The June 26 2019 Event: Winemakers’ Tasting of Dig Our Roots: Special varietals from a specialty crop area.

The Date and Time: Wednesday June 26, 2019  6PM to 9PM

The Event: Winemakers' Tasting of Dig Our Roots: Special varietals from a specialty crop area.

The Venue: George Brown College Third Floor Wine Lab King St

The Target Audience: wine media, licensees, and sommeliers

The Availability/Catalogue: all wines are available, mostly at the winery but also some at the LCBO.

The Quote/Background: Bruce Wallner, the genial MS, provided context on the small batch offerings of grapes that fly under the radar in Ontario ("cool climate is emphasized"). Three winemakers and a sales director discussed their own wines and interacted with each other. Pertinent questions were asked of the panel. We managed to cover Kerner, Trollinger, Pinot Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Semillon, Malbec, Zweigelt, and Petit Verdot.

The Wines: The were four reception wines that were not really discussed, just enjoyed. So we had a total of 16 wines to note. The lab wines begin with the vintage year:

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Konzelmann Riesling Cuve Close Sparkling VQA Ontario

-Stratus Cabernet Franc Rose 2018 VQA NOTL en magnum (1500 mL)

-2017 Konzelmann Riesling Small Batch VQA (Johannisberg clone, aged in acacia barrels)

-2017 Stratus Sémillon VQA NOTL

-2016 Reif Sémillon VQA Niagara River

-2016 Stratus Botrytis Sémillon VQA NOTL  [my FAVE white]

-2014 Stratus Petit Verdot [my FAVE red]

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-EastDell Summer Rose 2018 VQA Niagara Peninsula

-Reif Kerner Reserve 2017 VQA Niagara River

-2017 Lakeview Cellars Kerner VQA

-2017 Konzelmann Pinot Blanc VQA

-2017 Reif Chenin Blanc VQA Niagara River

-2017 Lakeview Cellars Viognier VQA

-2016 Lakeview Cellars Malbec VQA

-2017 Konzelmann Canada Red VQA (Zwiegelt60%/Cabernet Sauvignon40%)

-2017 Reif Magician 'Shiraz Pinot' VQA Niagara River

 

The Food: charcuterie, cheeses, dried fruit, pickles, bread, all possibly from the Cheese Boutique.

The Downside: we had a bit too much wine offered before the main event.

The Upside: excellent panel discussions.

The Contact Person: laura@wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 91

Chimo! www.deantudor.com