WTN: Touring wineries in Prince Edward County

My wife and I just returned from a great (apart from the weather) two and a half day tour through Prince Edward County, one of Ontario's newest wine regions.

Compared to our very first visit last September, I have to say I was more impressed this time with the overall quality of wines. Not sure if that is due to winemaking improving that much, or the fact that we visited different wineries than we previously did. We tasted some great whites (and I came home with two cases of them!), spoke to some friendly and passionate people and, as was our experience last time, were disappointed by most of the reds we tried.

Whiles many of the whites are exciting, rich and delicious, the majority of reds are still, to my taste, astringent, with high acidity and little or no fruit to speak of. To my mind, it's tougher to grow rich, full reds in this climate and I think that PEC is still some time away from producing consistent red wines.

The following are some short WTNs from 12 wineries.

The Old Third Vineyard
This winery does one wine and, IMHO, does it very well.
Pinot Noir 2009
A hint of barnyard, cherry and raspberry on the nose.
Medium weight, rich, cherry, raspberry, creamy in the mouth.
Very nice.

33 Vines Winery
Their tasting room is located in an old caboose. Cool.
Riesling 2010
Honey, spicy, lemon on the rich nose.
Medium weight, lemon, green apple, lime, spicy, light honey, nicely dry, clean.
A mouthwatering finish.

Red Caboose Rose 2010
A blend of Cabernet Franc and Riesling.
Floral nose.
Medium weight, tangy cherry, strawberry, floral.

Cabernet Franc-Merlot 2009
Spicy, earthy, very fruity on the nose.
Drying, medium weight, tangy, not much fruit.

Closson Chase
They produce only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
South Clos Chardonnay 2009
Smoky, toasty, oaky on the nose.
Apple, lemon, creamy, silky, good acidity.
Tangy lemon on the finish.

K. J. Watson Vineyard Chardonnay 2008
Citrus fruit, honey on the nose.
Apple, lime, honey, spicy, with a bit more of an edge than the first wine.

Pinot Noir 2009
Spicebox, currants, raspberry, spicy on the nose.
Tangy, drying, spicy, raspberry, quite lean.

K. W. Pinot Noir 2008
Light smoke on the nose.
Tart, tangy, drying.

Keint-He Winery and Vineyards
Pinot Noir 2007
Smoky, earthy, light nose.
Medium weight, cherry, raspberry, with a light bitter streak.
Nice

Pinot Meunier 2007
Light leather on the nose.
Medium weight, cherry, viscous, good acidity, firm backbone with a bitter streak.

Pineaux Sauvage Botrytis affected Pinot Noir 2008
A sherry-like nose.
Thick, apricot, spicy, prickly on the tongue, burnt toffee.
Very nice.

Stanner's Vineyard
Chardonnay 2009
Smoky, toast, charred, caramel on the nose.
Medium weight, apple, lemon, rich, caramel, honey, butterscotch.

Estate Pinot Noir 2009
Cranberry, raspberry, smoke on the nose.
Medium weight, cherry, raspberry, good acidity.

Devil's Wishbone Pinot Noir 2009
Smoky, earthy nose.
Firm, drying tannin, sour cherry, good aciditry.

Cabernet Franc 2009 (with 15-20 per cent Niagara fruit blended in)
Veggy, cherry nose.
Tart, drying, smoky, cherry, earthy, with a veggy streak.

Exultet Estates
Chardonnay 2009
Oaky, toasty nose.
Medium weight, buttery, caramel, light lemon, a hint of orange, weighty and quite rich.

Pinot Noir 2008
Raspberry on the rich nose.
Medium weight, tangy, light cherry, raspberry, lots of acidity.
Mouthwatering, tangy on the finish.

Pinot Noir 2009
Much darker in the glass than the first wine.
Oak, smoky on the nose.
Medium weight, currants, cherry, raspberry, silky in the mouth, good tangy acidity.

Pinot Noir The Beloved 2009 (single clone)
Medium weight, tangy, qute rich, strawberry, raspberry, lots of acidity.

Vidal Icewine 2010
Peach, apricot, incredibly rich on the nose.
Full in the mouth, honey, apricot, peach, incredibly rich.

Hinterland Wine Company
This husband-wife team makes only sparkling wine and, IMHO, they are great - both the wines and the couple! Yes, I have a wine crush.

Riesling 2010 Charmat Method
10 per cent Pinot Gris
Floral, lemon, grapefruit on the nose.
Lemon, grapefruit, honey, good acidity, very fresh.
Lemon, grapefruit on the finish.
Delicious.

Riesling 2009 Traditional Method
Doughy, yeasty on the nose.
Sharper than the first wine, green apple, clean.

Les Etoiles 2008
A 60-40 Pinot Noir-Chardonnay blend.
Toasty, nutty, doughy on the nose.
Medium weight, creamy, good mouthfeel, honey, lemon, green apple, nutty, good acidty.

Tank sample of Les Etoiles 2011
Lemon. grapefruit, honey on the nose.
Lemon, very clean, racy, rich, mouthwatering.

Karlo Estates
Riesling 2010
Ruby grapefrit, lemon, honey, spicy, juicy, good acidity.

Frontenac Gris Rose 2010
Meaty, earthy, smoky, barnyard on the nose.
Brett, barnyard, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, good acidity.
Very different and very good.

Pinot Noir 2009
Bright cherry, raspberry on the nose.
Drying, tangy, light raspberry.

Fifth Element 2008
100 per cent Petit Verdot
Very jammy nose.
Strawberry, peppery, tangy, drying.

Van Alstine Port 2008
I neglected to ask about the grapes that go into this.
Sweet, cherry, very viscous, a little rough on the finish.

Lacey Estates Vineyard and Winery
Pinot Gris 2010
This wine had extended contact with the skins, so tastes a bit different and it has a copper hue.
Spicy, lightly floral on the nose.
Medium weight, light cherry, strawberry, apple, spicy, rich, clean.

Chardonnay 2009
Smoky, toasty nose.
Medium weight, green apple, lime, good acidity, lightly creamy.

Gewurztraminer 2010
Floral, peach, hair perm on the nose.
Very big in the mouth, floral, very spicy, honey, peach, apricot, good acidity, with a bitter streak.

Pinot Noir 2009
Tangy, veggy notes on the nose.
Dry, tangy, tart, spicy, peppery.

Baco Noir 2009
Barnyard, leather on the nose.
High acidity, roasted, tarry, sour cherry, quite weighty in the mouth.

Bergeron Estate Winery
Vidal-Riesling 2009
A 40-60 blend.
Smoky, with smoked meat on the nose.
Quite dry, apples, lemon, olives, medium weight, clean.

Ganay Noir 2010
Smoky, old cheese on the nose.
Medium weight, quite tangy, sour cherry, raspberry, spicy, red licorice, high acidity.
Cherry on the fairly long finish.

Cabernet Franc 2008
Spicy, earthy, smoky, raspberry on the nose.
Drying, tart, cherry, quite tangy.

Cabernet Franc 2009
Soft, muted cherry on the nose.
Astringent, medium weight, quite drying.

Lond Dog Winery
Rose 2008
A 50-50 Pinot Noir-Chardonnay blend.
Toasty oak on the nose.
Tangy, clean, light raspberry, good acidity.
Drying on the finish.

Bella Chardonnay 2007
Golden in the glass.
Smoke, toast on the nose.
Medium weight, clean, apple, light lemon, toasty, caramel.
Long, oaky finish.

Bella Chardonnay 2008
Lighter yellow in the glass than the above wine.
Sharp oak on the nose.
Light bodied, green apple, good use of oak, lean structure.

Pinot Noir Barrel Select 2008
Charred on the nose.
Smoky, charred, medium weight, very tart.
Mouthwatering, tart finish.

Pinot Noir Top Dog 2008
Medium weight, tangy, good acidity, raspberry, cherry.

Pinot Noir Otto Reserva 2007
Smoky, quite lean, tart, charred.

Sugarbush Vineyards
Riesling/Gewürztraminer 2010
Light, spicy nose.
Dry, lemon, lime, floral, spicy, good acidity.
Grapefruit on the drying finish.

Chardonnay 2009
Medium weight, green apple, lemon, a hint of orange, lime, juicy.
Quite good.

Chardonnay 2010
Leesy, toasty on the nose.
Quite rich, tangy, good acidity, honey, orange.

Almost Red 2010
A blend of Cabernet Franc-Chardonnay.
Lightly smoky on the nose.
Strawberry, raspberry, medium weight. spicy.
Delicious.

Pinot Noir 2009
Tart, tangy, very drying, sour cherry, an odd chemical taste.

Gamay 2009
Smoky, peppery on the nose.
Light weight, tangy, strawberry, raspberry, spicy, with a Kool-Aid taste.

Gamay 2010
Very smoky nose.
Tangy, smoky, cherry, raspberry, high acidity.

Cabernet Franc 2008
Earthy, veggy on the nose.
Very tart, earthy, veggy.

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the tasting notes on your trip. As you probably know, 2009 was not a good vintage year for reds in general across Ontario. And unless Prince Edward county had different weather than the Niagara peninsula, the 2009 reds were probably generally underipe, acidic and chaptalized in 2009. I am not surprised that you were disappointed in the reds as many were 2009s. The 2010 vintage should be much, much better for PEC as well as Niagara. I am looking forward to tasting the 2010 Ontario reds as they are released. Hopefully there will be a few gems.

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the tasting notes on your trip. As you probably know, 2009 was not a good vintage year for reds in general across Ontario. And unless Prince Edward county had different weather than the Niagara peninsula, the 2009 reds were probably generally underipe, acidic and chaptalized in 2009. I am not surprised that you were disappointed in the reds as many were 2009s. The 2010 vintage should be much, much better for PEC as well as Niagara. I am looking forward to tasting the 2010 Ontario reds as they are released. Hopefully there will be a few gems.

True, but the majority of the reds sucked when we were there in September 2010 as well.

Pinot is the only red that has really shown a lot of promise in 'The County', and I agree that it and the rest of Ontario are really affected by the vintage, more so then in many other wine regions. As a northern limit for viticulture, there are really only 3-5 vintages per decade that provide optimal ripening in ON, especially for Bordeaux or Rhone red wine varieties. I tasted many reds from the 2007 vintage, a great vintage in ON, and was impressed. 2008? Not at all interested.

But I agree with Bruce that in the county (and the rest of ON and even BC), the whites will usually outclass the reds. But The County isn't trying - or at least shouldn't be trying - to create big, rich reds. The good wineries there are more about cool climate, low alcohol pinots and chardonaays. But there are some interesting other whites too, although they tend to be rather generic table wines still. It is a very young region still.

Pinot is the only red that has really shown a lot of promise in 'The County', and I agree that it and the rest of Ontario are really affected by the vintage, more so then in many other wine regions. As a northern limit for viticulture, there are really only 3-5 vintages per decade that provide optimal ripening in ON, especially for Bordeaux or Rhone red wine varieties. I tasted many reds from the 2007 vintage, a great vintage in ON, and was impressed. 2008? Not at all interested.

But I agree with Bruce that in the county (and the rest of ON and even BC), the whites will usually outclass the reds. But The County isn't trying - or at least shouldn't be trying - to create big, rich reds. The good wineries there are more about cool climate, low alcohol pinots and chardonaays. But there are some interesting other whites too, although they tend to be rather generic table wines still. It is a very young region still.

Hi John,

I agree with your assessment. The only interesting reds I have found from the county were hybrids. My rule of thumb for buying wine from Canada is to buy whites from Ontario, especially riesling, and reds from B C. Not that B C doesn't have some good whites, it does. I have a really nice vigonier in my cellar from Howard Soon's winery Sandhill.

I do - no surprise - question the wisdom of basing PEC's reds on big-name viniferas.

That said, back in '07 I attended Fiesta Buckhorn, and the best reds that I tried from PEC were a DeChaunac and a Zweigelt: two varieties that never get any respect.

I am most intrigued by your Frontenac TN. Very interesting. No Frontenac has yet made it to the LCBO - though I suspect that one day this may finally change. For now, we must visit the wineries in person. Keep an eye out for varietal Marquette - a new Minnesota grape that is very popular among northern growers. I tried a Quebec-grown example a couple of years ago and was very impressed by the colour and structure. If I had to compare it to something vinifera, I'd say Gamay - but with more tannin.

Thanks for the notes!

I do - no surprise - question the wisdom of basing PEC's reds on big-name viniferas.

That said, back in '07 I attended Fiesta Buckhorn, and the best reds that I tried from PEC were a DeChaunac and a Zweigelt: two varieties that never get any respect.

I am most intrigued by your Frontenac TN. Very interesting. No Frontenac has yet made it to the LCBO - though I suspect that one day this may finally change. For now, we must visit the wineries in person. Keep an eye out for varietal Marquette - a new Minnesota grape that is very popular among northern growers. I tried a Quebec-grown example a couple of years ago and was very impressed by the colour and structure. If I had to compare it to something vinifera, I'd say Gamay - but with more tannin.

Thanks for the notes!

Hi Paul,

I would have to agree that one of the best reds I have ever had from PEC was a DeChaunac from Wapoos winery. It was a nice match with lamb. Very interesting flavor profile for a hybrid. Not great on the finish but very drinkable wine that goes with food.