By Rick VanSickle
Niagara wine country sure knows how to throw a good party.
Although the Graze the Bench event in Beamsville a couple of weeks ago went through contrasting weather — hot and sunny one day, to chilly and windy the next — it was still a successful wine event that showcased the best of Niagara food and wine.
Graze the Bench allows wine lovers to experience Beamsville Bench wineries as they never have before — with a celebration of wine, casual and elegant grazing with food matched to wine and some great music in the vineyards.
Wineries on (or near) Mountain Road in Beamsville threw open their doors and tents for what turned out to be a crush of people clamouring to enjoy good wine and food over two days.
It was amazing to see the venues crowded with people from all over Ontario, here to explore Niagara’s fine wines and food.
It was virtually impossible to get to all the wineries in one day as there was so much wine and food tasting along with great music at each of the wineries.
At Rosewood Estates Winery and Meadery, unique in Niagara in that it makes both wine and mead from its vineyards and on-site bee colonies, the Rosewood Gewurztraminer 2008, a delicious Alsatian style white with fleshy fruits and exotic spices, was paired with a five-spice shrimp on glass fried noodles prepared by chef Mark Walpole. Rosewood also poured its 2008 Pinot Noir, served with cannelloni of eggplant stuffed with Pingue’s prosciutto and chevre on a baguette.
Up the road, at Fielding Estate Winery, where Heidi and Curtis Fielding were hosting a big crowd enjoying live music from Niagara’s own The Black Spurs, the featured wines were the Pinot Gris 2008 and Red Conception 2008, which was paired with Wellington Court’s roasted chicken club — a dish made with organic egg profiterole, Kent heritage farm capon, Mennonite bacon and truffle lemon aioli.
Across from Fielding, at Organized Crime winery, Cabernet Franc 2008 and Sauvignon Blanc 2008 were served with a ploughman’s plate from About Thyme Bistro. The music by the talented duo of Sarah Boulton and Priestan Ti from Mourn the Devine was spectacular — such soulful harmonies.
The wineries of the Beamsville Bench put on one heck of a show.
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I was recently given the opportunity to show a major wine collector from Quebec the best of what Niagara makes so that he could stock his first Canadian wines in his rather large cellar.
The man, who shall remain anonymous, had flown to Niagara on his private jet and, surprisingly, knew very little about Niagara wines and certainly did not have any Canadian wines whatsoever in his cellar, one of the largest private collections in Canada.
His tastes (and impeccable palate) were very European. First Growth Bordeaux, top cru Burgundies, both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the very best of Rhone reds, a knew-found love of Condrieu and, well, basically the best of what the world has to offer if money were not an impediment (which it isn’t for him) to buying it.
His experienced palate was strictly Old World. He has no time for Napa Valley (he only has one Napa Cabernet in his cellar — Silver Oak) or Australia but felt it was time to show his European friends what his native country can do.
Because his visit was on short notice we only had time to round up the best of what the wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake had to offer plus whatever was on the hotel list where he was staying. It was a stellar lineup of Niagara wines of what we do best — Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and red blends from the hot 2007 vintage.
The two of us spent a couple of hours tasting through wines one after another on a back patio at a Niagara-on-the-Lake inn, narrowing it down to a few wines he could take back with him on his private jet.
Right off the bat, he told me he didn’t like Riesling. But, we were there to taste wine and Niagara Riesling was first, so we tasted them. Which was a good thing because he loved the ones presented to him. The racy acidity and balancing fruit was appealing to his palate and he saw it as a great companion for oysters.
He chose the Thirty Bench Small Lot Triangle Vineyard Riesling 2008 as his favourite.
Next came the Chardonnays. His palate craved the great Grand Cru Burgundies from Corton-Charlemagne and Puligny Montrachet, so I knew this would be a challenge, as our Chards can be very different than Burgundy. His general feeling was that the Chards he was shown were a touch too oaky (his opinion) on the nose and not built for aging, even though I showed him some of the best Chardonnays made in Niagara, including older vintages, that are noted for their longevity.
He ultimately found (and purchased) one he liked very much, Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Terrace Chardonnay 2007.
Next were the reds. Our Pinots, for his palate and in his opinion, were generally a little too earthy and overwhelming for his taste, which leaned to a style with more finesse and silky texture in the mouth. I had lined up a pretty good Cabernet Franc lineup but none appealed to him, which surprised me.
So it was now up to the red blends arranged for the tasting. We had a winner with the Stratus Red 2007, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Gamay. This was the wine that made the guest from Quebec a believer in Niagara wines. One sniff and he looked up and said, “yes, this is the one.†He was hooked.
He left Niagara with a jet-load of three different wines and a greater appreciation for the great world-class wines we make in Niagara. They now sit alongside some of the greatest wines in the world.
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A couple of new releases from Fielding Estates to take note of:
Fielding Estate Lot No. 17 Riesling 2009 ($26, released in July, 4.5 stars) — Another Riesling winner from Fielding Estate. There’s an array of fresh green apples, citrus and gentle waves of white peach to start things off. Love the power play between sweet-ripe and zesty-tart fruits in the mouth to go with peach, citrus and acid verve. Clean, focused Riesling and exactly what I look for in this amazing Niagara variety.
Fielding Estate Jack Rabbit Flats Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008 ($25, winery, available in July, 4 stars) — The first aromas are cherry, earth and spice followed up by leather and cedar notes. Rich and juicy on the palate with sweet and sour cherry flavours intermingled with spice and cedar-oak notes.
Enjoy!
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