Rancourt Winery

Since we were already going to Pillitteri, we wanted to pick a second winery in the Niagara-on-the-Lake half of the Discover Pass.  As it turned out, Rancourt Winery was the only one listed that we hadn't previously been to.  I mistakenly thought this meant it was a new winery; it actually opened in 2006 but this was its first time participating in this event.  Either way, it's listing in the festival guide sounded intriguing: "A rich lobster bisque topped with white chocolate shavings that pairs perfectly with our buttery 2013 Chardonnay Reserve."  Chardonnay plus lobster makes sense, but chardonnay plus lobster plus white chocolate? 

The combination was brilliant!  The white chocolate blended perfectly with everything else and added something of its own.  The serving size was also quite generous, with plenty of meaty lobster chunks.  The chardonnay was also quite good.  It showed a nice balance between the expected oaky-buttery-vanilla flavours and an apple-like crispness.  It's a very good example of a standard Ontario chard.

I waited all year for this!

For the second year in a row, Pillitteri Estates Winery has been one of our favourite stops on the Niagara Wine Festival Discovery Pass.  Last year, they served its 2011 Cabernet Franc with a loaded baked potato poutine.  I don't still have my notes, but I remember the wine being pretty fantastic: smoke, leather, bell pepper, and raspberry.  We didn't buy any at the time as we had quite a bit in inventory and thought waiting for the next vintage might be worth it, as 2012 was generally regarded as a better growing season in Ontario, especially for reds.

 



2015 Niagara Wine Festival

2014 Niagara Wine Festival



Fast forward one year and, after moving in the winter, our inventory is dangerously low.  Luckily for us, Pillitteri was sampling its 2012 Cabernet Franc with smoked BBQ chicken quesadillas.  We headed out fully intending to bring home a case.  I noticed that the quesadillas had a lot of the same flavours that the poutine had last year - green onion, cheddar cheese, and bacon - and were surprised at how well the wine played off the BBQ flavours.  It was very juicy, even a little zin-like, except the dominant flavor is cherry, not berry, and the alcohol content is much lower.  We did find the mouth feel a little thin, which stopped us from buying the whole case, but we did leave with three bottles ($23 each) and are looking forward to drinking one with some smoked-apple-bbq ribs soon.