Inniskillin (Day 1 of Wine and Chocolate)

Who knew Inniskillin made something other than icewine? This was our first stop of our Cabernet Franc tour, which I summarized earlier; you can read it here. Now I'll explain the somewhat surprising rankings I gave it. Remember that I ranked each winery from 1 (best) to 4 (worst) on 5 different criteria:

THE WINE - Although the 2009 Three Vineyards Cab Franc had a beautiful aroma, it was quite complex, so hard to define. Chris said dried flowers or pot-pourri, I said maybe leather, the server said hint of chocolate and the winery advertises raspberry, currant and hints of tobacco. I wish I'd read that ahead of time because my first gulp of the wine flooded my mouth  with that woody taste that has me fleeing from cabernet sauvignon. Chris disagreed, and thinks I'm just overly sensitive to the flavour of tobacco.

THE CHOCOLATE - The hazelnut biscotti dipped in dark chocolate was yummy, and not as dry as I'd feared.  (I didn't think you should have to dip the biscotti in wine the way you do in coffee!)  More importantly, the dark chocolate overpowered the tobacco and the wine's flavour changed to spicy raspberry. 

THE VALUE - Although this wasn't advertised in the touring pass, Inniskillin also gave each taster a sample of its 2007 Ruby Reserve Cabernet Franc Icewine.  The wine's dominant flavour of maraschino cherry was apparent from the very first taste.  Chris felt this made it thin or simple tasting.  I thought it was a sign of good aging.  Either way, we found it interesting and enjoyable, but not the usual icewine exemplar that Inniskillin tends to provide.

THE ATMOSPHERE - Had I not wanted to try  this cab franc in particular, we would have driven right past the winery when we saw that the parking lot was crowded with vehicles, including a rather large tour bus.  All tastings were being done in the boutique as the building we'd visited last time was booked for a private function.  Despite Inniskillin's extensive facilities, overall I had the feeling of being herded like cattle.

THE STAFF - Noticing that four different wineries had chosen a cab franc to accompany their assigned chocolate pairing, I asked the server why these two things go so well together.  I was expecting an insightful answer about sugar levels, alcohol content or terroir like those we'd received at Tawse or Magnotta, both who use the festivals as opportunities to educate their consumers.  What I got were lines such as "red wine goes with chocolate," "the wine sort of smells like chocolate," and "then there's the whole Valentine's Day thing."  Now, I have a talent for recognizing when someone is making up an answer; you might say I do it for a living, so I don't appreciate it on my weekends.  As best as I can figure, many cab francs have a note of raspberry in them, and raspberry and dark chocolate complement each other quite nicely.