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.