On the Road with the Grape Guy

On the Road with the Grape Guy is a on-going feature that follows me from event to event ... I post my thoughts, feelings and reviews of what happened and what I tasted ... basically it is here that I review the events I attend and the things that thrilled me.

Report from - The Pinot Affair ... October 15-16, 2011

26 Oct 2011

You'll have to excuse me for missing this event.  I hadn't been home for the past 6 weeks and the house just needed some attention ... inside and out .. and heck, I just needed some R & R on a weekend (feet up, glass of wine in the hand, a movie or two).  Thankfully the intrepid Fred Couch, who has passed a few of his musing about events along to me in the past, was nice enough to share his experience of the Pinot Affair held in Niagara October 15-16, 2011.

“The Pinot Affair”
By F.G. Couch

An inaugural event for the Niagara area this year called The Pinot Affair.  For one weekend in October, lovers of the Pinot Noir grape could visit eight wineries for a unique tasting experience.  Four wineries were located in the Beamsville Bench area (Hidden Bench, Malivoire, Rosewood and Tawse) and the other four in Niagara-on-the-Lake (Coyote’s Run, Le Clos Jordanne (at Jackson-Triggs Winery), Lailey Vineyards and Inniskillin).

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate on the weekend of the event and many of the wineries had to change from having the event in the vineyards to an indoor venue.  Everyone did an excellent job considering this last minute change and all of the wineries offered a unique experience.  Since Pinot Noir is such a food-friendly wine, all but one winery served their wines with food.

Our day started with a sit-down seminar at 10:00 am at Malivoire with winemaker, Shiraz Mottiar ... (to read the rest of Fred's thoughts click through to the blog)

 

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.

 

Report from - The Riesling Experience 2011 ... June 9, 2011

29 Sep 2011

Are you experienced?  Jimi Hendrix is famous for asking that simple question on a record album – but he was talking about music, here we’re talking wine – Riesling to be exact.  With all the events this year surrounding one grape or another, be it Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, it seems that Riesling's gotten lost in the shuffle.  Is it because Ontario wineries are trying to foist other grapes into the limelight?  Or is Riesling safe in its position in Ontario?  It would seem that it's the wineries that don't make Riesling are the ones that want to showcase other varieties, but consider this:  Riesling is a variety that is 500 years old and the #1 variety in Niagara.  Commercial planting started in Niagara around 1974.  Riesling makes up 18.8% of all grapes planted in Ontario and 17.3% of all vinifera … and that leads the charge of grapes planted.  And for those interested, the mostly widely planted Riesling clone: 21B, at 70%.

Today Niagara welcomed winemakers and owners from Michigan, Ohio and New York along with Pierre Trimbach from Alsace to speak to the assembled clan of Riesling lovers, and there were a lot.

Pierre Trimbach … (to read about Trimbach, his quotes and comments as well as info about the other regions in attendance click here)

 

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.

 

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