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 ‘Wineries’ Category
Niagara Ice Wine Festival
Well I had a great time at the Niagara Ice Wine Festival, how about you? Since I was out with the kids I only had a chance to visit 3 wineries but it was a great afternoon nonetheless. We stopped in at Stonechurch Vineyards, Southbrook Vineyards and Strewn Winery. We also tasted a lot more than just ice wines, however for this post I'll focus specifically on the ice wines from Southbrook. Southbrook offered 2 Vidal ice wines for tasting, a 2004 barrel fermented and a 2005 steel fermented. I thought both of them were fantastic. At the time, I thought I liked the 2005 better but now that I think back, I really want to try the 2004 again! The 2004 barrel fermented Vidal tasted like baked apples to me, delicious. A lot of people think that it actually tastes like Christmas cake! It definitely has a sweetness and breadiness to it that the 2005 steel fermented ice wine does not have. The 2005 was much lighter in both taste and colour. Much more of the tropical notes came out, making me think that it would taste awesome with coconut.
On top of having the chance to taste some great ice wine, I also ran into Ann Sperling, the Director of Winemaking at Southbrook Wineries, and had a nice chat. We had met previously at Wine Camp TO. It is really nice that I'm starting to recognize people out at the wineries.
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.
Take A Walk In Her Shoes
Legends Estates Winery in Beamsville, Ontario is pre-releasing their new label "Diva" at the Niagara Wine Festival in St. Catherines. The festival has been on since September 18th but if you can head out to St. Catherines this week, it runs until September 27th. There are three different DIVA varietals and proceeds from the sale of each bottle will go towards improving the lives of abused women and children.
A Diva is a woman of outstanding talent, energy and a larger than life quality. Taking a walk in her shoes will provide a chance for others to shine. Historically synonymous with the word 'Goddess', the deity Artemis appears on the label as a symbol of protection for all women and children.
Cave Spring Cellars
This afternoon was spent in the small village of Jordan, Ontario. It is a beautiful little village that is centered around the winemaking industry. The Pennachetti family owns Cave Spring Cellars, The Inn on the Twenty as well as the Jordan House. After a fantastic lunch at the Jordan House Tavern we made our way down Main Street to Cave Spring Cellars. I love the atmosphere in the boutique there. It is a very large boutique that has a lot of space to walk around and browse the bottles of wine and stemware that they have for sale. When in the store I feel comfortable and not cramped, I'm not worried that I'm going to turn around and accidently knock something of great value over! The bar is very long and today there were a fair number of employees working and available for tastings, so they were able to accomodate the busy stream of summer tourists who were flowing in. In one corner of the boutique there is a raised section that has a very comfy looking couch. This was a perfect spot for my very tired and uninterested 3 year old son to curl up and rest.
The following is a list of the wines that I sampled along with my first thoughts as I tasted each (All of the wines came from the Cave Spring Cellars VQA Niagara Peninsula selection.):
2007 Reisling Dolomite – Minerals
2006 Chenin Blanc Sparkling – very dry and refreshing
2007 Pinot Noir – black fruit
2007 Gamay – black pepper
I purchased a bottle of the Dolomite and a bottle of the sparkling wine to take home. I really enjoyed all of the wines, but decided on the two white wines because they were available only at the winery store.
After having sampled and purchased some wine, it was time for the public tour to begin. We decided to sign up. It was a very informative tour led by the friendly Cave Spring Cellars guide Jessica. We had a chance to see the presses and the cellar room. Jessica pointed out an old picture of the building taken back in the 1920s, long before it became Cave Spring Cellars in 1986. It was really interesting to see how little it had changed over the years. The facades are very much the same. They did a wonderful job of renovating the inside of the buildings though, very impressive.
Well I hope I'll soon have an opportunity to enjoy the bottles of wine that I purchased. I'm especially looking forward to a nice hot day where I can sit outside, enjoy the sunshine and savour the bottle of Chenin Blanc Sparkling wine. Sparkling wine is not just meant for New Year's!