Kacaba Vineyards - Duck, Cab, Goose

Prior to this visit, Kacaba Vineyards and Winery had flown under my radar.  Its two darling grapes, cabernet sauvignon and syrah, require a longer growing season than Ontario typically allows in order for the skin to thicken sufficiently to imbue the wine with tannins, structure, and aging potential.  Kacaba is thus one of only a handful of Niagara wineries to specialize in such 'big reds'.  There are two ways you can look at that; either they must be really good at it, or they just haven't given up yet like everyone else.  Until now, I must have been assuming the latter - that any Ontario riesling will be better than any Ontario cabernet sauvignon, so I might as well not waste my passport coupons somewhere that insists on only featuring its reds during festivals.  Man was I wrong. 

The bridge is near the property's entrance off King Street.  The red roof in the top-left
is both the production facility and the boutique.  Read the sign; it's funny.

In hindsight, I'm glad that Kacaba had a strategy to attract people like me; it advertised such an over-the-top indulgent food pairing that it didn't matter whether or not I would like the wine!  And so, Chris and I headed to Kacaba not for its cabernet sauvignon, but for Chef Ryan Shapiro's Duck Confit Poutine.  This may be one of the best things I have ever eaten.  The hand cut crispy fries were topped with 'pulled duck', aged white cheddar, and a foie gras gravy-like sauce.  That made for four very strong, distinct tastes that complemented each other beautifully.

Enter the wine.  The 2011 cabernet sauvignon not only stood up to each of these tastes, but also tied them together nicely.  It has a very sharp, focused flavor, almost like a malbec.  Although there is definitely dark fruit at play (blackberry? black cherry?), it is under-ripe fruit, and not very prominent.  The taste softened slightly with the food.  Although this wine was not to my particular taste, it was, without a doubt, good wine.  It got me thinking that if Kacaba could produce this quality of cabernet sauvignon against the odds, what could it do in a good year to a grape that grows well here?  With that in mind, I purchased a bottle of its 2010 Reserve Cabernet Franc for $44.95 without even tasting it first.