If you stand in the middle of any vineyard in the state you’re only 5-10 miles from the lake.
- First Riesling planted was in the 70’s by Chateau Grand Traverse
- Primary red grapes are Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc

Ohio …
Representative: Nick Ferrantes – Ferrante Wine Farm
- Arnie Esterer planted the first Riesling vines in the Eastern Lake Erie region at Markko Vineyards in 1969
- There are 150 acres grown in Ohio, mostly near Lake Erie (Grand River Valley)
- Quote: “Once you have a Riesling in your mouth you know it, and it stays with you.”

Nick also plugged a Riesling lovers website: www.drinkriesling.com

New York …
Representative: Peter Bell – Fox Run Vineyards
- In New York there are two wine industries: fine wine and the other
- Riesling is a consistently good grape for the region, in 21 years they’ve had only two bad vintages of Riesling: 1992 and 2007
- Quote: “Ontario took the secondary grapes [native/lubrusca varieties] out, blindfolded them and shot them; we didn’t do that.” He made it sound like they should have.

The talks ended with a presentation from the International Riesling Foundation (DrinkRiesling.com) – so this is what Nick was talking about.

Lunch was a Riesling lovers paradise created by Chef Erik Peacock of Wellington Court Restaurant in St. Catharines: trout, chicken sausage, beef carpaccio all paired to go with the Rieslings of your choice from any of the 4 lake regions represented: Niagara, Ohio, Michigan, New York; plus a special table with a limited selection of Trimbach wines.

The Wines …
Of the 32 wines available for tasting, 14 were from somewhere other than Ontario. Ontario reviews can be seen on my website (OntarioWineReview.com) as for the wines from out of province, here were my top choices:

Black Star Farms 2010 Arcturos Riesling (Michigan, ~$15.50) - ****+
Bowers Harbor Vineyards 2009 Riesling, BHV Estate (Michigan, ~$15.00) - *** ½
Chateau Grand Traverse 2009 Lot 49 Riesling (Michigan, ~$21.00) - *** ½+
Black Star Farms 2009 Arcturos Riesling (Michigan, ~$15.50) - ****
Klingshirn Winery 2010 White Riesling (Ohio, ~$10.40) - *** ½
Old Firehouse Winery 2010 Lake Erie Riesling (Ohio, ~$11.99) - *** ½
Sheldrake Point Winery 2009 Dry Riesling (New York, ~15.00) - ***+

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Report from ... Three Greek Estates Over 1 Lunch - May 11, 2011

2011-09-29T07:36:00.001-04:00

In May, the Greeks came to town with their winemakers in tow and a wanton willingness to teach what makes Greek wine so special.

Today, at the Thompson hotel in Toronto, in the confines of their beautiful basement, a group of writers met to taste an assortment of wines from three Greek houses: Domaine Gerovassiliou, Biblia Chora and Domaine Katsaros.

Gerovassiliou …

Established in 1981 by Evangelos Gerovassiliou, located approximately 25km southwest of Thessaloniki (time to get out a map of Greece). Today the winery has 48 hectares of planted vines with a mix of international and indigenous varieties.

Wines of Gerovassiliou …

Three were tried, a Petite Syrah/Viogner blend, a 50/50 blend of Assyrtiko and Malagousia (white), and a straight 100% Viognier. The 2008 Viognier was delightfully floral with nice tropicallity on the nose, almost Gewurztraminer-like, with some soapy-spicy nuances. The palate proved to be very nice indeed with tropical, citrus and good acidity for balance. (*** ½+)

Biblia Chora …

A project of two oenologists Vassilis Tsaktsarlis and Vangelis Gerovassiliou, with a property that covers 15 hectares and grows an interesting blend of international and domestic grapes.

Wines of Biblia Chora …

2009 Ovilos Blanc, a 50/50 blend of Assyrtiko and Semillon that has received plenty of accolades and awards. The nose is full of tropical fruit with grapefruit/citrus backing. Palate is a mix of grapefruit sour with kiwi sweet, producing a long lasting and delicious finish … refreshing, clean and tasty. (*** ½+)

The other wine poured was the 2009 Areti, made with 100% Assyrtiko (another white). Big 14% alcohol is hidden in the folds of pineapple and citrus on the nose with a sweet fruited palate, where you’ll find tropical and citrus along with a touch of vanilla for added depth of flavour. Good acidity keeps this wine is balance. (*** ½+)

Katsaros …

A small family owned winery started in 1985 in the Mt. Olympus region near the village of Krania, here they grow just three grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay.

Wines of Katsaros …

We only tasted the one: 2009 Chardonnay, which was very tight and needs time to come into its own.

Lunch …

Pictures to follow, but check out that dessert, it was almost too pretty to eat … I said almost (and it was delicious), and it was paired with a bottle of 2004 Late Harvest Malagousia, which was exquisite.

Miso and Aji Mirin Marinated Black Cod with Wilted Baby Bok Choy and Enoki and Pearl Barley Risotto

Too Cool Dessert ... Passion Fruit and White Chocolate Parfait

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Report from ... Australia’s First Families of Wine – May 5, 2011

2011-09-29T07:14:00.001-04:00

I wrongly kept referring to this event as the Five Families of wine, I guess the Godfather is fully ingrained in my brain; but that wasn’t the name of the event at all. First, this was an Aussie event, not an Italy wine tasting and really what could be feared from the 5 Families of Australia? Too many shrimp on the Bar-b? Were they going to drown us with Foster’s? Or make us watch all of Paul Hogan’s movies, (plus his Subaru commercials)? I'd say we're pretty safe on all counts.

Turns out it was far from 5 families in attendance, in actual fact it was 11 (twelve are part of this organization but absent was the Brown Brothers winery, because they have no distribution in Ontario). According to the "families" mission statement, they got together to “represent 16 Australian Regions across 4 states and between them have more than 1200 years of winemaking experience.” These families have 5000+ hectares of vineyard land between them, and that’s a lot of growing space, they also claim to be the “Guardians of some of Australia’s finest vineyards, most famous wine names and some irreplaceable history.”

The sit-down portion of the tasting was set up in a speed-dating style: each winery got a chance to pour two of their iconic wines to a small assembled mass of ~10 people per go. Every 10 minutes or so a bell would sound and we were told to move tables; not my favourite way to try wine, but definitely an innovative method, which, in truth, I hope we never do again. Anyway, let’s look at the best of these two wines per producer – hopefully you’ll recognize their names.

Campbell’s …
Poured: Muscat & Shiraz
Top Scoring: Rutherglen Muscat (NV) … this is a sweetie made in a solera system (like they make Sherry) with an average of 5-year-old wines. Lovely flavours and smells, mainly toffee and orange peel, a real delicacy for dessert. (****+)

D’Arenberg …
Poured: Mourvedre & Shiraz/Roussanne
Top Scoring: 2007 The Twenty-Eight Road Mourvedre … these vines were planted in 1983 and are now being produced to make a meaty, dark fruited wine. (*** ½+)

De Bortoli …
Poured: Botrytis Semillon & Blanc de Blancs
Top Scoring: Rococo Blanc de Blancs (NV) … a fresh clean entry with rich vanilla cream across the palate. (*** ½+)

Henschke …
Poured: Euphonium blend & Pinot Noir
Top Scoring: 2008 Keyneton Estate Euphonium … this is a 60% Shiraz based wine with hints of Cabernet and Merlot blended in (the amount differs every year). The Keyneton vineyard was planted in 1960. A tasty wine with plum and black cherry along with pepper and spice on the finish. (****+)

Howard Park …
Poured: Shiraz & Chardonnay
Top Scoring: 2008 Scotsdale Shiraz … this is the youngest winery in this group, having been established in 1986, but they seem to be making quite a name for themselves, especially having been invited to join this group of old-timers. Their Shiraz was a tasty blend of dark berries with spicy pepper. (*** ½)

Jim Barry …
Poured: Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz
Top Scoring: 2008 The Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon … you’ve seen this bottle before with the picture of the golfer on the front, this 42 year old winery makes a mean Cab with dark fruit and spice dripped in chocolate – yum. (****)

McWilliam’s …
Poured: Sauvignon Blanc & Shiraz
Top Scoring: 2010 Mount Pleasant Estate Florence Sauvignon Blanc … This winery has shown consistency of winemaking over its 134 year history, that's because they've had only 4 different winemakers over a 90 year period. This wine is very New Zealand-like in style, but adds an element of warm climate Savvy B with melon and tropical notes weaved in amongst the grass. (****+)

Tahbilk …
Poured: Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz
Top Scoring: 2005 Eric Stevens Purbrick Cabernet Sauvignon … a tough call between these two wines, but this one edged out its competition by a very slim margin. The dominant vines in this Cab were planted in 1949, while the label was launched three years later to take advantage of the great fruit being grown. And what great flavours do these old vines produce these days? Chocolate, red licorice and raspberry dominate with a vanilla-mint finish. (****+)

Tyrrell’s …
Poured: Shiraz & Semillon
Top Scoring: 2010 Lost Block Semillon … this Sem is very fruity with refreshing citrus, floral and melon flavours. (*** ½)

Wakefield …
Poured: Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon
Top Scoring: 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon … this company started off as hoteliers and moved into wine. All those years of dealing with the public has really paid off, cause their Cab delivers just what the people want at a very reasonable price ($16.95). Mint and plum lead the charge of this juicy and somewhat jammy wine – but in a good way. (****+)

Yalumba …
Poured: Viognier & Grenache
Top Scoring: 2005 Hand Picked Single Site Habermann Vineyard Grenache … an interesting older wine that has developed peppered raspberry notes with some strawberry thrown in for good measure. (****)

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Report from … An Impromptu Tasting of Carmel Road Wines at the MJF - September 17, 2011

2011-09-20T03:38:00.001-04:00

It’s time to head out to the Monterey Jazz Festival – the event that brought us to California in the first place (or that’s what brought everybody else to California) … on the bus ride over from the hotel, Jaymz Bee, our illustrious leader and host for the Jazz Safari (thru radio station Jazz FM in Toronto) told me of a wine tasting in the Artist’s Tent, where he has a “in” with the “bouncer / head of security” … so with Joshua Redman and Herbie Hancock on the aural menu this evening, I find myself at an oral tasting of Carmel Road wines at the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Carmel Road is owned by Kendall Jackson, this winery arm of KJ is a sponsor of the festival. All the grapes from these wines are grown in Monterey. Pouring the wine tonight is associate brand manager Jillian Lines and she runs me though the three wines being poured this evening, and all through the festival – please note these wines were tasted out of plastic glasses better suited as water vessels than wine glasses, think a slightly larger Dixie cup:

Carmel Road 2009 Pinot Gris ($16.00) - a fairly simple white sipper with aromas of peach and pear, the palate gives up a little more to get excited about: crisp pear and apple but with a slightly bitter finish. (***+)

Carmel Road 2009 Chardonnay ($18.00) – 80% of this wine see 7 months of barrel treatment as well as being fermented in oak. Thus 20% is done in stainless steel tokeep an element of freshness. As mentioned the glass was not of the best quality so the sense of smell revealed little to nothing. The palate was peach and pineapple along with some delicate vanilla notes, there’s also some green apple that shows up with vanilla on the long, tasty finish. (*** ½+)

Carmel Road 2009 Pinot Noir ($20.00) – the best of the three wines was this Pinot Noir, smooth and easy drinking full of juicy black cherry and strawberry fruit on the palate along with white pepper and some vanillin notes, good acidity keeps it from being jammy. (****)

Addendum: I was emailed by the folks at KJ and they wanted to set the record straight on a very important piece of information about owner of Carmel Road:
"wanted to make sure that you knew more about our ownership as it's easy to make the assumption that Carmel Road is owned by Kendall-Jackson. Both Carmel Road and Kendall-Jackson are separate wine brands owned by the Jackson family. All of the wineries owned by the Jackson family are marketed under the broader concept, Jackson Family Wines, but each remains an independently run winery. Many folks don't realize that Kendall-Jackson and its sister wineries are still family owned, which as you know is a rarity in the wine industry today."

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Report from … A Taste of Monterey - September 17, 2011

2011-09-20T02:52:00.000-04:00

Stop the presses, what have we here … I am in a shop completely devoted to the grapes (and wines) of Monterey County. I’m at a little mall on Cannery Row in Monterey, California (700 Cannery Row, Suite KK) called A Taste of Monterey, and I am staring at bottles and bottles of Monterey County wines, from different producers, all in one store – being from Ontario I can barely believe my eyes. My guide through the wines and the store is a gentleman by the name of Gray and he explains the concept of the store that I am in:

It’s a retail outlet devoted to wines made using Monterey grapes, the winery that made the wines does not have to be located in Monterey, but if they have an offering that uses 100% Monterey grapes they’re in. The outlet store represents between 80 and 90 different wineries and offers tasting to visitors of some 18 different wines a week (picked by a committee within the store’s hierarchy) – these wines change from week to week, which means within a month and a half they have tasted through all the wines. Interesting to note, 3 Monterey winery owners, who were not named to me, are partners in this venture, it is also interesting to note that their wineries were not mentioned to me either. It turns out that they are very careful not to showcase the wines of the owners often to avoid any favoritism, because the store is all about the love of Monterey wines … what an incredible concept this is.

About Monterey … is a cool climate region comprising some 40,000 acres spread out over 9 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs): Carmel Valley, Arroyo Seco, San Bernabe, Chalone, San Lucas, San Antonio Valley, Hames Valley, Monterey and Santa Lucia Highlands.

The Tasting … I went through the tasting menu with Gray, selected a few wines myself, but in general left the wines I would be tasting in the hands of the man that knew best. Gray, who poured seven different wines for me wanted to give me good idea of what is being grown and made in Monterey and the styles of wines they produce. The tasting menu was heavy on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as it seems to be a staple with every Monterey winery (as I learned on my tour the day before). Highlights of the tasting was Gray’s favourite Chardonnay: Hahn 2009 SLH Estate Chardonnay ($25.00) I was positive that the SLH stood for Select Late Harvest, but Gray corrected me, it stands for Santa Lucia Highlands. The nose was delightful, full of fruit like peach and pear, wrapped in buttery-vanilla aromas … the palate is so inviting it kept you coming back for more; on the palate it was fresh and crisp with nicely balanced acidity: pear mixed with hints of green apple and yet with a buttery-creaminess in the mouth; it was hard to believe you can keep that nice acidity and still get that great creaminess – welcome to cool climate California Chardonnay … (****+). Another beauty was the Parsonage Winery 2009 Syrah ($36.00), this winery is known around these parts for their Syrah and I can see (and taste) why. The nose is red raspberry, white pepper and hints of chocolate; while the palate doles out spice, white pepper, raspberry, black cherry with a real sexy smoothness to the finish (**** ½)

Other Highlights from the Taste of Monterey Tasting:
Talbott 2009 Kali Hart Pinot Noir ($21.00) - *** ½+
Joyce 2008 Merlot ($20.00) - *** ½+
Tondre 2008 Pinot Noir ($43.00) - ****

Next up: tasting Carmel Road at the Jazz Festival.

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Report from … Tasting in Carmel, California (part 2) - September 16, 2011

2011-09-18T18:54:00.001-04:00

Bottles of Bernardus wine

Our next stop along the way was to Bernardus, a winery that began because of the owners love for red wines of the Bordeaux region. The family fortune comes from the owner’s father who became the exclusive importer for German cars (VW, Audi and Porsche) after World War II. The vineyard area consists of about 300 acres spread over six estates, of which 58 are planted. Bernardus is not available in Ontario, so you’ll have to live vicariously through these notes. Stanley, our wine jockey and lexicon about all things Bernardus (and, it seems, Monterey County) took us through a tasting of a dozen or so wines with a real enthusiasm for each and every one, and he was not afraid to point out his favourites along the way and tell us why. Best White: 2009 Sierra Mar Chardonnay ($40.00) a wine made from grapes in only their third leaf, aged 10 months in a 50/50 blend of new and used French oak. For a wine made with such young grapes this wine shows some real finesse and delicacy, not overpowered by the wood, there is a real suppleness on the palate and lovely fruit; the piece-de-resistance is the Wurther’s candy finish that just keeps going and going and going (**** ½). Best Red: hands down it was the single block, single vineyard 2004 Swan Block Merlot ($125.00), this is a real unique wine for this winery as they do not expect to ever be making such a wine again, but the fruit was just so good this year that the winemaker insisted. Aged 20 months in a 50/50 blend of oaks (new and used) and then rested 2 years in bottle before release. Very smooth with blackberry, blueberry, cassis and milk chocolate, still has some nice tannins on the finish (**** ½). Only 350 cases produced.
Wines Scored – (in Order of Tasting):
Bernardus 2010 Monterey County Sauvignon Blanc ($16.00) - *** ½
Bernardus 2010 Griva Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc ($20.00) - *** ½
Bernardus 2009 Monterey County Chardonnay ($22.00) - *** ½
Bernardus 2008 Rosella’s Vineyard Chardonnay ($40.00) - *** ½+
Bernardus 2008 Ingrid’s Vineyard Chardonnay ($40.00) - ****+
Bernardus 2009 Sierra Mar Chardonnay ($40.00) - **** ½
Bernardus 2007 Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir ($75.00) - *** ½+
Bernardus 2007 Marinus - Cab Sauv/Merlot/Petit Verdot/Cab Franc ($28.00) - ****+
Bernardus 2004 Swan Block Merlot ($125.00) - **** ½

Front of Morgan's tasting room

Inside the Morgan Tasting room

From there we left Carmel Valley Village and made the drive to Morgan’s tasting room that was located in an open-air mall just outside of Carmel (The Crossroads Shopping Village). Established in 1982 Morgan is another of the Monterey wineries that specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but also has quite a love-fest going with Rhone-style reds too. The mall tasting room does not have all the wines produced by Morgan but they have a great cross-section of what they are producing. Deborah, the manager at this location, took us on a tasting tour from light to “heavy” starting with the Sauvignon Blanc and ending with the estate Syrah. Best wine: 2009 Cotes du Crow’s ($18.00) a 50/50 Rhone-like blend of Syrah and Grenache; lovely raspberry fruit dominated this one from start to finish, soft and easy to drink this one also had silky tannins that made it a pleasant sipper for any time of day (****+).

Wines Scored – (in Order of Tasting):
Morgan 2010 Metallico Chardonnay ($20.00) - *** ½
Morgan 2009 Highland Chardonnay ($26.00) - *** ½
Morgan 2009 Double L Chardonnay ($36.00) - ****
Morgan 2009 Twelve Clones Pinot Noir ($32.00) - *** ½+
Morgan 2009 Cotes du Crow’s ($18.00) - ****+
Morgan 2008 Syrah ($20.00) - ****
Morgan 2008 Double L Syrah ($40.00) - ****

Now it was time to head back to Carmel and see if those tasting rooms were finally open … we started at Galante, and for the second time found the door locked (this time for a bank run), so we hightailed it two blocks over and a block up to Wrath, also located in a mall-type setting, right beside a place called the Cheese Shop on the lower level. Wrath’s original name was San Saba Vineyards, but the son took it over and was looking for a re-branding of the winery and came up with the rather interesting and memorable name of Wrath, I liked the look of the label but I suspect they get that a lot. They are mainly a Pinot and Chardonnay house with a smattering of Syrah. We approached Amy with an hour and a half left in her day and perused the wine list … quite long and very interesting, but we lacked the time to try it all, especially since we had one more tasting room to get to that closed at the same time. I asked Amy to picked the best of the three kinds of wine they made, the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were delightful. Chardonnay: 2008 San Saba Chardonnay ($49.00) aged in 70% new French, this is the estate vineyard which still keeps the original name; lovely mouthfeel with nice spice on the back palate – tropical fruit, vanilla bean, hazelnut, caramel and lots of sweet buttery notes (****+). Pinot Noir: 2009 McIntyre Vineyard Pinot Noir ($49.00), a whopping 14.7% alcohol here but it does not show on the nose or the palate. The nose is blueberry, cherry and cocoa laced with spice and dark fruit on the palate, robust tannin structure and a great long finish seals the deal after every sip (****+).

Wines Scored – (in Order of Tasting):
Wrath 2008 San Saba Chardonnay ($49.00) - ****+
Wrath 2009 McIntyre Vineyard Pinot Noir ($49.00) - ****+
Wrath 2008 Doctor’s Vineyard Syrah – ($39.00) - ****
Wrath 2008 Noble Wrath – late harvest Sauvignon Blanc – ($35.00 / 375ml) - *** ½+

The door to Galante wines

We left Wrath and wondered into the cheese shop for a few minutes to take in the ambiance and try some cheese … imagine if you will a full cheese shop up front with cheeses from around the world, and a well stocked wine shop in the back … the store was equally divided, linking wine and cheese together in the consumer mind. From there we made the 2 block-1block trek back to Galante for the third time, and this time the door was open. Here we came in contact with the jovial Ian who already had ‘em lined up at the tasting bar. He ran us through the Galante history: J Frank Devendorf, the great great grandfather of the current owners, was the founder of Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1903, their 700 acres was a cattle ranch (and still is to this day) but also grows grapes on 33 of those acres (Cab Sauv, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir). We tasted through 6 wines, 2 Pinots, 2 Cabs, a Sauvignon Blanc and the Petite Sirah. Best Wine: 2010 Estate Sauvignon Blanc ($25.00), which sees a little wood action (10% of the wine into new French oak for two months). This was probably the best Sauvignon Blanc I tried the whole trip. The nose had just a slight whiff of vanilla amongst the grassy lemonade aromas and the palate kept some nice bite from the retained acidity along with melon, lemon, vanilla and grapefruit (****). Interesting Wine: I must also mention the 2008 “Cowpoke” Pinot Noir ($12.00), the grapes for this wine are grown some 1800 feet above sea level and 2008 was the year of the Basin fires, the smoke cloud passed over the vineyard during veraison (where the grapes start to change colour), the grapes and subsequent wine took on that really smoky character to a point that is really all you can taste and smell in this wine, great for bbq. This unique wine defies a score.

That should have concluded my winery tasting in California, but little did I know my days of tasting in California were far from over.

Next up: A Taste of Monterey, wine store and tasting bar.

See Part 1 – click here.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from … Tasting in Carmel, California (part 1) - September 16, 2011

2011-09-17T20:41:00.000-04:00

It started out like “one-of-those-days” but ended much better. We set our sights on the wineries around the tasting rooms of Carmel and in the Carmel Valley, so we drove into Carmel-by-the-Sea, home to at least five winery tasting rooms. Unlike back home where the winery’s store has to be attached to their actual winery, here you can have a completely separate store off your property and over the mountains, if you wish. The rooms recommended by the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association were Galante, Caracciolo Cellars, Figge Cellars and Cima Collina , and the fifth was Wrath, which had just opened last month. Here’s where the one-of-those-days comes into play: each tasting room did not open till about 1 or 2 in afternoon, we were strolling Carmel at 10am … and Wrath is in a crazy open mall, and I was positive the map had them on the third floor (not the first where I eventually found them later in the day … more on that later). So with frustration we climbed back into the car and pointed the GSP to an address I had been given: 8940 Carmel Valley Road – Chateau Julien.

Upon entry Chateau Julien

Bottle of Sangiovese

The Chateau was started 30 years ago, with a total acreage of 16, of which 5.5 are planted, with now, 19- year-old Sangiovese vines. Merlot is their flagship wine, which parallels the St. Julien region of France, which they patterned the winery after. They were proud to tell me that they were the second winery in the Carmel Valley. I found them to be a winery that has the winery experience down to a tee, but the wines were lacking … at least the wines that were on for tasting today. Each day they select 5-7 wines for the public to taste and that is what you can choose from, or you can do all of them. We went through the line from Chardonnay, Syrah, Merlot, skipping the sweeties so early in the morning – though it was by now 11. The two wines that did stand out were their 2008 Estate Sangiovese ($25.00) which had a pretty cherry nose along with sour cherry and good acidity on the palate, this was quite the food friendly offering (*** ½+). They also had a delicious 2007 La Conviviance ($55.00) red blend. La Conviviance loosely translates to “living the good life” and it is a blend of Merlot (52.4%), Malbec (39.2%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (8.4%), chocolate-black cherry on the nose that translated in the mouth to chocolate and blackberry, nice weight and some good balancing acidity (****) – which seemed to be the trademark of this winery … good acidity, even in the wines we were not partial to (because they seemed to have too much of the good stuff). The owners’ son has started his own label PoiZ, which looks modern and fun, but alas we were not able to try his wines.

Entrance to Joullian

Delicious Chardonnay

Moving on down the road (about 16km) we came upon Carmel Valley Village, now this is the hub on your way down to Arroyo Seco… restaurants, shops and lots of winery tasting room, all within a mile – we would have done more walking here if we had had the time, because when people said things were, “just down the road”, they really meant about 2 stores down. We found Joullian Vineyard without a problem and were lucky enough to have Amy Jo as our guide, not only through the wines but of the area – she knew where everyone was, what they made and what their best stuff was, “I like to learn” she said. Joullian is a winery established in 1982, and has the distinction, in my mind anyway, of having the first estate grown Zinfandel in the Carmel Valley, interestly enough their property is too hot to grow Chardonnay, so it is the only grape they buy from growers. Really good wines, and the place we should have started our tasting tour at. Best wine: 2009 Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay ($33.00), the fruit is purchased from Talbott (our next stop); this wine was really nice on the buttery side but with a sweet kinda smoothness on the palate that had hints of vanilla and sweet fruit … and it’s hallmark was it deliciously long finish. (**** ½). Most interesting wine: The Retro Rouge, a non-vintage blend that makes use of every grape grown on the property in a field blend, 10 in total including some black muscat and “alicane bouschet”.
Wines Scored – (in Order of Tasting):
Joullian 2008 Monterey Chardonnay ($23.00) – *** ½+
Joullian 2009 Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay ($33.00) - **** ½
Joullian 2007 Sias Cuvee Zinfandel ($26.00) - ****+
Joullian 207 Reserve Cabernet Franc ($35.00) - ****

Talbot Tasting room

The original Sleepy Hollow

From Joullian we went down the road about 200 yards to the Talbott Vineyards tasting room. Talbott was established in 1982 and they are tenders of the famous Sleepy Hollow vineyard, 565 acres, planted in 1972 to mostly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Here we had Gabby run us through a tasting of 2 Chardonnays and 2 Pinot Noirs (her choice), although the winery makes many more, she also offered to have us taste one of the reserve wines from each bracket, there really were some spectacular wines here. Best Chardonnay: 2009 Cuvee Carlotta Chardonnay ($52.00) a ten best barrel blend with all fruit coming from the Sleepy Hollow vineyard, only 250 cases produced and matured in all new French oak for one year; the wine is named after the grandmother of the owner – this wine is super rich, super buttery and super smooth (**** ½). Best Pinot Noir: 2009 Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir ($40.00), the Sleepy Hollow vines are the oldest owned by the winery at 35 years, this wine is aged 12 months in 30% new oak, all French. The nose is delicate black cherry, sour cherry with subtle spice; while the palate is juicy with sweet cherry, hints of spice and pepper, the long red fruit finish has a dusting of tannins and the fruit that lingers gives a lovely strawberry sensation on the tongue. (**** ½+)
Wines Scored – (in Order of Tasting):
Talbott 2009 Logan Chardonnay ($22.50) - *** ½
Talbott 2009 Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay ($40.00) - ****+
Talbott 2009 Cuvee Carlotta Chardonnay ($52.00) - **** ½
Talbott 2009 Logan Pinot Noir ($25.00) - ****
Talbott 2009 Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir ($40.00) - **** ½+
Talbott 2009 RFT Pinot Noir ($75.00) - ****+
Talbott 2009 Cuvee Sarah Pinot Noir ($75.00) - ****+

Sign of the Chock Rock

Chalone Syrah

We’ll end this part of the Carmel tour report with a quick trip over Chock Rock Vineyard before we had lunch. Chock Rock is the project of winemaker Dan Karlsen, winemaker for Talbott (see above), here he specializes in Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah … having just poured over a lot of his Chard and Pinot work I wanted to see how he was doing with Syrah. Dan has an interesting wine philosophy that is written on his back label: “Wine Makers don’t make anything of interest – They just keep it from rolling downhill”. We were served, in the tasting room, by his wife Kathleen (and partner in winery crime) who poured for us the two Syrahs on offer: the 2007 Arroyo Seco and the 2006 Chalone, both a very reasonable $18.00. The Arroyo Seco is full of sweet raspberry and plum fruit on the nose, almost port-like in intensity of aroma and flavour, rich, ripe and slightly peppery (*** ½). The Chalone was the more toned down of the two showing off some real finesse to Syrah making. Earthy, smoked meat, pepper, strawberry, smoky and cherry (especially on the nose); a nice medium length finish that offered up sweet peppery notes … very classic Syrah qualities (****+).

This ends the first part of our tour, we then had lunch at a place called Will’s Fargo for a burger the size of my head … okay, maybe not that big, but it sure was filling and got us through the rest of the afternoon.

See Part 2 - click here

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Report from ... California Winery Tour: Wente & Kunde - September 14, 2011

2011-09-15T03:04:00.000-04:00

The day started on the bus with a trip to Wente Vineyards in Livermore (south east of San Francisco) … they told us it was a “Napa Wine Tour”, but as it turns out we only traveled through Napa on our way to our second winery in Sonoma, more on that in a moment.

Wente is a 128-year-old family owned (now in its 5th generation) winery with vineyards in both Livermore (2000 acres) and further south in Monterey (1000 acres) … the estate houses a restaurant, a “grill and golf course” (the course was designed by Greg Norman) and caves that date back to the late 1800’s. They produce about 350,000 cases of wine per year, which, believe it or not, puts them in the California ranking somewhere between 25 to 27 (depending on the year) in production volume – and according to our guide Larry, is precisely where they plan to stay.

We were started off with a Louis Mel 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($11.99), a melon and grassy nose led to lemon and grass on the palate with a hint of grapefruit … I would say this was a very good starter for the day (*** ½). We then wondered through to the caves where we were treated to four more wines, but not before we walked by the concert venue where they were setting up for Diana Ross as the last performance of their 25th anniversary year, we had missed Kenny Loggins, who had appeared the night before.

Caves from the late 1800's - minus the chairs of course

Our first wine underground was the Riva Ranch 2009 Chardonnay ($19.99), very typically Californian in style with its buttery, caramel, almond and vanilla nose leading to a creamy palate full of caramel apple with a vanilla finish … of course butter ran its way through the palate too (****).

With the whites under our collective belts they pulled out a small production Nth Degree wine. These are considered the best of the best of the wines made at Wente and the 2009 Nth Pinot Noir ($55.00) was no exception to the rule. A nose of black cherry, sweet cranberry and vanilla was the preamble to a juicy black cherry palate with subtle cranberry, nice spice and good acidity. 15 months in all new oak with 15% being American – which is probably where that vanilla came from. Only 400 cases of this wine were produced (****+).

Star of the Wente tasting

We were then treated to a double shot of Cabernet, the Charles Wetmore 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($24.99) with its blackberry, black cherry, cassis, plum, vanilla and cinnamon nose followed by a lot of black fruit, cinnamon and vanilla through the mouth and ending with some black raspberry and smoked cherry on the finish. Wood treatment was 40% second fill and 60% new oak (****+). But the star of the cave-show was the 2007 Small Lot Cabernet Sauvignon ($49.99) … the small lot is a handmade wine, from picking to the double sorting, and it can be made from single rows of grapes from specific blocks of a single vineyard, it equals only about 10% of Wente’s production and of the few Small Lot wines they make the case production is only between 100 to a maximum of 400 cases per. This Cab really shone with a nose of chocolate, black cherry, plum and spiced vanilla … as it opened in the glass it kept giving off more and more aromas. The palate was full of rich dark fruit like black raspberry and cinnamon spiced plum, but also with hints of cocoa and some mineral notes, the acidity also made it seem like a great wine to pair some food with … steak or time would have been what this wine needed to make it complete … steak right now, or time to sit in the cellar (**** ½).

Then it was back to the tasting room before lunch to see what other goodies were possible to try:
- Small Lot 2010 Viognier ($21.99) with lovely tropical notes along with some floral and hints of spice. (*** ½+)
- Small Lot 2009 Grenache ($34.99) big raspberry aromas that followed onto the palate, smooth and silky with strawberry tartness on the finish. (*** ½)
- Small Lot 2008 Petite Sirah ($3499) showed some plum and raspberry on the nose, but the palate showed so much more: spice at the front before moving into dark raspberry and chocolate, then finishes with white pepper. (****+)
- Sonata 2009 ($44.99) a blend of 55% Cabernet and 45% Syrah. White pepper, spiced cherry, plum and raspberry notes kick off in the nose, then gives way to a supple palate with juicy plum, cherry and a white pepper finish. (****+)

Wente: Lunch overlooking the golf course

From there it was time to leave the tasting room and hit the grill for lunch … the grill looks over the golf course and on such a fine sunny day the view of the course and the surrounding hills was spectacular. Lunch consisted of a Reuben sandwich on multi-grain bread, decent, but the view was what really made it delicious.

We left Wente behind and took the hour-plus bus ride to Sonoma, passing many well-known vineyards along the way including Concannon, Cline and Valley of the Moon. Being a huge Zinfandel fan I salivated at the marker pointing the direction to Ravenswood, but I am sure I would have been out-voted to go, but we were expected at Kunde, and we were late.

Our arrival at Kunde (established in 1904) was greeted with three lack-luster wines: a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay and a Gewurztraminer; the hot Sonoma Valley is not conducive to making delicate whites like the Sauv Blanc and the Gewurzt, while the 2009 Chardonnay was typical Cali-Chard with the standard butter and vanilla, the interesting part was the pineapple-vanilla palate (*** ½)

I was wondering if we were going to get to try any of the good stuff as we waited around for the vans to take us up to a mountain-top tasting. On the way up we learned a bit about the property: at 1850 acres it is the largest piece of continuous property in the Sonoma Valley, they grow some 20 different varieties of grapes in 5 different micro-climates. They, like Wente, have caves, about 32,00 square feet of them and within those caves there are more than a kilometer of paths. Their oldest vines are 130 years old and the grapes are put into their Century Vines Zinfandel. The movie “Bottle Shock” was filmed entirely on their property (at least all the scenes that involved vineyard settings) … we snaked up the mountainside and came to rest at an elevation of about 1400 feet up for a tasting of 4 wines. The last two were Cabernet Sauvignon – and they were good, but the Zinfandels we started with stole the show, in my opinion they should have led with the Cab and finished with the Zin for the biggest umph … and one in particular, the Century Vine, is a show stopper.

Star of the Kunde tasting

130 year old Zin vine

The 2007 Estate Zinfandel ($18.00) was full of plum and vanilla on the nose with spicy plum and raspberry on the palate … pretty standard fare for a Zinfandel (*** ½) … the 2007 Reserve Century Vines Zinfandel ($30.00) blew me and all the other tasters in my party away. It was like a night and day comparison of Zins. The aromas were like a punch in the nose waking you up and making you shake your head to clear your nasal passages and try again, but then it hit again: cherry cola, dark plum, and vanilla: rich, dark and inviting. The palate was even more so with its rich cherry, vanilla, chocolate, robust plum, and raspberry puree; as it sat in the glass it just got better and better, smoother and smoother, and even more inviting … after the Cabs I had another glass, and it is the wine in my glass throughout the pictures were took, might as well stick with the best to look your best. An absolutely superb wine (**** ½) to go with the stunning view of the landscape. We came down out of the mountain stopping to take a picture of the star vines and their gnarly trunks … someone said the big guy looked like Willem Dafoe, I did not see the resemblance, but to each his own.

Kunde: Stunning view from Mountain Top tasting

After that it was hard to think a wine could top it … and in truth there wasn’t, but there were two wines that did stick in my mind and I bought one of them. The 2007 Syrah ($18.00) was just as juicy as all get out, not your typical Syrah, but one you could sit, sip and enjoy (*** ½). Then there is the one I bought, it was quite the unique blend of red grapes: the 2008 Red Dirt Red ($28.00) … when described to me the red dirt wine seemed almost like a haphazard field blend made up of 30% each of Syrah, Barbera and Zinfandel thrust together with 10% Sangiovese. If you think about it that’s one part French, two parts Italian and one part American – a true American Melting Pot. But the flavours were just so right with a sweetness yet subtle spice on the nose and just the right amount of juicy and spicy on the palate to make it irresistible (****+). You just have to take a bottle like that home … and I did.

On Friday it’s off to Carmel to see what the wineries of Monterey have to offer: See Part 1 here

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... Argentina Tasting - July 21, 2011

2011-09-02T10:03:00.000-04:00

On what very well could have been the hottest day of the year, with the humidex hitting a close-to record of 47C, the Argentineans staged a tasting of their big, bold wines from their piece of the world. While they might be used to these high temps, we cool climate Canadians were a little taken aback (and sweaty) ... I joked with the folks at Q-Water (the official water supplier of the event) that they just might be the most popular booth in the building - and by the time I was ready to leave, they were my favourite ... I had more to drink there then at the 20+ producer booths that were in attendance.

Over 50 wines from 20+ producers were poured, sipped and for the most part, savoured (before spitting) and below my list of some of the highlights ... most of these wines are either already in, or are coming soon, to the Ontario market:

Bodegas Catena Zapata ...
- Catena Malbec 2008 ($19.95 - #478727) ... a real beauty for Malbec fans and newbies alike: dark fruit, pepper, raspberry jam, yet with some nice delicacy. (****+)
- Tilia Torrontes 2010 ($12.95 - #186403) - *** 1/2
- Tilia Malbec 2009 ($12.95 - #160945) - *** 1/2

Bodega Luigi Bosca ...
- Reserva Malbec 2008 ($17.95 - #79293) ... good fruit with smoky vanilla notes. (*** 1/2)

Callia ...
Interesting to note this is the only San Juan Valley (average of about 4 inches of rain per year) wine on the general list
Tried two of the same wines from different years: Alta Malbec ($11.00 - #160978)
- 2010 ... great flavours with dark and spicy fruit (****)
- 2009 ... smoother then the '10 but retains the pepper with lovely raspberry fruit (****+)

Chakana ...
- Estate Selection Malbec 2009 ($19.95 - #219261) ... 18 months of oak has made this wine deep, dark, rich and fruity; possesses chocolate, white pepper and good tannins on the finish. (****+)
- Reserve Malbec 2009 ($14.95 - #18671) - *** 1/2+

Domaine Jean Bousquet ...
- Cabernet Sauvignon Organic ($11.95 - #218875) ... black fruited and smooth. (*** 1/2)

Don Cristobal ...
- Cristobal 1492 Chardonnay 2011 (~$12.95) ... peach and banana chip on the nose with plenty of pear flavours in the mouth along with other sweet fruit. Great refresher on this hot day. (****+)
- Oak Reserve Shiraz 2008 ($13.95 - #236133) - ****+

Familia Zuccardi ...
- Serie A Chardonnay / Viognier 2010 ($14.95 - #262097) ... 75% Chardonnay that`s fruity as hell with sweet vanilla undertones, simply lovely. In Vintages March 2012. (****)
- Q Tempranillo 2008 ($19.95 - #973503) - *** 1/2+

Finca Martha ...
- Gran Malbec 2009 ($16.95 - Consignment) ... 12 months in new French oak, vanilla and chocolate that`s smooth and creamy with big black fruit that is embedded with a touch of spice; slight hint of oxidation here, but that only adds to the character. (****+)

Finca Flichman ...
- Paiseja de Barrancas 2007 ($17.95 - #17129) ... a blend of Syrah, Malbec and Cabernet; smoky vanilla, white pepper and black raspberry; truly a mouthful (****+)
- Misterio Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 ($8.00 - #163949) - *** 1/2+
- Misterio Malbec 2010 ($8.20 - #28803) - *** 1/2+

Graffigna ...
- Centenano Reserva Shiraz 2008 ($12.95 - #164731) ... very fruit driven. (*** 1/2)

Humberto Canale ...
- Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($12.99 - Consignment) ... melon and quince dominate with a refreshing long finish, very approachable wine. (*** 1/2+)
- Estate Pinot Noir 2010 ($14.99 - Consignment) - *** 1/2

Kaiken ...
- Reserve Malbec 2009 ($14.95 - #58339) ... continues to be an excellent value, looking to try Malbec, this is a great place to start without breaking the bank on a bottle: spiced black cherry, strawberry and vanilla. (****+)
- Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($19.95 - #135202) - ****

Navarro Correas ...
- Alegoria Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($19.95 - #154583) ... black cherry and mint lead the charge with a chocolate finish, sippable and smooth. (****+)

RJ Vinedos ...
- Joffre E. Hijas Grand Chardonnay 2009 (~$16.95) ... gentle fruit for easy drinking enjoyablilty; hints of pear make it quite pleasurable. (*** 1/2+)

Trapiche ...
- Broquel Malbec 2008 ($14.95 - #234385) ... this one`s BBQ ready with its black cherry and chocolate interlaced with spice, smooth and lush. (****+)

Trivento ...
- Amado Sur Malbec 2009 ($15.00 - #37036) ... a blend of Malbec, Bonarda and Syrah, this is just a beautifully supple red bledn with a little bite on the tongue. In Vintages January 2012. (****+)

Valle de la Puerta ...
- La Puerta Alta Bonarda 2009 ($14.95 - #261990) ... lovely red fruit with a hint of spice and good acidity; get to know the Bonarda grape and you`ll learn to love it, and this is a good place to start. (****+)
- La Puerta Torrontes 2010 ($8.95 - #197970) - *** 1/2

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... New Wines of Greece in Toronto - May 10, 2011

2011-09-02T09:46:00.004-04:00

New Wines of Greece has stolen a little of Canada's mojo (see above). Here's what I mean: first, their new logo looks like a melting CBC logo (must be all that Mediterranean heat); second, their new slogan is "Yours to Discover" - now where have I heard that before? That's right, I see it on the back of almost every Ontario car I drive behind on the 401 - and Lord knows I'm close enough to read them quite clearly in all that bumper-to-bumper traffic.

But I'm not here to tell you about the state of the roads in Ontario, what I want to get you familiar with are the wines and grapes of Greece - and the Greeks went on a road trip of their own to promote just that.

The day started with a Greek wine seminar to familiarize us with this historic winemaking country and facts like: there are over 300 indigenous grape varieties in Greece, and it is the 3rd most mountainous country in Europe. But it wasn't for these factoids that I was in attendance, nor was it the pictures of vineyards, the coastline or the wonderful food (though all had me wishing for a few more shekels in my pocket so that I could hop the next plane out); it was for the wine.

Seminar Wines ...
Ten wines were poured, all made from grapes you may never have heard of, like Roditis, Malagousia, Avgoustiatis, Krassato and Aedani. All the wines were of interest but here were my top 5 selections:

Oenoforos Asprolith 2010 (Wine: white; Grape: Roditis) - grape is planted throughout central Greece. Very pretty nose, almost creamy in the mouth, soft, easy and delicate with a nice finish. (*** 1/2)

Biblia Chora Areti 2009 (Wine: white; Grape: Assyrtiko) - this is a grape that has the ability to make fresh whites even in this hot climate. Soapy aromas yet with nice fresh flavours and decent minerality (a la soapstone), to say the wine is clean is as much a pun as it is true. (*** 1/2)

Alpha Estate Axia 2010 (Wine: white; Grape: Malagousia) - grape was rediscovered in the 70's and grows in central Macedonia, it was on the verge of extinction. Aromatics are outstanding here, they really jump out of the glass: floral, grapefruit, tangerine and spice which all follow into the mouth and linger. (*** 1/2+)

Tsantali Rapsani Reserve 2007 (Wine: red; Grapes: Xinomavro, Krassato, Stavroto) - Xino is northern grown and is considered to be rough with tannins; the other two grapes add roundness and softness to the more aggressive Xino. Olive and tea aromas with woody and tea-like tannins, there's also an aggressive array of spices - the wine should evolve nicely with time. (*** 1/2)

Parparoussis Taos 2005 (Wine: red; Grape: Mavrodaphne) - usually made as a sweet wine but this shows what Mavro can do dry. Aromas are slightly medicinal with herbal, bay leaf and wintergreen mint. Palate is a tad chalky with herbal, tea leaf and floral nuances. Very intriguing wine. (*** 1/2+)

Other Wines ...
Quite an array of wines from approximately 36 producers pouring an average of 3 wines each (~108 wines). My selections below all scored three-and-a-half stars and above - some are available in the Ontario market through their agent (I'll remark on any LCBO connection where possible) - for the rest of you, in a non-communist-style wine selling area of the world, search out some of these wonderful wines, they will not disappoint.

Alpha Estates (one of the most interesting and consistent wine producers I tried today)
- 2007 Estate Red ($29.95 - Nov. 12, 2011 at Vintages) - ****
- 2007 Xinomavro Reserve Old Vines - *** 1/2+
- Xinomavro Single Vineyard "Hedgehog" ($18.95 - Fall 2011 Release at Vintages) - plumy red fruit, a real winner for the priced ... ****+

Antonopoulos 2005 Private Collection (red) - quite juicy - *** 1/2

Boutari 2004 Naoussa Grande Reserve (red) - *** 1/2+

Cavino 2004 Nemea Grande Reserve (red) - dark fruit and spice, really quaffable - ****+

Gaia Wines (another winery showing really good consistency)
- 2009 Agiorgitiko (red) - *** 1/2
- 2006 Estate (red) - *** 1/2+

Domaine Gerovassilou 2009 Viognier (white) - not an often seen grape in Greece, but a really good version that is just so ... yum. ****

Kourtaki NV Mavrodaphne of Patras (sweet red) - I've liked this wine since I tried it several years ago, great after dinner bevvie and an alternative to Port, though somewhat lighter. *** 1/2+

Katogi 2005 Xinomavro (red) ... *** 1/2

Kir Yianni (we have seen their wines in the market before and they are worth picking up)
- 2007 Diaporos (red) - nice dark berry, spice and peppered notes ... ****+
- 2008 Ramnista (red) ... ****

Nico Lazaridi 2006 Magic Mountain (red) - made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, as much as I could get that blend anywhere this one had something worth exploring though still needs time to evolve ... *** 1/2+

Papaiannou Estate 2003 Microclima (red) ... *** 1/2

Pavlidis Estate 2008 Thema Red (red) - very jammy ... *** 1/2+

Skouras 2008 St. George (red) - quite fruit driven ... *** 1/2

As you can see there is plenty of choice and lots of good wines (mostly red) coming from Greece ... next time you're feeling like something new on the table head to the Greek section and grab a bottle - don't be afraid of the amateurish label or daunting grape names - what's in the bottle is what counts.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... 5th Annual 6 Barrels for 6 Chefs @ Huff - June 24, 2011

2011-07-26T07:53:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the 5th Annual 6 Barrels for 6 Chefs

With rain in the forecast every day leading up to the event the folks at Huff did not want to take any chances, so up went a tent and instead of a walk through the vineyard to collect your food and wine pairings you were warm and dry under the big top. As luck would have it, the rains held off so you could eat with the sun at your back on a variety of benches and tables outside the confines of the tent... though there were tables also set up inside, just in case you did not want to leave the cozy confines of the tented area. I'm talking here about one of the most unique (uniquest - can something really be more unique? That's a question for another day) events I have ever, and continue to attend and be enthralled with. Six renowned chefs are paired up with 6 barrel samples of unfinished wine - they cook outdoors in the vineyard and create some of the most deliciously inventive dishes you'll ever see come off a hot plate. This year's event had an international flair as one of the chefs was from Ireland ("I just had to take part," Denis Cotter said to me).

Under the tent - see no barrels in sight

The Chefs ...

Denis Cotter - from Ireland

Tonight's chefs were: Ryan Crawford (stone Road Grille, Niagara-on-the-Lake); Chris McDonald (Cava, Toronto); Denis Cotter (Cafe Paradiso, Ireland); Michael Potters (Angeline's, Bloomfield); Hiro Yoshida (Hiro Sushi, Toronto) and Jamie Kennedy (Giolead Cafe & Bistro, Toronto).

The Wines ...
6 barrels are on hand for these chefs - but the barrels aren't actually around the place, they have been left behind at their respective wineries of origin and only bottled up samples are on hand. This year 2 Chardonnays from Huff, 2 Pinot Noirs from Norman Hardie and one each of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Closson Chase ... of course they are all 100% County wines.

And the top prizes for Best ____ go to ...
At an event like this it's hard not to talk about your favourites - all are good, some are better and only one is amazing and transcends the food and wine experience.

Top Three Food Offerings (as chosen by our distinguished panel of two)...
3) Jamie Kennedy's - pristine poached pickerel with Hillier chive soubise .... what a stunning piece of fish.

2) Michael Potters' - pan fried Bay of Quinte yellow perch with lovage remoulade ... the lemon vinagrette elevated the fish from good to great.

1) Denis Cotter - pan fried haloumi, beet braised puy lentils, harissa, walnut crumb and fava shoots ... who would have thought the out-of-towner would outshine the locals and he's a vegetarian cook to boot - but really who can resist fried cheese, even if it is pan-fried?

Mmmmm ... fried cheese

Top Wines ...
Best White: Closson Chase 2010 Chardonnay in a 1st fill (new) Carriage House Cooperage (Prince Edward County) 228L medium toast barrel ... buttery vanilla and creamy texture that still has fruit holding it all together; a beautiful sipping Chard right now.

Best Red: Norman Hardie 2010 Pinot Noir in a 2nd fill Mercurey (French) 228L barrel with medium toast ... great spice on the red and some lovely black cherry and subtle cranberry notes; this is a lovely wine to be.

Finally ... Best Pairing of the Night ...
After careful thought, much chewing and sipping this award goes to the Michael Potter pan fried yellow perch paired with a Huff Estates 2010 South Bay Chardonnay in a 1st fill Dargaud et Jaegle (French) 228L barrel with a medium high toast. I talked about that lemon vinaigrette earlier, well this wine made the lemon sing in the mouth and then washed everything clean away and ready for the next bite - on the next bite that song started up again - a match made in heaven.

"Pair this with the Huff Chardonnay"

Dessert ...
Chef Bryan Steele of the Old Prune in Stratford rocked it with a rhubarb & pecan streusel with strawberry ice cream ... this was a killer of a taste sensation and a great way to end the food portion of the evening.

Dessert to die for ... thank you Bryan Steele

Thanks to Huff for having the foresight to have this event every year ... the real winners are the guests who get to enjoy this little bit of learning heaven and to see how a wine tastes in its formative years ... if there were awards for best event of the year this would take one of my top three prizes every year. Hope to do it again next year.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... New Zealand Wine Fair - May 12, 2011

2011-07-26T07:10:00.000-04:00

In the land of Sauvignon Blanc, the one who make it different is King ... I am paraphrasing an old saying here but what I'm trying to get you to understand is that everybody knows that New Zealand make great Sauvignon Blanc, of that there is no doubt, but the question on everybody's lips should be, when confronted by the New Zealand section at your local liquor store: what else can they do?

As it turns out plenty. This year with close to 40 wineries in attendance I tried to avoid New Zealand's signature grape and instead focused my attention on "anything else". At one point I started asking producers what wine they were most proud to pour for me, and 90% picked something other than Sauvignon Blanc - seems the Kiwis are getting the message loud and clear: If you are going to have a sustainable wine industry you can't focus solely on one grape - the world wants to see what else you can do.

The Wine Fair was broken down into two parts - the self pour media seminar and the trade portion. This year's seminar wanted us to focus on 'The Amazing Aromatics from New Zealand', other than Sauvignon Blanc, and the "Various Faces of Syrah" from different parts of this dual island nation.

Seminar (aromatics) ...
I thought all the Rieslings (3 in total) were quite nice, the best of which was a Mt. Beautiful 2008 Cheviot Hills Riesling from Canterbury; at $18 it delivered fresh fruit, petrol, peach, apple and pear ... beautiful is a good name for it. (****+)

I was less impressed with the Pinot Gris selection, the best of this mediocre lot was an Akarua 2009 Pinot Gris from the Central Otago. (***+)

My palate fared better with the Gewurztraminers, the Spy Valley 2010 Gewurztraminer ($21.95) had just what you'd want from this grape - nice floral and rose petal nuances with a dash of spice. (****)

Seminar (syrah) ...
Seven Syrahs were on the table for sample, four from the Hawkes Bay region, two from the Gimblett Gravels (a sub-region of Hawke's Bay) and one from Waiheke Island. My favourite was the Sacred Hill 2007 Deerstalkers Syrah ($39.99) from Hawke's Bay proper; it was deep, rich and dark fruited with some sour black raspberry notes on the nose; the palate proved just as deep and rich with flavours of raspberry, smokiness and earthiness leading to a firm mouthfeel and good tannins; the finish proved to be very Syrah-like with lots of peppery notes (****+). Rounding out my top three were two from Gimblett Gravels: Mission Estate 2009 Reserve Syrah ($26.95) with its slightly plum-pepper finish (****) and Villa Maria Cellar Selection 2008 Syrah ($37.95) with meaty-earthy and chalkiness in the mouth ... with time this should develop into something wonderful, say 3-5 years (****).

The Rest of the Show (alphabetically, four-stars and above) ...
Amisfield 2009 Pinot Gris ($32.00) - rich fuller style of Gris (****+)
Astrolabe 2009 Durvillea Pinot Noir (n/a) - sour cherry and strawberry (****)
Churton 2008 Pinot Noir ($34.95) - good acidity, nice aromatics and spicy finish (****)
Giesen 2009 The August Sauvignon Blanc ($29.95) - wild ferment, 9 months in oak, whole bunch pressed ... results: creamy mouthfeel, something different (****)
Kato 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($16.95) - grassy, gooseberry and gorgeous, especially for the price, and available on the general list (****+)
Jackson Estate 2008 Vintage Widow Pinot Noir ($29.95) - cherry cranberry fruit with a pinch of earthy on the finish (****)
Nautilus 2009 Pinot Noir ($37.95) - dark berries and spice (****)
Ostler 2009 Caroline's Pinot Noir ($39.95) nice structure, plenty of dark fruit (****)
Sileni 2009 Estate Selection 'The Pacemaker' Cabernet Franc ($18.95) - great story behind the wine, lovely cherry-tobacco notes, very pretty wine (****+)
Teawa 2009 Left Field Merlot Malbec ($18.95) - red fruit dominant with a touch of pepper on the rounded finish (****)
Te Kairanga 2007 Runholder Pinot Noir ($32.95) - from 25 year old vines, earthy perfumed and sour cherry (****)
Wairau River 2009 Pinot Noir ($19.95) - red sour cherry, sweet vanilla, spiced-cranberry, very feminine in style (**** 1/2)
Wither Hills 2010 Rarangi Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc ($22.95) - lots of mineral and citrus with an inkling of pea pod (****+)

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from … 52 Wines from 1 Fantastic Place - May 18, 2011

2011-07-21T21:54:00.001-04:00

I think Kim Mitchell put it best when he said, "I am a Yellow Party", that was right after he attended an iYellow event. It was also the same event where Bran Van 3000 said, "There ain't no party like an iYellow party, cause and iYellow party don't stop."

Alright, ya caught me, I'm making this whole thing up, except for the party, that the iYellow Wine Club did sponsor and held the event for the 2nd year in a row at the Toronto Board of Trade in downtown Toronto. They invited the 26 winery members of the Niagara-on-the-Lake group to each pour two wines ... they called the event "52 wines - 1 Fantastic place" (or was that just the tag line?).

There really ain't much else to say except give you a run down on some of the wines that were at the event; but before I do that I should take a moment to thank Miss Angie Aiello herself (no relation to Danny) for inviting me to sit in with her during one of her little wine talks to a small group of wine lovers - and of course for inviting me to the event itself. As for my top 5 wines of the evening, you can find them below, along with a link to the full review on my website: www.ontariowinereview.com ...

1) Pondview 2009 Bella Terra Cabernet Franc (**** 1/2+) a fabulous France form a rather tough year, proves this grape really does belong in Ontario - you just have to know how to handle it in the vineyard.

2) Coyote's Run 2009 Red Paw Pinot Noir (**** 1/2) - the Coyote runs in a different pack when it comes to showing off their grapes in different soil types.

3) Colaneri 2009 Corposo (**** 1/2) - this ripasso style offering really brings out the inner-Italian in this new NOTL winery, not only does it feel that way but it tastes that way too.

4) Chateau des Charmes 2007 Old Vines Cabernet Merlot (****+) - shows that it's not just the newer wineries showing the way, this old guard still puts excellent wines into bottle year-in and year-out.

5) Cattail Creek 2009 Riesling (****+) - this Riesling really shows what the grape can do in the right hands, they've been growing it in NOTL since 1974, so you just know they're doing it right.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... Reh Kendermann Wine Dinner @ The Toronto Hunt Club - May 11, 2011

2011-07-21T21:32:00.001-04:00

Philippe Dandurand Wines (agent) invited Reh Kendermann's winemaker Philipp Maurer to Toronto to lead an experience of German wine with food. Many think of Riesling as a sweet sipping wine and it's unfortunate that the only food most people think of is oriental, when Riesling pairs with so many other dishes.

Many will find themselves scratching their heads wondering who Reh Kendermann is and what wines they make. Little do you know that you've probably experienced Reh's wines more than once in your lifetime ... Black Tower should ring bells with many of you, so yeah Reh has quietly been a part of your drinking past for many years, and now part of your future if you'll let him back into your hearts.

A Little About Reh ...
This winery has been family owned since 1920, they export 60% of their production and have four wineries (3 in Germany, 1 in Romania)

Tonight we got a chance to try the wines with their young winemaker (32), Philipp Maurer, who has been with Kendermann since 2005. We sampled 7 different wines from the portfolio: the 3 opening wines, 2 Rieslings: Black Tower and Bend in the River; and an absolutely stunning Kendermann 2007 Pinot Noir (did you know that Germany is the 3rd largest Pinot Noir producer in the world?)

I have to admit the pairings with the food were a little awkward and clumsy at times - the food was excellent and the wines ranged from good to excellent, but together they did not seem to mesh as seamlessly as all had hoped. So let's just focus on the wines here.

Tonight's Wines ...
Favourite wine of the night was the Carl Reh 2008 Riesling Kabinett ($12.95) from the Mosel region and with only 8.5% alcohol. This is a classic style Riesling with slate, stone and mineral all over the smell, followed by a more mineral driven palate that has crisp fresh apples within - a bargain at under $13 and available at selected LCBO locations, stock up for what is left of summer while you still can. (****)

There are also two sister wines Kendermann produces and they are based on the saoil in which the grapes are grown: Roter Hang (Red Hill/Slope) and Kalkstein (Limestone) - they use the same winemaking style for each wine, the only difference is the soil: the Roter is grown in 200 million year old soils, while the Kalkstein is grown in a very youthful 20,000 year old soil (youthful for soil anyway). I have tried these wines in the past and seem to gravitate towards the younger wine with its pure limestone and slate nose, and chalky mineral mouthfeel ... I have a 2004 version of this wine in my cellar that I look forward to trying soon (Philipp says I have a few years yet).

Our final wine was the decadently sweet Kendermann Laurentiuslay Riesling Auslese with its palate of ginger candy, pear and great balancing acidity that keeps it in harmony within the confines of the mouth without becoming all cloying and sickeningly sweet. Lovely as a dessert all on its own.

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Report from ... Duorum Dinner - November 16, 2010

2011-06-29T10:34:00.001-04:00

I was doing a little house cleaning this morning when I discovered some tasting notes from a dinner I attended back in November of 2010 at the University Club of Toronto in the Big Smoke ... it was a wine tasting and dinner around a wine project out of Portugal called Duorum. Duorum, according to the info I have sitting in front of me is a `joint project between two of Portugal`s best known oenologists: Joao Portugal Ramos and Jose Maria Soares Franco`. It looks like I found dinner passable but I found the wines to be much more than that with 4 of them garnering four-and-a-half star ratings ... so instead of just letting these wines languish on my desk I thought I would share them with you, and if you see the Duorum label and have opportunity to buy these wines I would snap them up.

Pre-Dinner Wines of Note ...

Duorum 2008 Old Vines Reserve (**** 1/2)

full of dark fruit with spice on the palate, 14% alcohol but doesn`t show it because it is supple and smooth with hints of anise and cassis.

Tons de Duorum 2009 (**** 1/2)

lots of cherry here, sweet, smooth and fruity with red licorice and anise; good acidity and tannins. Only 6 months in oak barrel. If it ever makes it`s way to Ontario shores it would retail for only $9.95, a total steal.

Dinner Wines ...

Vila Santa White 2009 (****)

best of the two whites poured with the first course of pickerel; made with three indigenous white grapes: sweet fruit, fresh and very tropical.

Conde Vimioso Reserva 2007 (**** 1/2)

a delicious red with chocolate, red cherry, blackberry, mint and cassis notes, the finish delivers bunches of delicious black cherry.

Duorum Reserva 2007 (**** 1/2)

another stunning and delightful wine with smoky notes that compliment the cassis, black raspberry, spice, dark chocolate and all culminates in a long finish.

Final thought: As much as I enjoy Port I found the Duorum 2008 was passable but not outstanding, but of course a vintage Port needs time.

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Report from ... 9 years worth of Baco Noir With HoP - June 20, 2011

2011-06-22T11:41:00.000-04:00

"Baco Noir has been berry-berry good to me" - not sure if they say that around the winery at Henry of Pelham but they should - they are the Kings of Baco Noir - and one of three wineries in all of Ontario I feel are doing justice with this grape (the other two are Sandbanks (PEC) and Sanson (LENS)). At its best it can taste like a real wine - at its worst its not fit to clean the toilet ... harsh words yes, but as someone who has waded his way through many a Baco Noir (way back in 2007 I organized an Ontario-wide Baco Noir Challenge) I can say that with authority.

Today, at the Summerhill LCBO, a dozen wine writers from the Wine Writers' Circle of Canada joined Paul Speck (co-owner) and Ron Geisbrecht (winemaker) of Henry of Pelham to taste through 9 years of Reserve Baco Noir.

By the Numbers ...
Henry of Pelham (HoP) started growing Baco in 1984 and making it into wine in 1988. The first year the word `Reserve` appeared on the label was in 1995. Oak treatment is always 100% American oak, of which 60% is new in the Reserve line ... the wine rests in oak for 6-10 months (regular) and up to 18 months for the Reserve. Finally, Ron admitted to using 8-15% of Merlot in the wines, though sometimes he`ll use Cabernet Franc

The vintages tasted today ranged from 1997 to a 2010 barrel sample, missing were 01, 03, 04, 06 (no Reserve made those years) and 05 (limited made - sold out). On average HoP makes only 1500 cases of Baco Noir Reserve compared to 12,000 of the regular.

By the Nose and Palate ...
General note: old Baco smells pretty rank, but the palate is surprisingly gentle and welcoming ... the older wines also seemed to fall apart quickly in the glass.

1997 ... an early favourite with a leathery nose and leathery red fruit flavours, but within a half hour it turned rubber hose and nail polish, drink quickly for best enjoyment.

1998 ... smoky yet horrible on my nose, thought about plugging it before sipping, but that would have taken all the fun out of this (?) - palate has some redeeming qualities with hints of black cherry and smoke.

1999 ... the best of the 90`s Bacos. The nose proved to be pretty harsh but the palate rescued it from being poured down the sink - full in the mouth with new leather and black cherry, still quite drinkable with a pleasant and long sweet fruit finish. Drink now.

2000 ... "Not half bad, " I wrote in my notes, "still has a stinky nose though" - palate is okay for a little while, half hour in the glass and it turns weedy and unappealing.

2002 ... one of two that really had impressive credentials - we have here a nine year old Baco with red licorice and cherry on the nose and a lovely palate of sweet vanilla cherry, black currant and plum with blueberries. I could not swear this to be Baco, it tastes too good. Drinks very well now.

2007 ... another hot vintage (see above) and another excellent example of well made Baco (this time Cabernet Franc was added). The nose was almost non-existent but the palate was more than just a little inviting: smooth red fruit (cherry) with nice tannin structure to hold it up and good acidity - great fruit core. Still a few years ahead of it, the question is: will it turn out like the `02? One can only hope.

2008 ... no redeeming qualities at this time - varnish aromas and flavours - but as we have seen Baco needs time.

2009 & 2010 ... both barrel samples that need time.

It was once said to me that "good Baco (if there is such a thing) needs at least 5 years in bottle to become a drinkable wine". Judging by the proof of 1999, 2002 and 2007 - there seems to be some truth to that statement.

Big thanks to Paul Speck and Ron Geisbrecht for giving us some insight into this most maligned and misunderstood grape variety.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from ... Wine & Herb Festival NOTL - Weekends in May 2011

2011-06-16T12:16:00.001-04:00

This year a record number of wineries took part in the Niagara-on-the-Lake Wine & Herb festival ... 26 wineries in total are now part of this NOTL collective and each participated by grabbing an herb out of the hat and blending it up in a food they could then pair with one of their wines. Wineries I spoke with said numbers were down this year. Could it have been the rain? Which decided to be part of every single weekend in May. Was it the strength of the Canadian dollar keeping the Americans away? Or was it the number of wineries? Which to some my seem like a daunting number - 26 to do in one weekend ... doable, but daunting. Whatever the reason numbers were down, leaving plenty of food left overs for staff and those who deemed it necessary to cop a second helping of a favourite.

This year we (my wife [foodie] and I [winie]) did all 26 wineries over two weekends, because we now reside in the area, though I'll admit we got kinda lazy, we did 24 one weekend, and because we could, saved the last two for another weekend - choosing instead to lounge on the Coyote's Run patio drinking 2010 Pinot Blanc and homemade Sangria on the first real sunny Saturday afternoon in quite some time (I even got a burn).

At events such as these it's really about the food and the pairing more than just the wine itself, so I have refrained from naming a Best Sip of the weekend (though I bet I cave by the end of the article) and instead we have ranked our top 10 pairings/food; we have also provided the bottom three wineries along with why we thought they were below par ... wineries not mentioned did a good job but did not stand out as better-best material or the alternative. Here we go.

The Bottom (in reverse order) ...
We'll start with the wineries that underwhelmed.

24. At first we thought we were punishing this winery for following one of our top choices (who ended up as our top choice), but in retrospective our reasoning was sound for why they're on the bottom: Riverview Winery (bergamot) - the award winning 2009 Gewurztraminer is deservedly so, but the tart with the bergamot was decidedly no ... too much pastry overwhelmed the other flavours - everything got lost in that dough.

25. It's been a rollercoaster ride for Pillitteri (that basil), some events they're up, others they're down, this was a real downer ... everything seemed okay until the wine and food meshed together in the mouth, then a bitterness on the finish and nasty aftertaste ruined what it had built up - we tried this a few times and got the same result with each bite.

26. Hands down this was our least favourite pairing of the day - surprising because these guys have a good restaurant on the property. The terrine served was bland and boring and the wine was way too sweet, no matter how hot it was outside and how much the person serving told us it was a great hot weather pairing it did not make it so: Ravine Vineyard (sweet woodruff) ... also, shame on Ravine for a $14 half bottle of Chardonnay Musque, even the folks we met on the back deck, who did not seem too knowledgeable about wine realized that $28 (for the equivalent full bottle - 750ml) was a lot to pay for this wine.

Ten thru Five ...
We had a number of ties as we scored each winery out of 10, the low end of our top 10 produced a 6-way tie for 2 spots, and so we used 'herb taste' as the tie-break: which pairing gave us the most herb taste based on the herb that winery had to work with.

10. Cattail Creek (lemon balm) - lemon flavour really shone through on the shrimp and the unoaked Chardonnay helped to cleanse the palate nicely.

9. Stonechurch (coriander) - "ya gotta like cilantro/coriander," said my wife. I don't, the wife does, but the chicken and lentil dish did what it was suppose to do: highlight the herb, and it did it well.

More ties in the 8-5 positions, it was like splitting hairs here, these 4 were well worth the price of admission but here's how we finally ranked 'em:

8. Hillebrand (mint) - the spicy sausage and mint yogurt paired well with the delicious 2009 Artist Series Gewurztraminer.

7. Joseph's (basil) - a goat cheese/sun-dried tomato/basil tart; pastry was the right consistency and thickness for the flavours and the filling came shining through without interference; paired surprisingly well with the 2006 Merlot, which brought out the basil and especially the sun-dried tomato taste.

Innovation in packaging - Vintner's Lunch

6. Marynissen (summer savory) - should also get an innovation award for presentation, the wine paired well with their simple take on the plowman's lunch.

5. Stratus (sorrel) - scalloped potato with creme fraiche, need I really say anymore here.

The Top Four ...
Here's where it got really difficult, we gave out two 9's and two 10's this year and discussed these at length as to which order they should go in, though in truth our top choice was never in doubt - but the rest went exactly like this ...

4. Lailey Vineyard (mexican oregano) - funny how a simple thing like a meatball can bring such pleasure to the inside of one's mouth, but this wasn't just any old simple meatball (it was a Stone Road Grille creation) - the sauce totally made it worth having again and again - too bad you could only have one. The '06 Cabernet Franc seemed to work some magic here, making the entire pairing sing ... but that meatball really stole the show, give me a plate and some pasta and stick me in the back room.

3. Pondview (rosemary) - same could be said for what Pondview was serving - it's as if they had been reading my mind. After putting this little delicacy in her mouth my wife declared "God that was good": pulled short rib on a paper thin rosemary potato paired with the award winning 2009 Bella Terra Cabernet Franc, which managed to turn my wife into a red wine fan (if only temporarily).

Colaneri brings outdoors inside

2. Colaneri (oregano) - these newbies to the group of 26 pullled out all the stops, including bringing in their own back deck furniture and laying fake grass down to give that outdoor feeling indoors. But who seriously thought an Italian family would have any problems with oregano, in fact they made it into a meal: manicotti served with tomato/cucumber/bocconcini and olive skewers ... "want more?" Betty Colaneri asked, really Betty I'm full, but I'd gladly come over for dinner anytime (at least I know what your backyard looks like).

And the winner is ...

1. Ice House (garlic) - now really, who woulda thought that garlic and icewine would be a match made in heaven? Obviously the folks at The Ice House saw something they could work with and hit it out of the vineyard, thus raising the bar for the entire Wine & Herb Festival. Shrimp and cream cheese (all with an element of garlic) may sound simplistic but it was the pop-in-the-mouth presentation and the paired Vidal icewine match that made this one stand out. It looks so ... plain ... but tasted so divine. Icewine, shrimp and garlic goes together, who knew?

Best Sip ...
Alright, what the heck, top wine of the day (previously not tried) was a newly released Chardonnay from Maleta: 2007 View Chardonnay ($18.95)

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Report from ... Ontario Wine Awards 2011 Gold Medal Winners – June 10, 2011

2011-06-11T09:07:00.000-04:00

The 16th Annual Ontario Wine Awards were held Friday night with a triumphant return to the Queen's Landing Inn in Niagara on the Lake hosted by Food Network star Laura Calder, host of French Food at Home. She brought decorum to the event with her little side bar comments about how excited she was to be there and a lovely little chat about how wine develops fine cuisine: "With wine on the table we aren't just wolfing down our food, we sit and converse, just like you are doing here tonight" Comparing North American culture to that of Italy and France where they sit down with wine saying how civilized a meal can be - "We're heading in that direction because we make wine." She said as she encourage more and continued making of this fermented grape beverage.

Big winners this evening were Kacaba, winning two Golds in the Red categories (Cabernet Franc and Meritage) as well as another for Label Design; Chateau des Charmes for winning Best Dry Riesling twice (both its category and Best White of the Year) along with a Silver for the close to my heart Sparkling (Rosé). Flat Rock did the same for Red Wine of the Year for their The Rogue Syrah and another Gold for Their Rogue Pinot Noir, prompting them to immediately change their name to "Flat Rogue Cellars" (kidding - not about the awards, about the name change). Inniskillin and Malivoire pulled off tri-fectas in their categories by sweeping them (taking the Gold, Silver and Bronze): Vidal Icewine and Gamay respectively. A full list of the Gold medals winners is below.

Winemaker of the Year was none other than Paul Pender of Tawse Winery, in part for shepherding this winery to the first ever Winery of the Year Award for an Ontario winery at the Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards, and for the excellent wines he has produced year after year. Finally, the Wine Journalism Award went to Beppi Crosariol, wine columnist for the Globe & Mail for his article 'Hot growing season spells a great year for Niagara vintages'

And the Gold Medal winning wines are …
The rest of the winners, in the silver and bronze categories, can be found at www.ontariowineawards.ca.

Sparkling Wine –
Peller Estates NV Ice Cuvee Rosé

Dry Riesling –
Chateau des Charmes 2008 'Old Vines' Riesling Estate Bottled
*winner of the White Wine of the Year Award

Semi-Dry Riesling –
Mike Weir Estate 2008 Riesling

Dry White Varietal –
Nyarai Cellars 2010 Viognier &
Creekside Estate 2009 Viognier Reserve

Gewurztraminer –
No Gold Awarded

Pinot Gris –
Calamus Estate 2009 Pinot Gris

Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon –
Jackson Triggs 2009 Gold Series Fume Blanc

Oaked Chardonnay (under $20) -
Magnotta Winery 2007 Chardonnay Special Reserve

Oaked Chardonnay (over $20) -
Exultet Estates 2009 Chardonnay

Unoaked Chardonnay –
Niagara College Teaching Winery 2009 Unoaked Chardonnay

Rosé / Blanc de Noir
Flat Rock Cellars 2009 The Rogue Pinot Noir

Gamay –
Malivoirse Wine Company 2010 M2 Small Lot Gamay
*Malivoire clean swept this category by winning the silver and bronze too

Pinot Noir –
Tawse 2008 Laidlaw Pinot Noir

Red Hybrid –
No Gold Awarded

Cabernet Franc –
Kacaba Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve

Cabernet Sauvignon –
Fielding Estate 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot –
No Gold Awarded

Syrah/Shiraz –
Flat Rock Cellars 2007 The Rogue Syrah
*winner of the Red Wine of the Year Award

Meritage and Cabernet/Merlot Blends –
Kacaba Vineyards 2007 Meritage Reserve

Late Harvest –
Konzelmann Estate 2008 Special Select Late Harvest Vidal

Vidal Icewine –
Inniskillin 2007 Pearl Vidal Icewine
*Inniskillin clean swept this category by winning the silver and bronze too

Vinifera Icewine –
Magnotta Winery 2007 Cabernet Franc Icewine Limited Edition

Blended Red Award –
Wayne Gretzky Estates 2008 Estate Series Shiraz Cabernet
*third year in a row they have won for this wine

Blended White Award –
Peninsula Ridge Estates 2009 Top Bench White

Best Label Design Award –
Kacaba Vineyard 2008 Single Vineyard Syrah

Larry Paterson Innovation in the Vineyard Award -
Deborah Paskus of Closson Chase

Winemaker of the Year -
Paul Pender - Tawse Winery

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Report from ... Exclusive Concha Y Toro Tasting at Select - May 12, 2011

2011-06-06T10:42:00.001-04:00

What a day ... it started out in the morning where a few select writers joined the folks at the office of Select Wines to taste wines alongside Gabriel Salas, brand ambassador for Concha Y Toro, for a tasting of something so new from Concha Y Toro, that few had actually experienced these wines yet: A new line of Gran Reserva wines from this Chilean powerhouse. Now to many of us North Americans the words `Grand Reserva` means as close to nothing, when it comes to wines, as our shell-shocked great uncle Charlie`s fears about Area 51 and the Ruskies ... but in Latin America, where these wines were initially released, it means a great deal. So here in North Ameria the wines will be released as the River Bank Series (Serie Riberas) because all of these single vineyard wines can also be tied to a river that flows right beside, or very near, to the vineyard - in fact the vineyards that supply the grapes that go into these wines are specifically influenced by the rivers they lie near. Interesting to note that because all rivers are short and flow east/west in Chile, they start in the Andes Mountains and reach the Ocean within 4 days (talk about fresh water) ... I am sure you did not come to read about the river and water flow of Chile, you can get that on a number of other sites, as for the reviews of these wines ... well, that you can get here. Seven wines were tried ... all were very good wines, some got higher star ratings then others, here they are in tasting order:

All Wines below are Concha Y Toro Serie Riberas (River Series) ...

The Whites ... (only two)

2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($16.95)

The River: Ribera del Rapel

Citrus, grapefruit and melon lead the charge on the nose, while the palate was refreshing but with real cutting acidity. Grapefruit-citrus notes that mellowed to grapefruit cocktail through the mouth and ended pleasantly with a long melon-grassy finish. Weighty mouth-feel that delivered a nicely fat (but not flabby), full, and fruity wine. (*** 1/2)

2010 Chardonnay ($16.95)

The River: Ribera del Rapel

The big 14% alcohol might carry you away here, but there is a nice balance of fruit and oak. The nose is grassy, herbal and grapefruit-ish with a nice hint of vanilla. There is some very pleasant acidity along with vanilla, hazelnut and mineral notes on the tongue. Lemon-melon and slightly tropical nuances finishes it off nicely. This is a lively Chardonnay that went thru no malolactic fermentation (to keep it fresh and yes, lively). (*** 1/2)

Merlot and Carmenere shine in Chile ... as for Malbec ...

The Reds (five wines)

2009 Merlot ($16.95)

The River: Ribera del Maule

A slight blend here, Merlot is the lion`s share of 95% and Syrah (5%); Merlot is the obvious star of the show. Blackberry, plum, vanilla along with other sweet dark fruited aromas, are all over the the smell of this one, really alluring, the way good Chilean Merlot should be. The palate really shines with dark fruit: blackberry, spiced plum and firm tannins, which gives it a rather chalky finish - but you can mellow this with some aging. You can`t avoid the chocolate/mocha like flavour that real rounds out the finish. Bigger than your average Merlot and one that can age nicely for 2-5 years or more; so well-structured that the 14.5% alcohol is imperceptible. (****)

2009 Malbec ($16.95)

The River: Ribera del Tinguiririca

At the moment Malbec is the IN grape and Argentina`s shining star ... but I have often called Chile the great copycat of the world because they can grow anything, here they try their hand at Malbec. My feeling is they need more time with this one. The nose is brambly black fruited and red plum, while the taste has a blackberry creaminess along with black cherry and spice, soft fruit, good acidity with decent tannins. Leave this grape in Argentina because you do much better with your own signature grape. (***+)

2009 Carmenere ($16.95)

The River: Ribera del Cachapoal

Carmenere is Chile grape of choice (signature) and they seem to be getting better and better at being able to handle it; as Malbec is having it`s day soon we`ll see Carmenere shine its own light on the world, at that time Chile will have cornered the market on making great Carm and this is a delicious example. The aromas lure with mint-chocolate, raspberry and blackberry jam. The palate is juicy raspberry with hints of chocolate, nice blackberry and other juicy dark fruits ... Concha seems to have a real handle on the making of good Carmenere. A friendly, drink-now kinda wine that`s gulpably good. There is a sweet element that really adds to the enjoyment, some described it as humbugs, black licorice, or vanilla - whatever you call it, it is delicious. The addition of 10% Cabernet Sauvignon helps carry the wine to its ultimate conclusion. (****+)

The two stars of the tasting

2009 Syrah ($16.95)

The River: Ribera del Loncomilla

100% Syrah and loving it ... make no mistake, this was the star of the show, at $16.95 (if it sees the market) is a steal. The nose is white pepper, red raspberry, black licorice, vanilla and sandlewood (oh papa you could smell this wine all day and get more from each sniff). But a wine is nothing without a great taste and this one has it in spades. Juicy entry then pepper and spice take over before surrendering to black cherry fruit; then in a magical mouth moment it all melds together with the pepper coming back into the fruit and voila, mouth nirvana. Good acidity makes this an excellent food wine, but I could sit and sip on it all evening without a scrap to eat. Sitting on it for a few years will mellow it and make it even more of a sipper. (**** 1/2+)

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon ($16.95)

The River: Ribera del Tinguiririca

As the Cab helped the Carm with 10% so the Carmenere helps the Cabernet with 10% and it works beautifully. Had it not been for the excellent Syrah this would have been the star of the show, it just delivered everything one looks for in a Cabernet Sauvignon and then added a little extra to push it over the top. The nose has black raspberry, chocolate and vanilla along with a touch of cedar. The palate was full of juicy red berries, more chocolate and vanilla, and silky tannins. The best thing about it was that there is real balance here: lots of fruit with the acidity and tannins keeping it from being just being another fruit bomb of a wine. Great value. (**** 1/2)

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Report from ... Portugal G7 - May 2, 2011

2011-05-26T10:51:00.001-04:00

It seems like forever since the G7 blew into town, but I bet if I looked it up its only been a couple of years at most (for the curious it was October 2009). A lot seems to have happened to this consortium in the interim - they no longer represent 7 wineries, due to attrition (some left some were bought out) only 5 wineries remain ... but they do represent 7 of Portugal's main regions: Douro, Vinho Verde, Bairrada, Dao, Lisbon, Alentejo and Terras do Sado. Five winery principals joined us for a presentation of the 7 regions, their wines, lunch and more wine - so let's get right down to it.

Teaching an old dog new tricks - Domingos Soares Franco (L) & Pedro da Costa (R)

The Regions ...
1) Vinho Verde - comprises 10% of Portugal's land under vine (21,000 hectares), average holding is only about 0.8 hectares.

2) Douro - Portugal's most famous region, known for Port wines, there are three major crops here: almonds, olives and grapes.

3) Dao - "not big wines but elegant wines", due to the diurnal temperatures of the region: warm during the day and cooler nights.

4) Bairrade - very wet region: September to May is the rainy season, average holding per property is about 2 acres. Have been growing international varieties like Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot for only the past 15 years.

5) Alentejo - very flat area, hottest region of Portugal where temps can hit 40+ degrees in June and remain at 30+ at night, so little relief from the heat.

6) Lisboa - region is known for its foggy, windy and cooler conditions.

7) Setubal - I must have fallen asleep at this point cause I have no notes about the regions ... I find this peculiar, but ...

The P5 (Portugal Five Wineries) of the G7...
Alianca (est. 1927) - 800 acres of vineyard spread thru 5 regions.
Aveleda (est. 1947) - annual production is 14 million bottles, exported to over 40 countries.
Bacalhoa (est. 1922) - originally Joao Pires & Filhos, have wineries in 3 regions, production capacity tops out at 12 million litres and they can age wine in up to 6000 barrels.
Jose Maria da Fonseca (Est. an elegant lady never reveals her age) - one of the oldest and most prestigious wineries in Portugal, own over 600 hectares of land and possess on their properties a collection of over 560 different grape varieties.
Caves Messias (est. 1926) - wines are exported to more than 50 countries, they make wine in a wide range of styles from Champagne method sparklers to rich flavourful Ports.

Seminar Wines of Note ...
Aveleda 2010 Qunita da Aveleda (Vinho Verde) - lovely nose that's floral and tropical with good minerality ... good mouth watering acidity makes this very food friendly and summery.

Messias 2007 Quinta do Valdoeiro (Barrada) - a mix of indigenous (Baga, Touriga Nacional) and international (Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon); fresh and fruity nose with a palate of dark berry, chocolate and a hint of chalky minerality yet very approachable.

Alianca 2005 Quinta da Garrida Touriga Nacional (Dao) - aged in a mix of French and Russian oak; smooth with blackberries, blueberries and cocoa.

Jose Maria da Fonseca 2007 Jose de Sousa Mayor (Alentejo) - top end wine of the winery which is made in clay pots; made form indigenous grapes (Aragones, Trincadeira) and one known as Grand Noir (brought in by Napoleon, a cross made in the 1850's from Petit Bouchet and Aramon). Lovely wine with elegance and finesse - really well structured: chocolate, blackberry and silky tannins.

Stunning ... Messias LBV 2005 Port

The Main Tasting - one standout from each winery ...
Alianca 2007 Quinta da Terrugem (Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouchet) - *** 1/2+
Aveleda 2007 Follies Touriga Nacional (Touriga Nacional) - *** 1/2
Bacalhoa 2007 Quinta do Carmo (Aragonez, Trincadeira, Alicante Bouchet, Cabernet Sauvignon) - ****

Liquid caramel

Jose Maria da Fonseca 2006 Moscatel de Setubal JMF (Moscatel de Setubal) - fortified wine that tasted like liquid caramel - ****+
Messias 2005 Porto LBV (Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca) - stunning 2005 LBV worthy of having on hand for those cold winter nights - **** 1/2

Lunch - the two best wines ...

Aveleda 2009 Grande Follies (90% Chardonnay and an indigenous blend of 4 other grapes) - vanilla. toast, baked apple - fruity up front with a good wood character that does not try to add too much.

Jose Maria da Fonseca 2008 Periquita Superyor (Castelao 92.6%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%, Tinta Francisca 2.4%) - plum and blackberry aromas lead to blackberry, cassis, and a touch of licorice on the finish, lots of fruit with a gentle kick of spice.

Lunch provided by the Chef's House of George Brown College (pictures below)

House cured salmon, brioche toast, spring mixed greens, horseradish creme fraiche

Red wine braised beef short-ribs, ginger scented carrot puree, potato pave, green pea foam

Canolli filled with candied citrus ricotta mousse, maple & raisin caramel sauce, roasted hazelnuts

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Report from ... Austrian Wine Summit - April 21, 2011

2011-05-25T11:00:00.001-04:00

I've tasted quite a bit of Austrian wine, but never in a lunch setting (there are a number of reasons for that - which I will not get into here - but the availability (or lack thereof) of Austrian wines is probably number one on my reason-hit parade). But lunch pairing seems to be exactly what the Austrian's wanted to prove: their wines are a perfect match to some of your favourite dishes. Sure they can talk about "food friendly", "great acidity", "lovely wines for all seasons" - but when you get the food on the table and the glass is sitting there waiting to see if the pairing works, that's when the truth comes out.

The day started with a 9-wine seminar about a variety of Austrian wines:

Tilt your head to the right to see the best Savvy B of the day

Hannes Sabathi 2010 Sauvignon Blanc led it off ... I would have to say that I am rightfully impressed with Austrian Sauvignon Blanc. This one had a lovely fruit nose with a steely mineral finish (****). This was followed by a Riesling that seemed run of the mill and vaguely uninteresting. Wines 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 were all made from Austria's signature grape Gruner Veltliner: all six were from different regions - Niederosterreich, Wagram, Kamptal (x2) Kremstal, Wachau - and all showed the differences in style that can come from this grape, proving that Gruner is not a one trick pony. Wine 3 (from Nigl) showed lentils and lime; Wine 4 (Leth) showed an array of melon, citrus and mineral; while Wine 5 (Rabl) was kind of a light Chardonnay in its stylings: chalky, buttery, vanilla, green apple skin with a medium finish. Wine 6 (Schloss Gobelsburg) was an oak aged number that still felt fresh, lively and really was delicious, especially for its age (2007) and knowing that oak had been part of its treatment made it seem doubly so. Wine 7 (Salomon Undhof) was a little older (2006) and was starting to shows signs of oxidation on the finish; the final Gruner, Wine 8 (Schmelz) was minerally throughout.

Leaving camp Gruner, the 9th and last wine of the seminar was a Blaufrankisch from Burgenland, which was a dusty display of oak on the palate but a real delight of dark fruit and spices on the nose ... this one needs some time to integrate.

Best of the Wine Seminar ...
While I was very impressed with the Hannes Sabathi Sauvignon Blanc (****), as mentioned above, I found myself even more impressed with the depth and character of Wine 6: Schloss Gobelsburg 2007 Gruner Veltliner - Kammerner Lamm (****+)

Some Words About Austrian Wines ...
The seminar wasn't just about tasting wines, it was about re-introducing Austrian wine to a smaller more influential group that might help drive Austrian wines out of the shadows and onto your table ... the things to note about Austria is that it is not Australia - Austria is more about white based wines, is much smaller in acreage planted (46,000 hectares vs. 164,000) and you don't see as much Austrian wine on LCBO shelves as you do Australian - plus Austrian wine is amazingly lunchtime-food friendly.

Finally, the Other Wines ...
Through all of this talk about white wines and Gruner, my favourite wine was none of the above, in fact it was a Pinot Noir from Wien (Vienna): Wieninger 2007 Pinot Noir Grand Select - it hit all the right notes Pinot should hit and is both a pleasure on the nose and palate: cranberry, sour cherry, touch of vanilla, cinnamon, spice and fine tannins (**** 1/2)

Wieninger 2007 Pinot Noir Grand Select - **** 1/2

Having tried a plethora of whites during the seminar portion, I concentrated on reds, which proved to be fruity and accessible, as well as a few more varieties of whites; here is the best of the rest from this year's Austrian tasting:

Forsteiter 2009 Zweigelt ($12.95) - nice spiced raspberry and black cherry with cranberry nuances. (****)

Heinrich GesmbH 2008 St. Laurent ($32.00) - black cherry throughout with a hint of spice on the finish. (****+)

Meinhardt Hube 2009 Steinbach Sauvignon Blanc ($18.90) - tropical core with pear-like finish. (****)

Laurenz 2009 Friendly Gruner Veltliner ($16.95) - fresh and fruity with melon and pear notes. (****)

Stadlmann 2009 St. Laurent (N/A) - fresh, bold and black cherry with a hint of licorice, even better chilled. (****)

Stadlmann 2009 St. Laurent - chill and enjoy

"Rabl" Rouser (showing consistency in three wines) ...
Of 5 wines, four offered excellent flavour, aromas and surprisingly good value. One of those wines was part of the seminar and then there were these three:

Rabl 2010 Gruner Veltliner - Spiegel ($16.95) - melon, lime, hint of grapefruit and pear, very fresh especially due to the balancing acidity. (****)

Rabl 2009 St. Laurent ($18.00) - peppered cherries and cranberries with a white pepper and cranberry finish. (****)

Rabl 2007 Rielsing TBA ($47.95) - extraordinary sweetie with honeyed peach, apricot and lavender; a decadent dessert all on its own, amazing. (**** 1/2)

Rabl 2007 TBA - "decadent and amazing"

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Report from ... The All Canadian Wine Championships Judging, Day 2 - May 17, 2011

2011-05-17T17:13:00.004-04:00

Greeted by 30 Rosees this morning

Another early day. We arrived at The Other Place Catering venue by 9AM ... the schedule showed my panel was tasting Sauvignon Blancs, a small handful of Semillons, Rosés, Bordeaux-style blends and a few others. The tasting went as expected, but lunch proved to be a bit of a surprise ... usually day two is quiche day, but weren't we all pleasantly surprised when we were presented with salmon and mini potato latkes with a delicious Bailey's creme brulee for dessert. After lunch we went through the major medal round judging: sweet wine, fruit wine, red wine and white, which are to be announced at dinner in the evening at the same Lebanese place we enjoyed last year: Mazaar.

I can't reveal names of wineries but I can tell you that Ontario took home the best White and best Fruit wine trophies, BC did there usual masterful job with Red and Quebec will be taking the highest Dessert wine honours. The announcement of all the winners is this Friday (May 20, 2011) and can be found on the All Canadian Wine Championships web page: http://canadianwinetrail.com/cwt/all-canadian-wine-championships/.

Musar 2008 Jeune Red

As for dinner, some of the wines were of interest while some were just plain boring ... the best of the night were:

Chateau Musar 2008 Jeune Red - a blend of Cinsault, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon with really good red fruit with the right amount of spice and pepper, a real highlight of the night.

Batzella 2006 Tam - a Tuscan red made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc aged 24 months in oak and another 8 in bottle; I am told this is the neighbour of Sassicaia (for you wine freaks that should mean something). licorice, red berries, and spice, this wine was lush and still very ageable.

Three Loose Screws 2008 The Crusher, Wilson Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - this was a typical California Cab with lots of red juicy fruit, red licorice and some chocolate; surprisingly it had less alcohol (13.5) than the Tuscan (14.5).

As for dinner ... everything was amazing and here are the pictures to prove it:

Pita, hummus and something cheesy

Calamari

Garlic-lemon butterfly shrimp

Plate a Lebanese goodies

Baklava

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Report from ... The All Canadian Wine Championships Judging, Day 1 - May 16, 2011

2011-05-17T07:50:00.000-04:00

Here I am in Windsor, Ontario for another round of the All Canadians which includes wines from across Canada (I was told that the first wine ever from Saskatchewan was entered this year). We assembled in the morning (9 AM) at The Other Place Catering venue to start our tasting of more than 1130 wines ... it always looks the most daunting in the morning. I wrapped my palate around Unoaked Chardonnay, Meade, Late Harvest, Soft Fruit Dessert wines, and then after lunch a pile of Merlots and Iced Ciders. Somewhere in there we also had the Sparkling wine taste off to determine the best Sparkler in Canada - I am sure I am not allowed to tell you who it is but I can say that the trophy will stay in Ontario with a first time winner. We break at 3:30 and are back at the hotel about 4 for a well deserved bit of rest before heading out to dinner.

Now dinner I know I can tell you all about ... we went to a place called Nico's, that serves some wonderful Italian food, tonight's choice was between white fish and lamb - from my look around the table lamb was the main of choice for most judges, but I bucked the trend and went for the fish (glad I did, it was delicious) - both dishes were sided with the best pillow-gnocchi I have ever tasted ... pictures are below.

When you get a whole bunch of wine judges / writers together the wine flows free and there were some really good bottles on the table this evening - the most interesting of which were brought by members of the jury themselves:

Gemma 2001 Giblin Riserva Barolo - I had one mouthful, what what a delicious mouthful it was.

2027 Cellars 2007 Featherstone Vineyard Riesling - brought by a proud papa, this wine is still showing beautifully.

Ehrhart 2008 Domaine Saint-Remy Reserve Gewurztraminer - floral and spice with a thick mouth-feel.

Michel Delhommeau 2009 Cuvee Harmonie,Muscadet Sevre et Maine (sur lie) - a lovely lemon-limeade wine with great acidity that paired well with the shrimp and calamari made from 100% Melon de Bourgogne.

Castello Vicchiomaggio 2001 Ripa della More - a super-Tuscan blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot, another wine I had but a mouthful of but a mouthful was enough to taste the intricate flavours this wine had developed ... though I wish I had been able to relish a whole glass to get all the nuances out of it.

Librandi 2007 Duca San Felice Ciro Riserva - a wine made with the native Italian grape 'Gaglioppo'; this was a really food friendly wine.

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Report from … Get Fresh in the Valley – May 7-8, 2011

2011-05-10T22:01:00.004-04:00

Back in 2008 I did something I have never done since: I had a guest writer write a blog entry of an event that I could not attend. His name was Fred Couch, and although I and my readers enjoyed his frank, honest assessment of Wrapped Up in the Valley 2008, a certain winery had some choice words for Mr. Couch (I think they threatened to eat his children, good thing for Fred that he does not have any). Anyway, it has taken me 2 years but I have coaxed Fred off the couch and on to the road again – this time for a look at the new 20 Valley event “Fresh”. Fred has also told me that he tried to remain positive, and where negativity did seep in he did not mention any names (I guess he wanted to not only protect the guilty but himself as well) …

“Get Fresh in Twenty Valley” Passport Event
… By F.G. Couch

This event, held the first two weekends of May, was an inaugural event for the Twenty Valley Association. 20 wineries participated and for a passport cost of $35 plus HST (of course!), holders could visit all 20 for a sample of wine with matching food. As a bonus and to get your spring garden started, each winery also gave out a packet of seeds. There were ten different varieties in all, each producing an edible product including arugula, sweet basil, Detroit dark red beets, Touchon carrots, Bouquet dill, red salad bowl lettuce, Tokyo long white onions, cherry belle radish, Tyee spinach and Johnny Jump-up violas.

As with most passport events, some wineries go all out and do a great job and put a lot of effort into the wine and food pairing and the presentation. Unfortunately, others took the easy way out and offered uninspired food such as a bit of goat cheese mixed with dill on a very stale crostini. Another winery just served a small piece of baguette with a saucer of dipping oil and a dry spice mixture. [ed. Note: this is where Fed has performed his negative soft shoe shuffle.]

The best food presentation both visually and taste-wise has to go to Sue-Ann Staff Winery. Sue-Ann had an unfortunate experience on the first weekend with the spring-style sushi California rolls that she wanted to serve for this event. [She did not repeat her mistake twice] instead she created a dish modified from a magazine recipe. For the cup she used an egg roll wrapper baked in a muffin tin. This was then filled with a coarsely shredded papaya dressed with fresh mint, ginger, garlic and lime juice with fish sauce, sugar and salt. Then garnished with soya poached salmon, cherry tomato, peanuts and thinly sliced dried mango on the side. The matching wine was the 2009 Pinot Grigio. Five out of five stars, Sue-Ann!

Runner up in the presentation category goes to The Good Earth Food and Wine Co. They served a spring pea soup with crème fraiche garnished with an edible Johnny Jump-up viola. The soup was paired with their 2009 Chardonnay.

Best food pairings were at: Megalomaniac (John Howard Cellars of Distinction) - the 2009 Narcissist Riesling was served with a caramelized onion tart with duck confit and goat cheese, garnished with a beet chip. This excellent dish was prepared by About Thyme Bistro in Vineland. 13th Street Winery – the 2010 White Palette was paired with spring rolls and a spicy dipping sauce. As an added bonus they also served a carrot soup and you could also try the Red Palette with the spring roll. Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery – the 2010 Wismer Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc with a spring market sandwich of cream cheese, cucumber, tender greens and fresh herbs on organic whole wheat bread. Angels Gate Winery – the 2009 Sussreserve Riesling with a South-western rice medley with shrimp.

The maverick winery award goes to Stoney Ridge Winery for serving the only full-bodied red wine of the event! The other wineries served either a white wine or a rosé. Stoney Ridge broke the mold by offering their 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon with roast beef slices and aged cheddar cheese including a horseradish cheese which went well with the beef – delicious!

Overall, this was a great event and well worth the price of the passport. Some of the wineries were disappointed with the attendance while others said they had a great turnout. I’m not sure what would be the explanation for this. One winery representative said that the event should be held in June rather than May. The wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake hold their Herb and Wine Festival during four weekends in May as well so this could contribute to attendance being lower than expected. However, with a bit of tweaking and possibly more advertising this event could become the spring wine event to attend! Event rating: 4 ½ out of 5; value for money: 5 out of 5.

[ed. note: I found the advertising to be a little lacking for this event; as a media outlet I received only one email about the event and it gave only a single day for the event, not 2 weekend in May. Meanwhile, the folks at the Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake have sent me two emails a week to remind me of there Spring event (Wine and Herb Festival)].

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Report from ... California Wine Fair 2011 – April 4, 2011

2011-04-30T08:17:00.000-04:00

Lots of glad-handing and back-slapping on this day … the LCBO thanked California wines for making them so much money … California wines thanked the LCBO for making them a lot of money … and it was quite a different lunch time keynote than I expected. In past years it has been a winemaker or winery owner with vision or insight (or both) speaking about the past, the present and/or the future of the California wine industry. Instead, today’s lunch featured Lindsey Gallagher (Director of International Marketing) who told us what is to come in the marketing of California wines as the Californians strive for world domination (when it comes to wine anyway); instead of just being satisfied with their number one status in the LCBO’s Vintages section (first time ever that France has not been top of the pops). I found this year’s lunch and speech disappointing, but the wines I tried more than made up for the mediocre lunch and sis-boom-bah rah-rah-rah-Cali-Forn-Ia talk.

With well over 450 wines in the room there was no way to try everything, but I tried something from each table (or so I though) and here are my findings, listed alphabetically by winery (with selected notes) …

Key to the stars:
3.5 (Good) – 4 (Very Good) – 4.5 (Excellent) – 5 (Outstanding)

bold denotes favourite

Artesa Winery 2009 Carneros Chardonnay – vanilla and peach take hold here, the fruit and the wood are very much in unison. (****)
Artesa Winery 2007 Elements Cabernet Sauvignon – delicious Cab with lots of red and black fruit. (****+)
Bell Wine Cellars 2007 Big Guy Red – a blend of 57% Syrah, 25% Merlot and 4 other grapes … very fruit forward. (*** ½+)
Bennett Lane Winery 2006 Maximus – chocolaty note with soft black fruit and a hint of spice. (****)
Bogle Vineyards 2007 Phantom – lots of spicy tannins, like this wine every year, it's fun blend of Petit Syrah, Zinfandel and Mourvedre. (****+)
Bonny Doon Vineyard 2009 Contra, Carignane Blend – rich in fruit like blackberry with nice spice and good acidity to balance out the playful fruit. (****)
Darioush Winery 2007 Merlot – juicy red fruit, lovely. (****+)
Delicato Family Vineyards 2009 Gnarly Head Zinfandel – vanilla and cherry cola notes. (****+)
Delicato Family Vineyards 2008 181 Merlot – juicy black fruit with nice spice. (*** ½)
Dry Creek Vineyard 2008 Heritage Zinfandel – plum, black cherry, cassis, a little bit of an herbal note and some nice spice. (****)
E&J Gallo Winery 2009 Apothic Red – this is such a playful bottle of wine for any occasion, the blend is Syrah, Zinfandel and Merlot, lots of raspberry/strawberry on the nose; palate is chocolate and red fruit, juicy and jammy … delicious and uncomplicated, don’t get hung up here that it keeps a little sweetness amongst the fruit, this is just a fun wine, period the end. (****+)
Eberle Winery 2008 Syrah – black fruit and smoke, a little leathery on the finish. (*** ½+)
Ehret Family Winery 2006 Bella’s Blend – 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, the rest equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc; chocolate, smoke and black cherry. (****)
Folio Fine Wine Partners 2009 Spellbound Chardonnay – vanilla, pear, peach and apple; this is a fruit bomb in Chardonnay form. (****)
Hess Collection Winery 2009 Artezin Zinfandel – back to form from the first year I tasted it: black cherry and vanilla take center stage. (****)
Justin 2008 Syrah – sold out at the winery and no wonder, this wine is really very good, so good I wrote very good twice. (****+)
Kenneth Volk Vineyards 2008 Enz Vineyard Zinfandel – made from 113 year old vines; lots of plum and vanilla. (****+)
Lockwood Vineyards 2008 Block 7 Pinot Noir – nice alluring red fruit nose, strawberry fruit flavours, real nice. (****)
Lucas & Lewellan Vineyards 2008 Goodchild High 9 Pinot Noir – stunningly good red fruit flavour here with lots of juicy cherry. (****+)
Lucas & Lewellan 2007 Syrah – blackberry, white pepper and a little smoked meat. (****)
Paul Dolan 2008 Deep Red – lots of interesting grapes: Petit Sirah, Primitivo, Syrah, Grenache; matches with the interesting flavours dark fruit, cherry, vanilla, cinnamon and spice. (****+)
Peachy Canyon 2008 Westside Zinfandel – spice and red fruit lead the charge. (****+)
Peachy Canyon 2008 Incredible Red Zinfandel – smooth and plumy. (****)
Peachy Canyon 2009 Chronic Cellars Zinfandel "Purple Paradise" – this is a fun label with a lot of tasty wines under its belt and what about that name - Chronic in one hand, good times in the other. (****)
Pedroncelli Winery 2008 Mother Clone Zinfandel – red plum, spice and vanilla. (****+)
Pedroncelli Winery 2007 Alto Vineyards Sangiovese – red fruit and mocha notes. (****)
Peju 2006 Merlot – juicy middle with a spicy finish. (****)
Perry Creek Vineyards 2008 Zinman Zinfandel – plum and vanilla, though not heavily fruity like many Zins. (****+)
Peter Franus 2007 Brandlin Zinfandel – made from 80 year old vines, raspberry, plum and vanilla with a cherry-vanilla finish that has enough spice to keep it interesting. (**** ½)
Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery 2008 Zinfandel – raspberry, chocolate, plum and black fruits galore. (****+)
Stags’ Leap Winery 2007 Ne Cede Malis – a blend of Petit Sirah, Syrah, Genache and Viognier; nice floral notes with some smoked meat and black fruit. (****+)
Chimney Rock 2007 Tomahawk Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – only 250 cases made of this lush single vineyard Cab. (****+)
Vine Cliff Winery 2007 Rock Block Cabernet Sauvignon – dark fruit, vanilla, plum and delicately spiced. (*** ½+)

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Report from ... The Green Living Show, Bio Vino Expo - April 15, 2011

2011-04-22T13:22:00.000-04:00

The Green Living Show was not all about wine, it's about living life without leaving a big carbon footprint behind, it's about sustainability, bio-dynamics, organics, living lightly on the land, living off the land, giving back to the land ... oh heck, for me it was about the wine ... there weren't as many on display for tasting as there were last year and that's probably best because last year got a little over-whelming; this time out there was a nice manageable number of wines - and some really good ones, many garnering 3 1/2 stars or higher ... here were my top international Bio Wine selections:

Cono Sur 2009 Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon ($12.95 - Chile) - ****+
Domaine des Cognettes, Granite de Clisson 2004 Melon de Bourgogne, Nantes ($20.95 - France) - ****+
Monty Waldin 2009 Monty's Tuscan Red ($18.95 - Italy) - ****
Bodegas Cecchin 2009 Malbec ($12.95 - Argentina) - ****
Collefrisio 2009 Montelpulciano D'Abruzzo ($17.95 - Italy) - *** 1/2+
Domaine Breton Bourgueil "Trinch" 2009 Cabernet Franc ($19.85 - France) - *** 1/2
Temple Bruer Wines 2010 Preservative Free Cabernet-Merlot ($23.95 - Australia) - *** 1/2
Richard Plains 2010 Sauvignon Blanc ($17.95 - New Zealand) - *** 1/2
Cono Sur 2010 Riesling ($9.95 - Chile) - *** 1/2
Cono Sur 2010 Reserva Carmenere Rosé ($11.95 - Chile) - *** 1/2

Also looking forward to the 2010 Cono Sur Viognier, a perennial favourite at $9.95 ... it's summer in a glass.

Beer at the Bio ...

There were also a small contingent of local breweries in attendance (6) and I sampled a bit of suds just to keeps things level:

- Better Bitters Brewing Company makes Nickel Brook and my favourites here were:
Green Apple Pilsner (need I say more) & the Maple Porter (creamy coffee with a hint of maple)

- Mill Street makes quite a few beers, especially the ones that are their brew-pub exclusives, best of the batch here:
Franconian Bock (slightly sweet) & Lemon Tea Beer (lemony tea no doubt, odd but nice)

- Muskoka Cottage Brewery had three to sample and two proved to be very tasty:
Weiss (nice citrus and vanilla notes) & Dark Ale (coffee nuances)

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Report from ... WWCC Virtual Winery Tasting - April 15, 2011

2011-04-22T12:43:00.001-04:00

One of the most interesting Wine Writers' of Canada Circle tasting in some time saw us trying wine from 10 different virtual wineries (wineries without property or retail space to call their own) and talking with 9 principals from these new labels:

Peter Graham, Kevin Panagapka, Ilya Senchuk, Steve Byfield, Nicole Speranzini, Jeff Hundertmark, Charles Baker

Thomas Bachelder - Bachelder Wines

Charles Baker - Charles Baker Wines

Steve Byfield - Nyarai Cellars

Peter Graham - Five Suns

Jeff Hundertmark - 100 Marks

Kevin Panagapka - 20-27 Cellars

Nicole Speranzini - Mike Weir Winery

Ilya Senchuk - Leaning Post Winery

Andrew von Teichman - Generations Wine Company

not personally in attendance, but his wine was there - Paul Ross

Each winemaker or winery principal introduced themselves and their project, many based on single varietals (or at least they started out that way). And all with one goal, to one day open their own bricks and mortar winery ... or almost all.

A Few Lines About Virtually Anything ...

Nicole, Jeff, Thomas, Andrew, Charles

Charles Baker - started in 2005, one of the first of the next generation of virtuals in Ontario; 100% single vineyard Riesling focused; makes only one wine a year.

Andrew von Teichman - partnered with Alan Jackson to make Union wines, LCBO based brand; makes blends from 100% Ontario grapes; whites and red currently on the general list.

Thomas Bachelder - former winemaker of le Clos Jordanne now on his own, playing negocient in 3 regions: Niagara, Oregon, Burgundy ... all Chardonnay based; coming out September 2011; maximum production 3000 cases (100 from each region).

Jeff Hundertmark - winemaker at Marynissen; single vineyard Pinot Noir based label; will add white in 2011; projected release in 2012.

Nicole Speranzini - winery began in 2005 and was established to help the Mike Weir Foundation; wines made at Chateau des Charmes; 20,000 cases from 5 varietals; new home is imminent which will take them out of the virtual realm.

Peter, Kevin, Ilya, Steve, Nicole

Steve Byfield - established in 2008; cellar master at Calamus; Sauvignon Blanc focus, also makes blended white and red as the vintage dictates; close to 1000 cases total production.

Ilya Senchuk - worked at Lenko since 2002, now with Foreign Affair, Pinot Noir based label, buys fruit from Lowry Estate, adding Riesling and Merlot to the line; purchased 11 acre property to grow his own grapes ... planting begins in 2012; wines coming out late summer or early fall 2011.

Kevin Panagapka - established in 2007; focuses on single vineyard wines; started out with Riesling (from Featherstone Vineyard) and Pinot Noir from his own plot of land; names comes from his grower number (2027); looking at making a sparkling in the future; main intent is to find the difference terroir makes if all other variables remain constant.

Peter Graham - assistant at Lailey Vineyard; virtual based out of Cattail Creek; owned by Gina Edwards; currently an '09 Pinot Noir and 2010 Sauvignon Blanc; sources fruit from different vineyards; Peter joined the team at the beginning of 2011 taking over from Marc Bradshaw.

Choice Quotes ...

Facing the Firing Squad: Kevin P., Ilya S., Steve B.

"If you're making 1000 cases or less it's better to be virtual, the only problem is you don't own your wine." Kevin P.

About the stigma of being a Virtual Winery:
"When you drink a bottle from New Zealand, Australia, California or where ever do you think whether it's a virtual winery or not? No, it's a bottle of wine and it's what's in that bottle that counts. Stop limiting yourselves." Thomas B.

On the ownership of vineyards and ties to the land:
"We walk those vineyards [where they have contracted fruit from] before and after our day jobs so we are tied to those vineyards." Peter G.
"Worst thing about being a virtual winery is you don't own your own vineyards; best thing about being a virtual winery is you don't own your own vineyards." Thomas B.
"It's a combination of the vineyard, the owner (the person) and the relationship we build with the land and the people." Charles B.

Why Virtuals and vital to the industry and established wineries:
"Virtuals provide another revenue stream for their home winery, one that they did not have before." Nicole S.

A Few Lines About a Few Wines ... wines to watch for
(Because many of these wines are barrel samples all marks are preliminary scores, final scores will be based on the finished product)

Leaning Post 2009 Riesling - "Tank Sample" (~$25.00)
Spent 15 months on lees, has a nose of melon and lemon rind; creamy mouthfeel with lemon drop, a hint of vanilla and sweet peach; nice acidity with a lingering finish. (****)

Five Suns 2009 Pinot Noir - "Tank Sample" (no price given)
Nose of raspberry and red licorice; palate has sour cherry, anise and nice tannins, there is a slight sweetness to the wine. (*** 1/2)

100 Marks 2010 Pinot Noir - "Barrel Sample" (~$35.00 - 40.00)
Currently only 5 months in barrel, deeper colour than expected from a Pinot, big sweet fruit, dark and rich flavours: dark raspberry notes; this is truly one to watch as it is drinking beautifully right now. (****+)

A tasting of the two virtual vintages (2008 & 2009) ...
"It's nice to have a few vintages to compare, that's the benefit to doing this for a few years. " Kevin P.

The following is a vertical tasting between the two Queenston Road Vineyard Pinot Noirs as done by Kevin Panagapka of 2027 Cellars

Nose:
2008 - sour cherry, raspberry, cranberry and a hint of nutmeg
2009 - dark sour cherry fruit but is still a bit closed because of its youth.

Taste:
2008 - sour red cherry, good spice with cinnamon notes, decent tannins with some sweet red berries on the mid-palate ... light and easy drinking. (Sold Out)
2009 - dark sour cherry follows from the nose; the fruit, spice and tannins meld nicely together on the finish with good flavours and good length. '09 was a Pinot year and it really shows in this bottle.

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Report from ... PMA Canada Chairman's Gala - April 12, 2011

2011-04-22T11:09:00.003-04:00

The day started with a Malbec seminar, sponsored by Bodegas Norton, one of Argentina's top five exporters of wine, making 12 million bottles a year. Founded by James Norton in 1895 the winery has been in continuous operation for 116 years. In 1989 the winery was purchased by Gernot Langes Swarovski (yes the crystal company guy) and that changed the direction and fortunes of this winery immensely in the years that have followed. We tasted through the Malbec based wines, 5 in total, plus a special cellar Malbec from 1974 (still had good flavour if a bit over the hill). The best wine poured was the Norton 2008 Reserve Malbec which spends 12 months in oak and 10 more months in bottle before release. The nose was smoky, mainly dark fruited with red licorice, and red raspberry; palate showed smoky notes, chocolate, dark berries that veered red with lots of aeration - there was just so much going on in there that it was hard to get a handle on everything, but one thing was certain, it was delicious and perfect for drink-now or holding-on-to (****+) ... big alcohol (14.7%) made it seem sweet with lovely fruit.

The next seminar was a Pinot tasting by Anne Moller-Racke of Donum Estate ... she made two very interesting statements about Pinot over the years and what she has learned: 1) "Pinot needs to be done in small lots", because mass produced Pinots lack the character that small lot, single vineyard Pinots have. 2) The popularity of Pinot has exploded in California, "years ago I was paying $400 per ton, today it's $6000 per ton." As for the wines poured, there were 7 in total, all Pinots, all small production from single vineyard or smaller plots / lots. Two really good examples that stood out were the Donum 2008 Thomas Carneros Pinot Noir, from a specific block of the Ferguson Vineyard: a nose of floral and red berries followed by a palate of violets, cran-cherry and a slightly stony finish (****+). The other wine was the Donum 2008 West Slope Carneros Pinot Noir, a stunning mix of fruit, spice and finish, the wine rides the tongue delicately yet deliciously all the way to the finish. (**** 1/2).

As for the Gala tasting itself, over 65 wines were poured and the ones I will tell you about here ranged from very good to excellent. The rating scale is in stars and they equal as follows: 3 1/2 (good), 4 (very good), 4 1/2 (excellent) and 5 (outstanding). The wines are presented here in booklet tasting order (as they appear in the informational booklet handed out) ...

Pongracz Sparkling ($18.95 - South Africa) - clean and fresh with a hint of that South African terroir which gives this wine a pleasant toasty flavour instead of that funky tarry-earthy note. (*** 1/2+)

Osborne Pedro Ximinez 1827 Sherry ($17.20 - Spain) - my sweet tooth kicked in here with its lovely toffee and raisin pie notes; sweet, thick and sinful. (****+)

Offley Colheita 1997 Port ($35.00 - Portugal) - cherries and spice load up the nose, long candied-mandarin-orange finish ... yum (****+)

Georg Breuer 2008 Terra Montosa ($29.95 - Germany) - stony and sweet all at the same time: green apple, lime and peach fruit mingle nicely together. (*** 1/2+)

Nugan Estate 2009 Manuka Grove Durif ($29.95 - Australia) - sweet plum palate with a raspberry fruit finish (*** 1/2+)

Korta 2009 Gran Reserva Petit Verdot ($26.95 - Chile) - good fruit with a hint of spice and a nice finish. (****)

Sokol Blosser Estate 2008 Pinot Noir ($65.00 - Oregon, USA) - nose of vanilla bean, coffee and spice; the palate is the real winner here combining earthy notes with the vanilla, coffee and some spiced-cranberry. (****)

Tianna Negre Ses Nines Tinto 2010 ($24.95 - Spain) - lovely red fruit, sweet cherry, red licorice, plum and red berries; sweet red fruit finish. (****+)

Norton 2005 Predriel Single Vineayard ($69.95 - Argentina) - blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvigon and Merlot with black cherry, chocolate, black plum, cocoa/mocha notes and a nice, slightly herbed finish. (****+)

Villa Maria 2007 Single Vineyard Seddon Pinot Noir ($59.95 - New Zealand) - cran-cherry with delicious spice, real finesse of red fruit on the finish with a touch of cinnamon spice. (****+)

Montrouge Gogondas "La Petit Colline" 2009 ($34.95 - France) - spiced raspberry with nice red fruit, mineral and slight hit of tobacco. (*** 1/2+)

Moncaro 2010 Le Vele Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico ($13.95 - Italy) - a stunningly delicious white wine loaded with lovely tropical fruit along with pear and lime; best white wine of the day. (****+)

Nugan Estate 2008 McLaren Vale Parish Vineyard Shiraz ($24.95 - Australia) - cherry, plum with big fruit burst on the nose with each subsequent swirl of the glass; mouth also had a fruit explosion with a lovely red fruit finish along with lovely mouth-filling hints of chocolate. (****)

Allianca Quinta Dos Quatro Reserva ($59.95 - Portugal) - sweet cherry and plum on the nose, spiced-plum with a hefty tannin finish. (****+)

Villa Maria 2010 Taylor's Pass Sauvignon Blanc ($34.95 - New Zealand) - lovely sweet fruit reminiscent of grapefruit cocktail. (*** 1/2+)

Finally, Innis & Gunn poured three beers that really impressed, one specially brewed for Canada Day 2011 ... the other two:
- Original Oak Aged Beer
- Rum Cask Aged Beer
all three available at the LCBO, the Canada Day beer is a limited edition that will be available soon.

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Report from ... Vinexx Portfolio Tasting - April 13, 2011

2011-04-22T09:57:00.001-04:00

Second tasting of the day. First was in Toronto (Somewherness), this one is on the way home, in Oakville and is the Vinexx Portfolio tasting - seems like I'll go anywhere to sip a glass of something interesting. Vinexx is based out of Hamilton and has a portfolio that covers the big ports-of-call for wine-lovers: France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, California ... today's tasting consisted of wines mainly available at the LCBO with a few consignment / private order wines thrown in for good measure. Wines were arranged by table number, starting with bubblies, then two tables of whites and three of reds, by my count there were 42 in total - here were my favourites listed here by table number.

Table 1 ... Bubbles and Rosés
Of 4 bubbles and 2 rosés at this table the Caves Bailly Lapierre Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Reserve ($17.95 - LCBO) was far and way the best bottle here. Made from Pinot Noir (40%), Gamay (10%), Chardonnay (40%) and Aligote (10%) - good fruit aromas and flavours, this is a good bubble for the price, light and airy across the tongue. (****)

Table 2 ... White Wine Part 1
A no-brainer here as the Alois Lageder 2009 Pinot Grigio DOC ($18.95 - LCBO) was a delicious version of a Grigio, exactly what one looks for with this wine style. (*** 1/2+)

Table 3 ... White Wine Part 3
Riesling fans would be very happy with the Studert Prum 2009 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett ($18.95 - LCBO) with its slightly sweet nose and palate, lovely fruit and some slate notes, especially on the palate. (*** 1/2+)

Table 4 ... Red Wine Part 1
I probably would have sided with the Casa Girelli wines here (Syrah and Primitivo), but they are sealed under plastic cork, so bottle variation over time will be a big problem (I don't trust plastic cork); so instead opted to be a fan of the Villa Cafaggio 2007 Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG ($34.95 - private order), it had plenty going for it: raspberry, spice, cinnamon, big tannins, dark cherries, rustic in the a very appealing way. (*** 1/2+)

Table 5 ... Red Wine Part 2
This stop on the Vinexx-Table-Tour tied for best table (with Table 6) with three wines, but at this stop they scored four-plus stars versus the three 4 star wines at Table 6; making Table 5 the best table to visit tonight:
E. Guigal 2007 Cotes du Rhone ($16.95 - LCBO) - a dark-fruit forward Cote-du-Rhone with good acidity and matches well with food or on its own (I've done both with this very wine in the recent past). (****+)
Cases de la Ermita 2008 Roble Jumilla ($13.95 - LCBO) - smooth and silky with red licorice, plum, chocolate and white pepper; good value. (****+)
Cline Cellars 2009 Ancient Vines Mourvedre ($18.95 - LCBO) - lovely plumy sweetness, lush and plush and ready for BBQ ribs and other grilled meats. (****+)

Table 6 ... Red Wine Part 3
Another three wine table, here they scored the same mark of 4 stars:
Roux Pere et Fils 2009 Volnay Vieilles Vignes ($29.95 - LCBO) - pretty floral nose along with light cherry and raspberry fruit, delicate and delicious with an earthy-raspberry finish and decent length. (****)
Calera Wine Company 2008 Pinot Noir ($32.95 - LCBO) - a totally different animal from the Burgundy above; a really red fruit driven Pinot, lovely cherry all the way through with that sweet red fruit caressing the tongue right to the finish. Very Cali. (****)
Cline Cellars 2009 Zinfandel ($13.00 - LCBO) - a base model Zin from Cline but one that has all the goods needed for Zin-lovers and neophytes to the grape in its red form: plum, vanilla, black cherry on the nose, cherry-cola mid-palate, sweet fruit with supple flavours ... really good value so you can hop the Zin-bandwagon. (****)

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Report from ... 9th Annual Churchill Cellars Portfolio Tasting - April 11, 2011

2011-04-22T09:02:00.001-04:00

For the 2nd time in 2 weeks I find myself at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts for a wine tasting ... this is another agent portfolio tasting, but this time it's 52 wines from Churchill Cellars; below is a list of my top 10 wines tasted (with selected notes) ...

*** 1/2 (good) ...
Pisse Dru 2009 Beaujolais ($12.25 - General List)
- serve chilled and you'll find lots of cherry and raspberry fruit.
Patriarch 2009 Pinot Noir ($10.25 - General List)
- dark berries, juicy and enjoyable

**** (very good) ...
Wente 2009 Morning Fog Chardonnay ($16.75 - General List)
- still a lovely Chard, better acidity than in previous vintages
Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon ($16.75 - General List)
- juicy red fruit with hints of vanilla
Grove Street 2008 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon ($14.80 - Vintages)
- plum, red berry, cherry, quite a bit of peppery-spice on the finish
D'Arenberg 2008 The Stump Jump Lightly Wooded Chardonnay ($13.75 - General List)
- nice tropical fruit: pineapple, mango, pear with a light vanilla tinge
Navajas 2005 Tinto Reserva ($16.75 - Vintages)
- very cherry with good spice notes

****+ (very good +) ...
D'Arenberg 2006 d'Arry's Original Shiraz Grenache ($19.75 - Vintages Essential)
- red licorice, anise, red fruit, hint of herbed-spice ... one of the nicest wines of the afternoon, can't wait to try this one out at a summer BBQ.
Chivite 2005 Gran Feudo Vinas Viejas Reserva ($19.75 - Vintages)
- another sip of deliciousness; a Tempranillo/Grenache blend with lovely spice/pepper, blackberry and cassis
Pol Roger Brut Champagne ($59.75 - General List)
- always lovely, toasty and baked apple notes

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Report from ... Somewhereness Media Preview - April 13, 2011

2011-04-20T15:17:00.002-04:00

On the eve of the NHL playoffs the folks from Somewhereness (old soils new wines) decided to give us media types a preview of what the public will be tasting and seeing come May 10 at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.

Today we are on the 6th Floor of the TIFF Bell Lightbox building in Toronto - pretty impressive place - to taste the wines of the original six (another hockey reference): Norman Hardie, Charles Baker, Stratus, Malivoire, Flat Rock and Tawse, plus those of the expansion wineries: Hidden Bench, Southbrook, Cave Spring and Thirteenth Street. An hour long seminar previewed a wine from each producer plus an introduction from May 10th keynote speaker Ian D'Agata.

In honour of the NHL references (original six, expansion and playoffs) I will now give you two lists of awards ... my three star selection and my best of awards for the day (all link back to full reviews on my website).

Starting with the best of category wines:
Best White: Cave Spring 2009 Dolomite Riesling (**** 1/2+)
Best Rosé: Hidden Bench 2009 Bistro Rosé (****+)
Best Red: Norman Hardie 2009 Cabernet Franc (**** 1/2)

The above would seem like an all-star line-up, but the whites outshone the reds today ... the wines below represent my three star selection:

OWR Three Star Selection ...
* Cave Spring Cellars 2009 Dolomite Riesling
** Norman Hardie 2009 Cabernet Franc
*** Charles Baker Wines 2009 Picone Vineyard Riesling

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Report from ... Hobbs & Merchant Vintner Tasting - March 29, 2011

2011-04-15T06:45:00.001-04:00

It took place at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts ... two portfolios brought together for one tasting: Hobbs & Co Wine Merchants Inc. and The Merchant Vintner Ltd. 58 wines were poured, below the top 15 with selected notes:

3.5 stars (good) ...

Quails' Gate 2008 Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir ($44.99 - Canada) -

up front cherry aromas with cranberry-sour cherry and spice in the mouth.

Weingut Josef Leitz 2008 Riesling Kabinett ($19.99 - Germany) -

peaches and apples, a touch of sweetness with a lovely lingering finish.

3.5+ stars (good +) ...

Torlesse 2008 Waipara Riesling ($18.95 - New Zealand) -

good bit of sweetness amongst the tropical fruit, crisp, nice acidity, lingering finish.

The Grinder 2010 Pinotage ($19.99 - South Africa) -

all out coffee with a latte-like creaminess, nice spice notes on the finish.

Edward Sellers Vineyards 2006 Vertigo ($27.54) -

chocolate, cherry, spice aromas with spicy raspberry and lingering pepper finish.

Vilafonte 2006 Series M ($39.95 - South Africa) -

nice red and black fruit that shows elegance across the palate.

Domaine Sainte Rose 2009 Coquille d'oc Red ($16.75 - France) -

lots of cherry fruit with just a pinch of pepper.

4 stars (very good) ...

Dr. Frank 2010 Dry Riesling ($24.99 - New York) -

melon, citrus and tropical aromas; lots of melon and tropical on the palate and a lime zest finish.

Vignoble Guillaume 2009 Chardonnay ($17.95 - France) -

nice mouth weight, creamy vanilla, hazelnut, butter and peach.

Chateau Grand Moulin Vieilles Vignes 2005 ($22.10 - France) -

good black fruit and spice.

Alpha Zeta 2008 'R' Ripasso (21.99 - Italy) -

fruit driven with a touch of chalky on the finish: cherry, plum, vanilla and cinnamon.

4+ stars (very good +) ...

Chalkers Crossing 2009 Tumbarumba Pinot Noir ($27.99 - Australia) -

sweet red fruit nose, touch of mineral, cherry, raspberry fruit palate all mixed with spice and pepper; really nice finish.

Empordalia 2010 Verdera ($11.99 - Spain) -

sweet raspberry fruit on the nose; raspberry-spice in the mouth.

Domaine Francois Lichtle 2008 Gewurztraminer ($22.70 - France) -

lychee-peach with the right amount of sweet spice ... yum.

4.5 stars (excellent) ...

Clairault Wines 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ($27.80 - Australia) -

red fruit and floral smells, delicate and elegant, the right amount of playful fruit, spice, pepper, mocha/coffee, lovely fine tannins on a slightly chalky finish.

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Report from ... Ontario Wine Awards, The Last Day of Judging - March 27, 2011

2011-04-02T14:46:00.001-04:00

The last day of the Ontario Wine Awards Judging is a more light-hearted affair then the previous two days, which seems to be a lot more serious. The last day takes place in the catacomb-like confines of the Fine Wine Reserve in downtown Toronto and it's the sweeties that we are all putting to our collective noses and onto our palates. Sure icewine is serious stuff, but once all 60+ wines are poured and those tropical-honey smells waft through the room, there is just a wave of good feelings that go through the place.

This year's Ontario Wine Awards will be held June 10, 2011 at Queen's Landing in Niagara on the Lake ... for details of the event visit: http://www.ontariowineawards.ca/

What follows are a few pictures, before, during and after the tasting:


Look at all that icewine ...

Jimson Bienstock eyes a wine and then me

The Deacon raises his first glass of the day

Dick Snyder sniffs a glass

Tony Aspler stands on a chair to take in the action

Konrad grins mischievously as he contemplates the job ahead

Suresh Doss socializes ... on his phone

The Deacon ... after the tasting

Tony calculates the winners in his own private corner

We end this special day with a special wine

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Report from ... Rodney Strong Taste and Blend - March 28, 2011

2011-04-02T13:00:00.001-04:00

The day started for me at three, as I made my way up the elevator to the 54th floor where I would find Canoe Restaurant. There I was shown into a side room where a seminar was just finishing up and a tasting was just about to begin - I did not get an invite to the seminar (but I did get a chance to try my hand at what they were doing - a little on that later), so I went right in and tasted 10 wines that Rodney Strong brings into Canada, way or another (Vintages / Consignment / Private Order): a Sauvignon Blanc, 3 Chardonnays, a Merlot and 5 variations on Cabernet Sauvignon or Cab dominated blends.

The seminar was on the blending of their Symmetry wine, a Cabernet dominated affair that had 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Malbec in the 2007 version (***1/2) with the last five percent being the remainder of the Bordelais grapes (Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc). They brought along the five building blocks for the 2009 Symmetry and asked those in attendance to make up and record their own blend. Rick Sayre (V.P. and Director of winemaking oversaw the blending and even took notes on the ones he liked; I think this might be the new wave of winemaking - have your customers make up your blend. Tasting through the components I used one word to describe each (keep in mind these wines had been open for 2 hours when I finally got to them): Cabernet Sauvignon - chocolate; Merlot - raspberry; Cabernet Franc - tobacco; Petit Verdot - spice; Malbec - dark fruit. My attempt at a blend had mainly Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) with 10% Merlot, 10% Malbec and the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot at 5% apiece ... though I didn't use any scientific measuring tool. Rick was not a fan of my blend because he found it too heavy and tannic, Rodney Strong likes their wines to drink now, but also age. I have to admit that I liked my version, oh well, back to the drawing board. As for the real completed wines, here were my top choices:

The Finished Strong Wines (The Strongest) ...

2009 Chalk Hill Chardonnay ($24.95 - Vintages, April 30, 2011) - lots of vanilla and buttery notes on the nose; palate doles out the fruit by way of peach with a touch of the tropical, the vanilla nuances really round out the fruit in the mouth; lovely. (****)

2006 Sonoma County Merlot ($18.95 - Vintages, March 5, 2011) - the wines was big on cherry, and loads of other red fruit, with enough spice in the mix so that things weren't too fruit dominated; delicious and easy to drink right now. (****)

2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($59.95 - Private Order) - the nose was chocolate, black cherry and blueberry, while the palate had rich dark fruit, chocolate, spice, vanilla and cinnamon. The tannins gave the wine nice weight without being too demanding. (****+)

2007 Rockaway ($89.95 - Private Order) - a monster at 15.2% alcohol. This single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 24 months in 100% French oak (with less new oak than you would expect) is ready to drink now - or can be lain down for 10 years. Amazing red cherry fruit on the nose with hints of chocolate and vanilla. The mouth proved to be silky smooth with red fruit dominating, but with chocolate and spice playing and elegant backing role. Real finesse on both the nose and palate makes this one of those wines perfect to consume throughout an evening, and there was a really clean yummy finish. Deliciously approachable now, yet surely layable for the future. (**** 1/2)

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