Every so often, seemingly out of the blue, a winery emerges that is so unlike all the others, that it commands your full attention whether you like it or not.
A quirky winery design, a colourful owner, or even a business plan that goes against the grain of what the region is all about are attention grabbers that attract curious, new wine lovers to the door.
Big Head is the newest winery in Niagara that is creating a buzz. But not because of the winery design or the location or anything other than the style of wines being made there.
Veteran winemaker Andrzej Lipinski (previously with Foreign Affair, Organized Crime, Vineland Estate, Burning Kiln, and others, and currently still making the wine at Colaneri) has taken his virtual project Big Head to full-fledged winery now located at Hunter Farms in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The cellar door is open for tastings Wednesday through Sunday from 12-5 p.m., or by appointment.
I have been to the winery and tasting room four or five times since it has opened and the place is rocking. The tasting room is designed around the working winery with tasting stations scattered about.
The design and logistics are the work of Andrzej’s son Jakub Lipinski (above), a strapping young man with a welcoming smile and a desire to make visitors’ experiences memorable.
It helps that he has a range of wines are anything but subtle.
Lipinski’s trademark is his technique of using old tobacco kilns to dry the grapes to add complexity, concentration and flavour to his collection of wines.
At Big Head, Lipinski and his team hand-harvests the grapes, gently placing each bunch in a single layer and only selecting the healthiest fruit. The kilns provide what he says is a perfect environment; plenty of ventilation and air-flow and the cool fall and winter temperatures slow down the process and prevent rot.
His unique style of wines is spreading to all corners of the Peninsula.
I enjoyed a selection of Big Head wines, poured by Jakub on a busy Saturday recently, with a group of friends (they are pictured above). Here is what I liked (also in this report are two other wines made by Lipinski in the same style from Colaneri):
Big Head Big Bang Sparkling NV ($45, 92 points) — A blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, all wild fermented, 31 months on the lees with a dosage of recioto (sweet dried grape) Chardonnay and finished at 6 g/l. Like all Big Head wines, this is no shrinking violet. The nose is all expressive lemon, biscuit, toast, brioche, pineapple and grapefruit that is as refreshing as it is elegant. The bead is gentle and persistent with flavours of lifted citrus and apple that are rich and textured through the finish. Well balanced with finesse and flash.
Big Head Chardonnay Stainless 2015 ($20, just released, 88 points) — A bold and attractive nose of peach and tropical fruits. It’s quite ripe on the palate, leaning toward orchard fruits in a clean, substantive style that has some weight.
Big Head Savagnin 2014 ($30, 91 points) — There’s not a lot of this unique grape kicking around Niagara and certainly no one making it like this. A small portion of the grapes are dried in repurposed tobacco kilns and then fermented in neutral oak and finished at 18 g/l. It has a lovely nose of pear, melon, wild flowers and wild honey with earthy undertones. It’s lush, deep, and bold on the palate with a luxurious texture, expressive exotic fruits and enough acidity to balance out the sweet honey notes on the finish.
Big Head Chenin Blanc 2015 ($22, just released, 91 points) — One of two Chenins from Big Head, this shows an elegant nose of ripe melon, pear and citrus. There is beautiful richness on the palate and depth of flavour with a mélange of poached pear, melon, toasted almonds and acidic flair that leads to a long, echoing finish. Quite delicious.
Big Head Chenin Blanc B.A. 2014 ($34, 93 points) — Just over 20% of the fruit was botrytis affected and after wild fermentation it reached 30 g/l of residual sugar. The nose is unlike anything else you will whiff in Niagara with notes of wild alfalfa honey, creamy pear, wild flowers and cantaloupe. It’s viscous on the palate, with super-ripe fruits and concentrated with honey and spice that comes at you in layers. Such texture! Wow wine.
Big Head Red 2014 ($19, 88 points) — The blend is 85% Cabernet Franc (ripasso), 10% Syrah (ripasso) and 2.5% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot (both full appassimento). The nose shows ripe currants, cherries, violets, plums and barrel spices. It’s smoky and shows darker fruits on the palate with decent structure and dusty tannins on the finish.
Big Head Bigger Red 2013 ($38, 91 points) — The blend is 45% Merlot, 22.5% Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon (both full appassimento) and 10% Cabernet Franc, aged in oak cigar barrels and finished at 14.6 abv. The nose shows rich black cherry, kirsch, cassis and an array of attractive oak spices. On the palate, it’s rich, spicy and smoky with sweet tannins, plums, concentrated cherry, currants and licorice with wonderful texture and smooth through the finish. It will surprise you that this is a product of the cool 2013 vintage.
Big Head Biggest Red 2012 ($49, sold out, 93 points) — Yes, sold out, but worth mentioning here because it is quite an accomplishment. It’s full-on appassimento from a blend of 30% each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot with 10% Petit Verdot. The nose shows a mass of concentrate blackberry, cherry and plums with a heady mix of barrel spices. The palate reveals gobs of lip-smacking cherry, cassis and currants with grandma’s raspberry jam and spice forever. It’s a super-concentrated fruit bomb with extreme length on the finish and the stuffing to improve for 10, maybe 20 years. The biggest of the big.
A couple of “big” Lipinski wines from Colaneri Winery
Colaneri Coraggiogo Amaroso 2012 ($50, 92 points) — Made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with 100% appassimento-style, tobacco kiln-dried fruit and finished at 15.6% abv. A sweet, ripe barrage of fruit on the nose including cassis, cherries, figs and plums with bramble, cigar leaf, nutmeg, clove, graphite and all-spice. It’s ripe, meaty and spice-laden on the palate with glowing and vibrant dark fruits, kirsch, chocolate, sweet tannins, loam in a full-bodied style that shows grace and power but gets a lift from tangy acidity through the finish.
Colaneri Insieme 2012 ($35, 93 points) — A blend of 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Cabernet Franc, 14% Syrah and 14% Merlot with 100% of the fruit kiln-dried appassimento-style and finished at 14.9% abv. It has a rich and fulsome nose of black cherry, raspberry, plum, blueberry, ripe blackberry, vanilla and full range of barrel spices. It’s rich, layered and textured in the mouth with melt-in-your-mouth tannins to go with a range of red and dark fruits that build in intensity. It is full-flavoured and powerful, but shows some balance from racy acidity. It has the potential to cellar for 10 years or more.
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