Uncorked Ontario

I was at my local LCBO today and discovered this one in the Vintages section:

Château des Charmes Cabertnet-Merlot 2005 “Old Vines” Estated Bottled” from the Niagara On The Lake region. At $19.95 I decied it was worth a try.

The nose waffs with blackberry and plums. It is a very nice Bordeaux blend that begins with dark fruit tastes, hints of spices and earth. It does have big tannins in this one and that caught me a little off guard, it could be a little softer. Nice smooth long finish to round out this wine. (Nov 25, 2009).

Gary Killops

Notes From The Vineyard.
Cabernet-Merlot is a classically styled blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot that has been aged for one year in French oak barrels. The resulting wine is complex with flavours of dark chocolate, raspberry and cassis. Estate grown and bottled from grapes sourced exclusively from the Chateau’s own vineyards. Ready to drink now, but will continue to develop in the bottle for 5-10 years. 2,100 cases produced. Harvested on September 23, 29, October 4, 2005.

Food Pairings
Cabernet-Merlot is a classically styled blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot that has been aged for one year in French oak barrels. The resulting wine is complex with flavours of dark chocolate, raspberry and cassis. Estate grown and bottled from grapes sourced exclusively from the Chateau’s own vineyards. Ready to drink now, but will continue to develop in the bottle for 5-10 years. 2,100 cases produced. Harvested on September 23, 29, October 4, 2005.

Food Pairings
This full bodied red wine is excellent with any red meat or tomato pasta dish.

13% Alc. / Vol.
VQA Niagara On The Lake

I have been thinking about writing this article for some time now but that little voice has told me not to. I am not going to listen to that little voice anymore. It is time that I say what I have been thinking.

Let’s face it, the Niagara Wine Region (Niagara On The Lake) is the most popular and most well know wine region in Ontario. It also has the more wineries in the region than wine regions such as Lake Erie North Shore, Pelee Island or Prince Edward County. Actually I believe Price Edward now has more Wineries then the Lake Erie North Shore Region and Pelee Island combined.

There are wine writers and reviewers in all of these regions. Niagara on the Lake and Price Edward County have a number of excellent, well respected writers who promote the wines in their region.

So what’s up with wine writers and reviewers of the Lake Erie North Shore and Pelee Island Wine regions?

In my opinion, and from what I have seen and witnessed they get very little respect from the local wineries and in some cases people who organize events in this region.

Let me give you an example.

A local wine writer (and sometime wine review) gets very little respect from many of the local wineries. Now I disclose that he is a good friend of mine so my opinion might be a little slanted. This past summer he held a couple of seminars at a local popular wine event and he was treated like crap. I witnessed him having to argue his way in to the event when his promised admission tickets were not at the gate. The following day I was told he had to do the same thing and was only admited once a writer from outside thise region who was also presenting a seminar vouched for him so that he could gain entry.

I hate to group all of the local wineries into this same catagory because some have actaully been good local writers and reviews. Wineries such as Erie Shores, Muscedere, and Mastronardi seem to get that local wine writers are good for their business. They are friendly and are glad to have them (myself included) at their winery.

I understand that this is a business and the bottom line is to sell wine and have it move out the door. Without sales the winery does not exist. I believe that wine writers and reviewers can be good for their business and can help them move product out the door. I am not so sure that many of the local wineries share my belief that local writers and reviewers are good for their business and in fact have very little respect for local wine writers.

Myself, I have made it a point not to be too friendly with the local wineries. I struggle with this all the time but I want to be able to say when a wine is bad and not worry that I can’t because it will hurt a friendship. Lucky am I that most of the local wines are good to excellent so I hardly ever have to review a wine as bad.
I visit many local wineries and they have no clue who I am and I like it that way. I buy all of the wines I review and therefore feel that as a consumer I can speak without prejudice.

I do know that the as of October 2009 the stats on visitors to my web site (Essex Wine Review – EssexWineReview.com) show that every month readership has increased to now about 150 visitor / day in October. Not a lot in comparison to many other wines sites but I also know that on average 70% of these visitors are from right here in Essex County.

So on any given day just a little over 100 people from the Essex County area check out Essex Wine Review.

So why do I mention all of this? I am addressing all of the local wineries in the Lake Erie North Shore and Pelee Wine Regions. Local wine writers and reviewers are giving these wineries exposure to thier business. I believe that they are helping sell local excellent wines.

Winery owners …. show these writers a little respect. The next time you are planning a special event and looking for someone to present a seminar either at your winery or at a wine event consider going local rather than out sourcing. You might be surprised at what they have to offer!

Now that the annual grape harvest here in Ontario is pretty much over (grapes used for ice wine are still on the vine) I thought it would be a good idea to look back at the significant stages of grape growth during the season.

It begins during the winter and early spring, the vines are dormant. During this time there is no visible indication of growth.

Scale Crack – is the first sign of growth.

Early Bud Swell – the bud swells out of the hard outer bud scale. Tis is followed by Late Bud Swell where you can begin to see signs of green leaf growth.

Bud Burst – the bud splits open and the leaf is exposed to the sun.

First Bloom – The flowers begin to open.

Buckshot Berries – Small clusters of berries (grapes) begin to grow.

Green Grape – The berries continue to grow, They are green and hard.

Veraison – The grape berries soften and start to change colour as they start to ripen.

Fruit of the Vine – the berries are soft. They continue to ripen an change coloured as sugar content and berry size increase.

Harvest – The finish line of growth. The grapes are ripe, with a high enough sugar level to pick to begin the fermentation process.