Return to Niagara by Michael

After several years absence, I finally got back to Niagara to do some touring and tasting. The explosion of wineries is incredible.

First stop was Konzelmann, mostly to return a corked bottle. Of course, it was too old for them to have a replacement, but when I pointed out a current bottle that looked like a reasonable replacement, they informed me it was too expensive. I ended up with a so-so replacement and waived tasting fees. Such generosity. I find this level of customer service unacceptable. Nonetheless, I bought some of their quite aromatic $15 sparkling riesling, and $10 peach wine.

Palatine Hills is one of the new arrivals. They have a fume’ blanc (oaked sauvignon) of all things. It was pretty good. Made me imagine a white cab franc, with its green pepper character! The $18 res chard is well made, with nicely balanced oakiness. A $21 cab sauv reminded me way too much of homemade unfortunately. The gewurz icewine is very good, though lacking real varietal character. That’s all I tried.

Popped in to Strewn for a light lunch. Quite pleasant, and price within reason.

Stratus is a gleaming new megabuck premium winery on hwy 55. As impressed as we were by the architecture and environmental sensitivity, I was thoroughly put off by the “attitude”. $4 per taste, or a bargain $10 for three. They weren’t even tasting their flagship $38 “white” blend. All I tried was the 2000 riesling icewine, and I was singularly unimpressed. It is a bit on the light side, and has a slightly sherried/oxidized character – confirmed by trying a different bottle. FYI, their table wines are in the $26-$55 range. Will I ever return to gauge their value?

New #3: Caroline Cellars. A nice little establishment reminiscent of the “old days”. The 2004 dry riesling has potential, but tasted a bit homemade. Interesting elderflower thing going on. Hmmm, the 2004 zweigelt also has some elderflower. Tell me they’re not adding elderflowers to their wine! I can imagine enjoying the 2004 meritage with food, but once again, a somewhat homemade side to it. A 7% RS blackberry was quite enjoyable, and with more flavour extract than one usually associates with this berry. All table wines are $9-$14, so this is the bargain hunter’s destination. Oh, except for the $16 chard blended with enough icewine to bring it to 4%RS!!! Should’ve tried it! My favourite wine (bought three) is the $10 marechal foch! Really interesting stuff, with much more going on than a typical inky unstructured baco.

New #4: Coyote’s Run. A friendly, happy place. No tasting charges if you buy something. The $16 2004 ries has good body and acid, and, believe it or not, a touch of elderflower. Maybe this is Virgil/St.David’s garrigue! The $24 res chard is light, but with pleasant oaky spiciness. A $12 off-dry vidal is unique in my experience, with a really interesting, refreshing celery seed/salt? thing going on. A secret white blend had me guessing gewurz or muscat plus maybe p.gris…??? :-) Their $15 rose’ unfortunately disappointed, given its very shy nose and taste. They have two pinot noirs. The $30 “red paw” has a nice, beety/mushroomy/sweaty character. Unfortunately, the $36 “black paw” is sold out, because the way it was described made it sound even better, and more Burgundian. Their 2004 riesling icewine is uniquely perfumed, and I think could be really good in a year or three. But, I walked out with the $40 2004 barrel-fermented vidal icewine! An excellent wine, the wood is not discernible as such, but adds a perfect edge and structure. Only the second I’ve tasted, the other from Jost in Nova Scotia was equally gorgeous. Grab one before they raise the price!

New #5: FrogPondFarm. Another quaint little farm winery that we want more of, they produce all of four wines, all organic. Also, keep in mind while reading the prices that all bottles are 500ml! My only disappointment was the 2002 Cfranc/merlot blend, which smacked a bit of homemade. The $16 ‘04 Cfranc is a lovely ripe wine with a touch of cherry. Bought one. The $12 2002 riesling is a crisp beauty with Germanic character. Bought one. And, in the *odd bin*, their 2001 oaked riesling. Actually pretty good, though a bit musty feeling from the wood/fruit clash. IIRC, they used American oak. I was just about to write that French might be better, but based on my tastes of wine done with Canadian oak, I’m thinking that that might be the killer combination!

Conclusions: Lots of exciting things are happening in Niagara. But, way too many places expecting to be paid for samples of often mediocre wine. Did I mention Strewn wanted $2 for the Cfranc I tasted? (At least it was good.) Wake up guys. I am totally turned off by your establishments, and very unlikely to buy any of your precious wine.

Our final stop was perhaps the most exciting. The Upper Canada Cheese Company, 4159 Jordan Rd., just S of Harbour Estates I think.

It’s a small gourmet shop, and they make two cheeses there. One is a Camembert-like wheel, though the consistency is a bit drier – at least in this mid(?)-stage of it’s maturation. The other is a raunchier variety a bit reminiscent of Oka in some respects, though softer.

So, two excellent artisanal cheeses worthy of joining this country’s growing portfolio. I still harbour a little fantasy of starting a mail-order gourmet Canadian cheese shop…