For an early birthday dinner, Mary Jo took me to Salvatore's, a fancy local restaurant with a 15-page wine list that I perused online before going. I noticed a lack of local wine. They did list a couple from one winery in Ontario and a few from the Finger Lakes, but nothing from the Niagara Escarpment or Lake Erie AVAs. Coincidentally, a FB thread in a group about local wines was discussing this article about wine lists and local wines: http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/51740. So, here’s what I did.
With our dinner, we ordered 2009 Régis Bouvier Gevrey-Chambertin Burgundy. This is listed at $90 but our server informed us that on Wednesdays, all wines on the 15 page wine list under $100 are 50% off (I was going to order a $60 2008 Volnay). I carried in a bottle of my home made 2012 Pinot Noir (grapes from Don DeMaison's Long Cliff Winery). After our server tasted my wine, she returned shortly afterwards with Russell Salvatore Jr., the owner’s son. I poured him a taste and his jaw dropped. "This is from Niagara?" I then filled his glass and explained to him that the reason I brought it was to show him that there is a place on his wine list for local wines. He nodded and said "Very, very nice". I explained that I've been making wine from Don DeMaison's grapes since the early 1980s. He liked it so much he gave us 4 free desserts and waived the corkage. My take on the side by side tasting of the two wines is that I was amazed at how similar they were. The Burgundy was a bit darker and had a slight touch of funk. Both wines had black cherry and smoke on the nose, similar acid and alcohol levels and a long, full finish. I hope this introduction will have them considering local wines.