Wending Home’s celestial inspiration, plus new MW and Flat Rock wines

By Rick VanSickle

The release of Lode Star, Wending Home’s newest wine, says pretty much all you need to know about this unique Niagara winery and its maker.

Also, in this Niagara tasting report: New Twisted wines from Flat Rock Cellars (and a look back) plus a smart-buy Viognier from MW Cellars.

Co-owner Ron Giesbrecht (above) is a master blender, a mad scientist who creatively blends with the best of them and believes in the terroir of his (and business partner Huaying Feng’s) Creek Shores estate winery.

Giesbrecht and Feng created Wending Home Vineyards and Winery with the bulk of the grapes coming from Feng’s vineyard that was planted with vines dating back to the late 1990s by Joseph Zimmerman. Feng has since added to the plantings.

It is a unique partnership. Giesbrecht, the scientist and viticulture professor at Niagara Collage and Feng, a previous student of Giesbrecht’s studying viticulture, who turned to the only person she knew who could help her realize the dream of making wine from the 26 acres of grapes on her farm. Grapes planted included Ehrenfelser, Auxerrois, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay on the white side, and Cabernet Franc, Dornfelder, Gamay and Lemberger for the reds.

Giesbrecht retired from a successful career as a professor at Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute and was the winemaker at Henry of Pelham for 23 years before diving headfirst in winery ownership and a chance to strut his stuff under his own rules with the desire to showcase their estate fruit while supplementing the portfolio with carefully curated grapes from growers he trusts.

The Lode Star is the first release for this estate grown, and quite the eclectic blend. “It represents what is beautiful about a terroir specific blend, all the tell-tale terroir aspects of mineral, texture, and specificity of a place but with added complexity and connectedness and integration that can only come from the side-by-side nature of this small vineyard,” he says. “Auxerrois brings a soft mid-palate with a touch of botrytis-apricot. The florality of Ehrenfelser is a rare treat of a rare variety, both here in Niagara and elsewhere. Gewurztraminer can upstage many other varietal players – but used in smaller amounts, its rose-petal floral notes, spicey ginger and opulent lychee fruit then woven with a smooth and almost oily texture, it contributes rounded corners.”

The Pinot Gris, he says, adds minerality and that “tightens the mid palate with its wet-stone feel and ripe pear, giving length to the flavours in the wines concluding phrases. Riesling? Why of course! … The Riesling has a steely backbone and brightness with more lemon-citrus and apple.”

Each variety is harvested on selected dates to optimize quality and then entirely fermented in stainless steel as separate varieties. In the coming winter after harvest, the wines are tasted with the blend in mind, then blended with all lees in February. The wine is then held on its lees until late spring. “Once more – just as the blending notes above suggest, the treatment that includes extended lees contact is a method that adds richness in texture, colour and length,” he says.

Wines in Niagara tasted the Lode Star and Riesling (before they were labelled) along with a few other new and upcoming releases. Here is what we liked.

Wending Home Lode Star 2021 ($25, released soon, 91 points) — The proprietary name Lodestar is derived from a star that is used to guide the course of a ship, especially the Pole Star. Apropos for this quirky blend of 27.2% Auxerrois, 24.7% Ehrenfelser, 20.8% Gewurztraminer, 19.4% Pinot Gris and 7.9% Riesling, all estate fruit from the Creek Shores sub-appellation and all picked separately between Sept. 22 and Oct. 12. Guiding this ship is winemaker/owner Giesbrecht, a master blender, who has, through fastidious mixing and matching of these varieties, created a wine like no other. “This wine is intended as a unique statement,” says Giesbrecht. “Appealing to those wine enthusiasts that love wines that are fresh – yet age-worthy, rich, yet still bright, non-oaked – but still complex, but most of all a wine that exhibits this vineyard and our region in such an interesting and beguiling a way.” It has such a unique nose of bright, tangy lemon citrus, fresh peach, apricot, jasmine, floral notes, lychee, herbs and saline minerality. The extended lees aging provides a silky texture on the palate in support of zippy citrus, apricots, melon, savoury herbs, Asian pear, that interesting note of jasmine and a brisk, fresh finish with mouth-watering acidity. I would be tempted to put a bottle or two in the cellar to see how it develops.

Wending Home Estate Riesling 2021 ($25, released this summer, 90 points) — There is a lovely floral note on the nose followed by white peach, fresh cut lemons, a vein of salinity and pear skin. It has enticing steely/slatey minerality notes on the palate with peach, yellow apples, a riot of citrus zest, and a touch of savouriness on a rousing, lifted finish. It has 7.7 g/L residual sugar but its nicely balanced by the racy acidity. Can cellar through 2030.

Wending Home Estate Cabernet Franc 2021 ($30, released this summer, 92 points) — “Cabernet Franc is what I refer to as the honest broker grape, never trying to – or able to — hide what came before,” says Giesbrecht. The wine spends 30 months in mostly used French oak. The nose shows lifted violets, ripe purple plums, savoury herbs, a touch of cassis and integrated, elegant spice notes. It has a smooth, almost silky texture, medium tannins, brambly red berries, plums, anise/licorice, stewed herbs, a touch of cedar, fine oak spice and a lifted, long finish. Cellar though 2032.

Wending Home Syrah Merlot 2021 ($30, winery now, Vintages on May 10, 91 points) — “This is a single vineyard, but dual variety blend,” says Giesbrecht. “It is an unconventional blend when considering the traditions of such pairings. But in the interests of developing a terroir statement that extends past the display of the characteristics of a single grape, we like to bend conventions to suit the wines that we make at Wending Home.” The two varieties are co-fermented and spend 30 months in used French barrels and puncheons. A tamer nose than the 100% Syrah below with, yes, some smoky/gamy notes but also the gentler influence of black cherries, plums, cassis and fine oak spices. It comes together seamlessly on the palate with ripe plums, anise, blackberries, cherry/raspberry, a touch of earthy/savoury notes, black pepper and oak spice, gentle tannins and a tangy, lifted finish. Can cellar through 2031.

Wending Home Wismer Parke Vineyard Syrah 2020 ($70, winery now, 94 points) — Don’t know how Giesbrecht kept this beauty in hiding for so long, but I’m glad he did. What a gorgeous Syrah! “This wine is made as a unique statement, appealing to enthusiasts who love unique wines that exhibit the specific place where they were grown,” Giesbrecht says. From the warm 2020 vintage the nose grabs you right away with those smoky/savoury notes followed by cassis, charred cedar plank, anise, a red-berry melange, white pepper and rich barrel spices. The structure on the palate is firm with grippy tannins in support of juicy dark berries, black licorice, meaty notes, tar, pepper, campfire and spice with mouth-watering acidity and a long, echoing finish that lasts for minutes. It’s suggested that you cellar this for at least a year or two and it can fit comfortably in the cellar through 2035. Beautiful Syrah.

A delicious Viognier from MW Cellars

MW Cellars Viognier 2023 ($21, 91 points) — It should be noted that this lovely Viognier is in limited supply, and at this price, you should move quickly to get some. It’s delicious! The nose is an apricot/floral bomb with added white peach, melon, yellow apples and jasmine. It has a silky/oily texture on the palate with ripe tropical fruits, apricot tart, a touch of flint, beeswax, gingerbread and a vibrant, lifted finish. Very good value here.

Let’s get a little Twisted

Flat Rock Cellars has been bottling the “Twisted” tier of wines for more than two decades. It all started with the white Twisted, first released in 2004, when the winery wanted to produce something a little different and just a little, well, twisted; a wine that broke all the rules yet tastes great. “With Twisted we found a wine that reflects the individuality of each of us and is a testament to the fact that we are all happily, slightly twisted,” the marketing of the day declared.

Today, there are now four Twisted wines — the Twisted white original, Pink Twisted, Red Twisted and the Sparkling Twisted.

Wines in Niagara recently tasted the new vintage of the white Twisted, plus the 2015 version to see how it ages. We also tasted the new 2024 Pink Twisted. Here’s what we liked.

Flat Rock Twisted 2022 ($18, Vintages Essential, 90 points) — The blend for the 2022 white Twisted hasn’t changed that dramatically since the very beginning. It’s a proprietary combination of 77% Riesling, 15% Gewurztraminer and 8% Chardonnay, sourced primarily from the estate’s own vineyards. The final wine is determined over meticulous blending sessions to maintain a consistent style. The nose shows profound lime, lanolin, white peach, lychee nut, yellow apples and ginger. It has a plush texture and rounded feel on the palate (thank you, Gewurztraminer!) with melon, bruised apple, a touch of honey, lime citrus and a bright finish.

Flat Rock Twisted 2015 (not available for sale) — I honestly don’t think I would have cellared this 10-year-old Twisted a decade ago when I first tasted this, but I’m kicking myself now. The blend is close to the current vintage with 75% Riesling, 17% Gewurztraminer and 8% Chardonnay. With the aging, the nose shows gushing lime cordial, white flowers, ginger, still fresh saline and stony minerality with just now emerging petrol notes. It’s perfectly integrated on the palate and lip-smacking good with lime/citrus, subtle lychee, slate minerality, ginger/petrol notes and more rounded on the lifted finish. It’s still going strong; what a beauty!

Flat Rock Pink Twisted 2024 ($18, Vintages Essential, 89 points) — This pretty in pink wine is a blend of 90% Gamay and the rest Merlot with a nose of ripe, red berries, red Twizzlers, and juicy plums. The strawberries, raspberries and red currant notes on the palate are joined by a note of sweetness but balanced out by the mouth-watering acidity.