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By Manos Angelakis
Just 55 minutes (depending on the traffic) from Buffalo, New York, and 20 minutes north of Niagara Falls, is Canada’s Niagara-on-the-Lake, a small, charming town that is the epicenter of Ontario’s bucolic countryside. The area is full of vineyards and fruit orchards and the food and wines available in the area are truly outstanding. Wineries, hotels, and restaurants have lured a number of very talented chefs away from Canada’s metropolitan cities to create a culinary scene that highlights high quality local produce and creative presentations.
Canada’s Niagara Peninsula is famous for cold-climate wines, and is the consistent producer of one of the wines most sought after by oenophiles and gastronomes: Icewine. Yes, Germany and Austria are most renowned for producing icewine. Yet, because climate can greatly vary year-after-year, vintners in these two countries are unable to produce a predictable product quantity; for example, there were no ice wines from the 2005 and 2006 vintages, because the warm weather - thanks to global warming - did not allow the grapes to freeze naturally on the vine as required for icewine production (-7° C and below in Europe). Canada’s winters have been far more consistent, so beautiful icewine has always been produced.
Traditionally, the best icewines are created from Riesling and Gewürztraminer grapes. Here, they not only make excellent icewines from the above varietals, but also from Vidal, Chardonnay, Semillon, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc. During my Ontario winery visit, I was lucky enough to taste icewines from all these varietals and, even though I still love the traditional Riesling icewines, I have to admit that the others were very impressive. I should also mention that these wines are winning numerous awards at international wine competitions.
And, it is not only the icewines that are exceptional. Dry wines made from Riesling, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and a number of other vinifera grapes are from very good to wonderful.
Notes on the wineries we visited:
Thankfully, many of the Ontario wines are available in the New York area at both wine stores and restaurants.
Pillittery Estates Winery is the world’s largest estate-producer of icewines; 60% of their production is icewine. It’s a mid-sized, family owned company that creates excellent wines, not only the traditional Riesling and Vidal but Chardonnay, Semillon, Cabernet Frank and Syrah icewines as well. There is also a lush Vidal Sparkling Icewine. They produce very, very good dry wines too, both white and red, either monovarietal or blends. Remarkable were their unoaked Chardonnay, sur lie Chardonnay, the Gewürztraminer/Riesling Fusion, and Cabernet Franc. I thought that the Merlot Reserve was brilliant. Especially alluring was the Cabernet Frank Icewine.
A much smaller winery was Marynissen Estate. Though they have been growing grapes in the Niagara region since the mid 50s, they started planting vinifera in the mid 70s. Now they own the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines in Canada. Located near the shore of Lake Ontario, directly south of Niagara-on-the-Lake, the vineyards benefit from the lake’s moderating climactic influences. Vinifera have been grafted on native rootstock. From the wines we tasted, I can say that their Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer wines were excellent, aromatic, with good, food-friendly acidity. Remarkable also was their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend; lot of fruit up front, and spice, chocolate, licorice and cigarbox on the nose. Their 2004 Riesling icewine was phenomenal. The 2004 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2000 Syrah dry reds were also excellent.
We made an unplanned stop at Lailey Vineyards, a small producer, and an impromptu tasting took place. Their wines were nice, fruity, and very New World. I enjoyed the whites, especially the unoaked Chardonnay that was creamy with tropical fruit flavors and food-friendly acidity, and the Riesling, that though a bit shy on the nose, exhibited a very nice herbal minerality. From the reds, I thought that the debut vintage of the 2006 impromptu, a blend of Syrah (60%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Petit Verdot and Malbec (10% each), made in small quantities, had great potential. Though very young, it had an elegant palate, balanced and well structured, with soft tannins.
Next, Henry of Pelham winery. The winery stands on the spot where in 1842 an Inn, tavern and carriage house were built by Nicholas, son of Henry. At the same time, he also planted vineyards around the Inn. The Inn location is where the modern tasting room is. The production facility is just a few yards away. Unfortunately, construction was taking place at the time we were visiting, so we did not see the actual production line; but I don’t think it was a problem. We got to taste the wines, that’s why we were there.
We started the tasting with the lovely Cuvée Catherine Rosé Brut, a lean, pink aperitif wine that is created in the traditional method from a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The 2007 non-oaked Chardonnay was a very nice dry basic wine, with lots of food-friendly acidity and a lovely green apple and citrusy grapefruit aroma. It was fermented in stainless steel with aging sur lie. I enjoyed very much the 2004 Riesling Speck Family Reserve, a full and rich, dry, steel fermented and aged wine from older vines. There was also the 2007 Riesling Reserve, an off-dry wine very reminiscent of a Mosel Kabinett. The grapes are sourced from their Short Hills Bench sub-appellation, from 15-year old or older vines. Lovely aromas of citrus, apple and honey dominate the nose. On the red side, the 2002 Cabernet-Merlot, Speck Family Reserve and the 2005 Baco Noir, Reserve, caught my attention. Concentrated black fruit characterizes both wines, with the Baco Noir being beautifully jammy with plums, cedar, and tobacco on the nose, and the Cabernet-Merlot is very elegant, full of cassis, tobacco and menthol. The balance is perfect. The finish was very long.
Finally, the dessert and icewines. 2006 Select Late Harvest Riesling, 2006 Riesling Icewine, and 2007 Cabernet Franc Icewine. All three were lovely, highly aromatic; the Rieslings with intense citrus, peach and pear aromas, the Cabernet Franc with intense raspberry and strawberry. Some of the best icewines I tasted during the trip.
We had lunch at The Peller Estates Winery’s Restaurant, during which we tasted a number of their wines. Picture windows in this superb restaurant overlook acres of vineyards. But, we had lunch at the privet dinning room in the barrel cellar, much more conducive to a serious wine tasting. I liked the 2007 Pinot Gris Private Reserve, a very dry, classic Pinot Gris, and the Signature Series 2002 Cabernet Franc, a spicy and peppery, medium-bodied red with soft, light tannins.
Again the highlight was the icewines, an Oak Aged Vidal Blanc Icewine, a highly aromatic and very flavorful example with ripe peach, sweet and fresh tropical fruit especially pineapple, and hints of honey. The 2006 Riesling Icewine was fresh and sweet with lemon, and tangerine marmalade on the nose, and a palate dominated by candied lemon peel and ripe guava on the finish. Finally, the Cabernet Franc Icewine, bright cherry red in color, with ripe red berries, and complex notes of spice on the nose, and luscious red berries, complex spice and delicate rhubarb on the palate, with lime predominating the long, lingering finish.
The next winery was Inniskillin, where we also had an excellent dinner. Inniskillin is an estate winery, offering varietal wines and icewines from Ontario and British Columbia; they are considered the producer that made Canadian icewine famous worldwide. Their best known product is intense, sweet and unctuous, yet balanced with brilliant acidity. Renowned for fruit flavors ranging from mango to peach to lychees, icewine is truly extreme winemaking at its best. Most of their wines win awards at international competitions.
The icewines we tasted were made from Vidal, Riesling and Cabernet Frank varietals, with rich, full aroma and flavors balanced by a firm acidity. The Vidal icewine is produced in three versions, un-oaked, oaked, and sparkling. I enjoyed the 2006 Sparkling Icewine the most, because of the lively and delicately effervescent finish. The oaked’s finish was softened with a creamy vanilla note. Their classic Riesling had elegant fresh lime and grapefruit flavors, as well as tones of ripe apricot and peach blossoms, with a characteristic mineral edge. The Cabernet Franc Icewine has a brick red hue. There's an abundance of candied red berry aromas on the nose and fresh strawberries and cream on the palate.
Stratus Vineyards, was a welcoming company, that creates distinctive wines by embracing a very simple philosophy: make the best white and red dry wines you can put in a bottle, but keep it simple, i.e. make a single white and a single red wine by using a blend of the best grapes of the vintage. The Stratus White is a blend of Chardonnay, Sémillon, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Each varietal contributes its individual traits to the final blend, with the percentage of each variety varying each year to achieve a standard of aromas and taste so that the wine will remain consistent. The same applies with the Stratus Red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Gamay and Syrah. We tasted both 2005 and 2002 versions of both wines and the consistency was remarkable, though the younger red was a bit harsher on the palate as the tannins had not yet mellowed sufficiently. The two 2007 icewines, Riesling Icewine and Red Icewine showed all the elegance and subtlety of the genre.
© October 2008 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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