By Rick VanSickle
Twenty-three years ago, Andrew Brooks had no idea how to drive a tractor, let alone grow grapes and make wine.
Andrew (below) and his wife Christina had absolutely no experience in agriculture or viticulture when they quit their jobs at a popular restaurant in Calgary after hearing a winemaker talk passionately about growing grapes and making wine. They were in their late 20s, smitten with the wine bug, packed their bags and off to new adventures they went.
They travelled to Italy, France, the Okanagan Valley and South Africa, but those locations were far too costly. It was on a trip to Niagara (where Christina grew up), that they stumbled on a 10-acre property in between Vineland and Beamsville on Old Highway 8. It wasn’t pretty, but they saw potential in the derelict property on a cold winter’s day shortly after arriving in the region. They could barely afford it but closed the deal quickly and began the arduous task of renovating the home and turning the fallow ground into the vineyard and estate they dreamed of. It would take 10 years, and many thousands of kilometres on the tractor for Andrew, before the couple made their first bottle of wine from their 10-arce farm. It only made sense to call the winery Back 10 Cellars.
The long road to realizing their dream is also documented in the proprietary names of their wines — The Big Reach Riesling, Blood Sweat and Years Pinot Noir, Everything at Stake Gamay, and the Big Leap Cabernet Franc.
No journey is complete without mentors to help along the way. Former Featherstone co-owner and current winemaker David Johnson guided the couple with their plantings in the early days and later made the wines, which he still does to this day.
“We are committed to nurturing our environment and having the least invasive footprint as possible,” Brooks told me in 2020. “We take extra steps in caring for our vines and really consider ourselves to be stewards of the land. Our no ‘shortcut approach’ produces the cleanest and purest single varietal wine in your glass.”
I sat down with Andrew Brooks just before Christmas to taste through the wines currently available, plus a couple that soon will be released. Here’s what I liked:
The bubbles
Back 10 Cellars Smitten Sparkling 2023 ($23, 89 points) — This smartly priced charmat style sparkling wine, made from Riesling, hits all the right notes. It has a bright and cheerful nose of lime, fresh apple, and pear with a gentle bead in the glass. The orchard fruits and citrus zest are lifted by bright acidity, tiny bubbles of joy and a vibrant finish.
Back 10 Cellars Smitten Pink 2023 ($27, 91 points) — Smitten Pink is made from 100% Pinot Noir and is crafted, like the above sparkling wine, in the charmat method. It starts with a gentle bead in the glass followed by notes of pretty red berries, floral accents and a touch of orange zest. The strawberries, raspberries and red currant notes on the palate are elevated by the crunchy acidity on a finessed finish. Lovely bubbles.
Smitten Spritz ($13 for 375 mL bottle, new batch coming in the spring, 88 points) — Back 10 makes a ready-to-drink Aperol inspired cocktail made from a Riesling base, a little bit of Chardonnay and botanicals. It’s a delicious and fun effervescent concoction that’s perfect for the back porch, poolside or anywhere the requires a spritzy cocktail without all the fuss.
The rosé
Back 10 Cellars Rosé Coloured Glasses 2023 ($20, 90 points) — This rosé is a blend of two-thirds Gamay and one-third Pinot Noir. It shows vibrant red berries, with a touch of watermelon and rhubarb. The cherries, raspberries and strawberries show some ripeness on the palate, with a touch of cassis and earthy notes. There’s subtle sweetness but it’s kept in check by the electric acidity.
The White wines
Back 10 Cellars the Big Reach Riesling 2023 ($22, 90 points) — Back 10 has never wavered from its combination of 20 g/l of RS, 10 g/l of titratable acidity and 10% abv for its Riesling. “That’s our perfect recipe, off dry with lots of acid,” said Brooks. It’s laced with lime, grapefruit, peach and green apple with a nice saline edge on the nose. The citrus fruits are tangy on the palate, with any sweetness balanced by the vibrant acidity. Can cellar this through 2029.
Back 10 Cellars Start from Scratch Chardonnay 2021 ($23, released in March, 91 points) — This Chardonnay is wild fermented and aged in Canadian oak (20% new) for 11 months. It’s one of only a few Ontario Chardonnays aged in Canadian oak, which, Brooks said, has created a “fanatical following” at Back 10, but admits, “it can be polarizing.” Meldville and Karlo Estate winemaker Derek Barnett was the first in Canada to use Canadian oak when he was the winemaker at Lailey Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He said in 2006 that “they’re not as soft, obviously, as French, but they’re not as sweet in flavour as the American (oak barrels).” Former co-owner of Featherstone Estate Winery (and still the current winemaker), David Johnson, is also a champion of Canadian oak, and since Back 10’s wines are made there, it just made sense to also use Canadian oak for aging. The vanilla toast aromas are evident on first sniff, but it integrates as you swirl the glass to reveal poached pear, yellow apples, nectarine and some melted butter and cream notes. It has a rich and luxurious feel on the palate with creamy/spicy notes, ripe stone fruits, lemon curd and plenty of lift on the long finish. Perfect lobster pairing.
The red wines
Back 10 Cellars Blood Sweat and Years 2023 ($35, 92 points) — The severe winter weather of 2023 left many wineries with a tiny amount of Pinot Noir. Back 10 had a micro crop for its Blood Sweat and Years Pinot, with yields as low as 1.5 tonnes per acre, but that doesn’t mean quality was impacted. The Pinot was aged for 12 months in French oak, 20% of which was new oak. It’s highly perfumed on the nose with pretty red berries, cranberries, a touch of anise and integrated, elegant oak spice notes. It has lovely texture with ripe tannins, crunchy acidity, the full range of red berries, aniseed, earthy/savoury notes and plenty of finesse on the long finish. Can age through 2030.
Back 10 Cellars Everything at Stake 2023 ($23, 89 points) — This Gamay was sourced from the Bonamo Vineyard in the heart of the Lincoln Lakeshore sub-app and is aged for four months in neutral American oak. “We want to make our Gamay like Pinot Noir, but without the attitude,” said Brooks. It has an attractive nose of Bing cherries, brambly wild raspberries, plums and subtle spice notes. The palate reveals rounded tannins followed by fresh red berries, meaty notes, ripe plums and plenty of zip on the lifted finish.
Back 10 Cellars The Big Leap 2022 ($26, 92 points) — The Cabernet Franc grown on the heavy red clay of the Back 10 vineyard are notorious for small berries and low yields. The grapes are bunch thinned in the vineyard at the end of August and optically sorted after the harvesting. The fruit is “hand punched” every six hours in open top fermenters and aged it in new, one-, two-, and three-year-old American oak. This has a bold and sassy nose of meaty red berries, wild herbs, a touch of pepper, cedar, spice and dried tobacco from the American oak aging. It’s nicely integrated on the palate and shows some structure from ripe tannins and loaded with ripe red berries, herbs, anise/licorice, tobacco, spice and a perky, long finish. Wonderful Cab Franc that can be cellared through 2032.
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