Although we toured 4 different wineries on the last day of the Wine & Herb event, we enjoyed Stonechurch Vineyards so much that it gets its own blog entry. We had no prior expectations for this winery and chose to visit only because we were tasting all the sauvignon blancs that were on offer in the passport that day. It's somewhat off the beaten path, meaning its not on Lakeshore Road, Niagara Stone Road or Niagara Parkway, but we enjoyed the drive past fields, orchards and farmhouses before arriving just in time to see a group departing on a guided wagon-pull tour of the vineyards.
Along the entrance way, its hard not to notice how carefully tended are the numerous brightly coloured gardens. Attention has been paid to many details of the decor, and it successfully strikes the elusive balance of eclectic without being tacky, quaint but elegant, authentic shabby-chic. Inside there are three distinct areas, the first of which is the spacious wine bar. Its retail products are more unique than other winery boutiques, offering an extensive array of Brickstone condiments and various entertaining utensils, including two different sets of "amuse bouche" spoons. (That impressed me!)
We headed through the boutique to the extension off the back, essentially a barn, which had been tastefully decorated for a private event but which was temporarily housing the Wine & Herb tasting. Here we tried the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc paired with a tabbouleh salad featuring quinoa, fresh parsley and cucumber. The wine first presents a soft whiff of freshly cut, dewy grass. Its following taste is very clean, dry and smooth, and Chris and I both noticed a slight taste of lime ("tropical fruit" in the winery's online tasting notes). The wine accented the parsley and the cucumber beautifully, and would be an excellent accompaniment to several mild Mediterranean dishes. Since I have just such a recipe in my cue just now, we picked up a bottle for $12.95 and agreed that our next two stops of the day would have a lot to live up to.
Great job with the photos Chris!
ReplyDeleteUpdate: drank this a year later with a similarly spiced middle-eastern dish and received fabulous reviews from all involved. It is hands down a better wine than the other one we bought that day from NCTW.
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