It’s warm and muggy with the fresh smell of a recent downpour heavy in the air. As darkness closes in and Kathleen Edwards takes the stage at the Jackson-Triggs amphitheatre, tucked in among the vineyard, and starts into her repertoire of upbeat alternative country songs, one can only sit back and soak up the magic of a perfect evening in wine country.
Jackson-Triggs put paid to another season of presenting big-name Canadian musicians on its brightly lit and colourful outdoor stage that seats a comfortable 500 people under the stars. A summer of wonderful wines, food and intimate evenings of up-close entertainment with musicians such as Jann Arden, Gord Downie, Colin James, Chantal Kreviazuk, Joel Plaskett and, for the final concert of the summer, Edwards and the theatrical and multi-instrumentalist Hawksley Workman who provided boundless energy and pure enjoyment on stage.
The 11th season of the JT concert series is in the books for another year with nearly $100,000 raised for War Child. And if the rest of the summer series was as enjoyable as the final concert, a lot of wine and music fans were thoroughly and memorably entertained this year.
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Jackson-Triggs, part of the Vincor group of wineries that includes Inniskillin and Le Clos Jordanne as well as wineries in the Okanagan, has always been one of Niagara’s crowning achievements. It’s one of the region’s largest (by volume) producers but still has that inviting feel to it as you step through the airy welcoming foyer or into the vineyards that hug the perimeter of building. It doesn’t seem big or ostentatious.
It has always reminded me of a Caribbean resort welcome as you walk up the wide, neatly kept path and through the double-wide glass doorway and into the centre of the winery. You get a sense of openness and comfort. You feel welcomed.
The winery itself is still one of Canada’s most architecturally stunning buildings in the wine industry, jutting up from surrounding vineyards along the prestigious heart of Niagara Stone Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake. It is a gorgeous mix of wood beams and glass and clean lines that follow through the entire building.
The boutique tasting room is airy and comfortable with personal service on any given day.
I’m walking with Marco Piccoli, Jackson-Triggs winemaker, up the path to the winery on a warm summer day. We stop to take a picture from the mid-way point up the back entrance, a spot that shows the beauty of Niagara wine country with lush vineyards as far as the eye can see. It is one of Niagara’s most photographed views and one you never get tired of seeing.
Piccoli grew up in Northeastern Italy in one of the world’s most established wine regions, so it’s easy to understand that he had an early interest in winemaking. He worked in Italy as a cellar hand, cellar management and assistant winemaker before furthering his education in wine studies.
That took him to the Rheingau in Germany and his first experience with cool-climate viticulture. He jumped at an opportunity to come to Canada when a new partnership between the University of Udine and the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute at Brock University was announced. Keen to learn more about New World winemaking, and the unique terroir of the Niagara Peninsula, Piccoli set his sights on returning to Canada after his studies to pursue a career as a winemaker.
In short order he accepted an internship at Inniskillin, then took a job as assistant winemaker for Vincor before landing the winemaker position at Jackson-Triggs in 2005.
Piccoli looks out into the vineyards from our vantage point and talks about the vintage coming up, his seventh with JT. His Pinot Noir is showing 16 brix, well ahead of average years, and he says that he’s a week to 10 days away from picking the sparkling wine grapes.
As we step inside the immaculately kept gravity-flow assisted winery, with huge stainless steel tanks ready to accept the bounty of the harvest, he explains what’s important to him in making quality wines.
Piccoli says the root of all good wine comes from the skin cells of grapes. “The aromatics, colour (for red wines), structure, body, length … it all comes from cells in the skin,” he says.
All his grapes — from the aromatic whites to the biggest reds — have some skin contact. Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Chardonnay might get five to six hours of contact while Gewurztraminer can see up to 15 hours of contact.
The winery, though quiet on this day as the team prepares to accept the harvest, will see 1,300 tonnes of grapes come through the winery. It’s a mix of 50% red and 50% white wines and will eventually be turned into approximately 140,000 cases of VQA wines under the JT logo in several tiers and styles.
The winery uses high-technology to help with the important elements of making wine from the 11.5 acres of vines adjacent to the property. Plantings include only the finest vinifera clones and rootstocks, custom grafted in France. Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah are the most widely grown in the Delaine Vineyard, while white varietals like Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Sémillon round out the plantings.
Piccoli says another key to element making great wine is the temperature.
“Temperature is what you follow from the grapes. When they are picked, when the grapes arrive (at the winery), when they are fermenting, when you store the wine and when you drink the wine,” he says.
“From the time you grow to when you drink, temperature is crucial for the quality of the wine.”
All the stainless tanks in the winery are temperature controlled from a central nerve centre and can be adjusted with the click of a button or two. After fermentation, the wines that will age in oak are sent to barrels, usually only 15-20% new French and American oak barrels, for aging in one of two main barrel cellars while the fresh aromatic whites are held in tanks until it’s time to bottle.
Piccoli draws a taste of the 2010 Syrah from barrel. He says the vintage “was outstanding, one of the best I’ve seen in the region.” We sip the wine and it is delicious, even at this stage, with layers of fruit, dark, tasty and powerful. It’s a similar story with other 2010 reds in barrel.
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Jackson-Triggs simplified its tier system a couple of years ago into three distinct series with clearly marked coloured labels for each tier.
Black Series replaces the Proprietors’ Reserve tier with wines prices from $12-$15, the Silver Series is for wines priced in the $15-$20 and the Gold Series celebrates the best of what Jackson-Triggs makes. Wines from the Delaine Vineyard are special releases within the Gold Series, which express the best of the vintage and capture the essence of the unique terroir of these vineyards.
I tasted through a selection of top wines with Piccoli. Here’s what I liked (wines are available at the winery, website, Wine Rack stores and most have good representation at the LCBO and Vintages):
Jackson-Triggs Entourage Gold Series Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($30, 90 points) — Piccoli says sparkling wines are the perfect style of wine for Niagara. “I think we can make the best sparkling wines in the world. It’s always a great crop every vintage,” he says. “We have all the cards to make great sparkling every year.” This unique sparkler is finished with a touch of sweetness to counter the high acidity of the vintage and variety. Lovely notes of grapefruit, kiwi, toast and honey on the nose. It has a tight, firm bead of bubbles entering the mouth with delicate flavours of citrus, honey, subtle grassy notes and a touch of anise.
Jackson-Triggs Gold Series Sparkling Merlot 2007 ($30, 89 points) — I attended the final concert in the vineyard series at Jackson-Triggs earlier this month and brought a friend with me who prefers beer and rum to anything made with fermented grapes. I gave him a taste of this Merlot sparkling wine and immediately made him a fan. It is delicious (in a manly way). It spends 20 months in oak barrels and 16 months of the lees. Such a nose! With raspberry, wild field berries, kirsch and plums with toast and spice to boot. It’s a meaty mouthful with evident tannins, ripe and sweet red fruits, toast and lush flavours through the finish. Could pair this with red meat. Not kidding.
Jackson-Triggs Silver Series Sauvignon Blanc 2010 ($18, 87 points) — A nose of fresh cut grass, grapefruit, lime, kiwi and passion fruit. Not overdone on the palate, with some tropical notes, in a fresh, lively style.
Jackson-Triggs Gold Series White Meritage 2009 ($25, 89 points) – It’s a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and the rest oak-aged Semillon. It’s fresh on the nose with good tropical fruits and melon aromas. The deft touch with the oak offers up texture in the mouth without over-done oak and spice. Shows the vibrancy of the vintage.
Jackson-Triggs Gold Series Fume Blanc 2009 ($24, 90 points) — A lovely style that shows vanilla, toast, grapefruit and quince on the nose. I like the weighty feel of this in the mouth with creamy fruits, from four months in new oak barrels, lifted by racy acidity and oak-vanilla-spice highlights. Great sipping wine.
Jackson-Triggs Silver Series Gewurztraminer 2010 ($19, 88 points) — Old World style of Gewurz, with a pretty potpourri nose, grapefruit and lychee notes. It’s soft with a touch of honey on the palate with ripe grapefruit, cloves and other exotic spices.
Jackson-Triggs Silver Series Chardonnay 2010 ($20, 89 points) — The Silver Chard sees 7 months of oak, only 10-15% of it new oak. Shows well right now, in that opulent style of the vintage. Beautiful, ripe tropical fruit, buttery notes and spice. On the palate, the tropical fruits and creamy vanilla spice are lifted by decent acidity and a touch of minerality.
Jackson Triggs Gold Series Delaine Vineyard Puncheon Pinot Noir 2008 ($45, 92 points) — A rare and special Pinot fermented with wild yeasts in 500-litre puncheon oak barrels (it took 28 days to ferment!) and 12 months of barrel aging in French oak. Only 250 cases were made. A superb nose of warm cherry pie, floral violet notes, cloves, plum, vanilla and oak spice. A mouth of ripe cherry accented by cloves, baking spices and elegant oak. Such great length on the palate. A gorgeous Pinot.
Jackson-Triggs Gold Series Red Meritage 2009 ($25, 89 points) — From a blend of Merlot 48%, Cabernet Franc 33% and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose shows black cherry, herbs, spice, red currants, plums and sweet spices. It’s very young and built for aging but showing vibrant dark fruits of currants and plums with spice that’s starting to integrate. Cellar for five years or more.
Jackson-Triggs Gold Series Delaine Vineyard Syrah 2008 ($35, 91 points) — This is the one red wine Piccoli would take home with him given one choice (it would be Gold Series Fume Blanc, on the white side, if you’re curious). It’s a wonderful Syrah, with layers of dark fruit, spice, currants and violets on the nose. It shows lush fruit, texture, elegant spiced notes in the mouth and a long, long finish. Delicious now, but will age beautifully.
Jackson-Triggs Proprietors’ Grand Reserve Gewurztraminer Icewine 2007 ($35 for 200 Ml, 93 points) — This is a spectacular wine with an incredible 246 grams per litre of residual sugar, a super sweet style that doesn’t feel like it on the palate because of a vibrant core of acidity. The nose shows spicy, tropical fruits and floral notes with added ginger, wild honey and grapefruit. The ginger’s pronounced on the palate with quince, candied fruit and grapefruit flavours coming after in layer after layer all the way through a lush, textured finish.
Enjoy!
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