New Website Launched

I am very excited to announce that after a bit of work and some tweaking my new website is up and running. I have imported this whole blog onto it and added some new touches. I will be working at it over the next couple of weeks to get it up to 100%, but it is definitely ready to go. So please visit the new home of Hunting Vines at www.huntingvines.ca I hope everyone thinks its more attractive and accessible any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks so much for all your reading and support.

Sincerely,

Hunter

Exciting Changes

I am sorry I have not posted in the last week and a half, but I have been working on some very exciting changes. As a very early birthday present Becky bought me a domain and the Hunting Vines blog will soon be an actual website. I will stop using the google blogger software and move to the much more powerful blog and publishing software, WordPress. The new website will not only look much better but also allow for video and audio content. It should only be a few more days of tinkering and then be up and running. So I will post as soon as it is set to go I am really looking forward to expanding my blog and making it a really informative and interesting website.

Sincerely,

Hunter

Spotlight # 2: Keint- He Winery and Vineyards

This is Part 3 of 3 of my PEC Post. My quotations are coming from memory and are not exact word for word, but a representation of what was said. Again my tasting notes were made after I tasted the wine.

My second spotlight will focus on Keint-He and our incredible tasting and conversation with winemaker Geoff Heinricks. I had first read about Keint-He in the Fall/Winter 2009 issue of The County Grapevine Magazine. Wine writer and Toronto Life contributor David Lawrason wrote a short piece about some of the exciting wine news taking place in the county in which Geoff Heinricks and Keint-He was mentioned. Lawrason also provided some tasting notes in the magazine for two of Keint-He's wines. Intrigued I did some research and began reading more and more interesting articles about Geoff, who is considered a pioneer of grape growing in Prince Edward County. He is also considered to be one of its best winemakers as well.

Geoff, who did his degree in History at Queens University worked for several years for CityTV in Toronto. Fed up with it all he decided to move out to Prince Edward County and start growing grapes and making wine. He wrote about this subject in his book 'A Fool and Forty Acres' which I have not read, but have ordered from amazon. Geoff is a self taught wine maker and told us that he has just read a lot about wine. He is also an extremely serious and passionate man who had some of the most interesting and poignant things to say while we tasted wine with him.

We met Geoff at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon he lead us into the tasting room of the winery which is where you walk in at the front door. It is a beautiful room with a tasting bar, large rustic wooden table and a gorgeous fireplace. We sat down and Geoff asked us where we had been during our trip to the County. This is where our conversation began as we had been to Closson Chase and as it turns out Geoff used to make wine out of Closson Chase under his own label. He knew Keith Tyers as well as Deborah Paskus quite well. With that we began talking about wine, the County and Keint-He.

Keint-He itself is a very new winery, as it just opened last fall and 2007 is its first vintage. However, the vineyards being used are some of the oldest in the County planted by Geoff over ten years ago. The winery itself is a collaborative effort between three wine lovers (Geoff Heinricks, Bryan Rogers and Ron Rogers) who are committed to producing the best wines possible in the County. As Geoff pointed out to me each partner brings their own specialty and perspective to help make Keint-He what it is.

Geoff takes care of the winemaking and the vineyards where he is allowed quite a bit of flexibility and freedom to really do interesting things. Bryan who has an M.A. in the sciences and arts is the GM of the winery and takes care of sales and marketing, something very important especially to smaller scale operations. Finally Ron, who is a retired VP from BMO, offers 35 years of experience in finance which is hugely invaluable to a new company like Keint-He. Furthermore, he provided the capital investment to help build the new winery as well as acquire the new vineyard sites. All decisions about the winery are made in consultation with each other and as Geoff said "all we do has to make sense to all three of us otherwise they wouldn't be in practice".

Keint-He is not your average County winery. The vines are planted at a very high density, 3630 vines per acre, at a 4' spacing, they have imported two specialty tractors from Burgundy to work on the vines. This forces the vines to complete and produce the best fruit possible. Yields are also kept very low with cropping at roughly 1.5 tons per acre which is around 28 hl/ha. To put that in perspective the average yields in France are about 55 hl/ha. Geoff said jokingly "if you mention my name or high density plantings many winemakers cringe". Keint-He uses only the fruit that they grow and everything is done by hand from pruning, to picking, bottling and even labeling, as Geoff says, "80% of wine is made in the vineyard if you do not see any workers in the field in the middle of summer you should be seriously concerned about the wines they are producing."

The grapes are grown organically and have been organic since they were planted. "we are an organic winery and the grapes have been from the beginning. Most growers spray when the calendar tells them to without even knowing if there is an issue if their vineyard. We are always among the grapes so we know what is happening to the fruit and can take preventative action when we see a problem." When I asked Geoff what he thought of biodynamics he replied "I follow certain principles of biodynamics, but I would not consider myself a biodynamic grower. Steiner didn't drink and thought wine was evil, how can you base your whole growing philosophy on a man who did not drink or know anything about wine?"

All of the wine is fermented using indigenous yeasts and are done naturally Geoff said that they can sometimes take 30 or more days to complete. I asked him if he thought yeast selection played an important role in the final bottled wine. He said that likely 3 out of 5 times the use of commercial yeasts will seriously affect the finished wine. He also said that he wants to make wine as natural as possible. "I want to make wine that changes and evolves when its opened. Real wine should be able to last for a week or more offering up new layers and nuances. Unfortunately most wine is meant to be consumed within the first hour of being opened." Furthermore, all of Keint-He's wines are unfined and unfiltered. All of this leads to Geoff's overall philosophy about winemaking. "With each wine are trying to create a snapshot of that year. From the various indigenous yeasts in the air, to the sun and water levels the vine receives. Each year will be different, but that is what makes our wines so unique they are true representations of where they come from. Some people will not like that, but I am letting the wine speak for itself."

After talking and tasting with Geoff I would have to say that he is one of those few winemakers that is really pushing the limits and moving the County wine industry in the right direction. Keint-He along with Closson Chase and Long Dog mark some of the most important wineries in the County in that they are actually exploiting the true potential of PEC terroir. Many people come to the County as a lifestyle choice because owning winery has a romance attached to it and others come out to make a buck. It is people like Geoff that are actually committed to proving to the world that the County can make some of the best wine around. I could go on much longer on the topics we discussed but I will move to the tasting now and let them do the talking about Keint-He's wines.

1. 2007 St. Laurent Foxtail Vineyard VQA Prince Edward County

This was my first experience tasting a St. Laurent and I was very impressed. The variety is actually part of the Pinot Noir family and originated in France. From there it moved to Austria where it is most commonly grown. These vines were brought to British Columbia in the 1970s and Geoff took some clippings and planted them in the Foxtail vineyard 10 years ago. I asked him why St. Laurent and he replied that he had done some reading and that he thought the grape would do well in the County. After tasting the wine I would say that he is right. The nose was great showing off County limestone earthiness with red berries, cranberry and some uniqueness that I suppose is a character of St. Laurent itself. In the mouth the wine was very interesting, delicious, multidimensional and possessing so much depth. This wine was so fascinating and unique yet was rooted firmly in the County. Geoff said that is could age easily another 5+ years. We bought a bottle, I cannot wait to revisit this complex and fascinating wine in the future and giving it my undivided attention. Score 91

2. 2007 Pinot Noir Little Creek Vineyard VQA Prince Edward County

Geoff is what you could call a Pinotphile and hence it is his most treasured grape. The Little Creek vineyard is their only Pinot bottling for 2007, but they will add another single vineyard release from Foxtail for the 2009 vintage. They planted more Pinot last year on their Big Lake vineyard which will start producing fruit fit for wine in a couple of years and will also be a single vineyard offering. This wine spent about 20 months in French oak with a touch of Hungarian oak for good measure. I don't know how else to describe this wine, but by calling it a showstopper. It has a ridiculous nose with so much going on all I can say is WOW! Sublime high toned cherry, earth, hay, barnyard, pinot fruit with so much depth it evolved in the short time we were tasting it. In the mouth this wine is just as good with a core of sweet pinot cherry surrounded by silken beauty. This wine is amazing to drink with so much depth and those 'je ne sais quoi' Pinot aromas and flavours that just wanted to be teased out over many hours. It finishes long and beautifully and is really the complete package. Geoff said it is drinking very well already even though it is just coming out of bottle shock. He said it will drink well now and over the next few years. We bought a bottle, I do not know how you couldn't after tasting it and I know it will not last long in our cellar as I don't think I have the will power. Most wine reviewers would have to put this wine in the mid 90s, really incredible stuff. Score: 94-95

The next selection of tastings Geoff offered us out of barrel as he showed us the winery.

1. 2007 Sparkling Base Wine

Mainly Pinot Noir with a small amount of Chardonnay and St. Laurent that did not make it into the regular bottlings. This base wine is just delicious and could actually be bottled right now and sold as it is. It will be a serious rich sparkling wine akin to a Blanc de Noirs. In March it is going into bottles for second fermentation I cannot wait to try Keint-He's sparkling it should be very good. As Geoff said sparkling wine has a big future in the County as its climate and soils are like a blending of Burgundy and Champagne. This could be very exciting stuff.

2. 2009 Chardonnay Foxtail Vineyard

Aged in seasoned Hungarian oak. A fresh, ripe, mineral laden Chardonnay with palate cutting acidity. Very Chablis-esque and it is already brilliant stuff. This actually may give Closson Chase a run for best County Chardonnay. Keep an eye out for this one it should turn out to be an incredible wine.

3. 2008 Chardonnay Foxtail Vineyard

Aged in new Hungarian oak. Completely different than the 2009. This is a big, rich and round buttery Chardonnay. If the '09 was a Chablis the '08 is a Montrachet. Really great quality wine, but I actually like the '09 better.

4. 2009 Pinot Noir Little Creek Vineyard

We did not taste this wine but looked at it and smelled it. The extraction is great and it seems that 2009 is going to be a great vintage in Prince Edward County. The nose is already gorgeous and shows some real potential. I will be looking forward to this in a couple of years.

5. 2008 Botrytis Affected Pinot Noir

For several years Geoff noticed that fog would form on one of their vineyards and blow away with winds from the lake by the afternoon and thought it could be a place to make a botrytis affected wine. The fungus is in the vineyards consistently and usually infected grapes are cut off so as not to contaminate other healthy clusters. In 2008 when they were about to get rid of the botrytis infected grapes Geoff said lets just wait and see what happens. Luckily the mornings got a lot of fog, but there was nice warm afternoon suns to dry the grapes out like a good year in Sauternes. Thus noble rot took over and actually worked. Geoff used a technique employed by winemakers in the Austrian village of Rust known for making outstanding botrytis affected wines. The wine took 9 months to ferment, but almost all the sugar was converted. It is being aged in Hungarian oak 2 new barrels and 4 seasoned. Geoff said he will bottle it eventually and the wine should last for decades.

This wine is just incredible, so unique, so interesting! This is unlike anything I have ever tasted. The wine was a lovely deep golden yellow and the nose showed sweet peach, blossoms and refined spice as well as complex that could take days to disentangle. Geoff said the nose changes every time he tastes it sometimes it displays those fruity notes, sometimes truffle and earth and other times earl grey tea. The nose is awesome and evolved in the glass while we tasted it. In the mouth the wine was amazingly rich and full bodied with so much peach and spice perfectly balanced by amazing acidity. The finish was eternally haunting and lasted forever. Geoff joked that one person who tried it said they could taste the wine all the way home. There was some truth to this as I could perceptively taste the finish about an hour after we tried the wine. I guess the closest thing to this wine would be a Hungarian Tokaji, but this is so utterly unique and so different. Geoff said that this is a wine that is made once a decade or maybe once in a lifetime. Truly remarkable stuff this is destined to become a County cult wine. I don't care how much a bottle will eventually cost I'll be buying it.

Overall Keint-He and Geoff Heinricks represent some of the best wine coming out of Prince Edward County. The quality levels are matched by very few and the uniqueness is matched by no one. It is the fact that Geoff is pushing the County to new frontiers that make Keint-He so exciting, I mean who else would try and make a Botrytis affected Pinot Noir and then actually pull it off? If you are in the County this winery should be your first stop then you will know what wine from the County should actually taste like.

Spotlight # 1: Closson Chase Vineyards

This is Part 2 of 3 of my PEC posts. Tasting notes were made after I visited the winery.

The first spotlight from our trip to the County will be on Closson Chase. The tasting was lead by former winemakers assistant Keith Tyers and retail manager Lynn Carmichael. We arrived at 11am on Saturday and were greeted by Lynn who showed us around the winery which is a refinished 19th century barn. It is quite nice with a great rustic appeal and in the summer the barn doors open up to a lovely garden with the vines in the background, very picturesque (at least I imagine it to be, the day we visited it was raining and very windy). The wine used to be made and aged in the barn, but as of last year they have opened a new, larger facility (closed to the public) about 1km down the road, which can be seen from the main winery. I apologize that I did not take any pictures as the weather was so poor. When I am back in the County in the summer I will be sure to take as many as possible. After the tour with Lynn we were met by Keith who lead us into the wineries tasting room.

Once in the tasting room Keith began telling us all about the geological history of Prince Edward County and how it came to posses soils conducive to excellent wine making. I will not try and repeat what he said, but the lesson on rock formation, soil composition, and climate were extremely informative and very fascinating. If you ever get a chance to chat with Keith, who is extremely approachable, you should take full advantage as he is a wealth of winemaking and County information. After a quick lesson on what makes Prince Edward County such a great place to make wine he began to explain Closson Chase's approach.

Closson Chase is a quality driven producer where low yields, dense plantings, growing quality fruit and making terroir driven wines are the guiding principles. The fruit is grown organically with a move towards biodynamics currently underway. Yields are kept quite low at about 2.5 tons per acre which equals roughly 37.5 hl/ha and indigenous yeasts are used as much as possible, save for a case of stopped fermentation or the like. They do make one unoaked Chardonnay, but the rest spend roughly 18 months in French oak (medium toast) where the Chardonnay's are barrel fermented and also undergo natural malolactic fermentation. 25% of the oak is new to impart those rich caramel and butter aromas and flavors and the other 75% seasoned, which Keith says act mainly as excellent oxygenators to fully develop the wine. The wines are hand tended and harvested with a lot of personal care taken in the vineyards. All of Closson Chase wines are unfined and unfiltered.

The head winemaker at Closson Chase is Deborah Paskus one of Canada's most famous and respected winemakers. There has been quite a bit written about her so I will leave that to others and just say that she is a pioneer of Chardonnay in Ontario. She really proved that great Chardonnay can be made in Canada with her Temkin-Paskus wines from her small holding in Steve Kocsis' vineyard on the Beamsville Bench in Niagara. Chardonnay is certainly Closson Chase's specialty and they do an absolutely excellent job. I think the strength in their wines is the depth and expansiveness they posses. All of the Chardonnay's we tasted were complex, rich and serious wines all displaying considerable power and finesse. Here are the notes of the tasting lead by Keith. Again I did not make notes until after the tasting so these notes are based on memory.

1. 2007 Chardonnay VQA Prince Edward County

This wine is sourced from their two Prince Edward County vineyards on the north and south side of the winery from young vines (aged 3-6 years). It is considered a younger sibling to their South Clos vineyard bottling which is sourced from their southern vineyard from their oldest vines and best fruit. The South Clos is completely sold out, luckily I bought one a few months ago and have it in my cellar. If this wine is any indication of how good the South Clos will be I think we will be in for a real treat. This wine had a nice rich tropical fruit nose complicated by notes toast, toasted marshmallow, and PEC limestone minerality. In the mouth the wine had a great acidic backbone that cut right through the palate and displayed great stone fruit and pear flavours with hints of earthy depth. It was a solid wine without a doubt and very impressive for being such young vines. In fact this put many Ontario Chardonnay's I have had before to shame. I do not usually give numerical scores but, I think it may be helpful in this blog. I would probably give this wine an 89-90 out of 100.

2. 2006 Chardonnay VQA Beamsville Bench

This wine was sourced from Closson Chases two vineyard holdings in Niagara the Aberdeen vineyard and S. Kocsis vineyard which were bottled as single vineyard offerings in 2007 and were next in the tasting lineup. An interesting note about Closson Chase's Niagara fruit is that they pick gently there and then bring the fruit to their winery in Prince Edward County where they then press and began making the wine. The only exception are their red grapes in Niagara which they press in the vineyard then bring to the winery. This was a nice big, round and rich Chardonnay of definite quality, but it was unfortunately completely outdone and overshadowed by the other three wines. I imagine it would have stood up quite well to most other Ontario Chardonnay's out there, but being from a weaker year it just could not keep pace. What was interesting and I think this is why Keith put this bottle into the tasting is that this wines components were the two single vineyard bottlings we were trying next so it offered some interesting insight into the Aberdeen and Kocsis vineyards. Score 87-88

3. 2007 Chardonnay Aberdeen Vineyard VQA Beamsville Bench

Sourced from vines planted in 1996 this wine was just stellar. Nice golden yellow in colour the nose is just awesome with so much richness and depth, yet an incredible floral freshness that was like walking through a spring meadow. In the mouth this wine was absolutely mouthfilling and full bodied with multifaceted and interesting depths. At the same time this wine was full of finesse and beauty. A great wine one of the best Chardonnay's I have tried. Our favourite of the tasting we bought a bottle. Score 93+

4. 2007 Chardonnay S. Kocsis Vineyard VQA Beamsville Bench

Sourced from 23 year old vines planted in 1987 this fruit is coming from the vineyard that Deborah Paskus made her name on. I think that this is an important wine to both Deborah and winery if you look at it from a historical perspective. The wine was much darker deep yellow compared to the previous ones. The nose offered up a ton of earthy notes with stone and tropical fruits just lingering in the background. In the mouth there was a ton of richness and complex earthy depth in this soil inflicted wine. Purely terroir driven, it was a big rich earthen beauty of a wine. Really impressive stuff and, just as if not even more impressive, than the Aberdeen. It is of pure personal preference that we choose the Aberdeen over this one but both are stellar examples. Score 93+

Overall the tasting at Closson Chase was a fantastic experience the knowledge, approachability, and professionalism of both Keith and Lynn was just terrific. There is no doubt in my mind now that Closson Chase is currently making the best Chardonnay in Canada. Some may point to a few other wineries like Le Clos Jordanne which offer some stiff competition to this title, but I do not they can compare with these complex, rich, and fascinating Closson wines. If you are tired of bland, boring and uninspired Chardonnay please go to Closson Chase, their wines will prove to you why Chardonnay really is one of the greatest grapes on earth.

Blog# 19 Back to Prince Edward County

I was back in Prince Edward County this past weekend, mainly for celebratory reasons, as my partner Becky and I, have been dating for 5 years. We thought a great way to celebrate would be to head to the County for some relaxation and fun. We had an absolutely terrific time with highlights from the weekend abound from amazing winery tasting and tours to excellent food and accommodations. It was not only the experiences that made this trip so great, but also the tremendous amount we learned over the two days. Our structured tasting with Closson Chase's Keith Tyers and Lynn Carmichael along with our tasting, tour and talk with Keint-He's Geoff Heinricks were were so informative and interesting that we gained a much greater understanding of grape growing and winemaking in Prince Edward County.

We were able to fit quite a few activities in our visit from visiting County markets to delicious chocolate shops. However, this being a wine blog I will try to keep on the topic of wine, of which there is so much to be said. Since this will be a bit of a lengthy post I have decided to split it into 3 major sections. The first, which includes this introduction will outline our trip focusing in the wineries. The second section will be a spotlight on our visit to Closson Chase and our fantastic tasting and conversation with assistant winemaker Keith Tyers and retail sales manager Lynn Carmichael. The third section will then focus on our amazing tasting, tour and conversation with Keint-He winemaker Geoff Heinricks. I hope you enjoy reading my accounts as much as I did experiencing them. It must be said that all my tasting notes were done from memory after I visited the winery as I did not have a note pad with me while actually tasting the wine. Furthermore, I apologize for the lack of photographs it was a fairly rainy and overcast weekend so the camera did not make it out as often as it should have.

Our trip began with an 11am appointment on Saturday morning at Closson Chase. The second section of this blog will be focused on this visit so I do not want to give too much away. I will say that Closson Chase is making some of the best Chardonnay in the County and in the entire country for that matter. After the extremely informative and fascinating tasting at Closson Chase we made a quick stop at the Grange of Prince Edward. We stopped here to pick up a bottle of their newly released (since December) sparkling wine, a methode traditionelle made of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay from the 2007 vintage grown on their estate. This was for celebratory purposes on Saturday night I will post full tasting notes for this wine in a few days.

After picking up the bottle at the Grange we were off to a 1:30pm appointment at one of the County's newest wineries Casa Dea. The appointment was supposed to be with VP of Operations and General Manager Paul Marconi but when we arrived we found out that we had to step out and was not there. Our tasting was "semi" lead by one of their retail representatives who was more focused on a group of customers buying a fair bit of wine than us. Even more disappointing than the absence of Paul and the lack of help regarding any questions we had were the wines themselves. My tasting may have been biased by the strength of the Closson Chase wines we had prior, but I certainly did my best to do an objective job. I certainly did not come in with any negative preconceptions, in fact I was quite looking forward to trying their wines.

The tasting began with their 2008 Unoaked Chardonnay which offered up a fairly neutral tropical fruit nose and an off-putting sour note in the mouth. Overall this wine was quite poor and not even close to the quality of the Closson Chase Chardonnay's we tasted. The next wine we tasted was their 2008 CD Bianco which is a blend of Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. I did not find this wine to be very different from the Unoaked Chardonnay and it also had that off putting sour note that made it quite unpleasant. We then moved to the 2008 Riesling which was an improvement on the Chardonnay and Bianco, but was still very neutral on the nose not offering much at all. It did have some nice lemon/lime flavours in the mouth, but these were ruined by that same sour note that pervaded the previous two. I could understand one off bottle, but each different white had the same awful sour note, what is going on here?

The tasting then moved to reds and with it came their only wine of any sort of interest the 2008 CD Rosso, a blend of Gamay Noir and Zweigelt ( a cross between Blaufrankisch and St. Laurent). Although the wine was served much to warm (room temperature) for my liking it had an interesting pepper spice and smoke note on the nose and in the mouth. We bought a bottle at $12 as it may go quite nicely with grilled sausage or something like that. The tasting finished with their 2008 Cabernet Franc which was pretty much undrinkable, a very poor wine indeed.

Overall I was quite disappointed with the wines of Casa Dea. I understand that their business model is not to make expensive premium wine, but rather every day sipping and dinner wines, which is fine. The problem, however, is that quality is sacrificed for quantity (which drives bottle prices down) and reducing quality in a marginal climate such as Prince Edward County is very risky business. The County is not Italy, France or Spain where grapes grow in relative abundance due to the climate. These countries get quite a bit more ripe fruit at much higher yields, this is a fact due to climatic conditions. Thus, wineries can reduce the quality levels in exchange for higher volume and still make a fairly decent wine that is great for every day consumption. In the County, however, when you reduce the quality the wines really do suffer greatly. I think Casa Dea is a case in point of this and the contrast will become more apparent when juxtaposed to the tastings I had at Closson Chase and Keint-He who are both quality driven producers.

Our next stop was at the winery where we were spending the night, Huff Estates who also have an inn and art gallery. Everything here is very modern and 'feng shui' to borrow the term from Keith Tyers. The Inn itself is quite beautiful and during this time of year marks one of the best deals going. For $99 Becky and I stayed in a lovely room with a king size bed, faux fire place, club chairs and a patio as well as a complimentary breakfast and a tour/tasting. You could not stay in a scummy motel in Ottawa for that much. We were extremely pleased with the Inn and thought the service and atmosphere were excellent.

I was already familiar with some of Huff Estates wines namely their 2008 Off Dry Riesling which I think is quite tasty stuff. The tasting at the winery was lead by their sommelier named Brian along with some other inn guests and I fell that Huff's wines are rather hit and miss. I found all of their whites to be pretty solid with the stand out being their 2007 Pinot Gris which was nicely perfumed and a nice wine overall. Huff's line of red's were also solid, but hardly worth the mark-up. For whatever reason their whites range from about $12-$20 while the red's range from $17-$40 the majority being around $30. I found all of their reds to be decent wines, but hardly worth the $30+ price tag. It is one thing to pay that much for an interesting, nuanced, complex wine, but not for a solid just OK one. This was my biggest issue with Huff Estates I found the wines to be good but not outstanding. Overall the Inn is great the wine still needs some work.

After staying the night at Huff we headed to the County Cider Company for a tasting lead by winemaker Jenifer Dean. It was a nice casual tasting and the County Cider Company has one of the best views in all of PEC. I found their Waupoos Premium Cider to be a real classic with great apple and spice notes and a resoundingly dry refreshing finish. Their two fruit ciders a Peach Cider and Feral Cider (Cranberry-Raspberry) made from their own apples and fruit concentrate from Quebec were both very tasty and refreshing. I could imagine having cold glass of either one on a hot summers day on their patio overlooking Lake Ontario. We also tried their Ice Cider made from European varieties that do not fall off the trees as they are not indigenous to Canada. They let these apples freeze then press them into cider in a process not disimilar to making ice wine. I was pleasantly surprised by this cider as I thought it would be cloyingly sweet, but it was very well balanced and quite tasty. The County Cider Company also makes wine under their Fool on the Hill label. We tried their 2008 Unoaked Chardonnay and their 2008 Pinot Gris both of which displayed an interesting earthy funk nose and flavour profile. We purchased the Pinot Gris and I will put up full notes when we taste it.

We finished off out trip with an incredible tasting and conversation with Geoff Heinricks at his newly opened Keint-He winery. This was an absolutely stellar tasting of which Iwill go in-depth about in Spotlight #2. I will say that Geoff stands as one of the most important winemakers in the County and he is pushing the limits like few others. Again a great time in the County I can't wait to visit again.

Blog #18 Another Delicious Spanish Wine - From Montsant

Tonight I had yet another absolutely delicious Spanish wine, this time from Montsant. One thing that I have really noticed about good Spanish wine is that it has an incredible ability to have intriguing terrior driven notes to please any serious wine drinker. Yet it remains so utterly drinkable and delicious that it is near impossible for anyone not to back for another glass. I suppose this is part of the Spanish wine philosophy to make something more casual for everyday enjoyment. The interesting thing is that with the quality of Spanish wines these days they are getting that ease of drinkability while at the same time making some of the most nuanced and complex wines around. Spanish wine price have certainly not caught up to the value in the bottle, I think now is a great time to rediscover all that Spanish wine has to offer.

Celler de Capcanes - Mas Donis Barrica Old Vines - 2007 - Montsant- Spain

This wine from Celler de Capcanes is made from 85% Grenache grapes ranging from 8 - 40 years old and 15% Syrah grapes which are 10-15 years of age. The vines are grown 150-450 m above sea level in alluvial soils at the lower altitudes and poor mineral based stony soils with granite and slate at the higher altitudes. Harvest is done manually from early September to mid October with a yield of 40-50 Hl per Ha. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at 27-29 degrees Celsius each variety done separately. They were macerated for 8-12 days and underwent full malolactic fermentation in their tanks.They were naturally cold stabilized, lightly fined and filtered, and placed into new and up to 5 year old French and American oak barriques (light-medium toasted) and aged for 9 months. After this the two separate varieties were blended together in stainless steel and left for 3 months before bottling. As a side note the front label of this wine is absolutely beautiful and very well done, it would catch anyone's eye.

Dark purple in colour with a ruby red rim this wine has an absolutely delicious nose. Notes of sweet blackberry liqueur, spice box, mineral, ripe raspberry, and liquorice pervade the senses in a not too subtle but not too showy fashion. In the mouth this wine defines deliciousness with notes of sweet black fruit, spice and a spine of earthen depth. It is medium-full bodied ripe and round which make it a pleasure to swish around in your mouth. The wine finishes with great subtle notes of spice cupboard, fruit and an earthy funk. This wine really does define delicious, yet it has those intriguing earthy notes that would fascinate any wine fan. This is a wine you could drink all night long and never be tired of. Really, really tasty stuff. Very Good+

Blog #17 A Delicious Ribera del Jucar

Spain can make some really incredible wine there is no doubt about it. In the past I think producers were accused of leaving their wines far too long in oak and to have outdated wine making practices. Luckily for us wine consumers Spanish wine has been having a renaissance and now produce some of the world's greatest wines, yet the prices have hardly caught up. Most wine from Spain is really undervalued and although you still run into an oaky mess of a wine here and there when Spanish wines are on they are really on.

This wine made by Elvi is one of those really delicious Spanish examples with really interesting and tasty notes. I find the more you drink wine the more difficult it is to be impressed by a bottle, but this wine is great and I really was impressed. It comes from the youngest D.O in Spain (officially recognized in 2003) the Ribera del Jucar which is part of the Castile-La Mancha region of central Spain. It has 9,100 Ha of vineyards that sit 650-750 metres above sea level the soils of which are composed of argillaceous chalk which is covered by small stones and pebbles from the Jucar river. It has a Meditteranan continental climate of hot and dry summers and cool winters. The main grape varieties of the region are Tempranillo and Bobal, both of which feature in this wine.

Elvi wines is a family owned winery quite new on the scene and was only began in 2002. They focus on making high quality Kosher wines using international and indigenous varietals. They are an ultra modern winery using their own innovative technology known as RavNet which can be read about on their website. They represent a modern quality oriented producer who use modern wine making technology to its fullest.

Elvi Wines- Ness - 2007 - Ribera del Jucar - Spain

This wine is composed of 39% Merlot, 32% Bobal, 25% Tempranillo and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel where the juice is slowly removed from skin contact using a gentle pump where the juice is drained into an oak barrel. Once in oak the wine is still pumped a few minutes each day until 3 weeks before bottling when this ends. The wines are not filtered nor clarified and like all wines made by Elvi are Kosher.

Ruby red in colour with a purple tinge. The nose is just great and really interesting. Lovely notes of ripe raspberry, cedar, juicy blackberry, and subtle spice mingle together in an interesting and beautiful way. In the mouth the wine is medium bodied and begins with ripe juicy sweet red fruits that are really tasty, by the mid palate the well integrated tannins come to the fore with some earthiness that balance out the sweet red fruit. The finish is a nice and subtle mingling of sweet fruit and earth. This is a really delicious hedonistic style of wine that tastes and smells great and is quite interesting. The nose especially is unique and beautiful. It went extremely well with the lamb stew Becky made tonight, a recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. All in all I would definitely buy this again and I think this has some aging potential. Very Good +

Blog #16 Eastern European Value

Many people do not think about Eastern European countries when they think of wine, but I think this will be changing over the next few years. Most countries in the region have been growing grapes for thousands of years and if it was not for communism and very poor agricultural policies many, I think, would have vibrant wine industries. Now 20 years after the collapse of the USSR many of these countries I starting to find their way and are producing some really great value wine.

Most of these countries have really just started to make quality wine so they definitely do not make absolute stunning examples, but I have found they can represent a real bargain for good quality solid wine. This is especially true for true to type international varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon. These countries do have many indigenous grapes, but they are difficult to find and have yet to fully realize their full potential.

I would encourage wine fans to give these countries a chance, the prices are very good and are worth discovering. The two wines I have written reviews for here are from Bulgaria and Romania. Both with very impressive not only because of their price, but also because you would never think that these countries could do so well with these grapes. So explore places such as Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic you will likely get your money's worth.

Domaine Boyar - Blueridge XR - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2006 - Bulgaria

Domaine Boyar is Bulgaria's first private wine producer and a leader in developing the wine industry within the country. It is now a huge company with shareholders in France and the United States. Unfortunately the English version of their website is not working so the actual information as to how this wine was made is not available, if I can find any more I will post it.

Dark red with a plum red rim. A nice classic Cab nose of dark berries, cassis, cedar, and a pronounced cocoa note. It is medium bodied in the mouth with replays of berries and cocoa. It has drying tannins on the mid-palate and finished light and pleasant with a short bitter berry finish. This wine is very well made and very drinkable. I loved the classic Cab nose, but this wine is much lighter than your traditional Cabernet Sauvignon making it much more easy going and approachable than many renditions. Very well made and real quality for the price and any Cab lover's who want to try a lighter version would really enjoy this. Great value. Very Good.

Chateau Sarati - Pinot Noir - 2005 - Dealu Mare (AOC) - Romania

This wine from Chateau Sarati made by Stephane Montariol and Pierre Degroote is grown on a 175 Ha south-east facing vineyard composed of marl-limestone and is rich in iron deposits in the Dealu Mare of Romania. The wine is harvested by hand and eighty percent of it is aged in French oak barrels for 5-6 months. This wine is only 1 of two the estate makes the other being a Merlot. The winery is known to be committed to organic and sustainable agriculture

Dark ruby red in colour, quite dark for a Pinot. Very subtle nose with notes of ripe red cherry spice and earth. It is smooth round medium bodied in the mouth with notes of juicy sour cherry, hints of earth and sweet fruit core. It is finishes nicely with notes of spice and sweet red fruits. This is really quite impressive for the price. It tastes like a Pinot Noir, which is saying a lot at this price range and has some earthy interest to it as well. It actually drinks better on the second day and really shows off its spicy sour cherry core which is surrounded by earthiness. This will not astound you, but for the price it is a great value well made wine. Good+

Blog #15 Blog Tasting - A Montagny

Sorry I have not posted in the past couple of weeks I was away last week and have really not had much of a chance to blog. That will soon be changing as beginning next week I will have much more opportunity to write with a nice change in the job schedule. So anyway I thought it would be fun tonight to blog as I taste. What I usually do is taste make my notes then a few days later actually write about the wine, but tonight I am going to just write as I am tasting to see if this changes how I describe and write about a wine.

So tonight, for Valentine's Day we are having a pork roast with a mushroom sauce, couscous, and corn. The roast is smelling lovely, but I will taste the wine now then have it with the meal. Tonight we are drinking a wine from Montagny which is in the Cote Chalonnaise in Southern Burgundy. It is 100% Chardonnay and sourced from the 1er Cru vineyard Les Chaniots from the 2007 vintage. The wine is produced by the Vignerons de Buxy, which is a winegrower collective made up of 120 growers in the region.

Vignerons de Buxy - Montagny - 1er Cru Les Chaniots- 2007 - Cote Chalonnais - Burgundy - France

This wine as I stated before is 100% Chardonnay grown in the Les Chaniots vineyard in Montagny. The vineyard is on a hillside above the villages of Jully les Buxy and Saint Vallerin it faces East South-East. The soil of the vineyard is comprised of limestone and calcerious clay. The wine was aged for 12-14 months in oak barrels.

Pale yellow with touches of gold in colour. Definite first impression of ripe apples, some apricot, spice like clove, with a really pretty mineral depth. The nose actually has some nice complexity and smells quite lovely. I really like the fresh mineral type background and how it intermixes with those apple, apricot aromas. Smooth medium bodied in the mouth flavours of apple spice and minerals all nicely framed by a good stream of acidity. Finishes fresh with just subtle lingering notes.

With a little bit of air the nose is taking on more notes of floral blossoms which nicely compliments the other aromas. Nice structure and balance it is definitely well made Chardonnay. The oak is definitely well integrated and well used. It is also taking on a longer finish with what tastes like baked apple. I like it its quite nice stuff. The acidity is actually really refreshing. The wine really complimented the meal, the structure and balance are so food friendly it just added little touches to round the whole meal out. So overall I like this wine its a nicely structured light on its feet Chardonnay. It has a nice level of complexity it's quite good. It certainly doesn't blow me away, but is a solid wine. The plan is to revisit this wine in a couple of days to see how it opens up I will post the notes when I taste it then. So as for right now I'd say Good/Very Good.

I tasted this wine again after 48 hours. The nose displayed light apple, mineral, apple blossoms and a bit of nutty depth. On the palate it is still nice an light showing a lot of purity with a new dimension of spicy earthy depth that cuts into the palate. Overall this is a pure and stylish wine I would have to bump up my overall rating to a Very Good.

Blog #14 Riesling: It's The Contradictions That Make It Great

Last weekend I tasted 3 very different, but very interesting Rieslings and it really illustrated to me the point that it is some of Riesling's self contradictions that make it so good. Now I adore Riesling, for whatever reason I have not mentioned this point on my blog thus far, but in all honesty it certainly ranks as one of my favourite grapes without a doubt. There is something very special about good Riesling; it's ability to really express terroir, it's amazing acidity, it's massive diversity of styles, to name a few. But, what really struck me last weekend is the fact that Riesling makes wines that have contradictions and I think that is what makes them so good.

First, good Riesling has an incredible ability to have that bit of lovely sweetness, but remains so refreshing and crisp due to its awesome acidity. In good examples this creates a fascinating tension where at points the sweetness imposes itself then the refreshing acidity. Secondly, Riesling often possesses this strange ability to very creamy and full bodied in the mouth, yet come of as elegant and full of finesse. Again this has much to do with that interplay between sweetness and acidity. Finally, Riesling often takes on very strange notes that sound off putting, but are actually amazingly addictive (i.e. notes of petrol and kerosine). All off these points are rather self contradictory, but this is what makes Riesling such an amazing grape. Each of the wines I tasted over the weekend possesed one or more of these self contradictory qualities, and all were quite enjoyable for very different reasons. Hopefully my tasting notes will better illustrate my point in this blog.

Huff Estates - Off Dry Riesling - 2008 - VQA Ontario (Prince Edward County) - Canada

Unfortunately there is not much information specifically about this wine, but I will be visiting Huff Estates in March so I will post more after my visit. I can tell you that they have 45 acres planted to vine composed of three different vineyards. The vines are planted on Prince Edward County clay/loam soils on limestone bedrock. The winery is "committed to producing wines that will express the finest in terroir from Prince Edward County." This wine was made by French winemaker Frederic Picard who has professional certification in Agriculture Management and Viticulture Oenology as well as an M.A. in Business and Finance. He has made wine in France, Italy, Chile, and South Africa.

The wine is quite pale with a slight yellow tinge. Subtle notes of petrol, lemon and lime citrus, candied fruit, and something akin to those mint butterscotch candies. The wine is absolutely great in the mouth with complex flavours of lemon meringue, citrus fruits, apple, apricot and a lovely touch of sweetness. All of this is balanced by laser like acidity that cuts through the palate. It is medium- full bodied with a nice creamy mouth feel, but the acidity makes this wine feel light and refreshing at the same time. This is really great stuff and definitely my style of Riesling, a real classic expression. With air more the fruit notes become more pronounced and the whole nose is more floral overall with the mouth flavours and textures remaining so good. You could criticize this wine for not really expressing its terrior, but this really is delicious. Excellent.

Thirty Bench - Riesling - 2006 - VQA Beamsville Bench- Niagara Penninsula - Ontario - Canada

Thirty Bench has pretty much made a name for itself for being on of Ontario's Riesling specialists. They are especially known for their three single vineyard Rieslings (Steel Post Vineyard, Triangle Vineyard, and Wood Post Vineyard) I have not tried these single vineyard offerings yet, but would very much like to in the future. This specific wine was hand picked and sourced from their three single vineyards mentioned above, it was then cool fermented in stainless steel and bottled afterwards.The soils of the Beamsville Bench are composed of gravel, sand, silt, and clay with a mix of shale, sandstone, and dolomitic limestone. The wine was made by Thirty Bench's current winemaker Natalie Reynolds who is a graduate of the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute.

The wine is pale yellow gold in colour. The nose has notes of petrol, stone fruit, sour white cranberry, and a bit of urine. In the mouth there is a lot of sweet citrus fruits, stone fruits, lime and broad minerality. The wine has a strong acid backbone which keeps everything very fresh and the finish is dominated by fresh mineral notes. The sour notes are bit off putting. With air the sour notes drop a bit and it takes on a more mature petrol dominated nose with citrus fruits and more interesting mineral notes. Overall, however, it seems that this wine is still at an awkward stage in its development where it hasn't taken on all of its mature notes and flavours. If this does come together it could potentially be very good. Good+

Balbach - Nierstein Pattenthal - Riesling Kabinett - 2008 - QmP Rheinhessen - Germany (Fritz Hasselbach- Gunderloch Estate)

The Balbach estate was owned by the Balbach family since the early 1600s, but was taken over in 1996 by Fritz Hasselbach and his team of the hugely famous Gunderloch estate in the Rheinhessen. Hasselbach and co. are known for hand cultivation, harvesting and low yields. They use gentle crushing without destemming and gravity flow to vats where a slow temperature controlled fermentation process. The wines do not undergo any malolactic fermentation. This wine is sourced from the Pattenthal vineyard which is steeply sloped to face toward the Rhine river, which is directly adjacent to it and has a soil composition of clay and slate. According to Eckhard Supp it is one of the top 7 single vineyard sites in the Rheinhessen.

Very pale yellow in colour this wine possesses a lovely floral garden nose. Notes of faint lilac, lavender, fresh flowers and a hint of green rise from the glass conjuring up what a spring meadow would smell like this is further complicated by notes of citrus fruit. In the mouth the wine is so creamy rich feeling with flavours of sweet pit fruits and creamy sweetness which is all balanced right out by a lovely acidic backbone adding nice tension. It has nectar like qualities, in a very good way. I haven't had any other wines from the Pattenthal vineyard, but this seems to be a nice expression of it, it is too unique not to have been influenced by its terrior. The wine is extremely delicate and full of finesse with a beautiful lingering finish. This wine is just purely beautiful stuff really elegant, love it. Excellent.

Blog #13 A Californian Cab

I do not usually drink wines from California not because I do not think they can make outstanding wine (which they most certainly can) but mainly because I find them to be a bit overpriced for what you get. I mean there isn't much under $17 and there is always the worry that you'll pay $20+ and get a fruity mess of a wine. Nonetheless this bottle in particular was a gift and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The wine itself is not very complex but this is more than made up for by the fact that it is just purely delicious. In fact it is hard to think of anyone who would not like this wine, even the most hardened non-wine drinker would say that this is some tasty stuff. I would put this on the top of my list to take to any dinner party or gathering where I wanted to bring wine and please everyone.

Clos LaChance is an interesting family owned and operated winery founded in 1992. Although owners Bill and Brenda Murphy has been growing grapes in their backyard since 1987. The winery produces wines from their own estate grown fruit which is loacted on 150 acres in San Martin, California. In all the grow roughly 20 different varietals made up of 60 different clones. They are committed to vineyard sustainability and sustainable farming practices and are one of the most modern wineries around. They have installed a computerized vineyard maintenance and data recording system which includes soil and leaf sensors, weather stations, as well as automated irrigation. All of the wines are produced by winemaker Stephen Tebb.

Clos LaChance - Ruby Throated Hummingbird - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2006 - Central Coast - Califorinia - USA

Calling this wine a Cabernet Sauvignon as the label does is a bit of a misnomer as it contains a whole smattering of Bordeaux varietels. It is composed of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon 16% Merlot 3% Malbec 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Sourced entirely from estate grown fruit the grapes were hand picked and sorted. The grapes were completely destemmed and cold soaked for 24-48hrs in open/closed topped stainless steel fermenters. The wine was then completely fermented in stainless steel with inoculation and pumping over occurring twice a day except when fermentation reached its peak where this number was increased to 4 times a day. Post fermentation the wine was left to settle for 48 hours then racked into barrels which consisted of 20% new French oak and 10% new American oak. The wine was then aged for 12 months in oak then bottled.

The wine is attractive purple in colour with a ruby red rim. The nose is quite pretty showing tons of ripe red fruit, blueberries, blackberries, sweet vanilla, toast, plum, and clove. In the mouth the wine is ripe round and delicious with waves of smooth ripe red fruits, plums, and berries cascading the palate. As sweetly fruited as this wine is it remains nicely balanced and clean with no jamminess whatsoever. The wine finishes with pretty sweet fruit notes. The wine is not overly complex, but absolutely delicious. It is just so ripe, so round and so tasty. Really yummy stuff. Very Good.

Blog #12 Try Chenin Blanc from the Loire

I really think all wine drinkers should pay more attention to Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. I wrote about a fantastic sparkling wine from Vouvray made from Chenin Blanc and tonight I am posting about a lovely wine from Saumur also made of Chenin. Both these wines have convinced me that we really need to start paying more attention to this excellent grape and the Loire Valley in general. For whatever reason Chenin Blanc has fallen to the wayside in our wine minds trumped by oceans of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc (Loire's biggest white grape), and Riesling. It may have something to do with the fact that if Chenin Blanc is not grown in the right place it usually makes wines that are utterly bland and neutral. I am thinking of some examples from South Africa and Argentina.

The Loire Valley has been making outstanding wines for a long time, yet it has largely been forgotten about. Aside from it's two most popular regions Pouilly Fume and Sancerre where Sauvignon Blanc reigns, the rest of the region remains under appreciated. I am thinking of regions like Chinon (home to Cabernet Franc), Vouvray, Saumur, and Savennieres (home to Chenin Blanc) and Muscadet Sevre & Maine (home to Melon de Bourgogne), just to name a few. All of Loire's regions are well worth discovering , the quality is extremely high, there is a multitude of characterful and interesting wines, not to mention the fact that prices are extremely good. For example, of the greatest wines of the region Nicolas Joly's Coulee de Serrant widely considered by critics to be one of the top white wines in the world retails for roughly $100 CDN. Compared to classified growth Bordeaux, cru Burgundy, or flagship wines from Australia this is really quite cheap.

I realize that I have gone a bit off topic by focusing more on the Loire Valley itself rather than Chenin Blanc from the Loire, so I will refocus. Chenin Blanc is absolutely wonderful especially from its home, the Loire Valley. It seems to exhibit the perfect balance between fruit and acidity while remaining rich and opulent resulting in absolutely beguiling wines. Furthermore, the grape is so versatile making outstanding sparkling wines, bone dry versions, off dry beauties and unctuous dessert wines. In this regard it is really only matched by Riesling for pure versatility. The wonderful thing about Chenin from the Loire is that the wines are a fairly low prices, but all show a ton of character and interest. I would highly recommend trying anything from Vouvray, Saumur, or Savennieres all of which use pretty much exclusively Chenin Blanc. There is no doubt in my mind that you will be very impressed.

The wine I am blogging about tonight is from Saumur and at $12.95 makes a great case for the fact that you do not have spend a great deal of money for fascinating, individual, and characterful wine. The next time you have a $12 - $15 bottle of Chardonnay, Riesling, or Sauvignon Blanc in your hand put it down and look to Chenin Blanc from the Loire. Try something different and be impressed.

Domaine de la Seigneurie des Tourelles - Saumur Blanc - 2008 - Loire Valley - France (Joseph Verdier)

This wine is produced by the large Joseph Verdier wine trading company based out of the Loire Valley. This company owns a ton of wineries throughout the Valley from Chinon to Vouvray. There is not too much information available about this wine except that it is 100% Chenin Blanc grown in chalky tufa soil.

The wine is an attractive golden yellow colour. The nose is absolutely gorgeous with notes of candied tropical fruit, sweet melon, pear, quince with depths of what I can only describe as freshness. In the mouth the wine is just delicious, medium-full bodied, smooth and voluptuous with flavours of tropical fruit and lime with a great backbone of acidity. The wine finishes dry with a lovely balance and an interesting mineral note. It is the nose that really steals the show as it is pretty complicated and so lovely. It is not easily deconstructed as the notes of sweet fruits are always present, but there is a hidden mineral/earthy depth that I cannot quite put my finger on. Overall the wine is beautifully balanced and interesting. Very Good.

Blog # 11 Two Excellent Ontario Cabernet Franc's

I am really starting to think that Cabernet Franc is one of Ontario's best grapes. This is especially true when the producer is quality conscious, reduces yields, and is focused on terroir expression. Caberenet Franc is rarely bottled as a single varietal, with the only well known area known for doing so being the Chinon region of the Loire Valley in France, where it seems to have originated. Now Cab Franc is a key component in some of the world's greatest and most expensive wines in Bordeaux, but is largely forgotten about and overshadowed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Interestingly enough, it has now been genetically proven that Cab Franc is actually one of the parent grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, the other being Sauvignon Blanc. In Ontario I have found that it performs very well as a single varietal bottling, especially in hot and dry vintages like 2007.

The two wines I am blogging about tonight are both 100% Cabernet Franc's from Ontario's 2007 vintage, and both are just excellent and quite interesting. The first, is the wine I was most impressed with on my visit to The Grange of Prince Edward winery in October. I would have blogged about it earlier, but I was waiting to get some of information from winemaker Jeff Innes. The second wine is made by the Niagara College Teaching Winery, located in the Niagara Peninsula and is Canada's first and only teaching winery. Proceeds from wine sales dare directly invested into their winery studies programs, which is great. Both wines show how good Ontario Cabernet Franc can be and why I think it is one of the province's best grapes. In fact it would be interesting to put them up against some top Loire Cab Franc's in a blind tasting, I think they would do quite well.

The Grange of Prince Edward - Cabernet Franc - 2007 - VQA Prince Edward County- Ontario - Canada

The Grange of Prince Edward's 2007 Cabernet Franc is sourced exclusively from 5,000 vines (Clone 327 on 3309) planted in the estate's Northfield Vineyard. The soil of the vineyard according to winemaker Jeff Innes is known as Hiller clay with the bedrock being made up of limestone. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and then immediately transferred to French oak barrels from two different coopers. Here the wine underwent full malolactic fermentation and remained for roughly 12 months before it was course filtered and bottled. According to Mr. Innes the wine's prime drinking time will be within the next 3-5 years due to the young age of the vines (planted in 2003).

The wine is pale ruby red in colour. The nose is quite unique and very interesting with notes of cranberry, lemon, mulled spice, citrus red fruit, and a great Prince Edward County earthiness. In the mouth it is light to medium bodied and very smooth with replays of spice and red berries. Everything is perfectly balanced by the slightest touch of tannin. The finish has an awesome Prince Edward County terroir twist that is difficult to describe, but is so good. Overall this wine is a pure expression of Prince Edward County not to mention just lovely and delicious. It is only available at the winery, but is definitely worth the trip. Excellent.

Niagara College Teaching Winery - Cabernet Franc - 2007 - Donald J.P. Ziraldo Vineyard - VQA St. David's Bench - Niagara Peninsula - Ontario - Canada

I do not have as much information about this wine, but will share what I could gather. The wine was sourced exclusively from the wineries Donald J. P. Ziraldo vineyard located on the Niagara Peninsula's St. David's Bench. The Bench sits 105-150 m above sea level with a soil composition of silty clay and clay loam on top of a red sandstone bedrock. Although not specified by the winery based on the 2006's treatment the wine was likely fermented in stainless steel and aged in oak where it underwent malolactic fermentation. If anyone has more information about this wine please share it.

The wine is dark ruby red in colour. The nose is very pretty with notes of raspberry, cassis, cranberry, and spice. In the mouth it is very smooth and round with a ton of depth. Delicious flavour's of cola, cassis and cranberry are pretty much everywhere. This stuff is delicious, I mean really delicious and has so much depth in the mouth it is actually shocking. The wine finishes with a beautiful lingering cranberry spice note that is way longer than anyone would expect. Overall the wine smells and tastes so good, but it is the depth in the mouth and really long finish that I am really impressed with. I have to say it, wow! Great job Niagara College, this is very impressive stuff. Excellent, without a doubt.

Blog #10 Tasting the Languedoc

(The historical information contained in this post was derived from Andre Domine's excellent book entitled 'Wine'. Here is the publishing information: Domine, A. (2007). Wine (5th ed.) Konigswinter: Tandem Verlag GmbH.)

There is no doubt in my mind that the area between the Southern Rhone Valley and the Spanish border known as the Languedoc-Roussillon or Midi represents some of the best value wines around. It is a region steeped in wine making history with historical records showing that grapes were grown here over 2ooo years ago. This makes a lot of sense given the region is dry with a ton of sunshine and poor soils, perfect for making great wines. There is some evidence that shows the region was famous for producing excellent wines during the height of the Roman Empire. Unfortunately for the past several centuries the region has been known for producing massive amounts of poor quality wines.

The factors that lead to this are multifaceted and has much to do with the regions history and economics. Andre Domine and co-writers in their excellent book simply entitled 'Wine' point to several factors. First, after the collapse of the Roman Empire demand for wine diminished and much of what was produced in the Languedoc remained within its borders. Then in the 17th Century when the famous Canal du Midi was constructed the region was reopened to trade. However, at this time wine was not nearly as fashionable as distilled liqueurs like Brandy. So many producers in the region opted to grow high yielding grapes and distill them. In the 19th Century with the Industrial Revolution in full swing demand for cheap, consumable wine came from the working class in the cities as a way to nourish themselves and escape from the horrific conditions. It thus became highly lucrative to make as much wine as possible, quality was not at all an issue. Producers in the Languedoc responded by planting even more high yielding grape varieties and by the end of the 19th Century the region was the largest wine growing area in the world at roughly 1.14 Million acres planted.

It seems the mentality of mass producing wine with no thought of quality remained ingrained in producers minds as the 20th Century rolled on. Between the Phylloxera outbreak, economics issues and two world wars not much changed in the region until the 1970s. This was when irrigation was introduced to the region and soon growing vegetables and fruits became much more profitable than making wine, producers were forced to respond. They did so by looking for the best growing sites and producing smaller amounts of better quality wine. In the late 1970s the now famous Aime Guibert released his first vintage of Mas de Dumas Gassac which in only a few years had critics agreeing that the wine rivaled some of Bordeaux's finest. This proved that the region could indeed produce top quality wine if proper vineyard sites were selected, yields were kept low and the focus was on quality not quantity.

Hence, a revolution began in the region with forward thinking producers focusing on quality. This was also aided by the creation of several Appellations in the region which were considered distinct, interesting and could produce good quality wine. The Appellation system also set rules for grape types, yield limits, and types of fermentation allowed. The early 1980s saw a boom in these new Appellations as Faugeres, Saint Chinian, Minervois, and Corbieres all came into existence. Now 20 years later the region is still a work in progress and has a way to go, but it is really starting to become a reliable place for interesting, characterful, and quality wines at bargain prices.

Now certainly the top producers like Mas de Dumas Gassac and Mas Jullien are commanding higher prices, but the region is filled with small quality minded producers making great stuff. It does take a little bit of homework to find which producers are the best, but lately I have found that if it says Saint Chinian, Faugeres, Corbieres, or Fitou on the label your chances that it will be good are quite high. At the least the quality and character will be there if not the easy drinkability many have come to expect from wine, but that is whole point. These wines make you work a bit, but it almost always pays off. And at an average of $12-$15 for most bottles it is a much better choice over much of the junk on the shelves at the same price. So I definitely encourage to give some Languedoc wines a try I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

It was in this spirit that I decided to have a fun comparative tasting last week of two Langeudoc reds one from Saint Chinian and one from Corbieres. I have posted my producer and tasting notes below.

Domaine Combebelle - Saint Chinian - 2007 - Les Vignobles de Foncalieu - Saint Chinian- Languedoc -France

From what I understand this wine is produced by Les Vignobles de Foncalieu which is a massive wine co-operative with member vine growers throughout the Languedoc. It is not to be confused with another Saint Chinian producer known as Chateau de Combebelle which is piquing the interest of several wine critics (perhaps I will get a chance to try a bottle soon.) There is not much information available about this wine, which is unfortunate as the Foncalieu website is under construction. From the back label this is what we do know. The Domaine is situated on 20 hectares near the village of Cazedarnes. The grapes are grown in chalk, clay, and stony soil on slopes and terraces with Southern exposure. The wine is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan.

The wine is an inky purple colour with notes of subtle strawberry, mint and an interesting tomato vine green note on the nose. In the mouth it is light to medium bodied and smooth and round in the mouth with a note of slate and subtle fruit which sweetens slightly on the finish. With air the nose displays some notes of dried herbs and stones with the same simple earthy fruit in the mouth. Overall the wine is simple and well made, but I found it to be rather boring especially compared to the Corbieres that was tasted with it. The slate note in the mouth was the only interesting thing. Good.

Chateau de Vaugelas - La Prieure - Corbieres - 2007 - Corbieres - Languedoc- France

The Chateau de Vaugelas has been in the hands of the Bonfils family for five generations. The family owns 110 hectares in Corbieres situated on argilio-limestone soils mixed with galets the large round rocks made famous by the Chateauneuf du Pape region. The property saw major investment in the mid 1990s by the Bonfils family including the hiring of oenologist Robert Dejean and Georges Pauli, who is the technical director of Chateau Gruaud-Larose in St. Julien, Bordeaux ( a second growth in the original Bordeaux classification). This wine, vinified by Pauli, is a blend of 35% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 30 % Carignan, and 5% Mourvedre. It was fermented in stainless steel and then aged in oak barrels for one year.

The wine is inky purple with complex notes of cedar, flowers, sweet hay, alfalfa, clover, black licorice, eucalyptus, and wood. It conjures up the smell of a barn in the middle of summer filled with fresh hay and a warm breeze flowing through. In the mouth the wine is very smooth, medium bodied and well rounded with the fruit perfectly framed by the wood. It finishes with a spicy earth note that is just delicious. With air the nose becomes even more complex with subtle notes of smoked meat and dried herbs becoming perceptible. The bouquet actually reminds me of a good perfume in its ability to balance the sweet floral notes with spicy, woodsy earth. All the while the wine stays perfectly balanced and delicious. Overall the wine is complex, interesting, very tasty and nose is undeniably fantastic. At $12.95 a bottle this is a steal. Excellent.

Blog #9 Michel Gassier

Michel Gassier 'Les Piliers' Viognier 2008 Vin de Pays D'Oc

I really, really like Michel Gassier's wines. Not only because they are very good (which they are), but also his approach and philosophy to grape growing and wine making. Gassier comes from a long line of winemakers from the south of France near the city of Nimes. He obtained degree in Agricultural Engineering and moved to the United States to live and work for 10 years. Thankfully for all of us wine fans out there he returned to Nimes in the mid 1990s to make wine or as he puts it; "my return to the vineyard was inevitable. My wife Cristina, and I longingly prepared for it. Not to go back to the cocoon of family comfort, but rather to create our own path making truly unique wines."

Gassier's philosophy on wine making is actually quite interesting and you can read about it on his website. His essential mission is "...to make honest wines, wines with strong personalities that fully express their terriors and the dreams of their winegrower". What makes his approach quite interesting is that he has taken the ideas of terroir expression, organic viticulture, and biodynamics and personalized them to his own philosophy. For example when it comes to producing terrior driven wines he argues that for a wine to really express where it was grown it requires a winemaker that has "an intimate familiarity with each parcel of land, of it idiosyncrasies and its microclimate". In essence the terroir will not express itself, the winemaker must coax it out. Furthermore, when it comes to organic farming he argues that in many ways it is not stringent enough and although the movement is good for wine in general more must be done. Gassier takes an equilibrium approach in the vines, the soil, and the surrounding environment.

To achieve this approach he has reduced yields significantly, uses horse manure as fertilizer, and grows natural prairie grass between the vines. He also uses a well integrated pest management system to reduce the need for unnecessary spraying and keep his vineyard ecosystems in balance. Finally, most of his wines are manually pruned and harvested to ensure top grape quality and reduce damage.

Gassier is the proprietor of two different estates Chateau de Nages and Domaine de Molines. Both estates are located in the Costieres de Nimes, which is located on the border of the Southern Rhone valley and the Languedoc, known for its unique round pebble soils. He also makes single varietal wines sourced from his Les Piliers vineyard and creates a two red and two white blends exploring his experimental winemaker side known as Lou Coucardie and Nostre Pais.

The Chateau de Nages is a 70 hectare estate that creates AOC Costieres de Nimes wines. The reds from this estate are blends of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre and the whites are made from Grencahe Blanc, Roussanne and Viognier. He also crafts a Rose from Grenache and Syrah here. The Domaine de Molines is a 30 hectare estate where he grows single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc wines as well as dessert style Viognier and sparkling rose. For his Lou Coucardie bottlings he blends Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre for the red and Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Viognier for the white. His Nostre Pais wines are meant to fully express terroir and are blends of Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvedre, Carignan, and Syrah for the red, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Viognier for the white. Finally, he grows 5 single varietal wines in his Les Piliers vineyard, including a Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Viognier, and Sauvignon Blanc.

So far I have tried several wines from his Chateau de Nages estate. His Reserve Rouge is always a best buy year in year out for good quality characterful wine. But the bottlings I have been so far impressed about are from his Les Piliers vineyard. I have had both his 2004 Syrah and 2008 Viognier and they blew me away. His approach with Les Piliers is to be an expression more of him as a winemaker than to be about terrior. He claims that in these wines "my personality and my unique path is expressed." Where his ideal is to create universal and hedonistic wines which demonstrate each varietals "strengths and originality." So far I have been very impressed by Gassier and would love to try his entire line of wines. As I taste more I will post my notes here and all I can do is just highly recommend trying any of his wines as from what I have had they are all very impressive. I have posted my tasting notes for his Les Piliers 2004 Syrah and 2008 Viognier below.

Michel Gassier- Les Piliers- Viognier -2008- Vin de Pays D'Oc- Costieres de Nimes-France (Pictured At Top)

This is Gassier's 100% Viognier grown in clay and lime soils. Yields were limited using spring pruning and grapes were hand pruned and picked. The wine was left in skin contact for 12 hours after complete destemming. Then 50% of the juice was transferred to new French oak to be fermented and the other 50% was fermented in stainless steel vats at 14 degrees C and aged on its lees with batonnage to late December. The wines were then blended back together with fining, filtration and bottling taking place in March 2009.

The wine is pale yellow with hints of gold. Its nose its absolutely lovely and aromatic with notes of apricot, spice, vanilla, and fresh flowers. In the mouth the wine has a nice creamy feel with flavours of apricot and peach. This is all underscored by a great mineral note and refreshing acidity that I would not normally associate with Viognier. The wine finishes dry and refreshing with a lovely herbaceousness. With air the wine evolves which is typical of Gassier's style. After a couple of hours the nose turned into what could only be described as a fresh spring garden with perceptible notes of mint, thyme and other herbs along with a fresh floral component. It actually became more Provencial as time went on and really displayed its origins in the South of France. The only criticism I could make is that the wine still retained quite a bit of alcoholic heat, but this dissipated with air. High quality, honest and tasty stuff with a great nose. Very Good+

Michel Gassier - Les Piliers - Syrah - 2004 - Vin de Pays du Gard - Costieres de Nimes - France

Gassier's Les Piliers Syrah is grown in rolled pebbles and red clay. Yields were kept low through spring pruning and in the this vintage came to 2 tons per acre. The wine was late harvested and completely destemmed. It was macerated for five days before fermentation and was then fermented at 26 degrees C. Finally it was post fermented macerated for two weeks. The wine was then transferred into French oak barrels for 12 months and bottled afterward.

The wine is dark purple nearly black in colour and clings to the glass showing a lot of extraction and alcohol. At first the bouquet is quite restrained and very subtle hinting at dark fruit, licorice, and garrigue. In the mouth, dark fruit and garrigue with a lovely minerality (typical of the Les Piliers vineyard) flavours play out in a full bodied absolutely silky mouth feel. For the first hour this wine is altogether restrained and very French. However, this is not a simple wine and after an hour or more of air this beauty really begins to strut its stuff. High toned cherry, red fruit and floral notes come to the fore in an unrestrained, in your face, style. In the mouth it is still pure silk with delicious ripe tannins and a long black fruit, spicy floral finish. The complexity and utter surprise of this wines personality change when given air make it an amazing value and exceptional wine in general. One word, excellent!

Blog #8 Happy New Year - Wine Lists & Information

I apologize that I have not posted in the past few weeks. I was extremely busy with work leading up to Christmas and with family visits and more work between Christmas and New Years I have had very little time. Anyway enough excuses, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Years. I had a good, but very hectic and short one.

Surprisingly enough I actually did not do that much wine drinking except for a few family gatherings and on New Years. I did have a chance to try two very high end and interesting wines that are out of my reach financially, but were on tasting during the holidays at the Vintages department of the LCBO. They were Guigal's Chateau D'Ampuis Cote Rotie 2004 and the Chateau Kirwan Margaux 2005 both of which were really cool to say the least. I will post more about these in a couple of days. I also had a couple of interesting much more affordable wines which included the fascinating 1996 Balthasar Ress Oestricher Rhinegau Riesling and the exceptionally value priced Finca Flichman Misterio Malbec 2008 (which showed very well against a wine over twice it's price). More on all that later. I have some great blog ideas for the upcoming year and I am hoping to start posting more frequently so please keep visiting.

Today I thought I would post about an issue that Becky brought up to me a few weeks ago and I started to ponder on the subject. She asked me why more restaurants did not publish tasting notes with their wine list. In fact many restaurants have very little if any information on the wines they carry, unless of course it is a wine bar or has its own sommelier. Even then, however, the lack information of what the wine actually tastes like that you are going to buy is a little embarrassing. I could not really come up with a good answer to her question. I mean when I began to think about it would it not make sense to publish tasting notes of the wines you offer? Personally I think that if a customer had an idea of what a wine tasted like then they would be much more likely to buy it.

Now I understand that some establishments have extensive wine lists and a sommelier that can offer guidance or advice, but even then a certain level of wine knowledge is expected from their clientèle. For example most restaurants or wine bars just print the producers name, region and vintage date. So if I am ordering a dish I have to really know the regional characteristics, how the vintage was in that region and hopefully a bit about the producer. However, this is only going to give me a rough idea as to what the wine will taste like. Furthermore, there is so much variation in wine that even knowing regional characteristics and what the vintage was like there will may not help in making a proper wine selection.

This issue becomes much worse for those who do not posses a basic knowledge in wine. Now certainly, many wine novices likely know what Bordeaux or Californian Cabernet Sauvignon may taste like. But, it is highly unlikely that they would know what a Corbieres or a Ribera del Duero are like or perhaps even where they are located. My point here is that even if the consumer did not know what a certain wines characteristics were then tasting notes could be used to make a informed decision instead or they may be enticed by the notes to try something new. Even for customers who do have a good knowledge of wine, tasting notes never hurt to get an idea as to what style the wine is made in.

Here is a quick illustrative example. Now you judge what you would prefer on a wine list.

Chateau du Trignon - Gigondas - 2004 - France

or

Chateau du Trignon - Gigondas -2004 - France

A wine from the southern Rhone valley village of Gigondas . Made from a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault. Notes of cherry, currants, violets, lavender and earth on the nose and flavours of juicy red and black fruits with a touch of caramel. Would pair perfectly with our striploin steak etc.

Even if a customer had never heard of Gigondas they may be enticed to try it based on the few short sentence description of the wine and dishes the restaurant offers that it would pair with. I may be misguided about the lack of tasting note information in restaurants and wine bars so if you work in the industry and can shed light on this issue please comment.

The other issue that this topic got me thinking about is the lack of information wineries provide about the wines they make. Now a select few producers are excellent and have posted in-depth information and technical sheets on their websites or at the least have made it easily accessible. Unfortunately, the vast majority give consumers absolutely no information.

As a wine lover I like to know as much as possible about what I am drinking. Information such as vineyard sites, soil conditions, fermentation techniques, and aging methods are things I want to know. In essence I want to know what makes the wine interesting other than how it tastes. Sadly, if the winery does not have a decent website or accessible information (i.e. on the back label of the wine) we are all left guessing as to how it was made.

I find this lack of information a little troubling because it feels that in some cases the winery does not want the consumer to know exactly what is in the bottle. Now I understand if the winery is a very small operation and the purveyors are not tech savvy then it is not always possible to communicate effectively the information about your wine. But, the back label in this case could be a great opportunity to get this information out. As for the larger estates that have the financial and technical ability to get this information out there is really little excuse. In these cases it sometimes feels as if they are hiding something. I mean if you are heavily manipulating your wine or not following proper regulations then why would you want anyone to know about this, its just bad for business.

My plea here is that I want producers to me more up front and informative about their wines. I think that the more information you give your consumers the better your relationship will be. Furthermore, the wines nerds of the world will be more fascinated and intrigued by your wine and therefore more likely to buy from you. It is not that difficult the internet is an easy, accessible and affordable way to get this information out if not why not utilize the back label to inform your consumers. I really think that more information will only help the entire industry.

On a final side note tonight I am drinking another bottle of the Domaine de Vaugondy-Vouvray-Brut NV which I blogged about in December and it is again every bit as impressive as it was then.