Field Blend - a unique approach to winemaking

I've been learning about Field Blends, a style of wine that's rare and unusual, and can make wonderful products.

In a Field Blend, grapes of different varietals are grown together in a single vineyard, then harvested and pressed in the same vat. This approach is distinct from most blends, where the varietals are vinified separately and blended according to the whim and expertise of the winemaker.

While field blends can be occasionally found in California and elsewhere, they are a specialty of one wine region - the vineyards within the city limits of Vienna, Austria. Vienna itself is unusual because it has over 600 hectares planted to the vine, the most within any urban centre in the world. The Nussberg hill is famous for the quality of its wines.

The Viennese (and their Roman and Celtic predecessors) have been making wine for over two and a half centuries. Wine is an important part of the culture and economy of the city, which is abundant with wine bars and "Heurigers", the buffet/banquets offered by city wineries (though limited by a peculiar law that permits each Heuriger to open only two weeks each month).In Vienna, field blends are called Gemischter Satz, and may be made from as few as two to as many as twenty varietals. They are often based on Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Chardonnay, the most common grapes in the area.

My interest in Gemischter Satz comes from my meeting with Austrian winemaker Alexander Skoff from Zehal Wine in Vienna. His 2008 Gemischter Satz Nussberg is a perfect summer sipper - light and fruity, with a crisp finish that won't quit. It's made from Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, harvested from 25 year old vines that grow on the Nussberg hillside next to the Danube River. Doesn't that sound lovely?

And it is. I've ordered two cases for ZenKitchen, along with some gorgeous Grüner Veltliner, and hope to have it on the list by the time the patio opens.

I can hardly wait.

How much Shochu?

After a lot of searching, I've found a Canadian importer of a variety of Shochus, as well as sake. That's the good news.

Shochu, for the all-too-many uninitiated, is a Japanese spirit. It's similar to vodka, but with more flavour. Each region of Japan (and Korea, where it's called Sochu) make their own version, using different starch sources as their base.

For instance, in Kumamoto, they use rice. Barley is used in Nagasaki, and potato in Kagoshima and Kyushu. Other starches include sweet rice, sweet potato, and buckwheat.

Some shochu, like Awamori, is exposed to a mould called Koji. This changes the flavour of the spirit, much like botrytis affects grapes and the wine that's made from them.

The problem - and it's a big one - is that the importer will only ship me cases of 12. That's a lot of shochu, especially when I want to carry a variety of them - maybe even offer shochu pairings or flights. And, no, no split cases.

One answer is to try to promote shochu locally - perhaps a tasting with wine and food writers, or the Sommelier Guild. Another is to build some shochu cocktails, to increase the consumption and knowledge of the product.

I'm open to ideas.

Niagara-on-the-Lake

What could be nicer than driving around Niagara on the Lake tasting wine? It really is a lovely area, and many of the wineries are close together.

I was particularly happy to visit Frogpond Farm, Ontario's first certified organic winery. I've been buying from them for 3 years now, but hadn't been down to meet owners Jens and Heike. It was a pleasure to see them.

The other highlight for me was to visit Southbrook Winery, Ontario's only Demeter-certified biodynamic winery. Elena Galey-Pride, Director of Customer Experience, joined me for an incredible tasting that included some 10 year old Chardonnay (stunning!) and a few wines only available to restaurants.

Here are my top picks from the wineries I visited:

Southbrook
09 Fresh White
The big shock here - it's 100% Vidal. Fresh is the right word - fruit forward, with lemon and vanilla.

07 Triomphe Chardonnay
Honey, lychee, light citrus. The palate shows restrained oak with a nice acidity. Really yum.

05 Triomphe Cabernet Merlot
This is restricted to licensee only - no LCBO or even winery sales.
ripe dark cherries, smoke and smooth tannins with a coffee finish. One of the best full-bodied Ontario reds I've tasted.

Palatine Hills
I didn't love anything, but liked a couple:

08 Fume Blanc - well balanced vegetal and acidity

07 Cab Merlot - avbl only in 1.5 litres. Good balance, but not outstanding flavour

07 Merlot - soft tannins, rich plum and raisin notes. Low acidity. My favourite Palatine product.

Stonechurch
07 Pinot Noir Reserve
Big tannins, lots of dark fruit. Reminds me of the Chilensis.

07 "Quintet" - Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc, other stuff. Black pepper and big tannins, with a lot of spice on the finish.

Strewn
07 Chardonnay
Butter and sweet apples, minerality. Toast on the palate is offset by the acidity. Very, very nice.
07 Cab Sauv
Candied red fruit, smoke and leather. Full tannins and good acidity, if a bit light on fruit on the palate. At $12 a bottle, though...

Also, watch for the 07 Sauvignon Blanc, not yet in the bottle.

Stratus
Lots of lovely wine, but it`s all very pricey.

07 Gamay (includes 15% Cab Sauv)
Rich red fruit and leather. Subtle and complex.

Frogpond Farm
08 Cabernet Merlot
Delicate, gentle tannins, red fruit and good acidity.

08 Vidal
Tart, bright fruity, spicy finish. Not as good as Southbrook's, but it`s only $12.

Lailey
07 Gamay-Zweigelt
A pretty colour with ripe fruit and tobacco on the nose. In the mouth, fresh red fruit, medium tannins and a nice acidity. Serve chilled.

07 Cab Franc
Chewy tannins and ripe fruit and smoke to the long finish.

Inniskillin
07 Shiraz-Cab
Lots of red fruit, cigar box. Big, rounded tannins. For the Australian Shiraz lovers.

Niagara Escarpment

I just got back from 2 days in Niagara. I visted 14 wineries and tasted over 100 wines. I won't post notes on all of them, but here are the ones I loved.

I hope to see many of them appear on the ZenKitchen wine list soon!

13th Street
08 Funk Riesling
Despite the unfortunate name, this is crisp with lots of dry lime flavour - really austere.

07 Gamay Noir
Candied fruit, strong smooth tannins and low acidity - nice for the patio.

08 Rose
Cab Franc and Cab Sauv blend, it's off-dry with a lot of dried fruit flavour.

13 Bellow
Basically a late harvest riesling, it's honey-scented with good acidity.

Cave Spring
Lots of nice wine, but most of it is LCBO general list. The exception:

07 Riesling CSV ($30)
Classic Riesling nose of petrol and lime
Dry, but with a hint of residual sugar
Long lime finish. Stunning, and worth every cent.

Vineland Estates
A lot of excellent product here, too.

07 Sauvignon Blanc
Real NZ style - canned peas, citrus. Beautiful.

08 Pinot Grigio
Will be released in a few weeks.
Grigio with flavour! Melon, minerals, crisp finish. Loved it. Loved. It.

08 Chenin Blanc
Lots of fruit, honeysuckle, crisp finish.
I think this is the Chenin we've been looking for.

Malivoire
08 Old Vines Foch
Tannic, with dark fruit and well-balanced acidity. I like Sandbanks' better, though.

09 Ladybug Rose
Currently at Vintages
Dry, good acidity, lots of fruit. Cheap, too.

Gewurztraminer Icewine
Gorgeous honey and floral flavours with a light acidity to balance.
On sale, but still expensive.

Right, I'm back.

OK, I know this blog has been dormant for a long time. I got kind of busy: opened a restaurant, changed jobs, did a TV series. I continued to taste wine, though, and it's time to restart the blog.

Sorry it took so long.

Wine quote of the week

Wine is bottled poetry.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Flatrock Cellars

Just a few minutes drive from Cave Spring, the winery and tasting room for Flatrock Cellars rises above the vineyards just on the edge of a hill.

That hill is important, as it separates the upper vineyard, which has limestone soil and good drainage, from the lower sandy, loam-ier soil below. The temperatures in the two tend to vary a bit, as well, with frosts affecting one more than the other, depending on conditions.

Flatrock boasts an enormous gravity-feed winery surrounded by walkways for visitors to see the process. And the tasting room has windows on all sides, with a spectacular view of the vineyards.

All these things - and the important fact that Flatrock makes some renowned Rieslings - makes this a popular destination for wine tourists. I arrived to find the tasting room full, a couple of vans having got there before me. I was lucky, though - they were mostly heading off on a tour, which I happily skipped so that I could focus on the products.

Luckier still, a Greyhound bus arrived in the parking lot - just as I left.

Flatrock Cellars Nadja's Riesling 2007
Nadja's vineyard is at the top of the hill - drier, limestone soil. It produces fruit with more acidity and more flavour.

This is pale yellow, with a nice nose of minerals, petrol and secondary apple characteristics.
Green apple dominates the flavours, though, with grapefruit for a tart, fruity and mouthwatering mouthfeel. This is extra dry and light bodied, and has a long Granny Smith apple finish.
The balance is good, if slightly high in acidity given the flavours.
It should be fine to cellar 3-5 years. I bought two bottles.

Flatrock Cellars Estate Riesling 2007
From the lower, sandier vineyard, this has a pale, watery yellow colour. It has steely grapefruit, vanilla and cinnamon notes and offers a good complexity. But it's sweet for my taste - typical of the lower vineyard products, I was told. With only medium acidity, it's off-dry. The balance is good if you like off-dry Rieslings, and it would go nicely with Thai curries or other hot-sweet-creamy foods. The flavours of fruit, peaches and pears are interesting - almost more Gewurztraminer than Riesling. I think it has limited ageability, because the limited acidity will decrease further.

Flatrock Cellars Unplugged Chardonnay 2007
Stainless steel fermented, this unoaked Chard surprised me with some vanilla and toasty notes. Confusing. It has a lovely medium straw colour and peach, pear, honey and mineral notes on the nose. But I found only apple, vanilla and toast on the palette, and a great deal of harsh acidity. Not well balanced, it might improve with age.

Flatrock Cellars Gravity Pinot Noir 2006
Very light, clear cherry colour, this has sweet stewed fruit, smoke and cherry scents. The flavours of of cherries, leather and toast. It's extremely light bodied with mouthwatering acidity. The balance is good, though the flavours are very light. I don't expect it to improve with age.

Interestingly, the tasting room manager told me that the 2006 was a poor year for their Pinots, but that the 2007 product, which has just been bottled and is waiting for release in the next few weeks, is expected to be excellent.

Flatrock Cellars Red Twisted 2006
Flatrock's "Twisted" series denotes their blends. In this case, the winery won't reveal the blend. Here's what they have to say about the wine:
"The components of this wine were vinified and aged separately in 10% new French oak barrels and the rest older,then blended to create a wine with a serious twist. The wine then underwent further bottle maturation for 9 months prior to its release in May 2008."

I was a bit disappointed. Like the Pinot, this had a very light cherry colour and a nose of leather, and mild cherries. It has medium acidity, low tannins and plum flavours. The balance - little flavour and little acidity - wasn't great.

Cave Spring Cellars

The Village of Jordan is a quiet little grouping of houses along a winding country road. It's a bit of a surprise, then, when you suddenly enter the commercial district that's grown up around the Cave Springs winery - shops, restaurants, and a large parking lot, all developed to serve visitors to one of Niagara's premier wine areas.

In fact, attached to the same building as Cave Spring is one of the best Niagara hotels: Inn on the Twenty. It's renowned for well-presented rooms and a superb restaurant and wine list.

I arrived at the winery's tasting room (built over top the winery itself) just as the doors opened at 10:00 a.m. That's my favourite time to taste - my palette is fresh and awake, and I don't have to compete with wine tour buses or limos, especially right now while the Niagara Wine Festival is on.

Cave Spring's tasting room is large, with a long bar and displays of bottles, clothing, books and wine-related merchandise. A full complement of staff are available to serve tasters.

While I was there mainly to try the Cabernet Franc that my class had sampled, I certainly wasn't about to miss the opportunity to try other products. Here goes:

Cave Spring Riesling Estate 2006
This wine is made from fruit from one of the oldest vineyards in Canada, 135 acres near Beamsville. I was told that the vineyard is heavily thinned each year, with 30-35% of the clusters dropped.

A very pale, almost watery yellow in colour, this has good green apple, herbaceous and very light fruit notes. In the mouth it's very tart, and light-bodied, with some mild apple flavour. Extra-dry, it has a long, tart apple finish. The fruit could be stronger given the acidity. I believe it's ready to drink now and won't improve with age.

Cave Spring Sauvignon Blanc Estate 2006
20% of the juice is fermented in oak, the remainder in stainless steel. Like the Riesling, it has a very pale yellow colour, with a nose of vegetal, green apple and grapefruit notes. It's very light bodied, with a minerally, green apple flavour and is XD. The fruit, alcohol and acid balance nicely. With a medium-length tart finish, this should be good to age 2-3 years.

Cave Spring Chardonnay Musqué Estate 2007
Musqué is a variant of the Chardonnay grape that's been officially recognized in French classifications. Known for its intense floral bouquet, it's being grown by a few vineyards in Niagara, include Malivoire and Cave Springs. This Chard is made in stainless steel and no malolactic process is used.
A pale, watery yellow, it has steely, light apple notes with dried pineapple secondary aromas. It's medium bodied, with a medium acidity and smooth mouthfeel. Tasting of peaches, pears and green apples, it has a long fruit finish. The balance is excellent, and one would expect it to age well for 5-7 years. However, Musqué is known to lose its fruit-flavours over time, so this may be best opened soon.

Cave Spring Cabernet Franc 2006
This vintage ripened late, and was allowed to hang until November. It had a Brix of 24.4 when it was picked. It was aged in older oak barrels, and is 14.4 % alcohol by volume.
This has a deep cherry colour with brick hues. It smells of candied cherries, alcohol cigar box and black pepper.
In the mouth, it was lightly tart, with lots of round tannins. Flavour of chocolate, coffee and tobacco finish with cherries and tannins. The balance is very good, the soft tannins and fruit forward flavours working well together. It should age well, too, 5 plus years. I bought two bottles to take home.

Cave Spring Cabernet Merlot 2002
The tasting manager surprised me with this one, which wasn't on the menu. Blended from $0% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, with ha an opaque cherry colour. Rich coffee and cherries on the nose, with a hint of black pepper. The well rounded tannins and medium acidity lead to a sour cherry flavour and full body. The finish is long, cherries and high tannins. It has an OK balance, with the tannins overpowering the flavours to some extent. It could age up to 2 more years.

Some wines for class

Here are my notes on some wines my New World Wines class has tasted:

Henry of Pelham Riesling 2006
Pale yellow with a straw hue.
Nose of petrol, green apple, herbaceous and very light tropical fruit.
Light bodied, high acid - extra dry. A very sour mouthfeel, and a mild green apple flavour.
A long tart finish.
Not very balanced, due to too much acidity and too little fruit.
Ageability: drink now.

Lailey Sauvingon Blanc 2006
Light yellow with a green hue.
Nose of green pepper, and a hint of green apple.
Flavours of bitter apple. The mouthfeel is sour and bitter, too. It's light bodied, extra dry, with a long tart finish and little flavour.
Poor balance - not enough flavour given the acidity.
Ageability: none.

Penninsula Ridge estates Winery, A.J. Lepp Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Light straw colour.
Nose of sweet summer fruit (peaches), green apple.
Dry and light bodied.
Flavours of peaches, apples, pineapple.
a short to medium dry finish.
Nicely balanced fruit vs acidity.
Ageability of 3-5 years.

Back to school

As the next step toward my Sommelier Certificate at Algonquin College, I've started taking the New World Wine course with instructor Denise Dompierre. That's the good part.

The bad part is that I'm not, in fact, in Ottawa to take the course. I managed to get home to take the first class, but I'll miss the next four. In fact, the next one I attend will be the mid-term exam.

That's not great. I discussed this with Denise and she said that she'd post the notes, including the wines that the class is tasting, to Blackboard, Algonquin's online resource for students and instructors to share materials.

I missed last week's class, on Ontario wines, and downloaded the info the next day. The class had tasted six Ontario wines, and it was my mission to secure bottles for my own private tasting.

The nearest LCBO carried two of them, and found a third at another nearby store. The rest are simply unavailable.

But there was another solution. Cave Springs, which produces the Cabernet Franc on Denise' list, is actually not far from where I am. Even better, it's only a few minutes from Flat Rock Cellars, a winery I had already planned on visiting this weekend. So I made an early Sunday morning run to the Jordan area of the Beamsville Bench to take in two wineries - one specifically so I could taste a wine on my list.

I'm still two tastings short, and I'm afraid I'll just have to live with that. Hopefully, next week's California wines will be easier to buy and I won't be forced to fly to Napa for a tasting...

By the way, Denise wants us to do very technical notes on our tastings, including notes on balance and ageability - two areas that I'm only beginning to learn. So I'll reproduce those here, just so you get to read the kind of stuff we learn in wine school.

Cheers,
Dave

Wine quote of the week

If a life of wine, women and song becomes too much,
give up the singing.
Anonymous

The Billionaire's Vinegar

I just finished Benjamin Wallace's recounting of the sale of a 1787 Chateau Lafite, which bore the initials of Thomas Jefferson.

The record-making sale ($156,000 USD) and subsequent investigations into the bottle's authenticity are just jumping-off points for Wallace, however. He uses the opportunity to bring us into the world of rare old-world wines, their buyers, sellers, tasters and critics.

Meticulously well-researched - Wallace was apparently given access to the private papers of almost everyone involved, not to mention a wealth of interviews with people who would have been better off hiding their involvement in shame - almost no-one in the rare wine business is spared.

Wallace's writing is excellent, and he tells the tale by following the story of each of its players. I often laughed out loud with his descriptions, and was shocked at some of the antics of the world's wealthiest and best known wine personalities.

I was particularly surprised at just how involved some top wine writers are in critiquing and promoting wines with questionable provenance - people who write the text books I'm using in my studies, for whom I've had the highest regard. Clearly, there is an all too cosy relationship between dealers and writers.

Therefore, let me make this clear: any dealers, winemakers, or auctioneers who think that they may buy my favourable reportage with a weekend of tasting 150-200 year old wines should immediately contact me at the address listed on my profile page. Looking forward to it!

Green Wine

The City of Hamilton has a downtown shopping district called Jamesville. It has a variety of small, independent stores but the main feature is that this is the heart of Hamilton's Little Portugal, with markets and restaurants in abundance. I stopped in to the Wild Orchid restaurant for dinner, an establishment that has received the "Best Portuguese Restaurant" award for a number of years in a row.

The wine list's "by the glass" offerings are limited to one red and one white, both from Peller Estates. But what interested me was the availability of something I haven't tried before: Portuguese green wine.

The glass I ordered came full to the brim (making swirling impossible) and ice cold. It was difficult to discern any scent, so I was forced to start drinking. The colour is really a pale yellow with a green hue, reminding me of early sour apples. And that's how it tastes, too: sour apples and minerals, with a dry, short tart finish. As I reach the bottom of the glass, I was able to get some nose from it: green apple, minerals, vegetal and especially asparagus. The wine is slightly spritzy, too, which gave it a pleasant, light mouthfeel. Lovely!

For the record, the wine I tried is made by Aveleda in the Fonte DOC region.

Thirty Bench Winery

I had read about Thirty Bench Winery's award-winning Rieslings in Vines Magazine recently. Vines, whose senior editor is Master of Wine John Szabo, considers the Thirty Bench Riesling 2006 one of the top wines released this year.

Located outside of Beamsville, along the Beamsville Bench stretch of the Niagara Escarpment, Thirty Bench has soil of clay loam, which slopes gently up towards the Escarpment. This slope gives the vineyards excellent drainage - it rained hard when I arrived, a few weeks before harvest, but nobody was concerned. Along with the draining soil, the even climate tempered by nearby Lake Ontario helps make for predictable harvests.

Thirty Bench has a lovely new tasting room, with separate bars for each taster and their guide. Surrounding windows look out onto each vineyard, which are divided into small lots, each named for a geographic feature and all of them growing 25 year old vines.

As a result, you see three different Rieslings, each from a different vineyard, plus a fourth, blended from all the others. And what a difference! Despite being only a few feet apart, each lot produces wines unique in its own way. Of them all, I liked the blend best - it manages to incorporate the best features of each growth.

I happened to visit on the day that Thirty Bench was releasing two wines: a Merlot 2007 and a Cabernet Franc 2007. Thirty Bench is a small producer, so they routinely sell out of their products, often before they are released. None of their wines is carried by the LCBO.

The tasting rep I met with was unable to tell me about the fining process of the wines, so I don't know whether they are vegan. I intend to contact winemaker Natalie Reynolds and ask her, so I hope for an answer in the future.

Thirty Bench Winemaker's Riesling 2007
This has a delicious, complex nose, with notes of steel and lemon followed by some vegetal notes. On the palate, the grapefruit is tempered with medium acidity.

Thirty Bench Small Lot "Triangle Vineyard" Riesling 2007
With a light golden hue, this smells like hay and limes - very surprising! It's extremely tart, with a long lemon-lime finish.

Thirty Bench Small Lot "Steel Post Vineyard" Riesling 2007
This is a nice, Alsatian-style Riesling with notes of lemon, petrol and steel, especially on the finish.

Thirty Bench Small Lot "Wood Post Vineyard"
I had difficulty finding the nose on this (it was served very cold), but eventually found minerals, petrol and st aw. It has a high acidity and a long steel finish.

Thirty Bench Small Lot Pinot Gris 2007
With warm sweet melon, spice, honey and cinnamon, I expected this to be off-dry. But it's not, and the rich melon and dry pear flavours, and full body contribute to a lovely experience. I bought some bottles of this one.

Thirty Bench Small Lot Gewurztraminer 2007
Aged in American oak for 12 months, this has a classic Gewurz nose of big floral and fruit notes. But the palate is something else: honeydew melon, with medium acidity and a dry mouthfeel.

Thirty Bench Winemaker's Red 2006
Blended from 40% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc, the winemaker suggests this be cellared a couple of more years, but drank by 2012. It's very interesting, with a strong Merlot nose (plums, raisins, figs, and a secondary note of chocolate) but a Cabernet Franc palate of coffee, chocolate and dark forest berries.

Thirty Bench Small Lot Merlot 2006
Just released, this had 18 months in French oak. It has a lot of texture, but the rough tannins and high acidity point to the need to be cellared for another 3-5 years before drinking. The plum and raisin notes are highlighted with a touch of cedar, and it's mouthwateringly tart, with rough, chewy tannins.

Thirty Bench Small Lot Cabernet Franc 2006
Similarly, this needs to be cellared before drinking. It has a nice cigar-box, dark fruit and coffee-chocolate nose, but is quite sour before you get to the chocolate-espresso bean finish.

Going, going...

I'm going to be away from home on a special work project over the next few weeks, so my ability to blog will be a bit restricted. However, I intend to continue recording my occasional tastings, and I'm hoping to make a few visits to some of the wineries in the Beamsville area. I'll definitely post about those!

So please forgive me if my updates are less regular. I'll be back about the middle of October, and will work hard to catch up on my drinking.

Cheers,
Dave

Bonny Doon Vineyard Albariño Ca' del Solo 2003

Bonny Doon, the famous winery established by groundbreaking California winemaker Randall Grahm, is focusing on biodynamically grown grapes and lesser-known varietals. This Albarino, from the Monterey area, proves that the approach is working.

We ordered this while having a fabulous dinner at the Wellington Gastropub last night. It's light-bodied and refreshingly tart, with steely lemon-lime notes and a long acidic finish. Everybody loved it, and it paired easily with the vegetarian and fish dishes around the table.

Sensi Winery Mantello 2003, Tuscany

The 1970s and 80s were tough times for the Italian wine industry. Characterized by cheap Chiani in wicker baskets, Italian wines faced tough competition from the New World as Australia, Chile and California presented popular alternatives.

Some Italian winemakers decided to challenge the traditional methods and introduce new grapes and new blends. Thus, the "Super Tuscans" were born.

Sensi's Mantello is a great example. Blended from 70% Sangiovese and 30% Syrah, this is a full-bodied, deep red wine with complex black cherry, vanilla, cassis and tobacco flavours. It has a medium acidity and full, soft tannins. It went perfectly with the fresh agnoletti and tomato fresco sauce that Caroline made for dinner tonight.

Bringing it home

During our trip to California, I bought bottles at many of the wineries we visited. One here, two there, it added up to a fair number (less the ones we drank, of course). At the end of the trip, we had 10 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of Gewurz juice.

How to bring them back to Canada?

Luckily, I had read an article on the National Capital Sommelier site called "Bringing it back". While slightly out of date, it has a lot of good info, including how to pack wines for the flight.

While we were visiting Navarro Vineyards, Caroline noticed that they shipped a lot of wine via their wine-club. She asked whether they sold shipping packs. Yes, was the answer, for $10 for a 12-pack. But they also had some used ones in excellent condition, and offered to give us one.

Great! A shipping pack is a two-piece styrofoam cube with wine bottle-shaped holes. It fits tightly inside a cardboard carton, which can be sealed and labelled for shipping. Filled with bottles, it weighs about 40 lbs. Here's a pic:

We counted it as one of our two "checked" pieces of luggage. The airline rep asked about the contents, and when I said "wine", made me sign a waiver indemnifying the airline in case of breakage. There's service for you! But, to be fair, they labelled it "fragile" and put it on the "oversized and fragile" conveyer belt.

The new Canadian customs form no longer asks how much alcohol (or tobacco) you're bringing in - there's just a checkbox if you're exceeding the pre-duty "exempted" amount - 2 bottles each, in our case. I checked yes, I'm over that amount.

Customs inquired about our trip, including food that we were bringing back ("Sea vegetables? You mean seaweed?") but didn't inquire about the alcohol. I picked up my box and left.

This is my typical experience with Customs. The important thing is to CLAIM what you're bringing in and expect to pay duty on it. Sometimes you get lucky and don't have to, sometimes you pay your obliged amount.

And the bottles? Nothing broken and everything is on the rack ready for my corkscrew.

Cheers,

Dave

Inniskillin Pinot Noir 2006

A good, refreshing Pinot, it's light bodied with rich flavours of sweet and sour cherries, a lot of smooth tannins and medium acidity.

One Stop Tasting

Just down the road from Schug, there's a complex put together buy the "Carneros Family Wineries". It has a café, some shops, and four tasting rooms representing a large number of very small wineries, mostly from Sonoma and Napa. While you don't get to see the wineries, it's an excellent opportunity to taste wines from many producers at one stop.

Artesa Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2005
Held for 14 months in oak, it has asparagus, vanilla and toast notes, which dominate the flavours, too. It's very smooth, but lacks the tart crispness that I prefer in the varietal.

Artesa Chardonnay 2007
Aged 8 months in oak, it has complex aromas of green apple, pear and minerals. The flavours are of apples and peaches, and the toasty oak is subtle on the finish. LCBO has just started carrying the 2005 vintage.

Artesa Pinot Noir 2006
Also aged 8 months in oak, it has aromas and flavours of sweet cherries, smoke, and a chocolatey finish.

Artesa "Ridgeline" label Merlot 2004
Artesa's Ridgeline wines come from the Alexander Valley. Aromas of plums and raisins and alcohol (14.8%!), the alcohol dominates the flavours, which also include cherries and plums. Soft tannins and a long finish.

Artesa Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Ripe dark fruit and coffee aromas come through on the tongue, with a dark coffee finish.

Larson Family Winery Gewurztraminer 2006
Good floral, peach and pear aromas, but the dry mouthfeel is a bit sour.

Larson Family Winery Pinot Noir Rosé 2005
Here's an unusual wine, Pinot turned rosé by taking it off the skins early. The tasting room rep swore that it was the only one we'd come across - certainly, we didn't see any others.
The aromas oforange, candy and sweet cherries were interesting, and came through in the mouth, too. Light bodied, naturally, it's just semi-dry with 1.5% residual sugar. It would work as a light summer dessert wine, paired with a fruit dish or light pastry.

Larson Family Winery Pinot Noir 2005
Red cherries and smoke, it's oaked with light tannins and a toasty finish.

Larson Family Winery Zinfandel 2005
Lots of dark fruit and leather, and the tannins are soft and well-rounded. It has a short tannic finish.

Larson Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
The Larson product I liked best, it has rich red berries and cigar box on the nose, and tastes of dark fruit, cedar and a chocolate finish.

Carica "Kick Ranch" Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Light asparagus and citrus notes, with some residual sugar in the mouth. Flavours of pineapple, and it still manages a mouthwatering finish.

Harrington "Wild Horse" Pinot Noir 2006
From Napa fruit, this has sweet cherry and leather notes, and tastes of sweet and sour cherries mixed, with medium tannins and leather on the finish.

Schug Carneros Estate

The Carneros Valley, which shoots off of Sonoma at an angle, is a beautiful, rugged terrain with a number of tiny wineries. Schug isn't tiny, and is located at the top of a steep ridge just off the highway. They distinguish their wines as "Sonoma Coast", which denotes little to no oak; and Carneros, meaning oaked.

The tasting room manager, David, told me that the white wines are vegan, the reds are not.

Schug Carneros Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2007
The complex nose of green pepper, asparagus and grapefruit is matched by the tart green apple mouthfeel, with more grapefruit on the finish. Yum.

Schug Carneros Estate Chardonnay 2006 Carneros
Peach and green apple aromas, and flavours of vanilla, butter, and summer fruit. It has a long toast finish.

Schug Carneros Estate Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2006
Just beautiful. Complex nose of sweet red fruit, black pepper, sweet spices and vanilla. The tastes are smoky, sour cherry and it has a long, medium tannic finish.

Schug Carneros Estate Pinot Noir Carneros 2006
Sweet cherry and alcohol aromas, with flavours of smoky cherry and light toast on the finish.

Schug Carneros Estate Merlot 2005
Blended with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, I liked this one a whole lot, too. The aromas are plummy, with some leather and red berries. And the tannins are smooth and well-rounded, with light cherry and plum, and a bit of raisin, flavours.

Schug Carneros Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Lots of ripe red fruit and cigar box aromas, it's slightly tart with some cigar box and sour cherry flavour. The high, smooth tannins are great.

Schug Carneros Estate Pinot Noir Carneros Heritage Reserve 2006
With light cherry and leather aromas, it has sour cherry and lots of tannins, with vanilla and toast on the finish.

In the Valley of the Moon

The Sonoma Valley has been home to a number of interesting historical figures: Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz; horticulturalist R Burbank, whose work at the turn of the century provided the foundation for farming and gardening throughout California; and author Jack London, who's book "Valley of the Moon" took its title from the English translation of the Aboriginal word "Sonoma".

Driving through Sonoma, the challenge is to decide which wineries to hit, which to miss. The wineries know that, and many have taken to offering entertainment beyond wine tasting: a castle, complete with torture chamber and moats; shops and cafés; and other products to complement the wines.

B.R. Cohn Estates
Here's what I mean. What brought us to B.R. Cohn? Besides the fact that the wines have a good reputation, we were hooked by the promise of an olive oil tasting room, too. Olive oil is the other gourmet product produced in Napa and Sonoma, and travelling with a chef, well, there's room for compromise in every relationship...

It just got better after we arrived. First, Caroline fell in love with Moose, the 10 year old lab-bulldog cross whose main job is to lie in the middle of the tasting room and have his belly rubbed.

Second, the history of the winery. Owner B.R. Cohn made his fortune as manager of the Doobie Brothers. While still young, in the early 70's, he bought some vineyards and sold fruit to other wineries. The property's vines had a great reputation, and Cohn eventually made the decision to start making his own wines. He converted the family house to offices and tasting room, hired a winemaker, and launched his label.

B.R. Cohn Woody White
A multi-vintage wine blended from Symphony and Chardonnay, it has a pineapple and green apple nose, but tastes of sweet apples and tropical fruit. It has a long fruity finish. It's very slightly off-dry.

B.R. Cohn Chardonnay 2007
With pear, apple and creamy vanilla aromas, it has a very light toasty finish and a crisp, mouthfeel.

B.R. Cohn "Silver Label" Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
A full-flavoured Cab, it has lots of dark cherry and black berry aromas, with tobacco and black pepper. Richly flavoured and full-bodied, it offers tastes of dark berries and a cigar box finish. I liked it, but found it almost too much Cab, and commented that I thought it would be even better used in a Bordeaux-style blend. The tasting room manager, Frank, brought out...

Doobie Red 2006
Produced mainly for an upcoming charity concert by the Doobie Brothers, it doesn't have a B.R. Cohn label. But it's great! Produced with the same Cab as above, it's blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc from the same vintage. Aromas of alcohol, plum, and ripe red cherries, it has complex black cherry and sour cherry flavours, along with tobacco and a coffee finish. I suggested that the winery re-brand it after the concert and offer it as a serious label.

B.R. Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2005
The "flagship wine", this has ripe cherry, blackberry and alcohol aromas. It has a rich blackberry and smoke flavour, with high tannins and a long, long finish.

B.R. Cohn Pinot Noir "Russian River Valley" 2005
Made from fruit grown on an estate-owned vineyard in Mendocino, it has a nice raspberry and sweet cherry nose, and a spicy cherry flavour with just a bit of toast on the finish.

Husch Estates

Just across the road from Roederer, Husch Estates is a pretty property where they produce about 40,000 cases of wine every year from 100% estate fruit. The tasting room is tiny but quaint, a former farm building converted to a new use. Husch is in the midst of building a new facility, with wheelchair-accessible washrooms.

Husch Estates Sauvignon Blanc 2007
A hint of green pepper and asparagus is matched with some slightly sweet citrus. The mouthfeel is crisp, with green apple and sweet spice.

Husch Estates Special Reserve Chardonnay 2006
The very definition of a California Chard: peach, vanilla and toast. It's dry, with a toasty fruit finish.

Husch Estates Gewurztraminer 2006
With good honey, peach and floral aromas, this is complex in the mouth: peach and pear, white pepper and honey. The finish, very floral, is just medium-length.

Husch Estates Pinot Noir 2006
Fermented for 10 months in new French oak, it has an alcohol, black cherry nose. The flavours are of slightly sour cherry and leather, with a short cherry finish.

Husch Estates "Knoll" Pinot Noir 2006

The Knoll is a small estate vineyard planted in 1968, and this wine is made exclusively from the fruit that grows there. 50% of the wine is fermented in new French oak.It has surprising black cherry and cola aromas, and the flavours of of big fruit, too. With a long, slightly tart cherry finish and good, rounded tannins, it's a lovely.

Husch Estates Cabernet Sauvignon "Reserve" 2004
Blackberries, leather and cigar box, the aromas are complex and perfect. But the taste is lightly tart, with full, well-rounded tannins and menthol on the finish.

Husch Estates Chenin Blanc 2007
A gentle dessert wine, it smells and tastes of sweet peaches, apples and honey.

Husch Estates Muscat Canelli 2007
Sweet ripe tropical fruit, especially pineapple, give this dessert wine a nice complexity.

Husch Estates Late Harvest Gewurztraminer 2007
With 12% residual sugar, it's very sweet, with good floral, pear and peach notes.

Roederer Estates

I haven't had the opportunity to tour a sparkling wine maker. The process is different from "flat" wines, and I want to see it all - the riddling, the dégorgement, all of the steps of the méthode traditional.

And I'm still waiting. My e-mail requests for a tour at Roederer - one of the world's top Champagne makers - went unanswered. Even if they had been, a tour would be unlikely. Roederer started harvesting this week (sparkling wine grapes are harvested earlier than flat wine grapes), and that ties up the whole team.

To be honest, I haven't developed a passion for sparkling wines, though I do like the dry, rich Crémants of Alsace. Nobody has offered me a free tasting of the expensive stuff, either, so my knowledge of Champagnes is limited to the under $50 products.

In general, I found the Roederer products disappointing. Blended from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, they lacked the aromas and flavours of the grapes.

Roederer Estates Brut MV (multi-vintage)
60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, this is an extra dry wine, with lots of citrus, green apple and steel notes.

Roederer Estates Brut MV Magnum
This is the same blend, but because of the larger size bottle it has to be aged in the bottle an extra year. Supposedly, this makes it creamier, though I couldn't detect the difference.

Roederer Estates Rosé MV
55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay, this fruity, dry wine is the one we liked the best.

Roederer Estates L'ermitage 2000
The tasting room rep kept calling this "the special one", based on its price, I think. Fermented sur lees for four and a half years, it has a nice mousse, and is dry and fruity, too. We still liked the Rosé better.

Roederer Estates Extra Dry MV
It's, um, dry and fruity.

Roederer also offers two flat wines:

Roederer Estates Chardonnay 2007
Steely, with peach and mineral notes, it has a light vanilla and toast quality and is off-dry.

Roederer Estates Pinot Noir 2005
More bitter than sour, this is very dry and lacking much fruit character.

Navarro Vineyards, Anderson Valley

Stretched along the Navarro River in western Mendocino County, the Anderson Valley has become one of the most exciting new appellations in California. Certainly, it contains beautiful vistas of steep rugged hills covered with pine and scrub. The Anderson is known for its Alsation-style wines but also for its Pinot Noirs.

And it offers two sparkling wine makers, too: top Champagne maker Roederer opened a winery here, as has Scharffenberger Cellars. More about Roederer later.

The wineries here are densely packed together - one after another, on both sides of Hwy 128. The only question is, which ones to try?

I had made an appointment at Navarro Vineyards, because they have both wines and juices on the menu at Millennium and Caroline had recommended them.

Navarro is one of the oldest wineries in the region, and offers both estate and non-estate wines. They have about 100 acres of vineyard, not nearly enough to supply their production.

According to Rose, the tasting room rep, Navarro uses egg whites in many of its wines; they aren't vegan.

Navarro also produces two varieties of juice, bottled just like wine. They include a Pinot Noir, which tastes a lot like regular grape juice, and a Gewurztraminer, which is absolutely beautiful. It has all of the floral and fruit character of the wine, but you can still drive afterward. We bought a couple of bottles to bring home.

Navarro Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Aromas of grapefruit, asparagus and minerals offer a lot of promise. It's very tart, with a clean finish and more of that grapefruit flavour.

Navarro Vineyards Pinot Gris 2006
Even more tart than the Sauv, this is steely with melon and green apple notes. It has a disappointing short finish.

Navarro Vineyards Gewurztraminer 2006
This is a dry Gewurztraminer, done right. The floral aromas, with honey and green apple lead into flavours of melon and pineapple. But it's honestly dry and very complex - lovely, and we bought some to take home.

Navarro Vineyards Muscat Blanc 2006
More honey, melon and floral aromas, this is dry, too. But I found some unwelcome bitterness on the long finish. It's good, but the Gewurz is better.

Navarro Vineyards White Riesling 2006
Classic Riesling nose: petroleum, steel, peach. It's there on the tongue, too, with the ripe peach and minerals coming through. This has a long grapefruit finish.

Navarro Vineyards Pinot Noir 2006
Beautiful aromas of sweet cherry and smoke, it's fruity on the palette, with just a hint of toast and vanilla on the finish.

Navarro Vineyards Zinfandel 2005
Sweet aromas of strawberry jam, plums and orange, but it's actually very dry, though the plums and strawberries extend into the long finish.

Navarro Vineyards Unfiltered Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2007
Not yet bottled, we were given a taste of this anyway. It had strawberry and red cherry notes, along with some orange and sweet spice. I found it too toasty on the finish, but some time in the bottle may help reduce that.

Navarro Vineyards Syrah 2005
Highly tannic and with a long finish, this has aromas of tobacco and dark red fruit.

Navarro Vineyards Late Harvest Gewurztraminer 2006
Botrytis-affected and with 11% residual sugar, this dessert wine is very floral, with sweet spice, honey and orange notes.