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Thursday, October 2, 2025

Taste Ontario Trade and Media Wine Tasting

REPORT ON THE TASTE ONTARIO TORONTO TRADE & MEDIA TASTING

The Date and Time: May 26, 2025, 11AM to 2PM 
The Event: Media tasting room
The Venue: LCBO HQ Kitchener Room, third floor
The Target Audience: wine media
The Availability/Catalogue: spreadsheets were distributed well in advance..THANKS!!!
The Quote/Background: Over 105 wines (sparkling, white, red) were available for tasting in the Media Room. The trade show itself had 60 wineries and over 300 wines to sample. I could not do it all. I did not even sample all the 105 wines in the Media Room! 

The Wines: I did not taste all the wines; indeed, I did not taste all the chardonnays. But I tasted as many as I could, along with some sparklers, riesling, pinot noir. Prices are retail. The highlight for me was the "double platinum" I should award for two wines that were faves with me today. I had not tasted this vintage of either of them before, but both chardonnays managed to push my buttons.

******Domaine Le Clos Jordanne Jordan Village Chardonnay    Niagara Peninsula    2022 +20455  $30
******Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery Beal Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay Niagara Peninsula    2021    $26.95 

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

-Broken Stone Winery    County Grown Chardonnay Prince Edward County 2023 VINTAGES +668269     $29.95 
-Charles Baker Wines    Picone Vineyard Riesling Vinemount Ridge     2014    $49.95 
-Charles Baker Wines    Picone Vineyard Riesling Vinemount Ridge     2021    750 $44.95 
-Closson Chase Vineyards Churchside Pinot Noir    Prince Edward County    2022 $50
-Closson Chase Vineyards South Clos Chardonnay Prince Edward County    2022    $50
-Cloudsley Cellars     Chardonnay, Twenty Mile Bench 2023 $36.93 
-Domaine Queylus     Mountainview Pinot Noir Lincoln Lakeshore 2020 $80
-Domaine Queylus     Chardonnay Réserve Du Domaine Niagara Peninsula 2022 $48.70 
-Hidden Bench Estate Winery Chardonnay    Beamsville Bench    2022    +68817 $31.95 
-Hidden Bench Estate Winery Pinot Noir Beamsville Bench 2022 +274753     $37.95 
-Huff Estates Winery Cuveé Peter Huff Prince Edward County    2021 +198754 $40 
-Huff Estates Winery Catharine'S Chardonnay Prince Edward County 2022    +88955 $35 
-Icellars Estate Winery Syrah    Twenty Mile Bench 2020 $89.27 
-Icellars Estate Winery Wiyana Wanda Niagara-on-the-Lake 2020  $134.47 
-Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Pinot Noir    Niagara Peninsula    2022    $29.95 
-Kew Vineyards Traditional Method    Beamsville Bench    2019    $29.95 
-Leaning Post Wines Sauvignon Blanc Niagara Lakeshore     2024    $29.58 
-Norman Hardie Winery & Vineyard County Chardonnay Prince Edward County    2021 +381715     $59.20 
-Norman Hardie Winery & Vineyard    Cuvée L Pinot Noir Ontario 2022 +36826 $99.20 
-Stratus Vineyards Alto White    Niagara-on-the-Lake 2024    $28.95 
-Stratus Vineyards        Cabernet Franc Amhpora Niagara-on-the-Lake 2022 $65.20 
-Strewn Winery Terroir Riesling Niagara-on-the-Lake 2019    $24.83 
-Tawse Winery Tawse Robyn's Block Chardonnay Twenty Mile Bench 2022 +416321     $46.95 
-The Foreign Affair Winery Traditional Method Vinemount Ridge 2022 $34.95 
-Thirty Bench Wine Makers Small Lot Riesling 'Wood Post Vineyard' Beamsville Bench 2021    $29
-Trail Estate Winery Chardonnay Prince Edward County    2023    $50
-Trius Winery Trius Showcase Blanc De Noirs Niagara Peninsula    NV $58
-Westcott Vineyards Brilliant Blanc De Noirs Vinemount Ridge NV    $48


***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (86 – 89 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Big Head Wines    Lipinski Family Viognier Four Mile Creek    2022    $90
-Black Bank Hill    Chardonnay    Lincoln Lakeshore     2022    $40
-Broken Stone Winery Pinot Noir "The One" Prince Edward County    2023    $39.95 
-Cave Spring Vineyard Pinot Gris Estate Beamsville Bench 2022 +903719     $27.95 
-Cave Spring Vineyard Pinot Noir Estate Beamsville Bench 2021 +246561     $39.95 
-Cooper's Hawk Vineyards CHV Barrel Fermented Chardonnay Ontario 2023 +44465- [Convenience & Wine Boutique only] $20.15 
-Creekside Estate Winery Iconcolast Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Niagara Peninsula 2023    +520627 $28
-Konzelmann Estate Winery Gewürztraminer Reserve Niagara Peninsula 2024 +392367     $24.95 
-Lailey Winery Stonebridge Blanc De Blanc Brut Nature Four Mile Creek    2020 $64
-Lailey Winery Lailey Pinot Noir Niagara-on-the-Lake 2022    $42
-Malivoire Wine Company Courtney Gamay Beamsville Bench 2022     $36.36 
-Malivoire Wine Company Gewurztraminer    Beamsville Bench    2024    $25.06
-Megalomaniac Wines Narcisisst Riesling    Niagara Peninsula    2023    +67587 $22.74 
-Meldville Wines     Sauvignon Blanc    Lincoln Lakeshore     2023    750  $20
-Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery Ravine Vineyard Small Batch Riesling    Four Mile Creek    2023 $25 
-Rosehall Run Vineyard Chardonnay Musqué Prince Edward County    2024    $26
-Rosewood Estates Winery White Rabbit    Niagara Peninsula    2024 $20.20
-Southbrook Organic Vineyards Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon Niagara Peninsula    2021    $29.95 
-Strewn Winery Terroir Strewn Three     Niagara-on-the-Lake 2020 $99.41 
-Tawse Winery Cherry Pinot Noir Twenty Mile Bench    2022    $33.15 
-Trail Estate Winery Chardonnay Prince Edward County    2022    $48

The Food:  Oliver & Bonacini presented a Harvest Table - two kinds of salmon (gravlax, smoke bloke), hummus with root veggies, two kinds of salumni, diverse Ontario cheeses (e.g., Ontario Blue, Gunn's Hill Brie, Ontario Gouda), Kozlik's mustards, rosemary focaccia, crisp biscuits.
The Downside: well, it was my birthday, so I had to hustle through the day.
The Upside: a chance to sit down and actually taste the wines before expectorating. 
The Contact Person: andrea@winesofontario.ca
The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 93

Dean Tudor,  Prof Emeritus T'karonto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) School of Journalism
Treasurer of Wine Writers' Circle of Canada http://www.deantudor.com
http://gothicepicures.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/gothicepicures

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