Niagara Wine Reviews

Of sheep and wine at Featherstone

Featherstone

What: Featherstone Estate Winery
Where: 3678 Victoria Avenue
Tastings: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from April to December. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Proprietors: Louise Engel and David Johnson.
Winemaker: David Johnson.
Specialties: Featherstone does a lot of things right, but most important for this family farm, is crafting fine wines from what the farm delivers without outside intervention. The most planted grape is Cabernet Franc and winemaker David Johnson believes this is Ontario’s best red wine.
Must try: The Featherstone Black Sheep Riesling 2009 is a gorgeous white. Also try the Featherstone Canadian Oak Chardonnay 2008, the Sauvignon Blanc 2009 and, of course, the Featherstone Cabernet Franc 2008.
Availability: Winery, web, and some LCBO/Vintages releases.
Website: www.feathestonewinery.ca

By Rick VanSickle

The bright red tractor parked on the edge of the Featherstone Estate Winery vineyard is a stark reminder for anyone who visits here that owners Louise Engel and David Johnson are farmers first, stewards of the land, and the wines made here are a direct result of the hard work they put into it.

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The garden outside Featherstone in Vineland.

Engel and Johnson live where they farm and all the wines that are made come from the vineyards on their property. It’s the ultimate in “sense of place” as you look around the farm and see vineyards in every direction, with their farmhouse as the centrepiece.

The Featherstone farm occupies a special place along Victoria Ave. in Vineland with its undulating vineyards and farmhouse framed against the Niagara Escarpment.

The small but cozy tasting room is an inviting space to enjoy the natural wines produced on the property. As of the May 24 long weekend, you can also nosh and sip on the big, open veranda that looks straight out into the vineyards.

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A wine barrel on the property at Featherstone.

Featherstone farms as naturally as possible and has been pesticide-free since 1999. It uses beneficial insects to control pests and falconry to deter nuisance birds who love plump, ripe grapes.

One of the most unique agricultural features at Featherstone started out as a bit of a lark, but has since become one of its defining attractions. Each year the couple brings in lambs to help with leaf thinning of the vines.

Johnson got the idea for employing lambs to thin the vines, to allow sun to get at the berries on the vines, after a visit to New Zealand where it is widely practised. He brought in five lambs in 2007 and they did such a good job that Johnson has increased his flock to 45 lambs, which will show up for work on July 5 to graze on their 20 acres under vine.

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The vineyards that surround the Featherstone winery and farm.

The lambs will feast on the bottom leaves of the vines and will work the farm until the first week of September. Johnson says “we need them to be lambs” and doesn’t want them any taller than 22 inches for the program to be effective. He says the 40 lambs can completely thin two acres of vines on his property in about seven to 10 days, work that used to be done by human hands.

Then the real reward comes. The free-range, grape-leaf-fed, Niagara-certified lambs are sold to gourmands and restaurateurs, who use the cherished meat for be paired with Featherstone Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc wines. In fact, Johnson insists that if you purchase a lamb for your restaurant, you must serve his wine alongside the dish. Every lamb is spoken for year after year. Treadwell Farm to Table Cuisine in Port Dalhousie alone buys 10 of the lambs.

The wines made at Featherstone are a perfect reflection of the philosophy of its owners. “Our deal is use our own fruit with a flavour profile that’s consistent,” says Johnson. “We really want to taste our farm in our wines.”

Here are some of the best of what was tasted recently at the winery (note, all wines are available at the winery and LCBO/Vintages where noted):

Featherstone Black Sheep Riesling 2009 ($17, Vintages, 4.5 stars) — At only 9% alcohol, this is a Riesling you can happily sip all day long. Lovely peach, apple, citrus-lime and wet stone minerality on the nose. It’s mouth-puckering good in the mouth with bright acidity, big peach flavours and a nice bead of minerals that cuts through the mid-palate.

Featherstone Sauvignon Blanc 2009 ($17, summer release, 4 stars) — Johnson calls this the Sauvignon Blanc he’s “always wanted to make.” He used oak for the first time on this wine, which helps beautifully with the aromatics and mouthfeel. The nose is all about grass, passion fruit and melon with grapefruit and a touch of spice. It’s fabulous on the palate, with rich and complex flavours of melon and pink grapefruit bolstered by oak and spice.

Featherstone Canadian Oak Chardonnay 2008 ($22, 4.5 stars) — Johnson loves what Canadian oak brings to the plate in terms of spice and structure. This has an aromatic nose of tropical fruit tempered by vanilla toast and oak, with a pinch of peach fruit. It’s toasty, creamy, buttery and spicy on the palate, with fruit that gushes in behind, leaving a lasting impression.

Featherstone Pinot Noir 2007 ($40, 4 stars) — What a pretty Pinot! Sour cherry and strawberry notes with a touch of earth on the nose. It shows its full delights in the mouth with cherry, cedar, leather and spice all perfectly balanced.

Featherstone Red Tail Merlot 2008 ($20, Vintages on Aug. 7, 3.5 stars) — A nose of red fruits and spice. Very clean and focused on the palate, with rich berries and spice. A nice sipper.

Featherstone Cabernet Franc 2008 ($17, Vintages, 4 stars) — Johnson calls Cabernet Franc “Ontario’s best red” variety that is consistent vintage to vintage. The nose on this is stunning, with mocha, plum, toasted spices and an array of smoky fruits. The red-black fruits are plump on the palate, with lavish spice and oak playing a supporting role.
Enjoy!