Extra Stop: Riverview Cellars Winery

During our sauvingon blanc tour, Chris and I stopped in at Riverview Cellars Winery as it was on the way.  Unfortunately, this was not one of our better wine route experiences.

The Wine

The 2009 Bianco is a 50/50 blend of riesling and gewurztraminer, which is exactly what it smells and tastes like.  Part lemon and apple, part passion fruit and mango, the two wines just didn't marry in the blend.  To be fair, it retails for only $13.95, and with a sugar rating of 2, definitely qualifies as boat wine.  On a side note, I'm annoyed by the winery's labelling.  The Bianco bottle features a picture of a cat, with a story about the cat on the back.  Wanting to know more about the two component wines, I went into the boutique, looking for the riesling and gewurz bottles.  While the riesling bottle was reasonably descriptive, the gewurz featured a picture of a robin's nest with, you guessed it, a story about said robin's nest.

The Food

The winery's assigned spice was cilantro, something I can never get enough of.  It was prepared in a sour cream blend used to top a taco flavoured soup.  The soup was yummy, and brought out the spicy gewurz features of the wine.  I frequently get a chicken tortilla soup from Supperworks, and will definitely match it to a light gewurz next time.

The Staff

Again, we were not impressed.  Upon entering, we were greeted by someone behind the tasting bar with food in her mouth.  Then, after waiting a few minutes at the serving area set up on the porch for the festival, the server walked through and served a group of four in front of us.

The Setting

Not surprisingly, Riverview sits across from and offers a view of the Niagara River.  The exterior offers quaint country charm and the interior, at first, is suitably elegant.  Through the tasting bar, though, the gift shop hints at desperation.  In all the wineries we've toured, never once have I wished I could buy cheesies before leaving.  To each their own, I suppose.

More about Maleta

This is a follow up to Wine & Herb day 2 (Riesling)

Maleta was a little hard to find, and even a little hard to spot from the road, and its exterior doesn't look like much. When we entered the property's small cottage-turned-retail-space, though, we were greeted with a very genuine "Welcome to our winery" which set the tone for the rest of the visit. As I've mentioned before, sometimes small wineries don't take full advantage of passport events, being more concerned with cost minimization than capitalizing on the opportunities walking through their doors. Maleta certainly avoided this mistake; the hostess (who, from what she said, is the spouse of either the winemaker or the owner,) explained to us that the food pairing would take a few minutes to prepare, so offered us a glass of the 2009 Rose Reserve made from a blend of gamay and merlot. I didn't take many notes on this one, as it wasn't the 'main event,' - and I was thirsty! I do remember thinking cranberry, and that unlike many roses, this one isn't candy, or 'boat wine' as I now call it. However, the winery's website has very descriptive tasting notes (copied below) that really ring true of my two tasting experiences.

Wine	2009 Rosé Reserve	2008 RIESLING (MEDIUM-DRY)
Price	$15.95 (750 mL)	$16.95 (750 mL)
% Alcohol	12.0% alc.	11.5 % alc
Sight, Smell & Taste	This wine shows a very pretty salmon pink. A delicate nose of red berries with just a hint of wet leaves – it’s really amazingly complex for a rosé. Light and fruity in the mouth, flavours exhibit strawberry and cherry fruit with a hint of red licorice. It finishes dry with lingering cranberry notes. A very refreshing wine with enough structure for light protein dishes such as roast chicken or veal scaloppine and makes a special companion for onion tart.	Pale gold with subtle green highlights, the colour is still showing youth. The nose is delicate with green apple, lime and just enough of Riesling’s petrolly pungency to make it more interesting. The mouthfeel is gentle and elegant with a round smoothness and flavours of green apple, lemon and lime.The finish delivers some zippy acidity and plenty of length. This is an all round sipper for easy drinking on its own or served with sole almondine, seafood risotto or creamy pasta.
Aging Potential	Perfect for your valentine, or enjoy it with Easter ham and summer picnics. Drink by the end of 2012.	There is no need to wait, drink now, although the wine will cellar well into 2013.

The hostess' passion for her products really set this visit apart from the others. She spoke enthusiastically about their new branding efforts to distinguish their three wine categories; the Grape Brain label is intended to be approachable for easy drinking, the View label lends itself to fine dining and the Meritage wears its own label to set it apart as the winery's signature product. She also pointed out the winery's tendency to age its bottles before releasing them, so when you buy them they're ready to fully enjoy. Finally, she shared with us the story of how, upon learning that her assigned herb was pineapple-sage, she had to Google it to find out what it was, then find recipes that included it, then learn how to make marmalade, then select a wine to match it all. She made it sound like a labour of love. The result was excellent, and highlighted both the riesling and the pineapple-sage while other wineries hid their assigned spice in a dish that best showed off their wine. All in all, Maleta's efforts paid off as I will return, taste, and buy several of their wines in the future, once we've made more room in our bar.

Extra Stop: Ice House Winery

Carrie and I stopped at the Ice House Winery mid way through our riesling tour for a few reasons; it was on the way, it only makes ice wine and its assigned spice was arugula.  I love arugula, but would tend to pair it with pinot noir, which, of course, if you only produce icewine, you just don't have.  The Ice House used the arugula (apparently) in a pasta salad containing multiple fresh spices but the arugula didn't stand out at all in the recipe.

The wine offering, a generous shot of the 2006 Vidal, certainly brought out the fresh spices, and the wine itself took on a peppery background after the food.  On its own, though, its predominant flavours were peach up front and caramel through the finish all on a backdrop of raisin.  It's body is heavier than most of those I've reviewed here, successfully adding to the toasty or smoky flavour that brings it all together.  I suspect this is the result of oak barrel aging, but I'm not sure. 

Here's the problem; for $70 per bottle, there are better icewines out there, beginning with the vidal I bought at Reif the week before for $47.05, or my standby from Inniskillin for $60.15, also available in a sparkling for $10 more.  To be fair, none of these is oaked or aged.  A new friend recently introduced me to Peller's 2010 oaked vidal, which although still lighter in colour and flavour, and a full four years younger, compares at $60.10.  Inniskilllin has held back some of its 2006 oaked vidal, which it now sells for $79.95 per bottle, so I suppose the Ice House isn't too far off the mark after all.  It seems I have just experienced first hand the market crowding and margin squeezing that has begun to plague the Ontario icewine industry.

Two More Sauvignon Blancs

Strewn Winery

Since Strewn wine labels are very sleek and sophisticated, I expected an ultra modern winery with lots of steel, glass and dark wood but was greeted instead by a salmon-coloured, Asian looking building with well manicured gardens and lawn.  Inside, a greeter directed us to one of two tasting rooms, which was set up to accommodate large groups of Wine & Herb tourists simultaneously. 

Strewn's assigned herb was mint, which it used in a vinaigrette dressing for a mixed green salad with asparagus and feta cheese.  Given the winery's on site cooking school and restaurant, it is not surprising that the salad was delicious, and since they gave out the recipe, we'll be making it again in the future.  Unfortunately, Strewn's 2008 Sauvignon Blanc did not stand up to the salad, despite its bigger, mildewy nose and golden colour.  The taste was crisp, but quite thin, and the mild taste of nectarine / tropical fruit got lost under the intense mint flavour of the vinaigrette.  I am interested in returning to this winery at some point, though, to try both its restaurant and its separate "terroir" tasting room which only offers tasting flights of its premium wines.

Niagara College Teaching Winery

This was a much better experience than my first visit to NC Teaching Winery.  We were able to sit outside on the patio overlooking the vineyards that blend into the side of the escarpment to enjoy the best pairing of the day: 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and "five spice Ontario pork loin with mango chili salsa".  Compared to the other bottle we purchased that day from Stonechurch, this one, for $15.95,  has a bigger nose, mostly of mildew, and a bigger body.  It's slightly sour, less dry and has a very consistent flavour of sour apple with a light minerality throughout.  It's acidity tickles the sides of the tongue, almost as if it were carbonated.  What impressed us about the pairing wasn't just how the wine and the spices played off each other, but also that the wine brought out the flavours in the pork itself.  I should also note that wine accessories appear to be less expensive at NC than at other boutiques; we bought an epicvac wine saver set for $17 that we'd seen at other wineries for $25.