I recently spoke with longtime Fielding winemaker Richie Roberts to talk about the harvest conditions from 2020. Let’s face it – it’s a vintage we won’t soon forget due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That being said we had perfect growing conditions for the grapes in Niagara. What makes 2020 so...
2013 13th Street Winery Grande Cuvée Blanc de Noir – Vintages 361394 – $59.95 – ****½ – This bottle of bubbles is a show stopper for sure. The moment I took my first sniff of what was in my glass the complex brioche and citrus notes practically leaped out of...
You can check out my conversation with Grant Westcott, and Casey Kulczyk below here. While it was interesting to taste through the lineup of Chardonnay from Westcott the conversation took a few interesting turns. I think the first thing was having so many different expressions of the same grape I...
2017 13th Street Whitty Vineyard Gamay – $23.95 – **** – This is a stellar example of why 13th Street is at the top of the Gamay game in Ontario. 2017 was a challenging vintage – but you wouldn’t know that from the bottle in front of me right now....
2012 Redstone Limestone Vineyard Pinot Noir – Vintages 546473 – $22.00 – **** – It’s always exciting to find a quality Pinot from Ontario under thirty dollars. This has a little more weight and the tannin is a little firmer than what you would expect from a Pinot on the...
One of my last winery visits of 2017 was a stop at Rosewood Estates. Winemaker Ryan Corrigan has taken the helm from Ross Wise. Both are very good winemakers but dramatically different in style. Ryan joins Rosewood from Pearl Morissette, which leads me to ask the question – how much...
2015 Flat Rock Unplugged Chardonnay – Vintages 68015 – $16.00 – ***½+ – As far as unoaked Chardonnay from Ontario goes there is something a little magical about this wine. The nose is bright, fresh and clean with lemon and lime notes and a potent mineral note that sails over...
I made a long overdue visit to Rosehall Run in the spring and had the opportunity to see what winemaker Dan Sullivan is working on in the cellar. Some of the most creative winemaking in Ontario is taking place on Greer Road whether it’s at Norman Hardie’s, Casa Dea or...
2015 Flat Rock Unplugged Chardonnay – Vintages 68015 – $16.00 – ***½+ – As far as unoaked Chardonnay from Ontario goes there is something a little magical about this wine. The nose is bright, fresh and clean with lemon and lime notes and a potent mineral note that sails over...
2015 Effervescence – $29.95 – **** – It’s great to see Kacaba include a sparkling wine in the portfolio. The aromas on this wine are very strong green apple with a bit of lime zest. The flavours on this wine very much match the nose but bring a nice layer...
2014 Cave Spring Estate Bottled Chardonnay Musqué – Vintages 246579 – $16.95 – **** – Chardonnay Musqué is something special that you don’t see very often. It’s light and crisp with apple and citrus notes. This wine has everything you expect from an Ontario Chardonnay but there is this floral...
Flat Rock has some great new wines hitting the shelves over the next few months. 2014 Unplugged Chardonnay – Vintages 068015 (Feb 20, 2016 Release) – $16.95 – ****+ – Who says Unoaked Chardonnay is boring? This wine brings bright Orange, Lemon and Apple on the nose. When you taste...
