27 posts tagged “road trip!”

We hadn’t been to Mastronardi for a long time so it was time to go. They love their wine and so do I, and being so close is a blessing.

What is new. Well the have a new line out which is value priced, but from what I had, is great and a great value. I always liked the idea of a 2^nd line as it allows the winemaker to cherry pick grapes and make the top line even better. The value then happens in the value line in a good year as ‘the left over grapes' could be great. Check these wines out as the are surprisingly good. Oh BTW just wait for the Vidal as the barrel sample we had was unlike any Vidal I’ve had...and the Baco….

But to the good stuff. Their Barrel Fermented Chardonnay is to die for. Enough said and the new Gewurtz….well I am waiting for Gewurtz 2 as this one will certainly have a great shot to retain the title as best Gewurtz. The wines there are just very well made. The reds just keep getting better too.

Good to see that the are going from very good to very gooder. Keep it up.

Then off to Smith and Wilson. If you haven’t been there go. The view is wonderful, the Smith’s are great people and the wine is beautiful.

The are out of Double Barrel...a pity.., but there is so much more. Syrah...yes , that Southern French beauty whom the Aussies have made their own, but theirs is just so nice. Some spice, big but not, ‘in your face’, a wonderful wine. Then there is the Voignier, another French grape which makes a wonderful, soft, delicate wine. Last year’s was wonderful but now they have a bone dry one to go with the slightly sweeter one. Both are so different but both are great. What can I say. The wines reflect the owners/winemakers. They are nice, classy people who make very nice, classy wines. If ever wines reflect the winemaker...theirs do.

So, it was a wonderful day. I just enjoy being around motivated positive people. Thank you guys for making my week...oh yes being with Terry all day was nice too!!!!!

I am sorry that I am late with this. The storm whacked our internet, then the router has been acting up. I have a new one but Terry is so busy that I am afraid to disrupt the computer to install. I can just see a “problem” when she has 8 shoots to process. Add work, screaming at expressvu on a daily basis...my satellite just slowly died. After 4 hours on the phone to some very nice but totally inept Indian techs I managed to get a Cdn so that I could cancel my account. She was very nice and got me to try again. Well their tech is on the way...yes at 8 am on Father’s Day.  (Later, I was to find out that I was lied to again and the tech is coming next Sunday (this info came from a very nice Indian fellow who really understood just how impressed I am with expressvu))

Last weekend was the series of open houses for the local wineries. Did I organize a trip?? Nope. F&J did so I just went along for the ride. We started out at Sprucewood. I really like the Mitchell’s and this is where F&J had their reception. It is really a nice spot and the drive thru the vineyard is just so nice and worth the trip alone. 

Over the last year or so I have gotten to know Steve and realize his passion for the business. A fellow Engineer, who isn’t in the ‘plastic pocket protector school’ is a wonderful thing to find. Tanya, his sister, is the winemaker. She’s an Engineer too and I think it shows in her wines. They are very consistent thru the line and very orderly. This may be sexist but I feel that they show a women’s touch. The wines are a wee bit lighter and certainly not “over the top”. Judicious use of oak, nice complexity. The line is good. Locally, we are blessed with 3 great female winemakers, Tanya Mitchell- Spucewood,   Lyse LeBlanc- Mastronardi (I apologize for the spelling error) and Izabel Benben- Aleksander. Their work is wonderful. What is really nice is that each has a style and the product is better each year.

The Sprucewood people can put on a spread. Cheese trays, fruit, reasonably priced interesting food and a band. They were really trying and were being rewarded by the amount of traffic they had. The lineup of wine is very nice and we even had dedicated red wine drinkers trying whites….very good indeed. Of note is the Late Harvest Riesling which is very very nice. I prefer Late Harvests to Ice Wines generally as they are not so sweet and are more accessible. We also really like the Chardonnay and the Pinot Rose. 

Then we were off to Erie Shores. They have put up a pavilion which is a great idea. Receptions at wineries are a wonderful thing, but the tent rental prices are very high. This is a good way to avoid that. They had a bus tour in when we arrived so we took over the showroom, Alma was as wonderful as ever and their wines were very well received.

Then we were off to Viewpoint, Their new wines were on display before the entry to the main hall. Let me just say that the future is quite good.

Of course we ended at Muscedere. Fab and Rob do such a good job but they haven't bottled the Chardonnay yet. J&F had left to prep for the party so it was us and Swifty. He likes wine and it was interesting to watch his response. Clean and fresh was what he found. Well the wine was fresh and hadn’t been abused by any angry custom agent or delivery man. Maybe its just good????

The celebration just finished the day. It feels like it was last year not last week. Well my friend from the ghetto of Rochester Hills wants to come visit so we’ll take him east. Mastronardi, Aleksander and Pelee Island. I’m looking forward to that weekend.

Last weekend we went to the Gordon Ramsay book-signing in Burlington, only to find out it was a wristband only affair. I really wish Indigo would have posted that on their website. Oh well, we had gone to Niagara on the way so it wasn’t a total loss.

There will be many posts on our Niagara trip. Two restaurant reviews….I wish both were here...and many wine reviews. It seems really good up there and the wine, well lets say that it is very very good.

I am taking a break from prepping for tonight's Meritage derby. The suave and sophisticated one and I tweaked our methodology so it will be totally blind. The combatants are arranged side by side on the top shelf of my wine fridge and will be decanted and aerated by Myles, therefore we will not know what we are drinking. Only variable will be the carafes as I don’t have 5 the same.

I was speaking with Pete the Elder last evening. He was wondering why I always like the wine I review. He wasn’t aware that I buy all my wine for review, therefore, I buy what I like. That is why Baco Noir, Zwiegelt, Vidals et al seem to be missing. If I was given a bottle to review, and yes I have gotten 3 total, I will give an honest review and will say what I think. If I was to review, say Colio Bianco Secco that bad review would be forthcoming, but since I drive a diesel and no longer have a carburetor to clean, that wine will not grace my table.

There is my bad review.

I also am giving my best wishes to our soon to be departing friend, Pete the Younger aka Allan Park Pete. Seems he just wants to be a cowboy and looks to be heading for Calgary. Good luck and watch out for them thar cow-pies. I bet he’s got his hat already and the country music to boot. YEEEE-HAWWWW!!! I give him a month before he buys a big ol pick up truck with steer horns on the hood.

Terry and I went after she did a photo-shoot in Riverside. We took the Drive back west ( we were on schedule) and it was such a nice ride. Well, we needed some nibblies so the dh it was. OK, we were now late, but we took the drive all the way to Alma in Amherstburg anyway. Hey, it was a beautiful day.

We finally got to Muscedere about 3 p.m.. Their lot was full….. that was a good sign... Oi, just imagine a hundred people in their wine room….. Good thing they had a tent and some musicians and a lot of chairs. Good stuff.

So the new wine. 

By memory: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Rose, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc. Oh yes, and 3 Ice Wines. To come is a Chardonnay and a Meritage.

My thoughts from tasting:

Pinot Noir: deep scarlet red, clear with some body….they ran out of stock, but there is some more. A keeper. I will get some and do a review. 

Cabernet Franc: I think that this wine is way better than last year’s which was really good. This may be their best red yet. None of the weird cab franc notes, just really good flavour.

Rose: this will be a great summer wine. It is a Provence style rose and that’s a good thing. Different in style from Erie Shore’s Summer Sun, so I think there is a Rose-off set for the future. It’s a really nice wine.

Riesling: the question is--- is it as good as their first one...the one that I felt was hands down the area’s best wine? We shall see, but the sample I had was wonderful. I smelled all the right things and it had mouthfeel and taste. A review will follow.

Pinot Grigio: crisp, dry, very nice. This is a good one and a keeper.

Sauvignon Blanc: THIS WINE IS AMAZING!!!! It has everthing I love in a Sauv Blanc…..taste, body, fruit, grass( a wee bit only) Its more like a French style than a New Zealand. Good with food (we had it) and just there. It’s huge for a Sauvignon Blanc but we found it to be wonderful.

We had a sample of the Chardonnay and this one will be great. Again more to a French Style, no oak and just loads of pineapple. Yup, pineapple and just wonderful mouth feel. This one will be worth waiting for.

Just like at Calabria we closed the place with the owner’s. It is getting to be a habit, but it’s fun. This is a classic winery. Kids playing, father, mother, sons, sisters, wives, friends etc….this to me is what a winery should be….kinda like in the old country…..oops, no wineries in Scotland, so we change my name to Piccolo, so now the old country is La Marche….. Add a twenty-ish Sophia Loren stomping the grapes and life could be very good indeed.  

First stop was  View Pointe. Always good stuff and the Pinot Noir was still on sale. I suggest getting some as it is a steal at $15. Good stuff and I will do a review soon. New offerings are on their way but snag some Pinot…..if only they would get a sign.

Next stop was CREW and they too are about to release BUT the are blowing out their Gewurtz so get some before its gone. Its really good.

Same story at Erie Shores, but they are so nice to visit with and of course Liz wanted some Stellar Secret and Summer Sun so I got some for her...Liz come get it. 

Now to Sanson. New stuff soon to be out but the have Berkshire pork and some of their own cattle. I have had the meat and its wonderful…..way too good for tacos, but made an awesome Bolognese. They will have heirloom vegetables too!!!! Now this is great...get some wonderful meat some wine (they make great wine) veg et voila le diner. What more could you want. Good food, good wine...add friends and music and life is good.

Went by Muscedere and the are re-opening with their new releases on the 19^th …..no problems, except the ran out of wine after Christmas, which is a good thing. I am looking forward to their Pinot and Riesling. For larger tastes the Baco I’ve had was really good, and I don’t like Baco.

By now Mastronardi’s Gewurtz should be out and it’s wonderful, possibly better than last years, which is a big deal.

Aleksander has a new Cabernet and I got some today. Again more to come out.

And of course last but not least is Sprucewood who released their Meritage about a month ago and should to have releases soon.

This time of year is exiting as the new releases are almost there so visits are fun and different.

Well happy tippling.

Enjoy!!

I hate moving! Simply said but it is a drag and I get really grumpy. As this is a slow move which is even worse, Terry and I decided that we should bag the moving for a weekend and take a little trip. A team building exercise.

Well then, is it Chicago....no, too cold.....Cleveland...no, there’s a reason why it’s known as the mistake by the lake.....New York...cool..terrorists..no problem...expensive though and I’m cheap and that would mean flying and we only had 3 days so is that enough time to get through security??

So we decided to head to Niagara and get some wine....gee who would have guessed that. We went to our favourite cheapie hotel in Niagara on the Lake....yup we found one for $55 a night. No bugs, clean, no hookers either.

My suggestion is to take 401 only to London then catch hwy 3. This avoids all the traffic and you get to go through Delhi (I didn’t see one curry house...rather strange) and Simcoe, which are cool old towns. Hwy 3 gets you to the south of the wineries so its back roads from there, but if I managed, you can, and besides we were able to go straight to RidgePoint ... closed..... Tawse (didn’t really want to go there but it was across the street..closed) then we made it to Kacaba who stayed open for us.

First impressions were that Niagara is still way ahead of us down here. But after contemplation, there are reasons and many advantages are easily overcome with time. Erie Shores is celebrating they’re 5th birthday(congratulation to you two) , but Marynessan has 35 year old vines. That is an incredible advantage. They’ve got a good head start, but again they had to start somewhere and there seems to be no shortages of new wineries.  Niagara does make wonderful Riesling and Gewurztraminer. Absolutely lovely and should be at $30/bottle. Kacaba makes heavenly wine, but again, I tasted one which is $150 and bought a $60 wine. By all rights it should be better and yes, many are.

By and large, they are miles ahead in the area of Riesling, but this is their thing and they have the perfect climate for it. Now if you don’t like round ones you may not agree with me, but this is my blog and I make the rules here. Everyone seems to make one and I really didn’t have any stinkers. I was even surprised by Cave Springs as they made a really nice one.

Now move to Sauvignon Blanc and I will take ours hands down. I really think it’s the heat here. I didn’t have any that were equal.

Chardonnay is chardonnay but we had some really nice ones. The oaked chardonnay from the Teaching College was quite nice and reminded us of Muscedere’s; and that is a good thing. Overall they we nice but not better than down here.

Now Pinot Noir....well here was the surprise. I was truly underwhelmed with a lot of what I found. Even some really expensive product was just ok. I bought some( I can’t lie..a lot), but most were pedestrian and just not as good or maybe just not better than down here. Here I was really surprised. I was led to believe that Niagara was a Pinot belt, but it maybe wasn’t a great vintage. Kacaba’s was good, along with Malivoire’s(great). Legends was a pleasant surprise along with Niagara Teaching College. Funny, but up there they complained that Pinot likes the heat and they really don’t get enough which is opposite of what I hear here.

What really got me were the Bordeaux varietals. The ones I had were not big in the usual way. These were fine wines which tasted old(many were) and just were there. Now again they were not cheap and I wonder how they would stack up against our best. But overall, I will take our reds over theirs. I will not pretend that we can justify $150 but really who can. At a price point, I think our Bordeaux’s can beat theirs.

So if you go up there I will suggest that you avoid the chain and corporate wineries. Go to places with funny names (Kacaba...well actually its his surname) and don’t be put off if the winery isn’t in a castle. Beauty seems to be inversely proportional to the quality of the wine. Look for wineries which look like they make wine and not image.

So here are my must see’s:

1) Kacaba  wonderful wine and nice people
2) Malivoire  great building, great wine and wonderful staff. If the wine was as good as the service it would be great, but it was better. They remembered us and treated us like old friend’s...if I go to Niagara I must go there
3) Marynessan  once they saw we liked real wine they treated us like royalty. Old style wine...wonderful simply wonderful. I am just pissed that it took me 3 tries to find it
4) Niagara Teaching College- the idea of students making the wine(thus financing their own program) and look of sheer pride on their faces was just worth it. They make really  good wine and makes me wonder about  some of the “name” wineries who could use their help. But the restaurant was closed( students from culinary) so we went away  hungry and me wondering if they would take me as a student (I could get a real degree).

Now other than the college, the above make expensive wine. They are excellent, but you pay for it. I cannot see myself buying $150/bottle wine, but hey someone might. And besides these are all independents who are doing it for love not a paycheck. You can taste it.

Other people of note are:  RidgePoint -because they are who they are: their kids running around... Mauro who came in after doing his chores, all dirty... their good cheer and Nebbiolo....yes you heard it here. I bought 4 bottles on a taste. It seems like he hit it good too!!.

    Stoney Ridge- Val did a wonderful job as host and the cheese was wonderful
    Legends- great service- and it’s not Mike Weir’s(inside joke as I thought it was his...it isn’t...they have a fishin guy...oh well she didn’t get mad)    
    

Terry and I had a great time and now have to sort the wine. Some now, some layed down and some well, whenever. I think that Niagara has some natural advantages but we have our own. They have a large head start and Toronto money. But our land is cheaper, weather may be better and we are just getting going so we may avoid some of their mistakes. I f we can keep the “Big Boys” at bay for a while we may just do fine.

But the funny thing is that I came back really depressed and I apologize that I have been lately, which is causing me to be late for my posts too. Well last night, I had a few beers with friends at Kurley's. It was a usual night until I felt like I had a proverbial kick to my butt. It's funny because it was as if my mentor, who passed away last year and who is responsible for this blog was there(see my first post if you wonder). Joe was a wonderful friend who had no problem straightening me out when I needed it and often it was at Kurley's. It was if he was there and all of a sudden, I just saw the light and decided that though my world sucks in many ways, I am really blessed. I have a wonderful woman who has a great kid, great friends and have had the honor to have had 2 mentors, One has passed but the other certainly is alive and summers near ViewPoint and is good friends with John and is how I met John. He probably doesn't remember me, but I was sitting with Bob at the Boardroom before a Wings game...actually many games and John would come in and talk of his vines and wine etc. At the time I thought he was dreaming...but now I realize how good his dream was. That was about 5 years ago and Bob gave me a graduate degree in construction theory and if one has that guy as a prof...well its like having Art Laffer for Economics (a Nobel, but a real bad Shatner 5000 rug) but with real hair.

So anyways I am back and will be moving to the country soon...in stages, but getting there so I will certainly start going native and may start talking more of food and agriculture and country stuff too. And if Scotland beats Italy in Glasgow (beat France in Paris by the way), I may do my seminar next year at the wine fest in the family kilt!!!!!!

 

This year Terry and I took my brother and his wife. She has shown interest in the areas wines so we hoped she would like it. Al is into cars...teaches racing actually and since the MG club was there it gave him something too as he ain't a wine guy. Both appeared to have a real good time.

 

Alma and Harvey are excellent hosts and seem to really enjoy putting on these events. They do it very well and should be a model for the other vineyards. It is unpretentious, adult and casual but it is good where it counts,

 

They have the MG club for an activity, good food and excellent help.. The music was good and fun..That is, it made me feel like I was at a friend's home and not in church. Everyone seemed to have a casual good time about them. Also they have the parking thing down to a tee. It usually is a disaster but it is very organized. Actually the whole thing is very organized, but in a nice way.

 

Above all. Terry has taken a liking to MGA's so maybe I can get one. If anyone snickers about buying an old English sports car...I had a FIAT Spider so an old MG is definitely a step up in reliability. It looks so cool too.

 

The vineyard looks wonderful. The grape bunches look great...green, full, beautiful. Since I am such an expert at growing stuff (I've got my 20 square foot herb farm on my patio) you have it from me that this could/should be a great year. Actually I have that from a couple of vintners that this could be a GREAT year if the weather holds up.

 

New wines: I tasted 2 and had a couple of glasses, though not enough for a review, but enough to get an idea.

 

The are about to release a Reserve Cabernet. The 2005 vintage was very good so they held back some and released them now. All I can say is that I liked it a lot. Now I agree with Michael Pincus regarding the fake/stupid reserve wines being released, but this one is a real reserve. Erie Shores tends to sell their wines young so holding this one back a year to me makes it legitimate. It also allows them enter a new market segment while not alienating their present clientèle and to see the turnout they have a lot of clients. A good move to me and it tastes good too!!!!!. I will get me some soon but I am really overstocked.

 

The second wine was the new Rose... very different from summer sun and in a cool cobalt blue bottle. Looks good and tastes really good. Its light and happy, just like the Summer Sun and compliments it very well. I really liked it and would tell you the name but I can't spell it and Open Office's Spell check isn't that good and jeez I just don't want 50 emails from my 'editors'. But anyhow it was liked by everyone.

 

Al and Pam left with a bottle of Summer Sun and I am about to open a bottle of their Riesling. Congratulation to Erie Shores for their great hospitality and presenting us with another wonderful afternoon.

 

If my memory serves me well I try to give my highlights. These are in no particular order btw.

 

Smith and Wilson: I don't know how they do it but they've added a new red wine and it is quite nice. It is reasonably priced and is called “Clearly Red”. Have no fear there is still Double Barrel available so life is still good.

 

Moving west from Blenheim is Mastronardi.When I was there they were rightfully proud of their Ice Wine winning the World Championship. Tso loves their ice wine and simply put: if I ever get into real trouble, I'm heading there to get some...I think it could get me probation for almost any offense. They have also introduced a Gewürztraminer which was simply excellent.

 

Heading back toward the thriving metropolis of Cottam is Aleksander, who are doing such a nice job. Also good to see is that they seem to be planting grapes anywhere they can. We purchased some Pinot Gris and it went magically with the pickerel we bought from the “fish nazi”. I know I am stealing this from Seinfeld, and I don't even like his humour, but this fellow is the fish equivilent of the soup guy.

 

Well over to Harrow and the Muscedere brothers have a lot going on. The Riesling is sold out it seems and this is real sad, but they have released the Canadian Oaked Chardonnay. This wine is superb and is special as it is one of the very few that uses Canadian Oak and if this is what it can do, methinks it has a good future. A full review is coming and this one is a winner.

 

At Erie Shores things seem to be going very good. The are introducing their new wines and are getting a Rose out very soon. This doesn't replace Summer Sun but complements it. I'm looking forward to that one.

 

If we were there and I didn't mention you, or haven't been there lately, there's nothing personal, I either forgot or in the case of another, heard that wines were sold out and we are waiting for the new ones.

 

Congratulation to Mastronardi and Muscedere for their recent victories. I mentioned Mastronardi's Ice Wine previously and Muscedere had 2 victories last week at the All Canadian wine competition here in Windsor. A Baco Gold and a Bronze for the Cab Franc. These were all Canadian awards so that is good. So here are 3 award winning wines made here by new wineries and this wasn't everybody wins something type of competition. I see many more awards heading down this way.