WTN: And now for something completely different (long)

Ontario Wine Tasting Notes – Royal Agricultural Fair 2007

OR : And now for something completely different _or_ 3 new varieties (highlighted with italics, bolding, and underlining) for my palate

All are Ontario Wines and were tasted over 2 days on Nov. 5 and 6, 2007. A note on the vintages from Ontario – 2005 was a hot year and thus good for reds in Ontario. 2006 was a more normal year, but probably a bit warmer than normal. My rule of thumb for Ontario wines is to buy whites (and an occasional pinot noir), reds only in hot years like 1998, 2002, 2005, and apparently 2007.

Focus of Royal Fair Wine Bar: Prince Edward County wines – the up and coming new viticultural area of Ontario. Talking to the manager of this wine bar, these wines are moderately priced range of $10 to $20 per bottle to keep the prices reasonable. Most wines were tasted in a flight of 3 ($6).

Whites

Rosenhall Run Gewurztraminer 2006 11.5% abv Niagara ON

Pale yellow wine with an expressive nose of lychees, rose petals, and violets. Light lychee fruit on the palate with good acidity for a gewurz. Medium finish. Light bodied.

Huff Estates 2006 riesling reserve 12.5% abv Prince Edward County (PEC) Ontario

Light straw color. Light nose of grapefruit. Bracing acidity, grapefruit and some minerals on the midpalate. Medium to long acidic finish. Acid seems a bit out of balance.

Waupoos Winery Geisenheim 2006 PEC, Ontario

Light yellow. Unique and expressive nose of earthiness, minerality, musk, and exotic fruit. Nicely balanced wine with great acidity and flavors reminiscent of riesling (lemon/citrus) and pinot gris. Luscious medium-long finish of acidic fruit. $12.95 CAN

I was fortunate enough to converse with the owner of this winery (Ed Neuser). He told me that if tasted blind most people think this variety is pinot gris. He also informed me that geisenheim was named after a university in Germany. This was my first time tasting this variety and I was intrigued by its unique nose and taste profile. I may have to buy some of this wine from the winery. Ed also told me that his site on a south facing slope with clay loam soils on a limestone base located on the shore of Lake Ontario seems to be the right terroir for De Chaunac, a red French variety also new to me that I really liked (tasting note in red section). Both these varieties impressed my buds and seemed to have unique and likeable fragrance and taste profiles. Ed also told me, his Waupoos winery was the first modern winery established in Prince Edward County.

Waupoos Winery riesling 2006 PEC Ontario 12.3% abv

Very pale yellow. Shy nose of lemon. Nice acidity with decent balance. Medium length acidic finish. Light bodied. Too light for my tastes. (owner, Ed confided these grapes struggled to get ripe in 2006)

Southbrook Winery sauvignon blanc 2006 Niagara ON

Pale yellow with a good nose of gooseberries and grass. Nice acidity and kiwi fruit on the midpalate. Medium to long acidic finish. Decent but not exceptional SB.

Rosenhall Run Winery Sullyzwicker White blend 2006 Niagara Ontario (Ehrenfelser, riesling, gewurztraminer)

Very pale yellow Interesting nose of floral, white peach and a hint of muskiness. Well balance wine with peach, apricot, and tangerine on the midpalate. A medium length finish. Efrenfleser is another new variety for my tastebuds.

Grange of PEC Assemblage (white blend chardonnay, pinot gris, riesling, and sauvignon blanc) 2006 12% abv PEC, Ontario

Light straw color. Expressive nose of lychees, white peach and some earthiness. Really nice midpalate of great balance with peach and lychees. Nice medium to long fruity finish with lingering acidity. I really liked this wine and almost bought a bottle. This is a good food wine that I had with spicy middle eastern chicken (schwarma style) on rice. The food enhanced the sweet fruit the wine. A nice match.

Red Wines

Norman Hardee winery pinot noir 2005 PEC, Ontario 12% abv

Light ruby wine with a smoky earth nose. Nice light pinot with good balance, with acidity and red fruit (cherries and strawberries) equally expressive. Finish medium.

Waupoos winery De Chaunac 2005 PEC, Ontario

Deep crimson wine with an enticing and unique nose of smoke, minerals (limestone esp), and a musky floral scent. A medium bodied wine with a luscious midpalate feel that gives impressions of plums, tart cherries, and great balance. A medium to long finish.

With food: I thought this wine would go with lamb. I tried it with a lamb meat pie (lamb, mixed veggies and gravy). Food enhances the earthiness of this wine and brings out the sweet red fruit, especially tart cherries. – Great food wine. Great match with lamb. As the owner of the winery, Ed, says: This variety loves the terroir of Prince Edward County. I may have to order some of this wine from the winery ($13.25 CAN).

East Dell Winery Pinot Noir 2006 Niagara, Ontario

Light red wine with a reticent nose of smoky red fruit (especially tart cherries). Oak and tannins on palate with some red fruit in the background. Medium finish of tannins. Not much fruit in this wine, needs time as it is a bit rough. Not sure if fruit profile will improve, however.

Lakeview Cellars winery baco noir 2004 Niagara, Ontario

Light brownish red (mahogany) wine with somewhat shy sweet floral nose with some sweet muskiness. Musky taste with good tannins and some red fruit. A medium finish.

Southbrook Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Triomphe 2001 Niagara, Ontario

Deep ruby wine with oaky taste and some cassis. Oak is not integrated. An OAK MONSTER! Medium finish of, what else, oak.

East Dell Winery Cabernet – Merlot 2003 Niagara, Ontario

Medium ruby color with a shy nose of oak and red fruit. Fruity midpalate with nice acidity and some tannins. Finish is just OK, somewhat short.

Rosenhall Run Winery Sullyzwicker red blend 2006 Niagara, Ontario (Gamay, cab franc, and pinot noir)

Medium red color with shy nose of red fruit and some earthiness. Midpalate of earthiness and nice acidity but a little short on the tannins. Definitely light bodied. Finish short.

20 Bees Winery Cabernet – Merlot 2006 Niagara, Ontario

Deep ruby color with earth, bacon, oak, and some red fruit in the nose. Good tannic structure with nice red fruit on the midpalate. Medium bodied wine with a decent medium to long tannic/fruit finish. My tasting partner liked this wine a lot.

Huff Estates Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 PEC, Ontario

Deep red color with cassis and oak on the nose. Decent balance on the midpalate with nice tannic grip and dark fruit in the background. Medium finish of tannins and acid. This wine is a bit shy of fruit.

Dan Aykroyd Winery Cabernet – Merlot 2006 Niagara, Ontario

Medium ruby wine with a shy nose of some red fruit, mostly red raspberry. Nice balance with good tannic structure and red fruit. A bit short on the finish. Just an OK wine.

Black Prince Winery Cab Franc 2006 Niagara, Ontario

This light to medium bodied wine has a deep ruby color and smoky raisins with a hint of plums on the nose. Nice fruity midpalate with red plums and nice acidity. A little short on the tannins. Medium finish of tart fruit.

Carmela Estates Winery Cab Franc – Cab Sauvignon 2005 PEC, Ontario

A deep crimson wine with plum, cassis, and earthiness on the nose. A midpalate of earthiness, acidity, and some red fruit. A bit hot on the medium to long finish. This wine was a bit too plumy for my taste.

Wildass Winery Red Blend (Cabernet – Merlot – Gamay) 2006 Niagara, Ontario

Light ruby wine with an earthy and red plum nose. This a sassy little number with bright red fruit acidity and nice balance. Tart cherries and raspberries primarily. A medium finish of acidic red fruit. I liked this wine as it stimulated my palate in a good way.

Grange of PEC Winery Gamay Noir 2006 PEC, Ontario

Solid ruby red wine with oak, smoke and plumy nose. Oak and fruit on the midpalate. Medium to long finish of oak and fruit. The oak needs some time to integrate in this wine. It is not quite an oak monster and I think the oak will come around with time.

If you have read this far, you are a trooper. In general, my opinion of Ontario wines is shifting towards the reds. As we get more hot summers the greenish flavors of reds in the past are slowly going away and we are getting more ripe reds. Definitely not CA or Oz, but good for Ontario. Whites still tend to be the best and most reliable wines with many good rieslings, gerwurzs and chardonnays being produced.

I would appreciate any feedback from others who have tasted Geisenheim and De Chaunac wines.

Tom - One of the finest wines I ever had was a DeChaunac. It was made by a fellow home winemaker (who has since moved away) in the late 70's. It spent 2 years in an oak barrel and 3 years in the bottle when I tasted in the early '80s. In addition, for several years I made DeChaunac, obtaining grapes from a local grower here in Niagara County, NY. However, in the mid-90's he had to tear them out due to crown gall, an ailment that DeChaunac is very susceptable to. So, I haven't made DeChaunac in over a decade, but I believe PaulB made some last year. Perhaps he could bring some to one of next summer's offlines. I agree on the earthiness, and found that it paired up nicely with red sauce dishes also.

I would appreciate any feedback from others who have tasted Geisenheim and De Chanauc wines.

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the great notes.

As luck would have it, I have experience with both of the above

I believe that in our Southern Ontarian climate, Dechaunac is far, far underrated as a grape. In fact, the crazy thing is that it is not even VQA-eligible as a variety, meaning that no matter how carefully it is looked after in the vineyard and then in the cellar, a winery cannot get it VQA-approved. This is nuts. Chambourcin, the recent "hybrid darling" that has been making ground (pun intended) in Ontario, to my taste, does not produce as good a wine in our climate as can Dechaunac - yet Chambourcin has been allowed to gain deserved name cachet throughout the Eastern U.S. (e.g. Indiana, Pennsylvania) where it's a bit warmer than in Ontario, and it actually ends up producing very nice, ripe table wines. Also, there's Chambourcin in Australia, which is another potential cachet issue.

Common issues with Dechaunac include a tendency to overbear and thus a need for uncompromising crop control for wine quality - otherwise the wines will be thin, light and uninteresting; Howie has also mentioned how a grower in his area had to pull Dechaunac due to crown gall - though I can't say to what extent that is a problem in Southern Ontario or even Prince Edward County (Lake Ontario North Shore, near Kingston).

I am making about 25 litres of Dechaunac this year and aging it on medium-toast French oak. I will certainly post a note when the wine is ready for bottling. Lakeview in Niagara used to make a beautiful varietal oaked Dechaunac that sold for $8.95 a bottle; it was an absolute perfect pizza and ribs kind of wine with great acidity and balance, fully dry and food-friendly. They discontinued it because people did not recognize the name and preferred to buy the hyped-name varieties.

Geisenheim - I've had really nice wine from this grape at Willow Springs Winery north of Toronto. Full-forward pineapple and tropical fruit nose, with a viscous mouthfeel and quite substantial on the palate. This is another grape that makes a fine dry table wine, though commercially I suspect that most will make it with some r.s.

Tom - One of the finest wines I ever had was a DeChaunac. I agree on the earthiness, and found that it paired up nicely with red sauce dishes also.

Howie,

Interesting that it was one of the best you tasted, because of all the Ontario reds I tasted at the fair the DeChaunac was probably the best all around red wine. I guess this is one of those unsung varieties that the main stream has yet to recognize. Or perhaps, it is quite demanding of its terroir to give its best expression

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the great notes.


I believe that in our Southern Ontarian climate, Dechaunac is far, far underrated as a grape.

I am making about 25 litres of Dechaunac this year and aging it on medium-toast French oak. I will certainly post a note when the wine is ready for bottling.

Geisenheim - I've had really nice wine from this grape at Willow Springs Winery north of Toronto. Full-forward pineapple and tropical fruit nose, with a viscous mouthfeel and quite substantial on the palate. This is another grape that makes a fine dry table wine, though commercially I suspect that most will make it with some r.s.

Interesting observations, Paul. I think you may have something about DeChaunac being adapted to the Ontario climate. Ed, the owner of Waupoos definitely seemed to think this was the case in PEC.

I also thought I detected some pineapple in the geisenheim, although it was faint and in the background, so I did not write it down. Exotic tropical fruit for sure, but could not put my finger on the individual fruits.

I think you may have something about DeChaunac being adapted to the Ontario climate. Ed, the owner of Waupoos definitely seemed to think this was the case in PEC.

Tom, what I feel may be happening in PEC is that because it is a young wine region that has never before seen wine production, there may be more of a willingness among some growers to try grapes that have fallen through the cracks elsewhere. I feel that Niagara growers gave up on Dechaunac not because you can't make a very good wine from it, but because it isn't cost-effective to make that wine when you get so much more per ton for Cabernet or Merlot, even factoring in devastating winter kill that hardly fazes Dechaunac. Add to that the touristy craze in Niagara and even more of a pressure to stock the shelves with wines that bear internationally recognized names. There is so much "macro" economic thinking at work that varieties are planted based on how well their wines are likely to sell, not always on how well said varieties are suited, first and foremost, to the climate. I hope that Dechaunac gets noticed via a different prism, because it surely has many good sides to it.

...I guess this is one of those unsung varieties that the main stream has yet to recognize. Or perhaps, it is quite demanding of its terroir to give its best expression

While it is not the easiest grape to grow, it can be grown quite successfully with attention. However, as Paul alluded to, the vines can be very prolific. I believe that back in the 60's and 70's when DeChaunac was used in many Finger Lakes and Ontario wines, growers were trying to maximize production, thus harvesting 7-9 tons per acre at 16-18 Brix, instead of 3-4 tons per acre at 23 Brix. As a result, the grape never did get the respect it truly deserves.
From the Big Winegrape Glossary:

DECHAUNAC:
Has technical name Seibel 9549. Productive, hardy to -15 deg. F (ca -26 C.), mid-October ripening french-american hybrid variety that is not currently recommended because of susceptibility to soilborne viruses and poor, (1997), market demand conditions for some hybrid grapes. It gives a fruity, balanced red wine of only fair quality usually possessed of low to mild tannic content. Having low popularity as a varietal it is commonly used as a tannin diluting blending component in tannin-rich bulk wines. Planted mainly in the cooler regions of the Northeast U.S. and Canada where it once had the name Cameo, changed in 1972 because of certain proprietary and other objections.