By Rick VanSickle
It’s been 23 years since the winery and viticulture program was established at Niagara College. What a trip it’s been for students and faculty.
Also in this report, we taste five new Westcott Vineyards wines.
Since 2000, the first program of its kind in Canada has turned out thousands of winemakers, technicians and winery personnel in various capacities working in Niagara and around the world. The Niagara College wine program is a success by any measure, but in practical terms, it has created exciting careers in a relatively new industry just beginning to spread its wings.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake teaching winery sits on 38 acres of college vineyards, which enables students to have immediate access to a hands-on experience in a real-time working environment to produce wines that can compete with the best wines in Ontario.
The program allows students to obtain practical skills in three specialty areas — winemaking, viticulture, and sales/marketing, that provide diverse opportunities upon graduation. The inception of the wine program was developed in direct consultation with the local wine industry and under the advisement of an advisory committee.
In the fall of 2008, Niagara College opened the doors to the post graduate certificate program in wine business management, an intense program that uses college science labs, a wine sensory lab, the vineyards, on-site wine equipment, and the Niagara College Teaching Winery wine store. This program provides graduates with a well-rounded business education and specialized hands-on training required for successful operations of future growth in Canadian wine, hospitality, and tourism industries.
The college has been blessed with amazing talent on the teaching side in all disciplines, many drawn from former students who found success in the wine community. Nothing is more satisfying for the college than to hire the very people they taught to teach others.
The current winemaker for the Teaching Winery is Allison Findlay (above), who enrolled and graduated from the Niagara College Winery and viticulture and technician program in 2014. Her passion for wine took her around the world to participate in grape harvests in Australia and Oregon, while also spending time at a few local wineries before landing at Flat Rock Cellars in 2016.
Findlay grew into the role of assistant winemaker, and finally head winemaker where she honed her craft and garnered awards for her hard work, including a best in show at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards. At the beginning of a new harvest in 2022, Findlay began her role as head winemaker at Niagara College Teaching Winery, coming back to where it all began.
Findlay is the first female winemaker at the Teaching Winery – but not the first college graduate. Former winemaker Gavin Robertson, who graduated from the winery and viticulture technician program in 2011, has been a fixture of the teaching winery for more than a decade – beginning as a student in 2010, then full-time after graduation. He was happy to pass the torch to Findlay, who he knows well from both NC and the industry and praised the natural talent and hard-earned industry experience she brings to the college.
I was reminded of the importance of Niagara College while tasting a range of sparkling wines recently. To be taken seriously as a college, the products you create must be representative of the quality of the wines being made around you. The wines consumers buy at the teaching winery store, simply put, have to be good. After tasting college wines for a number of years, I can assure you they are always well worth your attention.
Here are three sparkling wines I can recommend that I tasted this week under the Niagara Teaching Winery Balance label:
Balance Brut Sparkling NV ($37, 92 points) — This is a non-vintage, traditionally made, bottle fermented sparkling wine made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It begins with a lovely toasty brioche and lemon biscuit note on the nose followed by yellow apple, toasted hazelnuts, subtle flinty accents, and a gentle bead in the glass. It has a creamy texture, an elegant effervescence, notes of lemon, baked bread, flint and apple with razor sharp acidity and freshness through a lifted finish. Perfectly dry and delightful.
Balance Brut Riesling 2018 ($33, 90 points) — Crafted as above, so a traditional method sparkler but with Riesling. The nose gushes with lime and grapefruit, with green apple, apricot, an interesting touch of ginger and a subtle bead in the glass and on the palate. It’s a bit rounded on the palate with a creamy texture, a touch of smoke followed by lime, citrus zest, fresh apple and pear with a tangy, clean finish.
Balance Pet Nat Chardonnay 2017 ($29, 89 points) — This pét-nat (pétillant natural) sparkler was wild fermented and bottled near the end of fermentation to capture natural CO2 gas bubbles. No additions have been made to this wine and it is bottled with the lees. It shows a cloudy, light gold colour in the glass with a nose of mulled citrus, pear skin, earthy/savoury notes, apple cider and gentle effervescence. It’s tangy on the palate with a gentle bubble, underlying earthy/mushroom notes, grapefruit, pear and apple fruit and vibrancy through the finish. Quite pure and clean for a wine made in the natural style.
New wines from Westcott Vineyards
I recently tasted some recent releases from Westcott Vineyards, two of which were previously reviewed in a Vintages roundup and our annual bubbles list.
Westcott’s estate vineyards are located at the estate’s Home Farm on the Vinemount Ridge, with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir planted in 2007, and the Butlers’ Grant Vineyard on the Twenty Mile Bench, with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Cabernet Franc planted in 1980. Here’s what I liked:
The white wines
Westcott Butlers’ Grant Old Vine Riesling 2022 ($22, 92 points) — This wild fermented Riesling from the oldest vines planted in 1980 at the estate’s Butlers’ Grant Vineyard is aged on its lees for six months and undergoes 100% malolactic fermentation. It has a mineral rich nose of salinity and wet stones with lemon/lime zest, green apple, peach, and those vineyard-specific ginger notes always prevalent from this vineyard. That lees aging brings out a creamy feel on the palate with green pear, gushing lime, lemon zest and, yes, more ginger in a more rounded, texturally satisfying style with just a touch of sweetness tempered by the racy acidity. Would love to see this age for a few years.
Westcott Estate Chardonnay 2021 ($30, previously reviewed and at Vintages, 92 points) — The fruit for the Estate Chard comes from two Westcott vineyards — the home vineyard on Vinemount Ridge and Butlers’ Grant on the Twenty Mile Bench. The fruit was hand-picked, whole bunch pressed with no sulphur added at the time of crushing. It was wild fermented in oak and aged for 10 months. Quite an impressive nose of yellow apple, fresh pear, lemon zest and stony/saline notes with toasty vanilla and spice. It’s rich and creamy on the palate with pear/quince fruit, a touch of savouriness, lemon tart, flinty/stony notes, subtle butterscotch, spice and a zesty, lifted finish.
Westcott Block 76 Chardonnay 2021 ($50, 92 points) — The Chardonnays from both estate vineyards — Block 76 at the Home Vineyard in the Vinemount Ridge sub-appellation and Butlers’ Grant on the Twenty Mile Bench — are barrel fermented with natural yeasts. They have undergone complete malolactic fermentation and aging in in French oak for 16 months and bottled unfiltered. Block 76 is emerging as a benchmark Chardonnay in Niagara with consistent bottlings over the past few vintages. Following in the steps of previous vintages, there are beautiful flinty/saline notes on the nose with fresh pear, yellow apple, lemon zest, vanilla toast, and elegant spices. It’s rich with savoury notes on the palate and shows pear/quince fruits, lemon tart, rousing flinty/stony notes, a creamy texture, toasted vanilla bean and spice notes on a bright, lifted finish. Can age 5+ years.
The red wines
Westcott Estate Pinot Noir 2020 ($32, 92 points) — The fruit is 30% whole cluster fermented with 100% wild malolactic fermentation. It’s aged in 100% French oak, all used barrels, for 22 months. There is a lovely, perfumed note on the nose with Bing cherries, black raspberries, cassis, forest floor, subtle savouriness and spice. It’s silky smooth on the palate and loaded with red berries, a touch of aniseed and red currants with earthy notes, spice, and a lifted, finessed finish. Can age for a bit to soften the acidity on the finish.
Westcott Gamay 2022 ($30, 91 points) — This Vinemount Ridge estate Gamay was wild fermented, aged in French oak for 10 months and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The nose shows lovely violets, brambly black raspberries, juicy plums, dried herbs, anise, and subtle spice notes. It’s smooth and intense on the nose with an array of savoury/earthy notes, ripe red berries, plums, a touch of pepper and spice with a bright, finessed finish. Go ahead and age this more structured Gamay for a couple of years.
The sparkling wine
Westcott Violette Sparkling 2022 ($27, previously reviewed, 91 points) — Crafted from 100% Chardonnay and made in the charmat method, this has a refreshing nose of lemon, apple and pear with a subtle floral note and a persistent bead in the glass and palate. It’s perky, fresh, and lively on the palate with lemon, pear/quince fruits, a touch of sweetness, and plenty of juicy acidity on the backend.
Does Niagara College accept senior students.I have been interested in growing and making wine in Ontario since the first serious vintages began in the early 70’s with inniskillin, cave springs,and Henry of Pelham to name a few. Back then I was unable to pursue a career in the wine business raising a family would not happen . But I still have a passion with the grape . Are courses just for young people?
Donald, Definitely for all ages. Niagara College has turned out many mature students of all ages who changed careers and followed their passion. Rick
Don, Yes mature students are well accepted at the College. I graduated from the Wine Business Management program at 57 years old and then spent 8 years working at a couple of local wineries. A career change that I never regretted.