Robert Mondavi (the wines)

The tour concluded with wine tasting.  The tasting room was preset for our group when we arrived, and the décor struck an appropriate balance between casual and elegant.  We were informed about the various wine club options, and given literature, but the sales pitch was not overdone or pushy.  Peter, the guide, knew the wine would sell itself, be it through bottle sales or club memberships.  To that end, although the tour price only promised three wines to taste, he threw in a fourth, "just 'cause he felt like it!"

The first wine, the 2011 Carneros Chardonnay, is only available at the winery: not in stores or restaurants. Carneros, the southernmost region of Napa Valley, has very Burgundian growing conditions.  (I learned the word "Burgundian," meaning Burgundy-like, on the tour!)  This, combined with the 14 months of oak aging, has resulted in a creamy but bright chardonnay smelling of passion fruit.  (Chris says bubblegum.)  Peter introduced the second wine, the 2012 Napa Valley Rose, with the statement, "I bet you think all pink wines are ..."  I was tempted to say "crap," but apparently he was going for "sweet."  This particular rose is not sickeningly sweet, but rather tangy, tasting of watermelon.  Interestingly, it's made from a very Bordeaux-like blend that I don't think I've had as a rose before.  The smell is quite yeasty, and the body thin, but both of these characteristics dissipated by pairing the wine with a caprese salad.

The third wine just might be my new favourite, which could prove problematic as it too is only available at the winery.  This 2010 red, labelled "Momentum" is made entirely from Merlot grapes.  It's leather nose is followed by a tangy mid-palate taste of raspberry and silky tannins that made the side of my tongue drool for more!  For my liking, there was a little too much chalk left in my mouth afterwards, but a few years in the cellar should fix that, assuming I can wait that long!  Finally, our bonus wine was the 2012 Moscato.  Peter joked that us Ontarians would probably not like California's feeble attempt at dessert wine, but we certainly did.  With a nose of champagne and honey and an acidity that almost reaches a point of carbonation, this is very versatile for a dessert wine.  Chris suggested it would pair well with Curry.  Brad bought two bottles, neither of which made it back to Canada!

If I haven't said it already, Robert Mondavi Winery was a fantastic introduction to Napa Valley both for novice and experienced wine enthusiasts.  I would go to far as to say that if you are staying in the San Francisco Bay Area and can only get away for a few hours, this should be your one stop in wine country.  Also, at a price per bottle of $36, $24, $50, and $25, respectively as above, these high quality wines also represent very good value.  We will definitely stop by the boutique on our next visit to the area!

Graze the Bench (Hidden Bench)

Since we'd finished our first wine and food combination, we picked up our festival glasses and walked down the hill, through the vineyards, around a pond and into our second winery of the day.  You only have to walk ten steps off of Organized Crime's property to be able to see Hidden Bench Vineyards and Winery.  This was where I figured out that the event pricing wasn't quite as good as I'd thought.  The initial passport, which we'd picked up at Organized Crime, cost $25 per person and included admission to the "graze" areas at all 6 wineries, one glass of wine, one food choice, and a wine glass to take with you door to door.  Additional food and wine was to cost $7.  It didn't say "each!"  So we re-jigged our plan, spend another $14, and got one more glass of wine and one more food plate.  (I drank most of the wine and Chris ate most of the food.)

Of the two wine choices available, I picked the 2011 Chardonnay.  The smell to me was smoky, but lightly so, sort of like the smell of birch bark kindling.  Chris smelled bubblegum; Chris always smells bubblegum in chardonnay.  The winery's own notes say perfumed orange blossom and citrus oil so we'll go with that.  The wine has a nice balance between feeling crisp and feeling oily.  There's only a hint of lemon in the taste, and the most concentrated, distinct flavour, that of hazelnut cream, comes at the back and sides of the tongue.  For a chardonnay, it has a very long finish, but that's when the taste of alcohol surfaces.  We argued over the rating for awhile, settling somewhere around 88.  It's price is $32.

The food accompaniment this time was an oak-smoked beef brisket sandwich, which was an incredible pairing for the chardonnay.  The oaks played off of each other, as did the oils, with excellent results.  Unfortunately, we did not enjoy the music as much at this venue, first because it was too loud and second because the lead singer was not all that pleasant to listen to. Nevertheless, we will definitely graze the bench again next year, but this time will remember sunscreen, a hat, and walking shoes!

Cuvee at Inniskillin

I knew I wanted to end the tour with a dessert wine, but since I'm already pretty familiar with Inniskillin icewine, and since I've blogged about the winery twice already, at first I thought I'd take the group somewhere else.  Then I found out Inniskillin would be sampling three different fifteen year old icewines and I couldn't resist.  Because Ontario icewine is so good when its young, not to mention expensive, you don't often hear of aged varietals.  Fortunately, Inniskillin had enough of its three 1997 varietals in its library.  The bottles were old enough that the corks had become rubbery and soft and required a special corkscrew that had metal arms on either side of the screw to help secure the cork on the way out.

The colour of the three wines really surprised me, as all had developed an orange hue.  The vidal, normally gold, appeared brownish-orange.  The riesling, usually a brighter yellow, had turned peachy and the cabernet franc, typically ruby-red, was now terracotta.  I liked that the winery supplied a standard wine tasting glass, so we could experience the difference a proper Riedel icewine glass makes.  That being said, I was very nervous about spilling while pouring from one glass to another. Basically, the shape of the proper glass first releases then contains the smell so that before the wine hits your tongue, your nose is filled with the big aromas.  Conversely, in the standard glass, in order to smell the wine while tasting it, you have to tilt your head so far back that the wine falls over your tongue all at once, effectively drowning the wine's complexity.

Left: 1995, $157.99
Right: 2008, $69.95

Onto the wines, the vidal smelled mostly of golden raisins and Christmas baking.  All of the fruit flavours of a younger vidal were gone, leaving behind the taste of  browned butter.  The cabernet franc featured a musty, leathery smell, and a taste combining strawberry, leather and a little caramel, not to mention absolutely beautiful tannins.  The riesling actually had a typical riesling petrol smell to it, along with the scent of butterscotch.  The taste reminded us of peach cobbler, with a hint of pear still evident.  I had actually tried to buy this wine several months earlier, but was told then that it was no longer available.  I did snag a bottle this time, paying a  price more than doubled by its age.  Since this visit, I have moved a few recent icewine vintages to the aging section of our wine rack, and hope for equally impressive results.  

Cuvee at Thirty Bench

 I get Thirty Bench and Hidden Bench mixed up a lot, especially since I haven't blogged about either of them. When we pulled into the parking lot, though, I remembered that Chris and I had stopped there once before.  Unfortunately, a large group in a limo had arrived just prior to us and we decided not to wait.  This time, we were the large limo group set to inconvenience others instead!

Thirty Bench arranged a vertical tasting of 4 years of its Small Lot Triangle Vineyard Rieslings.  In the tasting area, several counter-height tables were arranged with place settings and bar stools overlooking the sloping vineyards.  (Really, the views are fantastic at nearly all of the wineries on the Beamsville bench.)  This allowed us to take the time to truly appreciate each wine; it also allowed me to take decent notes on all four!

2011 - This is a very crisp, complex wine with a nose of pineapple and a little petrol.  The predominant taste is of white grapefruit.  It's mild on the tongue, meaning I found it less sour and slightly less acidic than my standby riesling from Tawse.  Its finish is medium length. 

2010 - The nose on this one is smokier, and less fruity, with a barely noticeable petrol note.  It made me think of gouda cheese, and would probably pair nicely with it.  It's taste was even smoother than the 2011, with even less sourness and acidity.  Its finish was longer, and not as dry.  Several in our party chose this as their favourite wine of this stop, and some even for the entire day! 

2009 - Instead of a lot of pineapple and a little petrol, like its younger cousins, this wine smelled like vasoline with a hint of tropical fruit in it!  Erin accurately described the flavour of gruyere cheese.  On the lengthy finish, the pineapple flavour more fully unfolds.

2008 - Compared to the earlier three, this vintage had less petrol and less fruit.  The gruyere was still evident throughout the palate, but strongest on the finish.  The smell of  mold or dirt, 'wet stone' according to our host, was prevalent.  This was the driest of the four.

Depending on how you like your rieslings, any of these four could score a 90.  (I'm at 91 for the 2010.)  Surprisingly, it seems like all four are still available for purchase, but you'll need to specially order the three library vintages.  In my opinion  it was a big business mistake to not have all 4 available for purchase during the weekend.  To be fair, they did offer to ship the 2010 to me free of charge, but I had noticed the staff were pretty slow at the checkout, and I didn't want to take the time to place an order when we were on a schedule and this was only the first stop of the day. 

To their credit, since Wes doesn't like white wine, they allowed him to taste some reds instead, and he bought a bottle of their 2010 Red (blend).  No other bottles were purchased.  At the end of the day, though, various people mentioned regretting this, admitting they had been hesitant to begin buying with four more wineries left.

Peller Icewine

It seems I'm getting more particular with icewine.  The last 3 bottles I opened, all bought during last January's icewine festival, didn't quite live up to my memories of them.  Since I'm pretty sure that 6 months isn't sufficient time for icewine to turn, I think my expectations, specifically about an icewine's complexity and structure, are increasing.  Since I was going to be at Peller Estates anyway for The Art of Wine & Food, and since I knew that its 2010 vintages were already winning awards, I tasted all 4 icewines in its current lineup to effectively reset my palate.

Two of these really stood out compared to their respective competition, primarily because, despite their high sugar content, they still resembled the grapes from which they were made.  This is typical for vidal icewines, as their regular harvest counterparts predominantly feature sweet, fruity flavours which intensify as the sugar concentrates while the grapes freeze.  However, there are lots of yummy flavours in a riesling or in a cabernet franc that somehow get lost in icewine production.  Riesling grapes turn into some sort of lemon syrup and cab franc grapes become strawberry sundae topping, and the more distinguishing features of the grapes get lost.

Not true for Peller's 2007 Riesling Icewine, now my standard for the category and earning a preliminary rating of 92-94 using my new wine rating rubric. Don't just trust me though; it also won gold medals in 7 different countries, plus a few silvers elsewhere.  My first impression of the scent was, "It smells like riesling!"  Yes, it has lots of aromas and flavours - lemon, apricot, nectarine and maybe pear - but it's all held together by a background of petrol and minerality that riesling lovers expect.  I'm looking forward to sharing this one sooner rather than later, and will watch out for future vintages. 

Similarly, Peller's 2010 Cabernet Franc Icewine has also started winning awards, despite a relatively recent release date.  Still enthralled with the riesling I'd just tasted, my first words about this one were "It smells like cab franc, [pause to drink] and it tastes like cab franc too!"  So in addition to the usual strawberry and rhubarb characteristics, and even the less-common spiciness, an elegant aroma and flavour of leather adds a complexity that offsets the strawberry, making the whole concoction altogether less like syrup and more like wine.  Like its riesling counterpart, this wine also had a long lingering finish, and will likely also score a 92 or higher.

Wine & Herb day 4 (Sauvignon Blanc)

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.

Emily's 30th Birthday

After spending the weekend in a Niagara-on-the-Lake cottage, my contribution to the festivities was to plan a wine route on the way back to Hamilton for myself and three other girls.  Our first stop was Reif Estate Winery, where tours are offered daily at 11:30 am and 1:30 pm for $5 per person.  The guided tour lasted about 30 minutes, taking us through Reif's sensory garden, antique barrel storage, vineyards, production facilities and bottling line.  In hindsight, leading such a tour for a group including a chemist and an engineer seems like a daunting task, but our guide, Jenn, did a fantastic job; by the end it basically felt like she was part of our group!  The tour ended in a private tasting room for the four of us where we sampled the following three wines.

Riesling - The 2009 Riesling, a 1 on the sugar scale (which I think translates to an 'M' for medium under Ontario's new sugar code system,) smells very green; think fresh cut grass, tomato stems or a rainy forest.  It's predominant flavour is lemon and its mild flavour fades away quickly and cleanly.  Although I didn't dislike it, it didn't stack up to the other two rieslings we had this weekend: a 2009 Angels Gate Susreserve and, my favourite, the 2009 Tawse Echos.

Cabernet-Merlot - In this 2009 blend, the cabernet franc really comes through on the nose with strawberry and leather.  Unfortunately, the strawberry was too prominent on the palate, tasting almost candied.  This is not a wine I would purchase and I think the girls agreed with me.

Vidal Icewine - The colour, the scent and the flavours of the 2009 Vidal Icewine were as close to perfect as they might be while still maintaining a unique expression of the winemaker.  I am so confident about this one that I plan on serving it to the folks over at Zippy Sauce the next time we visit.  On the server's advice, we swirled this wine quite vigorously, then swooshed it in our mouths like mouthwash.  Although it looked and felt ridiculous, it allowed us to experience all of the flavours - peach, apricot, honey, vanilla, caramel, mango - simultaneously and with a giggly smile!  At $47.05 per 375ml, this one's a "strong buy" in stock market terms, and we were able to use our tour tickets to get a $5 discount in the boutique.                

2 cab franc icewines (Day 2 finale)

Stops 1 and 3 for Carrie and I were Southbrook Vineyards and Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery, each of which were serving cab franc icewines.  In hindsight, this is not even a fair comparison.  Simply put, there is a reason why Jackson-Triggs has won dessert-wine medals for its cab franc icewines at the Canadian Wine Awards in each of the last two years and why Southbrook has not. 

 The colour of Southbrook's 2006 Cabernet Franc icewine was on the rusty side of normal, possibly showing its age.  The server told us to expect Christmas spices such as nutmeg to then give way to hints of caramel and vanilla.  Although that was technically correct, there was a pervasive burnt flavour that ruined this wine for us.  Sometimes I enjoy tart dessert wines, but those usually have a refreshing tang to them, not a stale aftertaste of burnt Christmas cookies!  Southbrook offered us a choice of truffles: dark chocolate icewine or caramel filled milk chocolate.  Carrie chose the former and I the latter.  She felt the dark chocolate overpowered the wine, which makes sense because dark chocolate usually helps break though the syrupy sweetness of cab franc icewine but since that wasn't the dominant sensation of this wine, it didn't benefit from the match.  I, on the other hand, found that the caramel in my truffle helped this wine out quite a bit.  On a side note, I asked the server if at 6 years old this bottle wasn't reaching the end of its life and was quite surprised when she told me that it could age for 20 plus years.  I'm assuming she's confusing cab icewine with regular cabs since a quick review of the websites of Henry of Pelham, Inniskillin, and Jackson-Triggs reveals a maximum suggested cellaring of anywhere from 4 to 10 years.  To be fair, though, Southbrook admits that icewine is not its specialty, and the visit was enjoyable enough overall to warrant a return during a different festival showcase.

A few blocks down the road we found a much better example in the Jackson-Triggs 2007 Proprietor's Grand Reserve.  With juicy strawberry on the nose, flavours of cherry and raspberry throughout, and a consistent body and structure, this is the bottle you should use to explain what cab franc icewine is supposed to taste like.  I do question the decision to serve a caramel and pecan topped milk chocolate square though.  Although the caramel and pecan worked nicely, the milk chocolate was the same level of sweetness as the wine so the two effectively had to fight for attention.  Incidentally, the LCBO sells the 200 ml bottle for $24.95 and the 375 ml bottle for $74.95, although you could purchase the 375 ml at the winery during the festival for $44.95.  By comparison, Southbrook charges$26.95 for 200 ml or $49.95 for 375 ml.  Don't bother doing the math; just try the Jackson-Triggs.

2012 Niagara Icewine Festival (2 of 6)

Stop 2 - Inniskillin Wines

Let's face it; it really doesn't matter what I think about Inniskillin's icewine.  It has won enough awards to generally be considered the best in Ontario, so my humble opinion is largely inconsequential for what could be one of the best dessert wines in the world.  (Actually, in 1991, its vidal was declared just that.)  What I can do, though, is to tell you just how thoroughly enjoyable our visit to the winery was.  The tasting, pictured here, consisted of the 2008 vidal icewine (served in the appropriate Riedel glasses) with an apple tart.  The server told us to expect flavours of mango, apricot and lychee throughout.  I'm not sure I could identify what lychee tastes or smells like, but Chris says he found it on the nose.  The taste was clean and fruity, held together by a light buttery flavour.  Perhaps the fact that I wouldn't have thought of pairing such a sweet wine with such a tart dessert just shows my lack of experience, but I was amazed at just how well the tart's buttery crust, icewine marinated spy apples and vanilla infused whipped cream complimented all of the wine's flavours.  If I had realized the wine hadn't been released at the LCBO yet, I would have definately purchased a bottle or two!