By Rick VanSickle
While the wines from Niagara’s The Farm strut into this world with a big splash every vintage, its RR81 sub-brand prefers an under-the-radar swagger.
Note, also in this Niagara Wine Report: Nominations for the Brock Promoter Awards now open, and our picks from the Vintages release coming up Nov. 22, including bubbles from Westcott and Henry of Pelham.
RR81, which stands for Regional Road 81, the road The Farm sits on in Niagara wine country, is the wild child of the wines produced by the Neudorf family. With the same winemaker as The Farm (Morgan Juniper, pictured in very top photo) and the same dedication to quality, RR81 turns its focus on varieties the team finds interesting from vineyards farmed by friends. It is “my little playground that allows us to push boundaries with varieties,” said Juniper.
The RR81 approach to winemaking is simply fermented grapes with nothing added. One-off wines sourced from some of the best single vineyards in Niagara, these wines are made with minimal intervention, which began with just a few bins and an old basket press. The results are some of most unique wines coming out of Niagara.
The team seeks out organic grapes where they can and prefers to source grapes from top vineyards. This release features wines from both Wismer-Foxcroft and Grimsby Hillside.
Fun Fact: Each fronting label is white with only RR81 imprinted on it. The details for each wine are written on the back label, each with its own colour.
How to get the RR81 wines: Sales open at 12 p.m. on Nov 20 to those on the winery’s email list. You will receive an email on that date with a link to purchase. You can sign up for to be on email list here (https://rr81wines.ca/).
Here’s what I liked:
RR81 Riesling 2023 ($25, 92 points) — This Riesling is sourced from the Wismer-Foxcroft Vineyard on the Twenty Mile Bench. It’s wild fermented with lees aging in 50% stainless steel and 50% neutral oak barrels for six months with no sulphur added and bottled unfiltered and unfined. All these low intervention wines from RR81 have a sense of wildness without the drama, and the Riesling is no different. It has a vivid, fresh nose of bin apples, lemon pith, camomile, ginger, and honeysuckle with wet stones and saline. It’s quite complex on the palate and edgy on the palate with a textured, creamy feel to go with ripe orchard fruits, nectarine, that lovely note of ginger and herbs, gentle reduction, lemon verbena and a lifted, bright finish. Quite different and alluring for a Riesling that should age nicely through 2032.
RR81 Viognier 2024 ($30, 92 points) — This Grimsby Hillside sourced Viognier was whole cluster pressed, wild fermented and aged on its lees in a single French oak puncheon before being bottled unfiltered and unfined. It shows a light golden colour in the glass with a nose of ripe apricots, summer peaches, lemon preserves, nectarine and lifted floral notes. It’s juicy and creamy on the palate with some weight that shines a bright light on the apricot tart, peachy/nectarine, lanolin, ginger root, a touch of spice and plenty of acidity adding finesse and lift on the finish. Drinking really nice right now but can cellar 2-3 years.
RR81 Rotburger 2023 ($25, 90 points) — In a lot of ways this Rotburger (the grape formerly known as Zweigelt) is the poster child for the RR81 brand. It’s the only wine made in all four vintages from 2020 to 2023. This Rotburger was inspired by a trip to Austria over 20 years ago where Peter Neudorf Sr. became fascinated by the grape. His daily ritual of a bottle of red necessitated a wine that showcased freshness, but also lower alcohol. At 10% abv, Rotburger was the perfect “lunch wine” for the patriarch, who sadly passed away in December of last year. It’s naturally fermented, unfined, unfiltered, and aged in neutral French oak barrels and clay amphora for six months with no sulphur added. It has a peppery/herbaceous nose with blackberries, blueberries, black currants, fresh cherries, anise, savoury notes, and chalky minerality with under the radar spice notes. It’s lighter in body on the palate with light tannins mingling with dark berries, sour cherries, black peppercorns, earthy savoury notes and savoury notes on a vibrant, lifted finish. You could serve a little chilled to amplify the fresh flavours in this wine.
RR81 Cabernet Franc 2023 ($35, 93 points) — Sourced from the Wismer-Foxcroft Vineyard, this Cab Franc is wild fermented, aged in mainly used oak barrels for 16 months and bottled unfined and unfiltered. It shows a deep, dark purple colour in the glass with rich notes of anise, saturated black cherries, wild raspberries, cedar plank, pepper, herbs and spice. It’s big and juicy on the palate with a medley of dark and red berries, black licorice, smoky pepper and tar notes with grippy tannins and a long, lifted finish. Cellaring is recommended or decant if you can’t wait. Can age it through 2035.
Nominations now open for
Brock’s VQA Promoter awards
Nominations are now open for the VQA Promoters Awards, which are handed out annually at the Experts Tasting held at Brock University. The awards are designed to recognize individuals who have consistently promoted Ontario VQA wines.
This is your opportunity to recognize the hard-working individuals who promote Ontario VQA wines in an exemplary manner.
The mission for the awards is “to acknowledge those individuals that celebrate the Ontario VQA wine industry with unselfish enthusiasm, constructive input and unsolicited promotion,” according to Brock. Nominations opened on Nov. 1 and the deadline for getting nominations into Brock is May 1, 2026.
The recipients will receive their award at the Experts Tasting on June 4, 2006.
Award Categories:
EDUCATION: Honours teachers, in formal or informal settings, who educate and inspire their learners about Ontario VQA wines.
FRONT LINE RETAIL: Honours a frontline professional who goes above and beyond to champion the Ontario VQA ‘neighborhood’. If the nominee works in a winery, the award celebrates an individual who promotes Ontario VQA for the benefit of the broader industry, not just their own brand. This could be accomplished through organizing events or creating campaigns for buying local. (Category includes winery, LCBO, bottle shop, grocery, and convenience store employees)
HOSPITALITY: Honours an individual who presents Ontario VQA with knowledge and enthusiasm to the dining public. (Category includes sommeliers, restaurateurs, servers, and chefs.)
MEDIA: Honours a member of the media who goes above and beyond to understand and share their knowledge of Ontario VQA wines with enthusiasm, authenticity and passion. (Category includes content creators, communicators, podcasters, bloggers, social media voices, as well as TV, radio, and print.)
PROMOTER-AT-LARGE: Honours an individual who finds innovative, unexpected or pioneering ways to promote Ontario VQA, creating new opportunities for awareness and appreciation.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Honours someone whose long-standing contributions have significantly advanced the growth, awareness, and appreciation of Ontario VQA.
Nominations are welcome — in all categories — for individuals within and outside Ontario who actively promote Ontario VQA wines within and beyond the province. Note that awards may not be given in all categories every year.
To read more about the awards and to get the nomination form go here.
Our picks from the Vintages release
on Nov. 22 at Ontario LCBO stores
The release on Nov. 22 focuses on sparkling wines from around the world. Wines in Niagara has a couple of recommendations from the release, which is otherwise a little shy on Niagara wines.
Westcott Brilliant Rosé 2022 ($40, 93 points) — This 100% Pinot Noir, traditionally-made sparkling wine was disgorged for this tasting (hence no label quite yet). It’s wild fermented, aged on the lees in tanks for 24 months with a dosage of estate Chardonnay (5 g/L). It shows a light rosé colour and elegant bead in the glass followed by a nose of fresh red berries, red currants, lovely saline, brioche, flint and toasty notes. The palate reveals fresh picked raspberries, cherries, watermelon and toasty brioche with a rounded texture, elegant bubbles and length through the finessed finish. Can age this through 2030.
Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Carte Blanche Estate Blanc de Blancs 2017 ($50, 95+ points) — The 2017 vintage of Carte Blanche is easily among the best sparkling wines made in Ontario that I have tasted. It’s made from 100% estate grown Chardonnay from the Short Hills Bench with 20% of the fruit barrel fermented. Secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle (traditionally made) and is followed by a further 54 months aging on the lees. Such an intriguing nose of lemon tart, brioche/autolytic notes, apple/quince fruit, poached pear, pie crust and showing a light golden colour in the glass. It’s pure hedonistic pleasure on the palate with a soft(ish) but elegant bead, ripe stone fruits, baked bread/biscuit notes, lemon, fresh saline/flinty minerality, and mouth-watering acidity keeping it clean and fresh through a lifted finish. Such depth and verve. Wow, just beautiful!
Other wines released but not reviewed by Wines in Niagara:
• Kew Tradition Sparkling 2020 ($33)
• Domaine Queylus Reserve de Domaine Chardonnay 2021 ($49)
• Domaine Queylus Droite 2021 ($46)
• Reif Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 ($35)
• The Tragically Hip Fifty Mission Cab Cabernet Franc 2022 ($40)
• Two Sisters Eleventh Post 2019 ($48)
• Fogolar Hughes Vineyard Riesling 2022 ($20)
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