The Event: April 2 -- Winemakers Tasting: old vines and aged wines – Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake

The Date and Time: Tuesday April 2, 2019   6Pm to 8PM

The Event: Winemakers Tasting: old vines and aged wines – Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake

The Venue: George Brown College Chef's School King Street

The Target Audience: wine writers and bloggers, sommeliers

The Availability/Catalogue: only recent vintages are available for purchase

The Quote/Background: This was a showcase by Inniskillin, Reif, and Strewn wineries in NOTL, showing off back vintage and old vine table wines that reflect the terroir and quality of NOTL wines. It was a preliminary to the annual celebration "DIG OUR ROOTS" which promotes the NOTL appellation, history and culture. This is held in NOTL on April 12 – 14 this year, with multiple events at the various wineries (not just these three). Bruce Wallner MS did the introduction and moderation for the winemakers Nicholas Gizuk (Asst Winemaker Inniskillin), Roberto Di Domenico (Reif) and Joe Will (Strewn). Each presented some table wines (chardonnay, cabernet, meritage) and icewines.

The Wines: Eight table wines were presented to about two dozen attendees at a sit-down seminar. 

 

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

-Strewn Winery 2016 Chardonnay Terroir Canadian Oak VQA Niagara Peninsula, old vines, four barrel batch, 14.8% ABV

-Reif Estate Winery 2001 Chardonnay Reserve VQA Niagara Peninsula, ripe/rich/redolent of wood lanolin, 13% ABV

-Inniskillin Wines 2016 Reserve Merlot VQA Niagara Peninsula, velvety smooth, 14% ABV

-Reif Estate Winery 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve VQA Niagara River, very Old World, fantastic aged nose, 13% ABV – my FAVE of the tasting

-Strewn Winery 2015 The LIMITED Cabernet Sauvignon (Home Farm) VQA NOTL, blended cab sauvignon and franc for a wine club purchase (LIMITED), unfiltered,  13.3% ABV

-Reif Estate Winery 2002 Meritage VQA Niagara Peninsula, rich fumes and depth, 13.5% ABV

 

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

-Inniskillin Wines 2017 Montague Vineyard Chardonnay VQA Four Mile Creek, old vines, French oak, 13% ABV

-Strewn Winery 2012 Strewn Three Terroir VQA Niagara Peninsula, Bordeaux-styled merlot/cabsauv/cabfr, 14.4% ABV

 

The Food: I could not stay for the food

The Downside: I had to leave early for another engagement, so I missed the icewines.

The Upside: A chance to re-connect with the winemakers.

The Contact Person: Laura Vertucci <laura@wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com>

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 90

Chimo! www.deantudor.com