Canadian Wine Guy

Inky dark in color with nice dark berry nose. On the mid palate the wine displays some nice rich dark berries along with some nice chocolate and mocha. On the long finish the displays some firm tannins and some nice complexity. The wine lives on in the mouth. Be sure and pair this with something big, we paired it with filet mignon and it was delicious. I would give it an 89+, sadly only available at the winery, how aweful to have to visit the winery 🙂 $44.95 Yumm …

Slightly golden in color with a mild nose of pear and apple. On the mid palate the wine matches the nose with some nice pear and apple. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice vanilla and butterscotch. This is a more gently oaked chard but quite nice. I would give it an 88 or so. For a seven year old chard it’s holding it’s own nicely. We paid $18.95 at the winery.

From the winery’s web site:
Product Description

The nose is rich and inviting with notes of honey comb, citrus and crème brulée. The palate is rich and powerful with the same flavours perfectly balanced with mouthwatering acidity and minerality. Aged in French and American oak for 12 months.

Ok, quizzie time … what’s the difference between a red wine and a white wine (or Rose for that matter)? In the case of the Pinot Gris, and many others, the outside of the grape is red and the inside is white. So the difference is how long the crushed juice is left in contact with the skins of the grape. Skins provide color as well as depth and complexity. This wine was left in contact with the skins for 3 hours and the resulting wine is more like a rose in color. Crisp and dry on the nose. On the mid palate the wine has a nice refreshing crispness to match the nose. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice lively acidity. This is a very food friendly wine. Perfect for the summer. We paired it with a BBQ sausage and it went well. I would give it an 88 or so. $17.95 at the winery.

From the Winery’s web site:
JENNIFERS PINOT GRIS 2014
Details
All fruit for this colourful wine was hand harvested at optimum ripeness. Then the fruit wine was permitted to cold soak for twelve hours to achieve its bronze / coper hue before undergoing a gently hole berry pressing. The juice was then slowly cool-fermented for approximately two plus weeks to retain fruit intensity and enhance complexity. To ensure this wine retain its acidity and crispness, malolactic fermentation was not performed.

Food Pairing
Delicious on its own or match with chicken, pork, spicy Asian food or succulent seafood dishes such as prawns and other shellfish.
Tasting Notes
A colourful wine of delicate copper pink hue. An elegant floral noise leads to a palate of soft flavours highlighting ripe juicy red fruits and pink grapefruit. A well-balanced fruit forward wine with refreshing acidity.

Pale in color with a nice crisp/dry nose. On the mid palate the wine displays some nice crisp citrus notes to match the nose. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice food friendly acidity and a hint of green notes. This is a softer, well made Sauv Blanc. We paired it with pan seared Ahi Tuna and it went beautifully. I would give it an 88 or so. $19.95 at the winery.

Inky dark in color with a nice nose of dark fruits. On the mid palate the wine displays some nice dark fruit to match the nose. On the long finish this is another big wine from this new winery. There’s lots of firm tannins, some nice acidity, dryness and complexity. The dark fruits live on long in the mouth. I would give it an 89 or so. Another very nice wine from these folks. $39 a bottle at the winery. I can only imagine this is a very ageable wine. The winery’s web site says Now through 2015? I tasted it in 2016 and it’s still a big wine with lots of potential. I can’t wait to see future releases from this winery!

About the Wine
Named for a very special place in our vineyard, our Eleventh Post blend is a tribute to a moment in time. We had always known that this place was special and one perfect day while walking in our fields we were compelled to leave our personal mark on the Eleventh Post.

To my sister and I, it seemed appropriate to give our Eleventh Post blend a name that symbolized the beginning of our family history in Niagara.
– Angela Marotta, Proprietor

Tasting Notes
Made from premium fruit cropped for low yields, Eleventh Post is a blend of 52% Cabernet Franc, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot. This is a wine with exquisite elegance and balance.

The individual varietals for this wine were harvested at optimal ripeness and barrel-aged separately in a combination of French and American oak before assemblage.

The result is a wine with lovely aromas of cocoa, vanilla bean and toast oak. Flavours of cassis, black cherries, blueberries arrive early on the palate and are followed by hints of strawberries. Toasty oak, sweet chai spice and cardamom linger on the finish; silky tannins round out the mouthfeel.

Best Enjoyed
Now through 2015 or longer.

I’ve had this one in the cellar for a while now. Interestingly enough I had it as a best before 2012 🙂 Ooops. Lovely garnet in color with a nice nose of soft red berries. On the mid palate the wine is still showing well with some nice gentle red fruits, raspberry and the like along with the usual rustic suspects. On the medium length finish there are some fine tannins and acidity. At this point this is a smooth elegant food friendly pinot. We paired it with bbq salmon and it went very well. I would give it an 88-89. I paid $25. A very varietal wine that has held it’s own for a very long time!

I had the pleasure of attending the iYellow Winetario event where Ontario Wine Award winners showed up with some of their best wines. The event was an awesome showcase of some incredible Ontario wines. This wine was by far one of the most distinctive, it really did stand out.

Two Sisters was planted in 2007 in Niagara on the Lake and their first vintage was 2010. For such a young winery I am shocked how far they have come. This wine is dark in color with a lovely nose dark berries and hint of plum. On the mid palate there’s dark berries to match the nose along with a hint of plum, but where this wine lives is in the finish. This is a big bruiser of a wine, with lots of nice chocolate, firm tannins and some nice acidity. The alcohol is well under control. The wine has some lovely dryness and complexity that builds in the mouth as it coats the palate with the black fruit notes. Given the tannins I would say this wine has some very nice ageing potential. Wow, for such a young winery an excellent wine. And lot bigger than I am use to from Niagara on the lake. Yum. I would give it an 88-89 or so. $48 a bottle at the winery!

The wine was produced with a full berry ferment, and they captured and recycled the carbon dioxide as it came off the wine

From the weinery’s web site:
About the Wine
2012 was another incredible growing season in Niagara, giving us fruit at optimal ripeness. Premium farming and attention to detail in the winery ensure that our 2012 Merlot is the expression of our vineyard site.

Tasting Notes
This Merlot is a beautiful garnet colour, core to rim. Medium-bodied and elegantly structured, if offers mouth-coating, velvety tannins, which are certain to give this wine longevity if you have the willpower to resist drinking it for the next year or two.

The palate is rich and juicy with the flavours of dark red/black fruits and sweet oak up front. On the mid-palate, blackberries take over before a long, textured finish.

Best Enjoyed
This wine is drinking beautifully right now and will continue to evolve and change through 2023. It can benefit from decanting.