We travel down to Niagara frequently. The experience in the Niagara’s winery’s is awesome. The people, the wine, the food, the Inns are all an amazing way to spend time (oh and some money :)). Vineland estates has one of the most picturesque restaurants in Niagara. Lovely ambiance. They also have on display a beautiful collection of art all made from wine done by Melissa Proudlock. Very unique.
Bill Mochoruk spent some time with us telling us all about some of the innovative things Vineland is doing. It’s the dedication of Vineland and others in the region that is continuing to elevate the status of Niagara wines. Bill was telling me about one of the new gadgets Vineland is employing, an optical sorter. They use it to remove the under size grapes that can impart a green, bitter, vegetal flavor. Very cool. Thanks Bill for all your time.
If there is one thing Niagara is well known for it’s Cab Franc. This wine is 89% cab franc, 10% cab sauv and 1% Merlot. The wine was aged 16 months in oak. The wine has 13.5% alcohol and has 6.5 g/l sugar, so dry. Reserve in this case refers to the quality of the grapes used (Vs longer in oak). The optical sorter was not used on this wine because they didn’t have it yet.
Ok onto this wine. Dark in color with a mild nose. On the mid palate the wine displays some classic varietal cab franc notes. But where this wine lives is in the finish. On a medium to long finish the wine displays some firm tannins, and some lively acidity. This is a classic, big, yet approachable, cab franc that will easily age and soften with time. We paired it with a striploin and it went really well … I would give it a solid 89. $40 at the winery.
From the winery’s web site.
It is the perfect sensory storm. This wine comes at you full on and envelopes you in a wave of flavours that leaves you drenched in luxury. The fine, firm structure of resolved tannins amply supports the lively dark berry notes while underpinning the broader tones of leather, coffee and bittersweet chocolate. The intriguing complexities of this wine are artistically interlace to give a wine of, shall we say it – epic depth, power and longevity.
Winemaker: Brian Schmidt
