Here we were at last. In Niagara Falls, or St Catharines to be more precise. We found a wonderful little apartment called Emily's Place in Martindale Road, far from the madding crowds with a non-premium price to match, an easy drive from Toronto's Lester Pearson Airport, so long as you take the right road. Our Google Map itinerary, printed in advance, wanted us to take the 401 but when I asked the Avis lady how would we pay the tolls, she said, "No, no, no". That would cost us a penalty fee of around $15 on top of the toll. "There's a much easier route," she said and it was indeed very simple. I wondered if Google Maps was part of the revenue collecting plan. So we simply turned left out of the car park, followed the signs to the 427, then to Queen Elizabeth Way, then to 406-S and Regional Road 77. Martindale Road was almost right there!
There was another reason for choosing Emily's Place. It was just around the corner to where we had been invited to dinner the following night by Alan Kerr. So after a good night's sleep and a ton of laundry hanging out to dry, we were ready to meet up with WLDGers Howie Hart and his lovely Mary Jo, David Cohen and of course Alan.
Our first stop and rendezvous point was Flat Rock Cellars on the Jordan Bench on the Niagara Escarpment http://www.flatrockcellars.com, where it costs $5 to taste three wines, so Neil and I shared. I was intrigued by the Riedel 'Swirl' glass, having not seen this before. A stemless glass, like the Riedel 'O', but the 'Swirl' has a mid-rift indentation (see photo) which makes it so much easier to hold.
I was delighted to see they had screwcap closures on the wines. "How long have you been using them," I asked. "Forever," was the reply from Kendra, our server. I found out the winery opened for business only a few years before.
Flat Rock Nadja's Vineyard Riesling 2012 – Twenty Mile Bench Dry smelling, green apple, malic, flinty, edgy and tight. Needs to develop.
Flat Rock Riesling 2012 – Twenty Mile Bench Off dry with more rounded edges but still very crisp, tight and flinty with green apple malic acidity.
Flat Rock Gravity Pinot Noir 2011 – Twenty Mile Bench Oak is forward and the tannins are firm and dry. Touch of tamarillo-like red fruit. Good length with the requisite savouriness coming through.
Flat Rock 'The Rusty Shed' Chardonnay 2011 Yellow gold. Smoky oak bouquet and plenty of oak action in the palate. Bold, rich and toasty with a silky smooth palate flow. Undoubtedly the best Chardonnay I had tasted in the 31 days since leaving New Zealand and I was smiling.
Flat Rock Gewurztraminer 2012 – Niagara Escarpment Distinctly varietal floral aromas and full rich mouthfilling classical flavours with white pepper and ginger adding vibrancy to the end. A medium sweet style. Lots of promise for this variety here in the right vintage conditions. I liked it.
Our next stop, via a rather convoluted route, was Megalomaniac Cellars in Vineland http://www.megalomaniacwine.com. The parking area and the exit from the underground cellar overlook Lake Ontario, which was incredibly blue on this particular day. The three wines I tasted here were the most impressive overall on the day. Alan Kerr, who is a teaching chef at Niagara College and a wine expert too, reviewing wines for the LCBO Vintages releases and making selections for teaching, introduced me as a wine writer and the tasting fee was waived.
The Megalomaniac Bubblehead 2011 is 100% bottle fermented pinot noir. It has a pretty pale pink colour, a strawberry bouquet and tastes rich, yeasty and very dry. It reminded me of some of the best pink Champagnes I have been privileged to try.
The Megalomaniac Traveller's Series Reserve Riesling 2011 is an absolute stunner. There's grapefruit zest on the nose and it tastes fresh and tangy with a long drawn out finish. Off dry in style with 11% alcohol and a screwcap closure, I rated this excellent because it is absolutely my kind of style.
'Frank' is the 2010 Megalomaniac Cabernet Franc. It has a good dark red colour, a soft berry aroma and cherry and blackcurrant fruit in the palate. While initially tasting velvety soft and smooth there's some bite to the finish with some spice and oak savouriness and that lovely 'peacocks tail flare' at the end.
A great trio of wines from this very smart winery. They've won awards for their labelling – I expect to see lots of awards also for their wines based on what I tasted on this visit. They use screwcaps too.
Our third stop was Tawse Winery http://www.tawsewinery.ca/ and once again the tasting fee, thanks to Alan, was waived. Well, the one word here is impressive ... from the three banners hanging from the ceiling proudly declaring Tawse as the Canadian Winery of the Year 2010, 2011, 2012 respectively, to the Riedel glasses of every description – one for each style of wine, to the iPad tasting menus where you could click of a bottle image to find out the technical details and more about each wine and the gravity fed winery behind a glass wall. Not to mention our incredibly knowledgable server, Ken. The only thing I would say here is the labels could be smarter.
Tawse 'Carly's Block' Riesling 2011 is dry, crisp and nicely balanced but it's just out of the blocks and needs more time to get rid of the 'sticky lip syndrome' effect (something that makes my lips feels sticky after tasting the wine – astringency/tannin?)
Tawse Robins Block Chardonnay 2010 had 14 months in French oak and is dry, rich and savoury and very much a food wine.
Tawse Quarry Road Chardonnay 2010 is dry and crisp with a nice touch of grapefruit both on the nose and in the palate where there is lovely mouthfeel, richness and length with being OTT. Again a food wine and I'm thinking of crayfish ravioli swimming in a beurre blanc sauce. This wine reminds me of the highly lauded Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay from New Zealand.
Tawse Laidlaw Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009 shows cherry on the nose and is very earthy, savoury and a little gamey in the palate where mushroom and red fruits come though, the fruit slightly stewed but that's OK. Tannins are firm (a Niagara trait it seems) but overall the wine is quite light. A little more serious than Village Burg style with expansive mouthfeel and length.
The medium bodied Tawse Quarry Rd Pinot Noir 2009 is a little more restrained on the nose but in the palate there is a bright acid spine, red and black fruits a touch of smoky bacon, firm tannins with a velvety nap and a super long and expansive finish.
Tawse Cherry Ave Pinot Noir 2010 is a super example of vintage variation, 2010 being a much warmer riper year and it shows in colour and palate weight. Spice and oak combine in harmony and while again the tannins are quite dry, the wine is so much more generous overall with cherry fruit and underlying savouriness.
Finally Tawse Van Bers Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2009. This floral smelling wine tastes quite dry with a hint of bacon and dark bramble fruit.
After a late lunch we went to Hidden Bench Winery, where the tasting fee is $10 for 3 wines. I had an introduction here from someone else and was also introduced as a wine writer, but the fee was not waived. I was also disappointed that when I asked to taste the three Pinot Noirs I was encouraged to taste a chardonnay, so foolishly I agreed and only two of the Pinot Noirs were tasted and neither top (i.e. most expensive) Chardonnay or Pinot Noir were shown. Based on the promising Felseck PN, I would have liked to have seen the top tier pinot.
Hidden Bench Estate Chardonnay 2011 Hint of pineapple on the nose and plenty of underlying acidity – but it was served very cold which may have emphasised this. 10.5 months in older oak, a blend of 3 vineyard sites. I was disappointed it cost me $3.33333333333333 to taste this.
Hidden Bench Estate Pinot Noir 2010 Tamarillo, smoky savoury oak, a touch of spice, firm tannins and underlying acidity to given the peacock tail flare at the end. A blend of 3 vineyard sites.
Hidden Bench Felseck Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 Savoury with morellos on the nose. Tannins a little softer and rounder, the wine medium bodied with fruit heading towards plum and a pillowy finish where an earthy character becomes more prominent.
Our final stop was Cave Spring Cellars in Jordan's pretty little village, http://cavespring.ca/, although the vineyards are back on the bench. The tasting fee here is more realistic with $1 per tasting, however when I was introduced as a wine writer and later went to pay, the tasting fee was waived.
Cave Spring Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2011 saw 15% oak. It smells like I expect oak-aged Sauv to smell, but there's also a funky yeasty component that I often relate to wild yeast but there was no wild yeast used, I understand. Crisp and fresh to the taste with smoky notes, apples, a touch of gooseberry and a strong varietal finish with very good length, this is a good example of oak-aged Sauv.
Cave Spring Cellars Chenin Blanc 2011 has typical apple brightness with a slightly lanolin background and a long creamy finish. A difficult grape to grow in the region and after winter damage, the vines were pulled out.
Cave Spring Cellars 'CSV' Riesling 2004 has a lovely aged Riesling nose with honeysuckle florals and lime curd hinting that the wine is going to be bright, but sadly a little flabby in the palate. Not sure how long the bottle had been open.
Cave Spring Cellars 'Dolomite' Riesling 2011 seems moderately dry with balanced sweetness and a touch of spritz. There seems to be a smoky character in the background. Struck match, maybe.
Cave Spring Cellars Estate Pinot Noir 2009 is light and fruity with some smoky notes that are quite pleasing and tannins that are surprisingly silky, definitely not as hard as some of the others around here. Nice little inoffensive quaffer that slips downs easily.
All in all this was an informative introduction to the wines of Niagara Escarpment and thanks guys, for showing us around.
Oh, I have to make special mention of Hart Cellars Niagara Cabernet Franc 2010 (edit: Howie says below he calls it Bordertown Red as it has 70% CF from Niagara USA & 30% merlot from Niagara Canada). This was a super wine, easily on a par with the best tasted today. Full bodied with saturated colour, rounded velvety smooth tannins and a lovely combination of berry fruit and savoury oak flavours. Tasted over dinner at Alan's, it was superb with the steaks.