On Monday May 14th, I attended the Ontario Wine Society’s seminar on appasimento wines. The featured guest speaker was a long time and good friend of the iYellow Wine Club, the esteemed Mr. Donald Ziraldo.

Though he is best known as the Godfather of Canadian Icewine for his pioneering vision and work in bringing Canadian icewine to world renown, Mr. Ziraldo is also knowledgeable and passionate about the appasimento style of wine. He has traveled to Italy often (the famous VinItaly annual wine expo is one of the places where his early work in icewine first made a global impact) where thistechnique was first invented and used.

Mr. Ziraldo educated the OWS members on the winemaking technique of appasimento. It is an Italian word that in winemaking specifically refers to the process of gently and carefully drying grapes over a long period of time before making wine out of them. The famous Amarone red wine of Italy is made with this technique, which results in a very lush and rich red wine with very strong and concentrated flavors.

One of the most important pieces of information he imparted was explaining how the grape drying process is actually done. Contrary to what many believe, there is absolutely no heat involved in the appasimento drying process. Heat can be and is often used to turn standard table grapes into  raisins for eating and cooking with, but it is never used in winemaking.

Instead, winemakers carefully control the natural evaporation and especially the humidity of the location where the grapes are dried. This long and natural drawn out process actually takes months at a time and is very carefully monitored.  We were actually given samples of properly dried wine grapes at each table so we could see, feel and taste the difference. They are noticeably larger, rounder and plumper than standard raisins and much more complex in flavor.

Ironically, it was not in Italy but of all places Vancouver where Donald fully engaged in his passion for appasimento. He told the group of how he first met Mr. Sandro Boscaini, the current President of the famed MASI Agricola winery in Italy, at a wine show there one year. MASI is one of the most renowned Amarone makers in all of Italy and Ziraldo was chair of the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre at the time. Naturally, the two wine pioneers got to talking with each other.

The pair eventually committed to a long-term research project on appasimento wine for the Ontario wine industry. This was the start of a relationship between Donald and the MASI Agricola winery which continues to this day. In 2010, they held their first workshop at the Centre. In 2011, they held four more.

Donald also acknowledged Niagara’s Foreign Affair winery and its founder Len Crispino, who established a winery fully and exclusively devoted to appasimento wines ten years before that first seminar and were the only Ontario winery making them for the better part of a decade. Their success helped establish the viability of appasimento wines in the Niagara wine industry and there are now six other Niagara wineries also producing them.

The group then tasted several different appasimento wines, all of which were graciously presented by representatives from the actual wineries. First up was a traditional Italian Amarone wine from MASI as our point of reference.

Next up were three wines from Colaneri Estates including the night’s only white appasimento wine, an incredibly flavorful Gewurztraminer with strong tropical fruit notes.

This was followed by selections from The Burning Kiln, a new winery established in 2010 that specializes in appasimento wines. The Burning Kiln gets its name from the old tobacco drying kiln situated on the winery’s property that is used for their grape drying. One of these selections was a powerful Pinot Noir, quite a surprise for those in the room who thought that Ontario Pinot Noirs could only produce more delicate wines.

Interestingly, both Colaneri and The Burning Kiln are fully devoted to appasimento wines (Colaneri also produces icewines as well) and share the same winemaker: Andrzej Lipinski, who recently was named Winemaker of the Year at the 2012 Ontario Wine Awards.

Last up were a Cave Spring appasimento blend of Cabernets and an intriguing  Reif Estates blend of appasimento Shiraz and Pinot Noir.

As the evening drew to a close, I had the chance to quickly catch up with Donald and his marketing and publicity director Victoria Gilbert, both of whom I had last seen at the Royal York LCBO where they formally introduced their Equifera Vidal icewine. They both graciously and warmly greeted me, not only having remembered me from our last meeting but having also read the iYellow blog entry I submitted afterwards. (You can read that entry in the blog archives).

Since that time, they have managed to also get their Equifera Riesling icewine into both the LCBO and the SAQ. They’ll also have a Tawny Port from their new Portgual winery project in the LCBO soon as well. They will be returning to Portugal soon to check up on that project as well.

This was a great educational event. It was great to not only catch up with both Victoria and Donald one more time, but to also see his devotion to wine education and research on display as a professional speaker. iYellow Wine Club members can find his Equifera Vidal and Riesling icewines at the LCBO and his Senhora Do Convento  Tawny Port there in the near future.

This past Thursday, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the industry portion of the New Zealand Wine Fair. The attendees were composed of professional media, wine reviewers and bloggers, restaurateurs, sommeliers and even a number of Ontario winemakers which should tell you just how anticipated this event was. iYellow’s own Debbie Tam, Monika Janek (who was a recent winner in the Amateur Division of the 2011 Wine Tasting Challenge) and Carlissa DeRose (a certified sommelier) as well as yours truly also attended.

The event was held in the beautiful and historic Design Exchange building in downtown Toronto and was an extremely informative and well-organized event. Like the Austria Uncorked event which I also covered recently, the execution was near flawless:  excellent table organization, plenty of room to move around in, and the exact right number of attending wineries so that you could get to everyone and chat with all the reps and winery owners even with food and water breaks in between.

New Zealand winemaking dates as far back as the early 1800’s which technically makes it an Old World wine region. Its unique climate and geography, which is completely surrounded by water, has allowed them to produce wine that is very much the best of two worlds. They have the tropical fruit flavors and aromas of hot climate region wines but also the high acidity, minerality and delicateness of cool climate region wines.

Despite this incredible advantage, New Zealand winemaking didn’t truly come into its own until the late 1970’s and early 80’s when its Sauvignon Blancs first gained the world’s notice. This timing coincided perfectly with the technological revolution in winemaking and allowed New Zealand to apply New World winemaking techniques to Old World vine stock. The result was a spectacular breakthrough and New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blancs have been hailed as the best in the entire wine world since then. This was then followed by another breakthrough in Pinot Noirs.

My first stop was at the Archangel Wines table, where winery owner Mary Zurakowski and her Canadian  agent David Litner presented her excellent Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Riesling wines.  In fact, the high quality of the Rieslings, Viogniers, Chardonnays and especially the Pinot Gris wines were the biggest surprise of the event. When a professionally certified sommelier like Carlissa raves about the Pinot Gris wines she’s tasting, you know they’re good wines.

Mary flew in all the way from New Zealand, a gruelling 20 hour flight with 3 layovers, just for the event as did many of her fellow New Zealanders. In fact, they were all in the midst of a large North American tour that crossed all of Canada before heading down south to New York and San Francisco.

Next up was the Giesen Wines table. The Giesens are devoted to producing high quality Sauvignon Blancs and brought three different kinds to try as well as two Pinot Noirs and Riesling. Their story is remarkably similar to that of Niagara’s own Henry of Pelham winery.  Giesen was started by three young brothers who emigrated from Germany to New Zealand. Like the Specks from Pelham, they decided to buy land and plant wine grapes on a whim and were also told they were insane to plant grapevines in the region and that they would never get anywhere with it. Their winery has been going strong for over 30 years now.

Giesen Rep Matt Bindel, who recently moved to San Francisco from New Zealand to help the winery tackle the North American market, explained to me that New Zealand wine is unique in that an incredibly high 96% of all of their wine is exported, with only a mere 4% remaining  for their domestic market. So events like the Fair are very important to their industry.

The reps for Spy Valley Wines, who brought an excellent Gewurztraminer to the show, supported this by explaining to me that the sales to the US and Canada are rising dramatically, hence the current North American tour to support the ongoing sales momentum.

At the Marisco Vineyards table, I tasted their entire range of Sauvignon Blancs as well as a unique barrel-fermented and aged Pinot Gris and an incredible pair of botrytis-affected sweet Sauvignon Blanc wines, one fermented and aged in stainless steel for a strong fruit flavor and the other aged in barrel for a more complex taste. Both were outstanding.

Sileni Estates also brought their Sauvignon Blancs and highlighted the range of styles New Zealand can produce with this varietal. Their Cellar Selection was savory and high in minerality with grassy flavors whereas their Estate Selection was tropical and complex. This diverse range of styles was present with all the wineries who brought more than one Sauvignon Blanc and showed why this is New Zealand’s showcase wine.

Next it was on to Rock Ferry Wines, where winery manager and director Tom Hutchison was visiting Canada for the very first time ever to get a feel for our country and our market. Amongst his showcase wines was a delicious full-bodied Tempranillo wine. This grape is normally associated with Spanish and California wine and is a true rarity amongst New Zealand wines.

The other wineries chose to bring Pinot Noirs as their showcase reds. Villa Maria Estates brought two Pinot Noirs which displayed incredibly strong fruit on the nose that I was detecting even before the glass made it up to my nose, which belied the actual delicateness of the wines once I sipped them.

On to Sersin Estate, who proudly brought their entire range of a dozen different organic and biodynamic wines. Their MOMO organic wines are naturally fermented and the Pinot Noir is unfiltered, giving it a rich earthy flavor. Their high-end biodynamic Pinot Noirs are more complex and delicate.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum was Forrest Estates, who brought a mere two wines to showcase: their The Doctors brand Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Now if you’re only going to bring two wines all the way from New Zealand to Canada to show off, they’re probably going to be very good wines. They were.

Unlike all the other wines present, these wines were vinified to a deliberately low 9.5% alcohol each with higher levels of residual sugar than you would normally get in a dry table wine. The results are two very light-bodied and refreshing wines that are perfect for summer sipping. In fact, the rep informed me that the wines were created with low alcohol levels so that consumers would be able to enjoy more of the wine at a single occasion such as a backyard barbecue or a party than they would be able to with a more alcoholic wine.

The most amazing thing for me was to see and feel the crowd of wine professionals being completely won over by what they were tasting. People’s faces were literally lighting up with as they went from table to table. Usually, I find that most professionals at wine events try to keep on their poker faces and remain even, but they weren’t even bothering to hide their delight at this event. If they weren’t drinking the kool-aid – uh, make that the wine – beforehand, they were definitely leaving as converts.

This was a great wine event and it was very educational as it broadened my knowledge and scope of New Zealand wines which previously had only just been on the periphery of my wine radar. I also left as a convert and a supporter and wish all the visiting winemakers continued success and hope to see them again soon in Canada.

Check out Ange’s article titled “For the Love of Riesling” featured in Today Magazine

We had a great time celebrating Malbec World Day on Tuesday April 17th!

On Monday April 16^th, I had the pleasure of attending Austria Uncorked, a wine tasting event exclusively devoted to the wines of Austria. The event was held in Toronto for the very first time in one of the ballrooms of the brand new Trump International Tower on its first full official day of operation.  There were a couple of technical glitches to deal with including non-functioning air conditioning throughout the building and malfunctioning elevators. None of this put a damper on the very large and enthusiastic crowd attending the public evening portion of the event, which included a large segment of Austrian Canadians. I had no idea Toronto had such a large Austrian community until this event.

Although technically Austria is an Old World wine region as its winemaking history has been traced as far back as 4000 years ago, it has remarkable similarities to our own Ontario-based New World wine industry. Austria was long regarded as a maker of high-selling but low-quality sweeter styled bulk wines. In the late 1980’s, the industry took seriously stock of itself and resolved to do better. Strict new quality regulations were adapted; wineries resolved to produce both better quality sweet wines and dry table wines of excellence that would make the rest of the world take notice; and the Austrian Wine Marketing Board was formed. Coincidentally, this was all happening at around the same time as our own Ontario wine industry was undergoing its own New World renaissance with very similar initiatives.

The similarities don’t end there. The country of Austria is roughly the same size as the populated area of Ontario; their population is just about  two-thirds of our total population; it’s a cool climate winemaking region that shares similarities in latitude and soil composition to Burgundy, just as Niagara and Prince Edward County do; most of their wineries are family owned and operated just as most of Ontario’s are; and their noble sweet wines are as famous worldwide as our icewine is.

The high class event featured some of the best food I’ve ever had at a wine tasting event. Sushi and Thai spring rolls were made fresh to order on the spot as Indian samosas were served alongside Austrian charcuterie and massive cheese platters. But the real star, of course, was the wine. The whites were highlighted by crisp Rieslings, tropical Sauvignon Blancs (which iYellow member Monika Janek raved about as she went for seconds), and the much heralded locally-grown superstar of Austrian white wine, Gruner Vetliner.

Gruner Vetliner is a native Austrian grape that makes a fresh crisp lemon zesty wine that tastes like the love child of Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s the most planted grape variety in Austria and its biggest seller both at home and abroad. It is acclaimed worldwide for its ability to match with virtually any type of food. It’s not a coincidence that the event organizers served such fine food at the event, with so many different Gruner Vetliner wines available to sample. Every single one of the 30 attending wineries brought along their best Gruner Vetliner wines to showcase.

Gruner Vetliner wines can either be drunk young or aged for a long time resulting in a completely different wine experience. I had the opportunity to try both at the show and highly recommend that iYellow club members who are also foodies try one with a meal sometime.

On the red wine side, Austria is renowned for not one but four different superstars: the locally grown Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch grapes as well as Pinot Noir and its relative St. Laurent which the country brought over from Burgundy, France.

The elegant Austrian Pinot Noirs I tasted were amazingly identical to our own Niagara Pinot Noirs. If you were to put a bottle of each side by side and hid the labels, I would actually lay down good money that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. The similarity was that striking. The St. Laurent wines were a bit bolder with strong cherry flavors and aromas.  The Zweigelt wines were also very fruit forward while the Blaufranksich wines tended to be firmer with more acidity and tannins.

Of course, as an icewine and Sauternes addict I have to talk about the sweet wines of Austria. Unlike either Ontario or France, Austria is unique in that is able to produce both icewines and botrytis sweet wines. Botrytis is a type of beneficial mold that slowly dehydrates grapes on the vine while leaving everything else intact, resulting in the equivalent of a raisin but with much more complex flavors. Austria’s climate to reliably produce botrytis sweet wines annually the way Ontario can produce icewine every single year.

There were an astonishing twenty-four different sweet wines available to try, the most I have ever seen at a single wine tasting event. To put this in perspective, there were more sweet wines at Austria Uncorked that there were at the most recent Gourmet Food and Wine Expo, Wine and Cheese Show, Hamilton Food and Drink Fest and even the Icewine Village at the Niagara Icewine Festival. The Hafner winery alone brought six different sweet wines to showcase.

Monika, her husband Erin and I ran the gamut, delighted with the sheer variety available. We tried late harvest Chardonnay, Blaufrankisch and Muscat Ottonel wines; a Gruner Vetliner icewine; a Riesling Auslese; and several different botrytis sweet wines made from Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Scheurebe. The Nittnaus Pinorama botrytis sweet wine was so good that Monika and I went back for seconds. The look on our faces must’ve indicated our pure ecstasy as we were graciously given thirds  after that by the friendly wine rep without any prompting.

Despite the technical glitches, the event itself went off without a hitch and was a pleasure to attend. As I wished them safe journey to Chicago and then back home,  I was informed by the winemakers and reps that most of them were on a 10 day tour aboard as they would tour the United States immediately after Toronto starting with Chicago.  They would then g able to fly home for a few days just before having to fly out again across Europe for more wine events including major ones in London and Russia this Spring. Based on the inaugural night’s success, you can bet that they’ll be using their frequent flyer miles to return to Toronto for next year’s Austria Uncorked tour.

On Tuesday April 10th, iYellow Students learned about the wonderful wines from Sexy Australia!

On Tuesday April 3rd, iYellow students enjoyed learning about organic and spring wines at Marben!

This past Tuesday April 10^th, I attended the County in the City event at the Church on Berkeley. This was a special Toronto Wine & Spirit Festival event highlighting the wines of Prince Edward County.


Prince Edward County, or PEC as it is affectionately known, is located on the opposite side of the lake from Niagara-on-the-Lake. PEC is home to one of the youngest wine regions in the world, which ramped up in earnest in the early 1990’s.  However, it has made a serious impact in an extremely short time due to the region’s remarkable similarity to Burgundy, France. PEC’s climate and soil conditions are ideally suited for the traditional grapes of French Burgundy wine, especially Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.


The setup for the event was aesthetically brilliant, as tasting stations were set up not only on the converted church floor but also on the second floor’s aisles which encircled the ground floor and gave you a fantastic view of the action below. This was the first time I’ve ever been to a two story high wine tasting event!


For this event, all the participating PEC wineries put their best foot forward and brought some great exclusives with them. First up was Rosehall Run, who showcased their 2009 estate and cuvee Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. Their Chardonnays are oaked and have classic green apple and buttery flavors, whereas their Pinots were marked by soft tannins and delicate elegance. Their estate Pinot Noir is unfiltered,  a common practice amongst many PEC winemakers and shows great confidence in their wines.


Next were the wines of Norman Hardie, which had previously left a great impression on me at last year’s Gourmet Food and Wine Expo when iYellow’s own Taylor Thompson hosted a seminar on PEC wines. Their wines are created with a wild ferment and cultured yeast was not used. This is another common practice amongst PEC winemakers and results in a richer wine that is more earthy in flavor.


On to Sandbanks Estate Winery, whose owner and winemaker Catherine Langlois actually studied winemaking in Burgundy itself. While all her wines were excellent, I have to makes special note of their Baco Noir Reserve, which is one of the best Baco Noirs I have ever personally had. I told the winery rep that they could easily charge $30 a bottle due to the high quality. He smiled at me and informed me that they in fact did used to price it at that level, but brought the price down upon getting it into the LCBO to make it more affordable and to reach a wider audience. This is an absolute steal if you can pick up a bottle.


After a quick food break, it was on to 3630 Wine. They’re a one-man virtual winery that uses another PEC winery’s  equipment and space to do all their winemaking. I tried a rare for Ontario oak-aged Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and sparkling wine made in a classic champagne style.


Then it was on to the legendary Closson Chase. Widely acknowledged as the winery that really helped put PEC on the radar, thanks to partner and winemaker Deborah Paskus and her high quality wines. They also showcased their classic Burgundy-style Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.


Lest things get too repetitive, I then met a true innovator in winemaker Richard Karlo, whose Karlo Estates produces some of the most imaginative wines in all of Ontario, let alone PEC. Among these were a barrel-fermented Riesling, a sweet and delicate Rosé wine made from the rare Frontenac Gris  grape, a Petit Verdot single varietal wine and a pair of unique Canadian white and red Port wines made from Frontenac Blanc and Frontenac Noir, respectively.


Richard told the attendees an interesting story of how he developed his Port wines. He had actually only planted Frontenac Gris and Blanc grapes on his vineyards, but some of the grapes spontaneously mutated into Frontenac Noir grapes. This gave him all three varieties of Frontenac but with only plans to use up the first two for his Rosé and white Port wines. So he decided to use the Noir grapes to make a red Port wine. That turned out to be a great decision.


Next up was another founding PEC winery, Keint-He, and yet another innovation: their Pineaux Sauvage, a botrytis-affected Pinot Noir sweet wine that has a similar taste to a sweet Sherry wine.  It’s very rare to be able to produce a botrytis-affected wine in Ontario. So rare, in fact, that to date Keint-He has only been able to make exactly just one vintage of this wine. Fortunately, there’s plenty still for sale at the winery.


I next met Lauren Horlock, who is both the winemaker and vineyard manager for Harwood Estates. She’s a PEC native who rose to those two positions in 2011 after studying and training winemaking in Niagara. It’s extremely rare to meet a winemaker who also manages the vineyards and therefore sees the product through from the very beginning to the very end. Lauren brought her Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and St. Laurent wines. The last is an offspring of the Pinot Noir grape and is grown exclusively in PEC.


The next sampling was from Lighhthall Vineyards, an extremely young winery having just started full operations in 2009. A highlight was their sparkling wine made from the unique choice of Vidal grapes instead of the classic Chardonnay and Pinot Noir combination. The result is a very aromatic and fruity dry sparkling wine.


The next winemaker I met was Collin Stanner who with along his wife Mary and his parents own and operate Stanners Vineyard. Along with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, they make a rich Pinot Gris wine that has an unusual burnt orange color thanks to prolonged skin contact during its fermentation.


Casa Dea was the second last stop on this virtual tour of PEC, who brought along their Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir wines. The final stop belonged to an old acquaintance, the gracious Carolyn Granger, who is the founder, owner and winemaker at The Grange of Prince Edward.


The Grange is another founding winery that helped establish PEC as a wine region. Starting up in 1999 with a mere 10 acres of vines, they have now grown to 60 acres and make acclaimed red and white table wines. Carolyn brought a range of her reds to the event including her Cabernet Franc, her estate Pinot Noir, the Diana’s Block single vineyard Pinot Noir, and her Gamay Noir. This last wine was the only Gamay present at the entire event.


The Gamay grape is the main component of the famous Beaujolais wines from France. Like those wines, her Gamay is tart due to its high acidity  but also low in tannins, resulting in a light and fruity easy drinking wine that is a complete contrast to other red wines that are much heavier in flavor and tannins.


As the event came to a conclusion, the biggest impression left on me came not from the wines, but rather from the winemakers themselves. There was a very strong artisanal spirit amongst all the winemakers and representatives from the wineries as seen in their unique wines. This was matched by their entrepreneurial faith in the PEC region. It’s a small and young wine region that is still growing. In fact, all of the winemakers informed me that there is still a lot of undeveloped wine region in PEC to be exploited and there is plenty of opportunity for more winemakers.


Like Niagara’s wine region in its early decades, PEC has attracted both established visionaries and young ambitious winemakers more than willing to craft wines that are true to their own visions. Some of these wines are daring and experimental; others are classical varietals. All of them are driven by the passion of the owners, representatives and winemakers of Prince Edward County whom I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting and interacting with today.

I recently attended my first wine school with iYellowWineClub (http://iyellowwineclub.com/). I know right? Have I been living under a rock for the past couple years or what? Well it’s never too late, that’s my motto. And what a great introduction to Wine School! Today’s lesson was French wines!


Angela started with a simple statement, “here we taste varietals, but in France they taste their regions.” What does this mean? French wines are harder to pronounce!! But in all seriousness, wine labels here tell us what grapes are used: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, etc. While wine labels in France tell us a different story; it tells us where the grapes are from. A simple concept I’ve never really thought about.


But as simple as Angela’s opening statement is, it is extremely profound. Because essentially when you drink wine from France, it transports you. The French wine labels tell you several things. Were they growing in an area surrounded by herbs such as Lavender or Rosemary? Are they growing on rolling limestone hills? Are they near water? Right bank or left bank? Is the region characterized by a continental climate or a Mediterranean climate?


We started our wine school night with a beautiful trifecta of French wines.


First tasting up was my favorite pick of the night actually, Chateau Perron Blanc from Graves. The wine was crisp, and had a sort of tropical peachy taste to it. Angela suggested pairing this wine with oysters, shrimp, fish, and anything BBQ! I honestly could not get enough of this wine. Even with the generous portions that were overflowing in my glass.


The second wine was a Rose. Normally I’m not really one for this type of wine. It can be too sweet and bubbly for me, but this one smelt like cream soda. I jumped right in! Ogier Cotes du Ventoux Rose was tasty. That cream soda smell translated to a cherry and raspberry flavor on my palate. Angela recommended this as a great wine to bring to a bridal shower, which by the way, I have several coming up this summer! And at a price like $10.95 I’m going to bring two or three…and of course keep one for myself!


The third wine was dark and meaty. Ogier Heritages Cotes du Rhone is what Angela explained is a GSM blend – Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, which equated to YPM blend for me – Yes Please More! Once again the price is right sitting just under thirteen bucks! A perfect pairing for pizza, and I would think a nice juicy steak or burger!


Now I won’t lie, this was the part of the night where my school notes became blurry. There were three more wines, and of course after a long day at work and heading straight to wine school with no time for dinner, my inner Whino was a little buzzed! Plus once the cheese came out my attention became split.


All in all though Wine School isn’t so much about the notes you take. It’s about the experience. Wine School is great not only for the information you will retain without even knowing it, but for the variety of wines you open yourself up to and the new people you meet. And particularly, when getting schooled on wines from France, every French wine you sip makes you want to travel to the places you drink!

For more information on how you can attend iYellow Wine Club’s Wine School or any other cool wine events check out:

http://iyellowwineclub.com

Cheers,

Jacqui