To prepare you for wine discoveries at next weekend's Terroir Wine Celebration, our Sommeliers share with you tasting notes of more Prince Edward County wines.  Whether you enjoy white wine, red wine or are in the mood for a glass of Rose or sparkling wine, these wines will WOW you!

Huff Estates Vidalessco Sparkling VQA 2011

There is no better way to begin a dinner party (or any meal for that matter!) than with the pop of a cork of a bottle of bubbly!  This unique wine is made with Vidal grapes.  Vidal is often left on the vines to make icewine, yet at Huff Estates winemaker, Frederic Picard (originally from Burgundy France), decided to do something completely different – create a crisp & refreshing sparkling wine fashioned after the Italian Prosecco.  

Savvy Sommelier Debbie interviews Frederic  in the vineyard - watch the video

Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: Dry with fine mousse (winespeak: bubbles) elegant aromas & tastes of citrus (can you find mandarin or lime?) & toasted almond.

Suggested Food Pairings: For fun, serve sparkling wine with salty potato chips (the saltier the better!). The salt reacts with the bubbles & makes an even more lively sensation in your mouth – like fireworks!

The Grange’s Trumpour’s Mill Chardonnay VQA 2007

A visit to The Grange of Prince Edward County Winery is not only an opportunity to taste the wines, explore the vineyards and marvel at the historic restored buildings on site; a visit provides a Canadian history lesson too.

This month, we feature The Grange in our Savvy Selections wine of the month club.  This Chardonnay impressed our Savvy Sommeliers.  Chardonnay was among the first varietals planted on the Granger estate. A grape which lends itself to a range of styles, this exemplar is unoaked and displays the texture and complexity of extended lees contact.

Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: Offering tantalizing aromas of jasmine, honeyed stone fruit, pear and mango, this is a balanced creamy yet dry wine, weighty with flavourful fruit and kissed with a touch of toasted nuts. It finishes slightly warm and gently spiced.

Suggested Food Pairing: Enjoy this wine with pasta in a cream-based sauce, with crab cakes or lobster, or with savoury roast chicken.

Cellaring:  Delightful now or over the next couple of years!

Karlo Estates Frontenac Gris Rose VQA 2011

Karlo Estates is a must visit as one of ‘The County’s’ wineries - housed in a heritage Loyalist barn. Owner & winemaker Richard Karlo has developed his career from being a wine judge to an amateur winemaker, then consulting winemaker & now winery owner. 

Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes:  Last year’s Rose from Karlo was full of rhubarb & citrus aromas & tastes.  This vintage boasts watermelon, tangerine & ruby red grapefruit.  Crisp & refreshing, this medium bodied Rose feels delicious in your mouth & tastes wonderful too!

Suggested Food Pairings: This is a perfect wine to unwind with at the cottage, pack with a picnic or on enjoy while you soak up the sunshine in the backyard.  Serve on its own or with spicy food.

Rosehall Run Cabernet Franc Cold Creek VQA 2008

Cabernet Franc is often used in red wine blends, yet in Ontario, this grape grows so well that winemakers keep it aside to craft outstanding Cabernet Franc wines.  Rosehall Run Vineyards owner & winemaker Dan Sullivan found a parcel of land in The County – complete with a creek running through it - with outstanding Cabernet Franc grapes. 

Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: Bright garnet red colour in the glass, bursting with aromas of ripe red berries, raspberry that packs an impressive punch of dark chocolate.   On the palate it is dry, medium bodied with soft tannins reminders of sour cherry & cassis.

Suggested Food Pairings: The lingering finish makes this wine a perfect match for both light & heavy dishes from BBQ sausages, lamb chops, roast duck & even grilled salmon. Debbie loves this wine with a chunk of dark chocolate! 

Stanners Vineyard Cabernet Franc PEC VQA 2010

Stanners Vineyard is one of the newest wineries to open in The County is run by the Stanner family & everyone in the family is involved!  Located near the town of Hillier (about 20 mins away from Picton), they are surrounded by other neighbouring wineries.  The Stanners made 2 Cabernet Franc wines – one all County while the other is a blend of Niagara & County.  This one was the favorite at the recent County in the City wine tasting event in Ottawa.  It was fun to try the 2 wines side by side - and this you can definitely do when you visit Terroir Wine Festival! 

Savvy Sommelier Tasting Notes: Plum in colour, there are delicious aromas of blackberry, raspberry & plums too that fill the glass then continue into the taste.  It is dry & well balanced wine with a medium long finish.  A very impressive wine.  Well done!

 Suggested Food Pairings: An easy drinking red wine that would be good with grilled burgers, lasagna or even BBQed steak.  Stock up for the summer!

We look forward to seeing you in The County at Terroir on Saturday May 26th!

A winemaker was recently asked who was drinking rosé and he replied “mostly women and smart men.”

As the curtain closed on Canada’s 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralymic Games, Canada’s largest wine festival, the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival opened up last month, with the emphasis on wines from New Zealand and Argentina as well as shining the spotlight on rosé wines.  There were 45+ wines from different countries, with varying styles showing a kaleidoscope of colour from copper to cranberry. As that could make yet another wine wheel, the genre was indicative enough to show that rosé is more than wines that are “just pink with tastes of strawberries” (my reaction to this overused comment: argg!).

Although rosé has long been associated with being born in the south of France and made largely from Grenache grapes, in the past year rosé it was reported that consumption in France has increased by 22%. Currently, every wine producing country now produces their own version. For every red grape varietal, a rosé is being made. I was amazed by the quantity and quality of many rosé’s at the Festival. Winemakers from Germany, Argentina, Spain, France, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S.A, Chile and Australia spoke of and promoted their respective rosés from how it was made, to the body of the wine and even to the time of day to drink it! 

When winemakers were asked when to serve their rosé, responses varied from breakfast to fore-noon, to afternoon to late evening; concluding that rosé was an any time of day refreshment and not just for the summer barbeque or picnic. Most agreed that rosé should be served just below room temperature as opposed to the boney cold which many, including myself are guilty.

On the pairing side with food, rosé frequently mates with the uninventive salmon along with an assortment of other seafoods that tend to put the mind in neutral, (depending of course on preparation). However, I experienced brilliant innovative pairings such as shredded lamb over polenta, and an orzo pasta with beets and greens, topped with a pink cotton candy - Executive Chef & Sommelier Tony Lawrence deserves kudos for this innovation – that complimented a myriad of dark cranberry coloured rosé’s especially those made from the Merlot, Pinot Noir and Shiraz grapes.

This year more noticeably than others, all you have to do is walk into the LCBO to be overwhelmed with the variety of rosé wines. Although being a rosé lover, I have no need of a sales pitch to try yet another delicious dry rosé wine. But to say that rosé has now found its way into the international genre of the serious wine world is an understatement. We can no longer assume that if it’s cranberry or pink, that it is sweet and without the complexity of a full bodied wine. 

The time has come for us to stop looking suspiciously at these vibrant, fresh coloured wines since it is obvious we can no longer judge a rosé by its cover and that’s not looking at the subject through rosey rim glasses. 

Some Rosé wines that I recommend to try this summer:

de Venoge Brut Pink Champagne

M. Chapoutier Tavel 2008

Bastianich Rosato 2008

Santé,  Cheers,  Cin cin, Salute !

Julie Stock

Accredited Sommelier & newest member of the Savvy Team

You are invited!

Join Julie & the Savvy Team of Sommeliers at Clink & Drink Pink - a Rosé wine tasting on Wednesday July 14th. Click for more details about this fun wine & food event

We look forward to having you join us!

Looking for a unique gift for the holiday season?  Don’t miss the LCBO Vintages Wine of the Month, Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve (#33894, $30), released December 6, 2008.  This Pinot Noir is an excellent value Ontario Pinot Noir, which can be cellared for 3-5 years.

I had the opportunity to participate in a tasting let by Thomas Bachelder, Le Clos Jordanne winemaker.  Thomas is a native Montrealer who developed his winemaking expertise in Burgundy, while pursuing a formal education in Viticulture and Oenology in Beaune.  He has tremendous enthusiasm for Le Clos Jordanne terroir, for the winemaking team, and for his wine. 

Le Clos Jordanne’s approach to the vines and the land is to allow the wine to express its ‘sense of place’.  In order to ensure this, the vines and fruit are tended and harvested by hand, and no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides are used.  In 2005, the winery received its first Ecocert Canada certification for organic farming.

Last summer, I had the opportunity of a private visit to Le Clos Jordanne winemaking facilities in Niagara,   This winery was established in 1998 as a joint venture between Vincor and the French firm, Boisset.  They were convinced that the Niagara property had similar characteristics of slope, climate, soil and terroir to the Cote d’Or in Burgundy.

The focus of Le Clos Jordanne is on premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The grapes are grown on several properties which are uniquely situated; they include La Petite, Talon Ridge, Claystone Terrace and Le Clos Jordanne vineyards.  The wine from each of its properties in unique, as I discovered during a barrel tasting.  For instance, Claystone East produces a fairly robust Pinot, which may be blended with Talon Ridge, along with deselected barrels of the other single vineyards, to produce Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve.

If you love fine Pinot Noir, as I do, visit the Vintages section of your LCBO, or contact us regarding the opportunity to purchase a case directly from Le Clos Jordanne. 

Happy holidays

Susan