I was very excited to have an opportunity to taste through the latest releases from Featherstone Winery. I know there is a level of consistency in this portfolio that should be the envy of any winery on the planet. But that doesn’t mean there is anything boring about this collection...
I have been fortunate enough to enjoy a lot of great wines during this pandemic. Some of the high points have been the sparkling wines from Featherstone. For my wife’s birthday I opened my oldest bottle of Joy from 2009. Before the pandemic required us to spend more time at...
It’s been an exciting year at Featherstone. The winery celebrated their 20th anniversary, and winemaker/owner David Johnson was named winemaker of the year at the Ontario Wine Awards. David had previously been named Grape King in 2003 – which I believe makes him the only winemaker to hold both coveted...
I don’t think Dave and Louise at Featherstone got the memo that 2017 was supposed to be a challenging vintage. Last summer I drank a lot of their 2017 Black Sheep Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc – so it goes without saying that I was excited to see what else would...
2013 Featherstone Cuvée Joy – $34.95 – Vintages 310334 (Dec 2018) – **** – I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for this wine. I have said it once, and I’ll say it again – Joy is one of the most underrated wines in the province, and everyone should be...
2016 Featherstone Joy Premium Cuvée Sparkling Rosé – Vintages 450700 – $29.95 – ****+ – I had a chance to taste this earlier this year – so this was a re-visit for me when I tasted it recently. It delivered everything I enjoyed about this wine in the spring and...
2016 Featherstone Canadian Oak Chardonnay – $21.95 – ****½ – Aromas of spice are layered over apples, peach and pear. The funky note from the wild yeast is present but well integrated and buried under very ripe fruit thanks to a very hot spring and summer. This opens up with...
2017 Featherstone Black Sheep Riesling – Vintages 80234 – $16.95 – ****+ – This continues to be benchmark for quality of Riesling from Ontario. Even though 2017 was by most accounts a challenging vintage, you certainly wouldn’t be able to guess by the flavours in this bottle. In your glass...
2016 Closson Chase Vineyard Chardonnay – Vintages 148866 – $29.95 – ****½ – The buttery nose just oozes out of the glass with weight and intensity. The fruit is peach, apple, and orange zest. There is vanilla, and butterscotch flavours meet the fruit and give this wine nice complexity. On...
I always look forward to these wines every vintage. This year is definitely continues the trend of quality and value making these wines perpetually some of the best sparkling wines in the province. 2013 Featherstone Cuvée Joy – $34.95 – Vintages 310334 (Dec 2018) – **** – I feel like...
2017 Featherstone Four Feathers – Vintages 341586 – $14.95 – ***½+ – This is crushable, something that needs to be served next to grilled chicken, or at your next fish fry. The ideal way to serve this wine is going to be on a patio, dock, or outdoor setting with...
2017 Featherstone Black Sheep Riesling – Vintages 80234 – $16.95 – ****½ – It’s amazing that this wine came from the challenging 2017 vintage given how ripe and rich the fruit is in the bottle. If there’s any summer that makes a strong case for how important Riesling is to...
