This is one of the wines that I picked up while I was visiting wineries during the Niagara Ice Wine Festival. The first stop that we made was at Stonechurch Vineyards. Ever since I tried the rosé from Malivoire I have been on the hunt for other good rosés. When i went into Stonechurch they encouraged me to try the 2008 Syrah Rosé that had just been released. I haven't found very many Syrah's in Ontario that I like but until visiting Stonechurch Vineyards I had never tried a Syrah Rosé from ANYWHERE before. I would definitely drink an Ontario Syrah Rosé again. This particular rosé has a strong green pepper on the nose. The initial taste is also of green pepper, it is very refreshing. The mid-palate is red fruit, such as strawberry, with some of the familiar pepper that you get from a syrah, and the finish is still of red fruit but I get more of the bitterness and tang of raspberry. I think that this wine would pair really well with fish, seafood, or even grilled chicken.
Archive for the ‘Varietals’ Category
2007 Red Moose – Konzelmann Estates
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to go on the Cellar Rat Experience tour at the Konzelmann Estate Winery in Niagara on the Lake. While our guide was showing us around the vineyard I noticed on a map that Zweigelt vines were grown onsite. This caught my attention because I was very unfamiliar with this grape and it was one of the varietals that was in the Pelee Island Eco Trail Cabernet Franc wine that I have previously reviewed. I was suprised to find out that Zweigelt is not only found in blends but that Konzelmann Estates actually bottles it and sells it as a single varietal wine. The guide told us that they had been selling Zweigelt for years but it never sold well because people didn't know how to pronounce it. They decided to label the wine as Red Moose and it has now increased in popularity. During the second part of the tour we had the opportunity to taste the 2008 Zweigelt vintage right out of the steel vat and on the way out I picked up a bottle of 2007 Red Moose at the boutique.
Personally I was pleasantly surprised by this wine. I wonder why I hardly ever see this varietal sold outside of a blend. The 2007 Red Moose was very deep in colour and full bodied. I found it quite fruity, with notes of cherry and raspberry. I also found that it had a wonderful spiciness to it.
2005 Baco Noir Reserve – Henry of Pelham Family Estate
Every year my husband and I get the urge at the end of February to take a drive to Niagara to do a wine tasting. It is usually on one of those days where there is a slight hint of spring in the air. It is still cold outside, often there is snow on the ground, yet the sun has a warmth to it. We find a sitter for the kids and take the drive out to wine country. For the last 4 years we have coincidentally done this on the Cuvee weekend. However, we have never taken advantage of this and bought a passport. This year, when yet again we showed up on Cuvee weekend, we decided to buy a passport and try to hit as many wineries as we could in the 2 days left of the event. One of the wineries we stopped at the first day was Henry of Pelham Family Estate. It was busy when we arrived and quite lively, full of discussion. Amongst the other visitors, we met one of the people who was in charge of organizing Cuvee and had a chance to discuss what we liked and didn't like about the event. I have to say that there wan't much that we didn't like! After much chatting we sampled several wines and I really liked the 2005 Baco Noir Reserve so I picked up a bottle. Very reasonably priced too! Recently one evening I sat down with a glass of this very deep purple, full bodied wine. I drank it on it's own. It smelled of cherries and cedar on the nose and tasted of plums and cedar. One thing that I also really smelled and tasted was chocolate. I loved the dryness of this wine.
Chambourcin
After learning that the 2008 Eco Trail Cabernet Franc from Pelee Island Winery that I referred to in the previous posting was actually a blend of Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin and Zweigelt, I decided that I would spend some time researching the two lesser known varieties, starting with Chambourcin.
Chambourcin is a French-American hybrid variety produced by Joannes Seyves that has a good resistance to fungal disease. This grape produces a deep coloured wine with a full aromatic flavour. It is particularly popular in the mid-Atlantic states.
I came across an amusing description of this varietal's character in the form of a letter written to Mr. Chambourcin:
The Talented Mr. Chambourcin. Your attributes are undeniable, but your background is clouded in mystery. All we know is that you were born to a half-breed, blue-collar family, known as the Franco hybrid clan. It was impressive how you made your way into the domain of vinifera high society. Your combination of tannic strength and assertive demeanor seems to have them fooled. As the only dark-skinned chap, popularity was your destiny in the Nantes, a region full of fair-haired women. Away from the imprisoning nature of French vine law, you now seem comfortable with yourself in America. You appear healthy, strong and relaxed. Is it something you're smoking that fills the air around you with that wonderous herbaceous aroma?