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A peek inside the new Weir Wine facility in Niagara, plus new wines from Angels Gate

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It’s funny who you just might run into on the Beamsville Bench on any given day.

While on a drive to drop in on Curtis Fielding at Fielding Estate Winery I spotted Barry Katzman and Jim Weir outside the always-delicious August Restaurant. Katzman is president of Mike Weir Wine while Jim Weir, the brother of Masters golf champion Mike Weir, is responsible for a lot of Weir business interests.

I pulled over to say hello and asked how their new winery was coming along.

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Weir purchased the old EastDell property on the Bench (just south and up the road from Hidden Bench) and had hoped to open the renovated facility this fall.

Katzman, seen in the above photo, took me up for a tour and I was impressed with what I saw.

I had only been to the site a couple of times to purchase EastDell wines as it was winding down operations (it’s now part of the Diamond Estates family of wines operating out of the Niagara Stone Road facility). The property is impressive, with sweeping vistas down the escarpment looking north and across the lake to Toronto.

Katzman swears that on a clear day he can tell if the Rogers Centre has the roof open or closed. On this day, however, a summer haze partially hides the view but it is spectacular nonetheless.

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Weir wines have become a booming success in Niagara in a short seven years. Even without a winery or retail facility, the wines, made under two labels — Weir and Underdog, are available in every province of Canada. Production for the Weir label is 14,000 cases with Underdog now over 6,000 cases and another 8,000 cases of icewine sold mostly at duty free shops.

But finding the right spot to build the showpiece winery to house Weir Wine has been slow to come to fruition.

A planned co-operative venture on the Niagara Parkway was abandoned a few years ago and it wasn’t until the purchase of the EastDell property that plans were put back on the front burner for a home to call their own.

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Inside the old EastDell tasting room and restaurant the facility has been gutted, leaving only a huge cinderblock fireplace in the centre of the room. A wall of floor to ceiling windows looking south into the vineyards and Lake Ontario is a major feature of the building and more large windows are planned for the front of the building. The former kitchen and upper rooms have been stripped bare leaving a wide-open space that will serve as the Weir Wine tasting room.

Katzman says the upper room will be rebuilt to house the Mike Weir Gallery, which will include memorabilia from the PGA player’s collection.

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You will be able to see a replica of Weir’s 2008 Masters green jacket and other treasures from his eight PGA Tour victories.

Katzman wants the Weir Wine facility to be a destination winery where wine lovers and fans of Weir the golfer can visit and enjoy the grounds, the wines and the gallery.

The renovation will include a food service area in the lower section of the winery, out of sight, to enable special events to take place when called for. There will also be a showcase stairway building leading from the main tasting room to the patio and vineyards below.

The property includes 13.5 acres of vineyards, which will be used in the growing portfolio of wines.

As well, a full-time winemaker has been hired for the first time to make the wines in conjunction with Chateau des Charmes where the bulk of the grapes and production for Weir wines is done.

The winemaker is from B.C.’s Okanagan Valley and starts next week.

vineyardKatzman says he has no plans to alter his arrangement with Chateau des Charmes. “We have a good symbiotic relationship,” he says. “They have a hundred acres (with access to 300 acres) of grapes, some of the best vineyards in Niagara. There is no compelling reason to alter that.”

The new winery was originally scheduled to open this fall but when renovators started gutting the building flooring problems and other surprises emerged prompting a delay until next spring. Katzman says the winery should be available in December for private events.

Weir Wine was launched in the spring of 2005 to showcase the world-class wines being made in the Niagara Peninsula and to support the Mike Weir Foundation. The Mike Weir Foundation was formed in 2004 by Mike and wife Bricia Weir to assist children in physical, emotional and financial need and since the winery’s inception, proceeds from the sale of Weir Wines have gone to the Mike Weir Foundation.

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I came across some very exciting new wines from Angels Gate Winery on the Beamsville Bench recently.

I love that wineries continue to see how far they can push wines by blending, use of oak and the methods by which they make the wines. A relatively new wine region such as Niagara, that’s only now starting to realize its potential, needs to continuously try different things if it wants to move forward.

Angels gate has just released four wines under a new label and has definitely taken an adventurous approach.

The Mountainview Sauvignon Blanc is made with 50% of the fruit botrytised (a natural fungus that can result in distinctive sweet dessert wines) and the rest barrel aged in oak.

The Mountainview Semillon is barrel fermented and barrel aged in French oak to give the wine more complexity and texture.

The Carte Blanche is an unfiltered multi-white grape concoction that barrel aged and barrel fermented.

And, finally, the “Feet First” Pinot Noir, which is unfiltered and was actually crushed by foot and whole berry fermented, stalks included.

All three are highly distinctive wines, made in limited quantities and only available at the winery.

Angels Gate Mountainview Sauvignon Blanc 2011 ($20, 91 points) — The grapes for the SB were picked in two stages, the first batch picked at 21 Brix (level of sweetness) and the rest picked seven weeks later at 29 Brix after being dried on the vine and left to develop the botrytis fungus. It’s quite intense with a nose of honeycomb, grapefruit, apricot, sweet tropical fruits, spices and marmalade. It’s sweet in the mouth and viscous with spicy tropical fruits, wild honey notes, apricot and candied citrus. It has lovely texture and complexity.

Angels Gate Mountainview Semillon 2011 ($20, 90 points) — This style of barrel fermented, barrel aged Semillon is definitely chasing after the great white Bordeauxs of France. The nose shows fresh lemon, citrus, apple and just a whiff of oak spice. It has wonderful vibrancy in the mouth with citrus flavours that are clean and fresh. The oak emerges on the finish but it’s just a light kiss. Neat little wine.

Angels Gate Carte Blanche Dry White 2010 ($20, 88 points) — The opening notes are of oak spice and butterscotch cream followed by poached pear and tropical fruits. This is a blend of Semillon, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay, though it’s difficult to isolate one single variety in the profile. It’s very different on the palate with ripe, fleshy fruits, medium acidity, exotic spices and toasted oak notes. Tastes much like a mature Chardonnay, yet there’s only 5% Chard in the blend.

Angels Gate Feet First Unfiltered Pinot Noir 2010 ($20, 89 points) — I couldn’t believe it when Angels Gate winemaker Philip Dowell told me over a year ago he and his winemaking team were personally foot stomping the grapes for this Pinot. But that’s what he did, as well as whole berry fermentation, stalks and all, and then making this wine without filtration. The end result is a lovely Pinot with a nose of bramble cherry and raspberry fruit and notes of vanilla toast, red currants and an interesting mineral note. It is gorgeous on the palate with bright red fruits, sandalwood, savoury spices and a slight eucalypt note. It has beautiful balance and a smooth delivery through the finish.