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Posts with category ‘Wineries’

First Pour

Posted on April 24, 2006

Welcome back to weekly coverage of the topic that never tires. A place where once again—since departing the weekly “On Wine” column in the Globe and Mail in 1999—I can provide real-time news, views and reviews. This blog will review new releases from Ontario wineries, the LCBO general list, Vintages and Consignment. It will tell stories about people and places, and guide you to seminars and events. It will be your bookmark for what’s happening in the dynamic wine scene in Toronto and surrounding wine regions.

Santé, Australia and Prince Edward County

Posted on May 1, 2006

Pour a glass of spring riesling (Vineland 2005 Semi-Dry leaps to mind) and read on. It’s a busy time…The 7th annual Santé Food and Wine Festival is underway in the Bloor-Yorkville district this week, featuring a mix of large and small tasting, dinners both grand and intimate, “Sip, Savour and Shop” opportunities and seminars by wine experts. Unlike many traditional wine fairs, this is not an attempt to jam a gazillion wines and people into one room for a few hours, then boast about numbers. Eighty international wineries will be supplying events spread over five days throughout the community—a grassroots graze, albeit in a real green pasture neighbourhood. Perhaps this slightly foreign concept is the reason Santé fails to ignite passions in some. Knowing there was a charity beneficiary might evoke more empathy as well. That said, there is plenty going on, and the open-minded always find food for thought.

Buckhorn Festival, Unoaked Chardonnay, Fevre Chabl

Posted on July 24, 2006

Summery, mild-mannered, unoaked chardonnay is a style that Ontario does very well. Most refresh the palate like a crisp new apple, with better examples sewing in mineral and leesy complexity—just as in good Chablis, the spiritual homeland of the genre. I was reminded of Ontario’s growing prowess with this style while grazing at the 10th Annual Fiesta Buckhorn on Saturday in Kawartha cottage country. This event has grown from the vision of one local Ontario wine evangelist named Larry Paterson into a three-day wine, beer and culinary weekend that attracts hundreds and raises funds for the Buckhorn Community Centre, 30 minutes northeast of Peterborough on the Trent-Severn Waterway. It’s like summer camp for wine fans, with over 75 exhibitors stationed in a series of cabins plus the main community hall. 49 Ontario wineries were pouring, often skippered by proprietors and winemakers themselves. In other words it has become a big deal, and when part of leisurely summer weekend for Kawartha cottagers and Trent boaters it’s can’t help be relaxed and fun. It’s the most unpretentious, undressed wine event you’ll ever attend, so make a note now to attend next year—the third weekend of July.

The Merchant Vintner

Posted on September 12, 2006

The small, leafy backyard patio in the Upper Beach Gerrard/Coxwell home of wine importer Tony Hirons, The Merchant Vintner, bristled with sunlit wine bottles. The Italians over there, the French under the umbrella mixed with the Australians, the Iberians on that table. There were just a few tasters and all kinds of time to rummage through a portfolio of consignment and future Vintages releases from small family producers around the world. What made this all the more interesting was Hirons’ personal stories about each producer. Now passing the family business into the hands of son Nick after 25 years, The Merchant Vintner is a true artisan importer, and an outspoken advocate for family, fairness and fun in the wine business. This is a man—and there are others in Toronto like him—who deserves the chance to be a real wine merchant, in his own store and in his own neighbourhood, passing on wines and stories to friends and strangers who walk through his door every day. Instead he must hold near-clandestine tastings for a few wine writers in the hope they can get the word out about wines that can only be ordered by the case, or which will be coming out six months from now. (Hopefully the writers won’t forget). But that’s the way selling fine wine works in our world class city.

Notes from Tawse Cellar

Posted on January 15, 2007

I spent a couple of hours on Friday at Tawse Family Estate in Niagara, tasting from barrels of 2006 whites and reds just beginning to form into wines. At this stage, any winery’s barrel cellar is a giant hatchery, each barrel an individual offspring from different grape varieties, vineyard microclimates, clones or rootstocks. And each of these rests in a different oak incubator—French, American, Hungarian, even Canadian—from different forests, and coopers (barrel makers). The level of organization required is remarkable: following each barrel and noting its characteristics; making blending decisions based on flavour profiles; volumes required of a certain label; how much the grapes cost and for how much the wine might sell. I gained renewed respect for the winemakers and their teams, and what they are going through at this time of year. It is a frenetic, creative time, where teams either pull together or the wheels fall off.

Fielding's Finest

Posted on April 2, 2007

Wine of the Week
Fielding Estate 2006 Chardonnay Musqué ($15.95, Vintages 37879, score 88 points*)
Fielding has gained quite a reputation for its zesty, fragrant, floral aromatic whites. From a particularly fragrant clone of chardonnay, this is intentionally off-dry, yet very good lime-like acidity works to balance it out. Very lifted lavender, lime, tangerine and green apple and melon nose, with flavours staying focused through a very long finish. Chill it down a bit and enjoy on the deck this summer.

Gretzky, Brazil and New Zealand

Posted on September 18, 2007

Wine of the Week
Wayne Gretzky Estates 2006 No. 99 Unoaked Chardonnay, Ontario ($13.95, 83 points, 63826)
Celebrity, not quality, demands this wine be Wine of the Week, especially as it was just released Monday at the LCBO. I have always admired Wayne Gretzky as a quality hockey player and human being, and I still do, but I don’t admire the wine bearing his name and team sweater number. As always, my job is to assess what’s in the bottle and this is a mediocre, coarse, resinous, dry white. Like others in the growing family of Ontario celebrity wines (Dan Aykroyd, Mike Weir) there is no glaring fault except for a lack of joy (and fruit). The companion merlot released yesterday is just as mediocre—green and lean—definitely not as “lush and rounded” as back label claims. I hope Wayne brings his sense of class to bear when he begins to produce wines from his own winery, which is purportedly on the drawing board. For now, the wine is made at Willow Heights.

Ten Picks from a Busy Week

Posted on September 26, 2007

Wine of the Week
Norman Hardie 2006 County Pinot Noir, Prince Edward County ($35, 89 points)
The rainy harvest of 2006 was difficult for pinot noir in Ontario, causing dilution of flavour and a break down of the fruit. Norman Hardie’s solutions were to greatly thin the clusters and severely sort the grapes, reducing yields drastically. He has only 150 cases remaining of the final result—a light, elegant, focused and appealing pinot noir with typical county florality, cranberry/raspberry fruit and nicely inlaid oak spice and smoke. With a supple structure and fine tannin, it won’t cellar long beyond 2010 but is charming now. Most important is the potential it shows for county pinot noir. It’s available at the winery only, or order via the Web site.

Into the Northumberland Hills

Posted on October 9, 2007

Wine of the Week
Oak Heights 2006 Cabernet Franc, Ontario ($19.95, 88 points)
While there are vineyards at this impressive new winery in the Northumberland Hills, winemaker Mike Traynor has sourced cab franc (80 per cent) and cab sauvignon from the excellent Watson Vineyard in Niagara-on-the-Lake for this label. (Southbrook Vineyards has made great Watson cab franc in the past.) Traynor has done a great job making Ontario cabernet franc the way it should be—without over-oaking or heavy extraction. I tasted it three times over the weekend, charmed by its bright raspberry-currant fruit, gentle tobacco, spice and overall ease. But it has substance too; it handled Thanksgiving turkey. Drink now to 2011. Available only via www.oakheights.ca.

Wine, Words and Wisdom

Posted on December 17, 2007

If you haven’t bought your special bottles for Christmas gifts you may be too late, as LCBO shelves will be emptying fast this week. Plan B? Nip into your local bookstore for a wine book.

My favourite wine moments of 2007

Posted on December 27, 2007

1Hidden Bench 2005 Nuits Blanche, Niagara
My head-spinning first tasting of a brilliant bordeaux-inspired white blend of sauvignon blanc and sémillon that went on to win white wine of the year at the Canadian Wine Awards. Hidden Bench opened in June and came out of nowhere to take runner-up for winery of the year.

Organized Wine Crime

Posted on January 8, 2008

Many assume that the LCBO’s control of the wine business in Ontario is an outgrowth of the anti-alcohol movement in the ’30s—to protect us from demon alcohol. Not really. Government took control to take organized crime out of the booze business during Prohibition and reap the tax rewards for its citizens. Who knew that this monopoly would end up being obtrusive and demanding in the manufacture and purveyance of a legal product in Ontario—at least as perceived by many who toil to make a living in the wine business.

A Glimpse at the Bordeaux 2005s

Posted on January 23, 2008

Four hundred and fifty people jammed a Four Seasons Hotel ballroom Wednesday night (January 22) for a rare home-turf tasting of the famed Bordeaux 2005 vintage. Over 100 wines were poured by 75 châteaux from the Union des Grands Cru de Bordeaux, a trade organization currently on a North American tour to sell what many are calling an excellent and classic vintage.

Prince Edward County bubbly is born

Posted on February 6, 2008

A couple of milestones were celebrated during last Friday’s snowstorm, with the pop of a single cork at Huff Estate Winery in Prince Edward County. It was the first pouring of the first sparkling wine made in Canada’s newest VQA region, and the debut of Ontario’s most expensive sparkling wine to date (not counting sparkling icewine). Its proper name is Huff Estate 2004 Cuvée Peter F. Huff, named in honour of proprietor Lanny Huff’s late son. The price is $49.95—right up there with the many basic French champagnes that it dares emulate.

Legendary Henschke wines are coming to the LCBO

Posted on February 13, 2008

In most winemaking nations, there are a handful of family-run wineries that have risen to the summit of success based on unswerving quality. There is actually an auspicious international association called Primum Familiae Vini that promotes this notion (and they will be celebrating themselves with tastings and dinners in Vancouver, March 9 to 11). Thus far, they have no Australian members, so I would like to nominate Stephen and Prue Henschke, guiding lights to the benefits of family winery ownership, especially when that family is endowed with great passion, intelligence and inquiring minds.

The Best Fest in the West

Posted on March 5, 2008

I spent last weekend at the annual wine inundation known as Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival—an event that locals and winery visitors argue is the best of its kind in Canada. It’s actually not even arguable, in my opinion (even if some easterners feel bruised by this admission). One would think that Toronto should be able to mount a show of this calibre, yet it never has. Hogtown’s big shows are for-profit, commercial ventures that tend to cheapen the content and keep the LCBO at a distance. The government cannot be promoting any commercial interest other than its own, and the reason that other wine shows work across Canada, including Playhouse, is that they have the full support of provincial liquor boards. One might ask why the government is in the wine retail business at all, but that’s a topic for another day.

Matching with Malivoire

Posted on March 19, 2008

On a cold, snowy winter day (what else is new?) recently, I attended a wine tasting designed to be enjoyed as most of us actually drink wine—that is, with food. In the end, this meal was hardly average; it was served in the back of a tiny, fragrant bistro called Gamelle, where the tasters met with Niagara winemaker Martin Malivoire. We worked and played through 10 recent releases that were uncorked with a non-stop selection of small plates, sipping and nibbling in no particular order, unless a certain match made choirs sing and seduced us into tasting again.

California Greening

Posted on March 28, 2008

My column in the May issue of Toronto Life (on newsstands April 10) examines the burgeoning “green” wine movement, with observations and reviews based on tastings at the international Return to Terroir event in February, and Vintages’ organics release on March 29. Since then, I have compiled even more notes on the wine world’s most pressing trend. Much of the information and inspiration has come out of California, where “green” is becoming an industry-wide mantra. Grape growers are taking the lead in environmental practices and turning the heads of those in other sectors of California’s massive agricultural industry. Two insiders have told me that a stunning 55 per cent of Californian wine producers have now registered for a new program that allows for self-assessment of sustainable agriculture practices.

The Great One Gets Better

Posted on April 4, 2008

When Wayne Gretzky launched his Niagara wines last summer, I was not impressed. Priced under $15, the wines were not awful but average, and why buy average when there are good bottles for the same price? I had higher expectations given Number 99’s reputation for doing things well, and the whole exercise seemed steeped in marketing opportunism. I was not wrong on this, nor were those who created the brand: the Wayne Gretzky label has become the hottest seller among Ontario VQA wines on the LCBO general list.

California comes to Canada

Posted on April 28, 2008

The California Wine Fair rolls into the Fairmont Royal York Hotel on Monday, April 28, brimming with bottles that, by and large, cannot be found on the shelves of the LCBO. Of the 69 wines assembled for the fair’s preview media tasting last month, only 20 are currently available at Vintages or the LCBO. This doesn’t mean the LCBO is ignoring California: a big promo swings into gear in early May that introduces several new brands to the general list; and on Saturday, Vintages will be offering up a couple of dozen new releases as well. But the fair showcases so many, many more—a huge reservoir of wine either being sold direct to restaurateurs via the below-the-radar consignment program, or wines that want to be here and might just find a niche if they create a buzz at the fair. With so many wines and so little time, the grapevine goes electric. Why must all the big wine presentations in our city be so restrictive, so pressured, and in such chaos? And why must the pourers spend most of their time apologizing that we can’t actually buy the wine they are serving?

Cheers to Santé

Posted on May 6, 2008

The 10th annual Santé: Toronto International Wine Festival kicks off Monday, May 5, with a week-long tasting menu of winemaker dinners, special events and seminars in venues throughout Yorkville. California and Australia are this year’s headliners. Here is the roster of major events, complete with some of the wines and wineries worth investigating. For more details and tickets, check out the festival’s Web site, www.santewinefestival.net.

Blooming Whites

Posted on May 12, 2008

If you have never dedicated your wine budget to exploring the world’s aromatic whites, I suggest that now might be an opportune moment—when May is blossoming with fragrance, and some terrific bottles are selling for a song. The June issue of Toronto Life features reviews of 10 great aromatic whites from some of the world’s more obscure wine regions. Several others were tasted in researching the article, so I’ve reviewed them here. Plus, I’ve added a few classic selections from Germany and Niagara also released at Vintages on May 10.

The LCBO’s blockbuster $10 deals

Posted on June 2, 2008

After tasting virtually the entire LCBO general list in preparation for the annual Toronto Life Eating & Drinking guide, I know it’s rare to find a great value wine for less than $10. This year’s tasting process is just getting underway, and while you may be sipping wines on the deck or dock this June and July, I’m tasting dozens of wines daily and want nothing more than a cleansing ale by shift’s end. (I ask no pity because I know none is forthcoming.) The upside to all this is having an up-to-date repertoire of the best bargains at the LCBO.

Ontario wine’s prime time

Posted on June 11, 2008

June has become the month for grand wine events in Ontario, timed to kick off the summer touring season. And this is sure to be a good year to go wine tripping: local wineries are strutting some fine bottlings from the 2007 vintage—the best in recent memory (see Toronto Life’s July issue)—although some styles will not be released for a few months, like the barrel-aged whites and reds. To help you plan your trip, here is a quick primer on some of the best events in the days ahead.

Rivers Run Through It: Vintages’ June 21 Release

Posted on June 25, 2008

The trumped-up theme for Vintages’ June 21 release is Europe’s Wine Rivers: Great Finds From Legendary Riverside Vineyards. South-facing riverside sites can deliver extra quality in northern Europe; they benefit from the increased heat of the better exposure. But winemakers, not riverbank exposure, are responsible for quality. There are some good wines in this selection, but hardly anything legendary. The real theme is Some Decent Wines We Put Together From Europe at About $20 So That We Could Spend Lots of Money on This Glossy Spread in the Catalogue. Here are 10 of the better buys from the Rivers selection, plus other noteworthy wines from elsewhere in the catalogue:

David Lawrason

David Lawrason

David Lawrason has worked full time as one of Canada's leading, independent wine writers and educators for over 20 years. He was the founder of Wine Access magazine and Globe and Mail wine columnist for 13 years before becoming resident wine guy at Toronto Life, where he pens a monthly column and writes an exhaustive review of LCBO general listings for the annual Food and Wine Guide. As a wine educator he has taught sommelier programs at George Brown, Humber and Niagara Colleges, and has run popular public courses in Toronto since 1988. He has visited every major wine major producing country in the world, while focusing recently on the booming Canadian wine scene, as founder of the Canadian Wine Awards program, and Canadian wine columnist for Wine Access.

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