Canadian Wines - Part 2

This is second 2 posts on my recent Canadian wine tasting trip. This post focuses on the wine region names Prince Edward County, which is a peninsula area near Kingston Ontario on the north end of Lake Ontario. (It's not to be confused with prince Edward Island. They have potatoes therem not wine.)

PEC is a much younger wine region then Niagara, and smaller so there are fewer wineries, but there are still some great finds here. Like Niagara, the area focuses on colder climate grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and as such, are closer to the style found in Burgundy.



Long Dog - Some wonderful pinot's can be found here. I had one of their wine at Domus in Ottawa for a News Year's dinner and it was the first Canadian wine the I remember impressing me.

Norman Hardie - Pinot and Chardonnay, my favorite of the region.

Closson Chase - the specialize in Chardonnay and have an excellent range. very good, but be warned the tasting are pricey and like most places in PEC they don't waive the fee if you purchase anything.

Hinterland - one of the areas only producers of Sparkling wines have only recently opened their tasting room. They offer some still whites as well.

County Cider Ice Cider - I know it's not grape based, but the iced cider is simply fantastic in the desert wine category.

There are some great food stops here as well:

• Buddha Dog - makes excellent "gourmet" hot dogs
• Harvest - Excellent classically prepared foods. A good dinner option
  
• Fifth Town cheese makes some absolutely wonderful goat's milk cheese. They do have a store in PEC and I've found their cheeses in Ottawa
  

Canadian Wines - Part 1

This is first of 2 posts on my recent Canadian wine tasting trip.

On my last trip to Canada I managed to do tastings in 2 of the Canadian wine regions - Niagara and Prince Edward County. Now, before you ask - yes, canadian make more then just ice wine, and yes, it's actually good. So good, in fact, that I look forward to my trips home to sample more of it. My previous experience with wines from Canada were only ice wines (yay!) and a few of the mass produced wines (boo!).

My first day trip was to the Niagara escarpment area (which is about 1.5 hour south of Toronto) mostly near the towns of Beamsville and Jordan (Ontario, or course). The drive there is beautiful and relaxed. Here are descriptions of my preferred places:

Royal De Maria specializes only in ice wines and produces the largest range of varietals of any producer. Most produces use reisling or vidal, but de maria adds cab franc and merlot to name a few. Out of all the ice wines I've ever tasted, Del Maria is the clearly the champ (and I say that not just because of the table of awards they show you when you walk in the door). They produce an exceptionally complex and not overly sweet desert wine.

The reislings at Thirty Bench were fantastic - bright and crisp. They have a few small lots that they produce the reislings from and also offer a blend. Look for the one with the nose of 'rubber tires'. Seriously. (Being a designer, I also have to mention their identity design is beautifully done)

At Organized Crime is a smaller producer and I was fortunate to get some samples of the upcoming wines straight from the barrel. There are some great wines to come from this winery (look for the pinot noirs!) I walked away with a cabernet franc.

Flat Rock has a tasting room with a great view, and a super friendly staff. They had a selection of lower priced wines that are still great wines. The 2008 Rusty Shed Chardonnay was superb.

Food is a highlight here as well, I suppose partly because it's an agriculture area, and partly because thoses that like wine, usually appreciate a good meal.

Overall I was super impressed by the wines. Most of the places had very consistently well structures wines in a style that was more old world and not as heavy handed as the California wines, largely, I was told, because the climate is closer to that of Burgundy. I'll be coming back.

My winery highlights:

• Thirty Bench Wine Makers
• The Organized Crime Winery
• Flat Rock Cellars
• Clos de Jordan (visits by reservation only)
  
• Royal de Maria Wines (ice wines only)

My food highlights:

• Inn on the Twenty Restaurant - Jordan
• The food truck at Flat Rock Cellars