Day 4 - getting lost in Beamsville

after my brief stay in Cambridge, i drove all the way back to Niagara to finish my tour of wine country.  this time, my focus was on the Beamsville Bench region.  my first stop was Henry of Pelham.  according to eugene, this was a winery that i should go see.  so i set my gps to find the winery but when i got to my destination, it turned out to be an empty field.  Henry of Pelham isn't a new winery so i was expecting an elaborate tasting room and entry way.  but i followed the gps and followed the signs but it led me to nowhere.  i could not find the winery for the life of me!  what's funny is, i spoke to my friend Justin at Pillitteri and he told me that he too has never been able to find Henry of Pelham - and he lives in the Niagara region!  :)  so it's not just me.

after wasting so much time, i gave up and decided to continue looking for other wineries in the area.  i manage to find 13th Street Winery, Flat Rock Cellars, Sue Ann Staff, and Hidden Bench Vineyards before heading to my next hotel.  i didn't spend much time tasting at these wineries though.  why?  well, after tasting the cabernet franc at Vinelands, i decided to go on a mission to taste a bunch of cabernet francs from other wineries.  and my luck started to run out after failing to find Henry of Pelham because when i stopped in at 13th Street, no cab franc.  i moved on to Flat Rock Cellars - no cab franc.  the kind folks at Flat Rock suggested i try Sue Ann Staff down the road.  i got to Sue Ann Staff's tasting room and there was nobody there to greet visitors.  so i left.  i headed off to find Hidden Bench - my other must visit.

there were no visitors so i had time to chat with the lady behind the tasting bar.  we went through a number of their wines.  i tried their "lightly oaked" chardonnay, riesling, meritage, and rose.  their wines are actually quite good but i was most impressed with their rose.  i'm not a fan of roses because the roses i've had were usually pink coloured pinot gris .. very acidic.  but the rose by Hidden Bench had a beautiful aroma of ripe strawberries.  it even tasted like it on the palate.  i was so impressed that i actually bought one.  i was least impressed with the tasting fee - $10 for 3 samples.  most wineries charge a fee and deduct it from your wine purchase.  at Hidden Bench, they deduct the $10 only if you buy three bottles.  yikes!  so my $20 roses became a $30 rose.  ugh .. oh well.  just once.  never again.

Hidden Bench 2011 Riesling

Hidden Bench 2012 Rose - delicious

Hidden Bench 2011 Chardonnay

Hidden Bench 2009 Meritage Terroir Cache

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Day 3 - From Vineland, ON to Cambridge, ON

i checked out of my hotel to head out to Cambridge, ON.  before driving out of the Niagara area, i had a few visits to make before my spa appointment at Langdon Hall.  i drove out to Vineland, ON to meet up with a class mate of mine from the sommelier program.  we had scheduled a meet and tasting with winemaker, Brian Schmidt at Vineland Estates.  the last time i was at Vineland Estates, Brian was out of town so i wasn't able to meet with him.  Brian is a brilliant winemaker and i say that because when we talk about viticulture and vinification, he goes right down to the scientific level and that's how you know the depth of his knowledge in the subject.  i could listen to him talk for hours.

while at Vineland, i was greeted with a handshake and a glass of their 2011 Pinot Gris - a medium yellow wine with notes of citrus (lemon/lime), hint of tropical fruit (pineapple), and minerality.  the medium length finish is punctuated with medium low body, yet high acidity.  it was a great palate refresher for what was to come.

Brian led us to the fermentation room.  the room was chilled like a refrigerator and housed several tanks of riesling.  i was in heaven.  :)  we sampled a dry riesling that will be bottled for general list, a semi-dry riesling that will be bottled under the Elevation Series (my favorite), as well as the chardonnay that will be bottled under the O'Leary brand.  after a lengthy stay in the cool fermentation room, we turned our attention to their signature red - cabernet franc.

cabernet franc has a distinct aroma of green bell pepper.  as you may know, i'm not a fan of green aromatics - and that includes the fresh cut grass aroma that is common in sauvignon blancs from New Zealand.  i think it's just odd for green vegetal aromatics coming from a red wine.  i usually associate red wine with red fruit, dark berries, baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, clove), vanilla, leather, tobacco, savory spices like black pepper .. but green bell pepper?  cabernet franc is a fairly hearty grape with a thick skin - which makes it an excellent cool climate red varietal.  it grows well in niagara so you will find many wineries that produce a single varietal cabernet franc.

anyway, i tasted the cabernet franc from barrel and from tank.  it was actually pretty good.  we've determined that i have fairly expensive taste because i preferred the cabernet franc that will be bottled under the Elevation Series ($25) over the general list ($12) version.

Brian invited us to stay as long as we wanted and tastings were on the house.  i had the opportunity to taste four rieslings from the Expression in D set.  i purchased a set a few months ago and they are laying down in my cellar at the moment.  there are four rieslings in the set and since i won't be opening them any time soon, i was curious to see what was in store for me.  and oh. my. god.  the rieslings were delicious!  after the rieslings, i tried the 2011 Pinot Meunier.  the only other winery in ontario that produces a pinot meunier is Keint-He in Prince Edward County and theirs is awful.  Pinot Meunier is one of the three main grape varietals that is used to produce champagne so it is often grown as a blending grape.  it's actually very similar to pinot noir but lighter in body and colour.

At Vineland Estates - Tasting the four rieslings in the Expressions in D collection

after a great tasting, i was on my way to Langdon Hall in Cambridge, ON.  i heard about Langdon Hall from my friend Eugene.  i didn't know much about it but it looked like a nice quaint hotel.  earlier this year, it was voted the best hotel in Ontario by a travel magazine.  at that point, i knew i wanted to go.  i looked up the website and the hotel packages were pretty pricy but to mark a milestone?  it was worth it.  i gave myself a great gift.  i had a spa treatment, a three course dinner, a full country breakfast, and one night stay in a beautiful room.  when i got there, i was greeted by the valet guy.  i have never handed the keys to my car over to anybody - they don't even do that for you at the Fairmont hotels!  it was a different experience for sure.  after checking in, i went to my room.  the room was beautiful.  there was a special plate of brownies with a card from the staff and management.  on the coffee table in the sitting area, there was a half bottle of Tawse riesling and a cheese plate on a slab of wood.  it was delicious.  i couldn't relax for too long because i had a spa appointment scheduled shortly after check in.  my spa treatment was a vichy aroma rain scrub.  the spa treatment was wonderful.  i felt spoiled.  it was my first real spa experience.

My room at Langdon Hall.  It was so clean and pretty.

after the spa treatment, i went back to my room to prepare for dinner.  i brought along a black cocktail dress and a pair of killer shoes to complete the outfit.  i wanted to make sure that i was dressed appropriately for dinner.  in the entire dining room, i was the only one who ate at a table for one.  i didn't feel uncomfortable however, i wasn't sure if it was appropriate to take pics of my dishes at such a high class establishment.  i mean, the menu said "please turn your cell phones off".  they must mean business.  the amuse bouche arrived and here is where dining alone has its perks.  the portion was enough for two but since it was just me, i got two helpings.  :)  for the appetizer, i had the digby scallops.  the plate was so pretty and colourful.  the portion was huge too .. i was full after the appetizer.  for the main, i had the pan-fried turbot.  my other choices were halibut, beef tenderloin, and muscovy duck breast.  since i've had all of those before, i opted to have the turbot - a delicate white fish.  it was served with grilled squid and a clam vinigrette.  and finally for dessert, i had the blueberry lemon souffle with hazelnut ice cream.  there was also a complimentary cookie plate that included some mini macaroons.  the meal was so good .. breakfast took the top prize though.  I love breakfast and at Langdon Hall, I had lobster for breakfast!!  :). It was on top of brown butter scrambled eggs and chunks of leeks.  Included in the breakfast was a buffet of pastries, smoothies, smoked salmon, fresh fruit, and freshly baked scones.  Yes, I tried it all .. How could I not?!  

It was definitely a night to remember .. It was truly a hotel in a class of its own and proved why it was the best hotel in the province.

My Appetizer - Digby Scallops.  Love the colours on the plate!

My Main - Pan fried Turbot with calamari and clams.  It was so good.

Dessert - Blueberry and Lemon Souffle with Hazelnut ice cream

Cookie Plate - Macarons and other cookies.

Breakfast - Lobster Nage with brown butter scrambled eggs

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Day 2 - Niagara on the Lake

Started the day off at Colaneri Estate Winery.  This is a new winery owned by three brothers who married three sisters. The building on the property is over the top beautiful. The wines are pretty nice but .. I know, there's a "but".  Sigh .. Generally I don't like to write negative things about a wine or a winery but I have to say something about this winery.

Colaneri's claim to fame is their production style called appassimento.  This process involves drying the grapes and the resulting wine is usually sweeter and higher in alcohol.  In Veneto, Italy .. This process is done by air-drying the grapes on straw mats for 3-4 months. The juice from these dried grapes are used to produce Amarone.  When the pressed skins from these grapes are added to a valpolicella for a second round of fermentation - the resulting wine is called a ripasso.

The true appassimento process is air drying for a duration of 3-4 months.  At Colaneri, the drying process is done in kilns and process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.  What I believe is key is that air drying over time, you allow the grapes to continue to ripen and have the sugars develop. With quick drying, you succeed at reducing moisture content but you are not giving the grapes time to further ripen and develop those sugars.  In a cool climate where growing seasons are short, this is rather important.  So I wouldn't call their wines true appassimento.

Secondly, their portfolio consists of a wide variety of grape varietals that have been produced in the appassimento style.  In Veneto, you have corvina, rondinella, and molinara as the main grapes in an Amarone.  At Colaneri, they have appassimento style Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Franc, etc. however, most of these are not 100% appassimento.  Most of the wines contain maybe 30% of the appassimento grape.  Yet, the bottles still command a higher price tag.  Is it worth it?  From what I've sampled, I would probably spend the money on a ripasso or Amarone from Italy.

The wines were good and the labels are artistic but I can't help but feel that I'm paying for their over the top image rather than the work that has been put into the wine.  Colaneri is not the only winery in Niagara that produces appassimento wines.  Foreign Affair, Organized Crime, and Burning Kiln all produce this style but guess who the winemaker for these wineries are?  The same winemaker for Colaneri.  So how does this guy ensure that each winery produces something unique?  I've been trying to get a meeting with the winemaker for a while now but it has been difficult.

Speaking of winemaker, I had the pleasure of meeting the winemaker for Le Clos Jordanne.  Sebastien Jacquey took time out of his busy schedule to walk me through the entire process at LCJ.  We then tasted the three grades of Pinot Noir that are produced.  There are actually distinct differences in each grade.  The grades differ by which areas of the vineyards that the grapes are sourced from. After a vertical of Pinot Noirs, we proceeded to sample the 2012 vintage from the barrels.  As a sommelier student who loves winemaking, it was a great experience for me to taste what the wine is like at various stages of aging. I offered my view of the wine and an estimate on how much longer in oak the wine must remain.  Sebastien seemed to agree. :)

After our Pinot tasting, we moved on to Chardonnays. A few years ago, I tried the Village Reserve for the first time and I wasn't a fan.  It was so acidic that I dumped out my sample.  But the Chardonnays that I tasted was surprisingly different. They were actually quite good.  I'm not a fan of oaky Chardonnays and often times, they are over-oaked.  Seb does a careful job of lightly oaking the Chardonnay and it does show.  Following the vertical tasting, we moved to the barrel room and sampled the Chardonnay at various stages as well.  At one point, the sample from the barrel tasted deconstructed - the only way to explain it was that in one mouthful, I could taste the alcohol, the acidity, and the fruit in different areas of the mouth .. Leaving me with the impression that it was a deconstructed version of the wine.  It was so cool.  It's not every day you get to experience something like this.  Thanks to my friend Eugene, I was able to do this.

@ Colaneri Estate Winery

Colaneri Pinot Grigio

Colaneri Sauvignon Blanc

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Day 1 - Niagara on the Lake

I drove in to Toronto on Sunday night - shortly after my final cake decorating class.  I loaded up my car with gifts and candy for my family and nieces/nephews and my cake.  Since my youngest sister has a birthday this month, I thought it would be great to have it with the family for birthdays this month.

I stayed just one night and off to Niagara I went.  Before leaving for Niagara, I stopped at a local LCBO to pick up a bottle of Ironstone Obsession for someone at Pillitteri Winery. A while back, we had chatted about a grape varietal called Chardonnay Musque and the rep at Pillitteri (Justin) had assured me that I would like theirs.  I had compared it to the symphony grape but Justin had never tried it before.  I told him I'd bring a bottle the next time I was in town.  I kept my promise.  Meeting Justin for the first time was pretty cool .. I tried many different wines.  Their Cabernet Franc was exceptional.  I was not a big Cabernet Franc fan because quite often it is heavy on green bell pepper.  I find that strong green aromas overpower the senses, making it difficult to pair food with.  But Pillitteri makes a beautiful Cabernet Franc .. Their award winning Exclamation Cab franc is a balance of black pepper, oak, black cherry, and a hint of bell pepper.  It's a tad on the tannic side which means it needs some time in the cellar.  This is a must-buy for me.

Also very memorable at Pillitteri was the trio of ice wines I sampled. Think ice wine is all about the Vidal grape?  No way.  They had a Cabernet Franc ice wine as well as the only Sangiovese ice wine!  Yeah, can you believe it?  It's truly something to try.  I highly recommend you visit the winery.  They are a fantastic family run winery.  They also hold a special place in my heart because of their support for the Algonquin College Sommelier program. 

I spent several hours at the winery that I didn't have time to visit others I had on my list.  Oh well .. Pillitteri left me on cloud nine and I'm okay with that :)

Pillitteri Exclamation Series Cabernet Franc

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wine vacation planned

I just booked my accommodations for my wine education / vacation this summer.  I'm excited about my itinerary and about what's to come ..

I'll post my adventure as I go .. So stay tuned!

Cheers,

Pudgy

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tasting Niagara on the Lake wines

Last week, I attended a taste and buy event featuring Niagara on the Lake wine. Unfortunately, Colaneri was unable to be at the event.  I was looking forward to trying their wines.  There were plenty of other wines to try.  All of the wines were not available at the LCBO.

One of my favorite wineries was Palatine Hills.  They had an excellent Riesling at the show - off dry, citrus, minerality, crisp acidity.  The way a Riesling from Niagara should be.  The best part was the price.  There were other Rieslings at the show - I tried the Riesling by Trius called Ghost Creek.  It was good but it was twice the price of Palatine Hills version!  I learned that winemaker (Jeff Innes) at Palatine Hills was an assistant winemaker under Brian Schmidt, winemaker at Vineland Estates. I have tremendous respect for Brian because he has been a great source of knowledge in the art of winemaking.  I'm a huge fan of Vineland wines and it's no wonder I have become a fan of Palatine Hills.

The rep at Palatine Hills remembered me from an event last year and I had connected with him at the Toronto Food & Wine show last year.  I told him that their Riesling was the best in show and later on, he gave me a bottle for the road.  It was unnecessary as I put in an order for a few bottles.  Anyway, I highly recommend their wines .. I didn't get to try their Cabernet Merlot but I was told that it was fantastic.

Niagara College Winery brought their Dean's List Chardonnay.  It was a classic Burgundian Chardonnay .. Buttery, smoky, lemon.  It was quite good .. 

I wandered over to Ravine Vineyards because the guy pouring was kind of cute - ok, don't judge me :) .. But that was short lived.  The guy said their Chardonnay was lightly oaked but when I tasted it, it was not what I would call "lightly oaked".  In fact, my guess would be that it had spent some time in new American oak.  How do I know?  I stopped by Pillitteri's table and tried their barrel fermented Chardonnay and they did it right.  There was a hint of smoke and it wasn't overpowering.  The wine was quite pleasant on the nose and palate - ripe melon, stone fruit, floral .. I was impressed.

What also made their Chardonnay impressive was the fact that it was more fragrant than the Chardonnay musque by Chateau des Charmes.  I let the folks at Pillitteri's know that the Chardonnay musque failed to impress me.  They promised that when I drop by the winery for a visit, I will be "wow-ed" with theirs.

The 2003 Gewürztraminer ice wine by Pillitteri's was delicious.  Too bad it was just for tasting.  There was a lemon iced tea aftertaste that was so lovely .. 

Finally, the most memorable wine of the night?  A 1993 sparkling wine by Chateau des Charmes.  It was toasty, bubbly, and very fresh for a sparkling that is 20 years old!!!  Can you believe it?  I wanted to lick the inside of my glass. 

Ahh .. It was truly a great night.  I wish you were there .. I'm sure there will be other opportunities to attend more tasting events.  Til then ..

Cheers,

Pudgy

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lucky me

Next Tuesday, I will be attending a private wine event featuring 27 wineries from Niagara-on-the-Lake.  I'm pretty excited because a few of my favorite wineries will be there.  I mentioned in my last post that Colaneri and Pillitteri wineries were my must-see places.  They will be at the event.

In my recent chat with the folks at Pillitteri, they convinced me that their Chardonnay Musque would turn me into a Chardonnay fan.  Chardonnay Musque is a clonal variety of Chardonnay with aromatic characteristics of Muscat.  This is a varietal that I have not tried before.

Colaneri Winery is also another winery I have been planning to visit.  They are a fairly new winery in the Niagara area.  They specialize in the appassimento style of wines. This style is mainly practiced in Veneto, Italy - home of Amarone.  Grapes are dried on straw mats before being pressed.  The appassimento style is becoming increasingly popular here in Ontario and Colaneri is just one of a few producers - Foreign Affair and Burning Kiln are others experimenting with this method.  Generally, their wines command a higher price tag due to the amount of work required to produce them.  Is the final product worth the big $$?  We shall see.  I will be sure to blog about my favorites of the night.

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