Newsletter #174 - Welcome to the New Year

19 Jan 2012

OntarioWineReview Newsletter 174 ... January 2012

 

  • Ontario Wine Review:  Welcome to the New Year
  • Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch:  Between the College Kiln + More
  • Bi-Weekly OWR UpdatesOttawa Life posts, On the Road reviews and What I'm Drinking wines
  • Quick SipsNews from around the World of Wine
  • Wine Event Spotlight:  Something Unique / Interesting to do

Ontario Wine Review: Welcome to the New year

I received a concerned email from a reader a week ago asking me if they had missed the first newsletter of the year, I responded that he had not missed the first newsletter of the year, I was just taking an extra week off to recharge after a more than usually hectic holiday season.  

January is usually a quiet month, the snow begins to fly, the cold sets in, and winter really takes a grip over us here in the Great White North - but this year that did not seem to happen, yet a lot of things have happened over the first few weeks of 2012, and some are incredibly interesting and might have repercussions through the industry.

Let's start with this one:  there's been a fair bit of movement in the Ontario wine industry with winemakers taking on new positions: the most notable of which seems to be a regional swap of winemakers.  In the Lake Erie North Shore Colio's Tim Reilly moved to Vincor after only a few years of taking over from Canadian winemaking legend Carlo Negri ... which begs the question: was the pressure too great or Vincor's offer too lucrative?  Rumour has it that Tim took over from ex-Stoney Ridge departee Lubomir Popovici in Vincor's winemaking team - so where has Lub gone?  And I got the distinct impression Tim disliked making Cellar in Canada wines, so why take a position with the biggest CiC producer?  The other high-profile move came at another big producer as Lawrence Buhler, winemaker at Peller Estates (in Niagara), jumped at the opportunity to run his own ship and made the move to fill the now vacant winemaker's job at Colio.  Was Lawrence tired of being passed over for the head job at Peller, which was given to the higher profile winemaker Craig MacDonald (formerly part of the rock star combo of Powers and MacDonald over at Creekside) a little over a year-and-a-half ago.  You have to believe ego plays a part in these things no matter what the press release says.  In the end Peller's loss is Colio's gain, and the genial Lawrence's addition to the region will hopefully help everyone in this tight knit community.

But it wasn't just the Ontario wineries making headlines - everybody who knows anything about the booze scene here in Ontario's favourite whipping post, the LCBO has been taking some flak over the first few weeks of the year - as Ontario's Auditor General had his say over the pricing of alcohol here in the People's Republic of Ontario ... papers across the province ran articles with titles along the lines of: "Welcome to Suckerville, Ontario" (Toronto Sun).  But the public and the LCBO themselves seem unfazed by the news.  In fact, it wasn't a month later that Premier Dad decided to raise the minimum price of alcohol (obviously to keep us all from becoming frothing at the mouth alcoholics) - not even this has stirred the masses to rise-up in apathetic Ontario - maybe we're just all glad to have a job and a thriving economy?

I have to be honest with you, I have no idea what stirs the ire of the Ontario consumer, but you'd better believe I'll do my best over the next calendar year as I tackle a number of issues, as well as keeping you up-to-date on wines and winery activities here in the province.  But don't forget I cover a number of other things in the wine world too through blogs, magazines and seminars.  Taste it Again sees me looking at older Ontario wines no longer available, to see how they have fared over the years.  What I'm Drinking Tonight should be a daily blog entry, but in these days of the growing waistline it's more like every second day.  On the Road keeps you abreast of where I've been and what I'm doing - over the holidays a number of articles were added as I played catch up with my notes.  On the travel docket this year (so far) will be trips to Verona, Italy; Michigan's Old Mission Peninsula and Vermont wine country (Vermont has a wine country?).  Finally, you can also read my Vintages Reports and my articles in both Ottawa Life and Grand magazines.

It's shaping up to be a busy year and I look forward to hearing from you with comments, article ideas and the occasional lively debate.  Happy New Year Everybody ... here at OntarioWineReview it's time to get back to work.


Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch: Between the College Kiln + More

Niagara College 2009 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay - $18.95 (W)
www.nctwinery.ca

If you're going to teach the kids to make Chardonnay teach them to make it right.  I wish I could have used the old adage, "my daddy always used to say to me ..." in front of that first sentence but in truth my daddy was not much into wine, Chardonnay especially, he was a Riesling man (now he drinks whatever my mother puts in front of him - that's if she feels like sharing).  But the saying does go well with a teaching winery.  Head winemaker Terence Von Rooyen has done a wonderful job on this Chardonnay, keeping the fruit and the buttery in the mouth and on the nose.  Aromas of baked peach and vanilla are caressed in a light buttery blanket ... too flowery?  Not in the mouth, butter and vanilla mix along with the peach and spice leading to nice biting acidity and pleasant re-play on a lingering finish.  Well balanced, should stand up for a number of years.  Drink now - 2018.  Price: $18.95 - Rating: ****

Between the Lines 2009 Cabernet Franc Reserve - $24.95 (W)
www.betweenthelineswinery.com

A few moons ago I gave the Between the Lines 09 Cabernet Franc four-and-a-half stars based on flavour and maybe a little on price too, so call it a half star for price.  Now a few months later we see that the boys of Between the Lines have cobbled together a Reserve of that wine that spent 1.5 years in oak, primarily 2nd fill French (85%), along with a little American.  I think, even above $20, the wine still shows excellent value and here's why:  The nose is smoky with tobacco notes and hints of vanilla ... yes there is no fruit up-front, that's because it is still quite young and I would expect the fruit to start to emerge within the next year or so.  The taste is where the fruit starts to show itself as raspberry and cherry emerge along with pipe tobacco and spice.  There's good acidity in the glass and a nice sour cherry/tobacco finish with just the right amount of tannins.  Hold for another year before pouring into a nice big glass and enjoying; or pair around the BBQ this summer or for the next 5.  Price: $24.95 - Rating: ****+

Burning Kiln 2010 Riesling - $19.95 (W)
www.burningkilnwinery.ca

With a name like Burning Kiln you just know there are going to be questions, so let's make the answers short and sweet.  Burning Kiln is located on the north shore of Lake Erie around Turkey Point / Port Dover.  They along with 7 other wineries and 7 growers are billing themselves as Ontario's South Coast, these wineries stretch from Port Stanley to near Hamilton (www.southcoastwines.com).  The Burning Kiln part comes from the way some of the wines are made, using the drying method made famous now by Andrzej Lipinski - and surprise, surprise Andrzej is making their wines.  But not all using the dried-in-kiln method.  This Riesling for instance is all fresh fruit.  It's a two on the sweetness scale (that bit of sweetness is a hallmark of A.L.'s Rieslings) but with all that lovely fruit and nice acidity it sure doesn't come off as too sweet.  Pear, lemon and exotic fruit play off the tongue and the nose with a lovely limeade linger to the finish.  Price: $19.95 - Rating: *** 1/2

More from the Must Pile ...
Correction: Last newsletter I incorrectly identified "Must" as the stuff left over after grapes were pressed ... my bad, and that'll teach me to put a out newsletter so without checking it over.  "Must" is the mixture of juice, skins seeds and pulp - the product of crushing at the beginning of the winemaking process, not the leftovers - which is sometimes called Marc or Pomace.

Cooper's Hawk 2008 Cab-Merlot - $17.95
Malivoire 2010 Alive Gamay - $17.95
Sandbanks 2009 Baco Noir - $14.95
Southbrook 2008 Connect Red - $14.95

Availability legend:  W (Winery) – L (LCBO/Vintages) – WTH (Winery to Home) - OL (On-Line).


Bi-Weekly OWR Updates: Ottawa Life posts, On the Road reviews and What I'm Drinking wines

Weekly Ottawa Life Blog Entries:
Wines to Look Forward to

On the Road with the Grape Guy
(Trips, tours and tastings – join me as I review the highs, and sometimes, the lows)
The Cool Climate Chardonnay World Tour
Wines of South Africa Workshop
Italian Women in Wine
Croatian Wine Dinner
Port & Douro Wine Tasting
An Afternoon with Marcelo Papa

Lost and Found (blog):
(Wines that got "lost" in my cellar - some are Treasures others Trash … Find out what happened)
Nothing New This Week

Taste it Again Grape Guy (blog)
Find out what has happened to some of my favourites over the years
Look for Updates coming soon

When it’s not an Ontario wine, here’s what I’m pulling out of the cellar
including older South African, 2000 Syrah and New Year's hooch


Giveaway

Chateau Merous Movie Poster

 

Giveaway ... Always good to start the year with a little something ... over the holidays I was contacted by a film rep to see if my reader's would be interested in a movie about wine ... Chateau Meroux stars Marla Sokoloff, Barry Watson and Christopher Lloyd - I have three copies to giveaway to answerers of this skill testing question:  What futuristic series did Christopher Lloyd star in as Doc Brown?  As tie breaker, name both his co-stars - hint: one man / one machine?  Good Luck

Email yours answers to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - we will draw three winners from the correct answers received before 11:59pm January 24, 2012.  Please be sure to include your name, address (with postal code) and phone number to be eligible.

Giveaway


Quick Sips: News from around the World of Wine

New Year and New Winemaker ... for Colio Estate Wines, Lawrence Buhler (former winemaker at Peller Estates for the past 8 years) has the new position of Vice President, Winemaking at their winery located in Harrow Ontario effective in early January 2012.

Maritime liquor boards working together ... see you can play nice with other provinces when it comes to booze: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/atlantic-liquor-corps-come-together-save-cash-183950454.html

The UK is crying in their ... beer? ... because it sure as heck ain't wine.  Seems that the Chinese have taken over fifth spot on the world wide wine consumption chart, knocking the UK into 6th: http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/529653/china-overtakes-uk-to-become-fifth-largest-wine-consuming-nation-vinexpo

You had to know ... It was just a matter of time before someone starting poking holes in all that wonderful red wine research that was coming out - there was just no way that booze could be that good for you:  http://articles.boston.com/2012-01-11/lifestyle/30616973_1_resveratrol-connecticut-researcher-research-integrity

Truth or Rumour ... one from the rumour mill here: Peter Jensen (ex of Laura McCain & Creekside) has bought the property that housed the Wayne Gretzky Winery and will be opening up his own winery possibly in the Spring. It will feature wines made for other celebrities - mainly sports figures.


Wine Event Spotlight: Every Newsletter I'll pick something Unique or Interesting

Here's something from Southbrook that hits the uniqueness factor I'm looking for (reprinted):

Sweet and Centered ... With all the decadence of the holidays behind us we are happy to start this new year doing something "healthy" to start 2012 off on the right foot. Naturally anything we do must feature wine (don't they say it is a healthy choice?) so we have mixed an all levels yoga class with a tasting of our 4 icewines. This may make the class easier or maybe more of a challenge but at least we will have great fun and a good giggle together.  The class will take place in our Great Room, overlooking the winter wonderland. Bring comfy clothes and a yoga mat and we will bring the wine!  $45 per person.  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


OntarioWineReview’s bi-weekly newsletter is devoted to the love, enjoyment and promotion of the wines of Ontario and the wineries that make them.

What can the Grape Guy do for you … Michael Pinkus (Grape Guy) provides a variety of wine related services that you might be interested in taking advantage of:  he gives lectures, leads seminars, conducts tastings, sets up tours; consults, selects and judges.  He also gives interviews, broadcasts, podcasts and writes.  Contact the Grape Guy if you require any of these services or have any questions.

Psst, Pass It On
… keep the good wine flowing. Forward this newsletter to your mom in Milton, your son in Smith Falls, or any other family member or loved one that you know needs good wine advice.

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To contact us with feedback, article ideas, comments, concerns or questions – email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. We look forward to hearing from you!

© OntarioWineReview.com 2012. All rights reserved. You may use the content of this newsletter by including full credit to Michael Pinkus, Grape Guy and a link to www.ontariowinereview.com

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