http://www.trufflepigwine.com/ Winemaking in Ontario & California en Copyright 2009 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:43:05 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Jeremy at Cafe Taste has been a big fan of Le Clos Jordanne ever since the first release of the 2004's a couple years back. We actually both stood in line at the Summerhill LCBO on their first release day to buy one of each wine (all we were allowed to buy) and meet the winemaker Thomas Bachelder. Since then Jeremy's built a great relationship with the local Inniskillin rep, and he's been able to finagle his way into the last two release parties they've thrown. This is a great treat -- tasting all the wines of a vintage beside each other to compare the minor (and sometimes major) difference between each bottle. So now that they're in their third year of production, Jeremy decided to do a vertical AND horizontal tasting for his monthly wine tasting event at Cafe Taste. The wines were all Pinot Noir: - 2004 Le Petite Vineyard - 2004 Jordan Vineyard - 2004 Claystone Vineyard - 2005 Claystone Vineyard - 2006 Claystone Vineyard My personal faves were the 2004 Le Petite, which was very light and elegant, but perfectly balanced; and the 2006 Claystone, which was delighfully silky and struck the perfect balance between minerality and bright red fruit. Note that the 2006 improved vastly with a good hour of decanting and another 20 minutes in the glass; this one is still before it's time. The 2004 Jordan had a bit of funk on the nose, which while not-unpleasant, distracted a little when sampled in the lineup. And I found the 2004 and 2005 Claystone's not quite as elegant as the 2006. That said, I'm nitpicking, because I'd be more than happy to drink any of these wines on almost any occassion -- they truly are fantastic. http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/11/le_clos_jordanne_vertical_and.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/11/le_clos_jordanne_vertical_and.php Latest News Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:43:05 -0500 notes from the event itself. Best in Show Red: 2007 Black Prince Winery Cabernet Franc Not really as complex or interesting as some of the better Cab Franc's I've had from Ontario, but it was undeniably VERY drinkable, probably due to the heavy oaking which gave an almost California-like mouth feel and vanilla sweetness. Best in Show White: 2007 John Howard Megalomaniac Riesling This one was truly fantastic -- great minerality and peachiness and perfectly balanced. It was second on my list of best whites, after the Fume Blanc from Creekside, which won Gold for best Sauv Blanc > $20. Sparkling wine (1st place – red ribbon): 2006 Colio Estate Winery Sparkling wine (2nd place – blue ribbon): NV Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Cuvee Catharine Brut Rose Chardonnay – un-oaked < $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Black Prince Winery un-oaked Chardonnay Chardonnay – un-oaked < $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 Pelee Island Winery un-oaked Chardonnay Chardonnay – oaked < $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2006 Niagara College Teaching Winery Chardonnay – oaked < $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2006 East Dell Barrel Fermented Chardonnay – oaked < $20 (3rd place – white ribbon): 2007 Strewn Barrel Aged Chardonnay – oaked > $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2006 Lakeview Cellars Reserve I loved this chard -- really well balanced and lovely subtle oak. Not heavy-handed at all. Chardonnay – oaked > $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2006 Huff Estates Winery Lighthall Chardonnay – oaked > $20 (3rd place – white ribbon): 2006 Huff Estates Winery Southbay Sauvignon Blanc < $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Dan Ackroyd Sauvignon Blanc < $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 Niagara College Teaching Winery Sauvignon Blanc > $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Creekside Estate Winery Reserve This was my pick for "Best in Show" white -- just a perfect example of good Ontario Fume Blanc. Riesling < $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Huff Estates Winery off-dry Riesling < $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 Creekside Estate Winery Butler's Grant Riesling < $20 (3rd place – white ribbon): 2007 Konzelmann Estate Winery Riesling > $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 John Howard Megalomaniac Riesling This one was truly fantastic -- great minerality and peachiness and perfectly balanced. Riesling > $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2006 Huff Estates Winery off-dry Reserve This was a pretty close second and was universally really enjoyed. The only problem was that it was a bit too acidic, but '06 was a very acidic year for Riesling, so that kinda makes sense. Pinot Gris/Grigio <$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Pelee Island Winery Pinot Grigio Pinot Gris/Grigio <$20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 Pillitteri Estates Winery Pinot Grigio Pinot Gris/Grigio >$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Huff Estates Winery Pinot Gris Pinot Gris/Grigio <$20 (3rd place – white ribbon): 2007 Creekside Estate Winery Pinot Grigio Gewürztraminer <$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Calamus Estate Winery Gewürztraminer <$20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 Caroline Cellars Other white varietal (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Oak Heights Winery Vidal Blanc Other white varietal (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 Konzelmann Estate Winery Pinot Blanc Other white varietal (3rd place – white ribbon): 2006 Willow Springs Winery Vidal Other multi-varietal < $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Strewn Riesling/Gewürztraminer semi-dry Other multi-varietal < $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 Pillitteri Estates Winery Fusion Gewürztraminer/Riesling Sweet (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Konzelmann Estate Winery Vidal Icewine Sweet (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2006 Caroline Cellars Vidal Icewine Sweet (3rd place – white ribbon): 2007 Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Riesling Icewine Rosé (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Willow Springs Winery Pinot Grigio/Baco Noir Rosé Rosé (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 John Howard Megalomaniac Pinot Noir Rosé Pinot Noir <$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Pelee Island Winery Reserve Pinot Noir >$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Norm Hardie Wines Ltd. I didn't taste this category, but this is a pretty fantastic Pinot. It's drinking really well know, and should only get better in the next couple years. Lots of bright red fruit... Pinot Noir >$20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2006 John Howard Meglomaniac Cabernet Franc <$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Black Prince Winery Cabernet Franc <$20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2005 Pillitteri Estates Winery Cabernet Franc <$20 (3rd place – white ribbon): 2005 Niagara College Teaching Winery Cabernet Franc >$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2005 Colio Estate Winery Reserve Merlot <$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2006 Willow Springs Winery Merlot >$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2006 John Howard Meglomaniac Merlot >$20 ((2nd place – blue ribbon): 2005 Lakeview Cellars Reserve Baco Noir < $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2006 Caroline Cellars Baco Noir >$20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2005 Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Reserve Everyone on my panel was pretty shocked that Baco could be this good. Really lovely and worth the $10 premium over their non-reserve Baco. Other red varietal < $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2005 Pelee Island Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Other red varietal < $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 Black Prince Winery Harwood St. Laurent Other red varietal > $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2005 John Howard Megalomaniac Cabernet Sauvignon Other red varietal > $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2005 Dan Ackroyd Signature Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Meritage < $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2006 Willow Springs Winery Meritage Meritage < $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2006 Strewn Cabernet Merlot Meritage > $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2005 Niagara College Teaching Winery Meritage Meritage > $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2006 John Howard Megalomaniac Cabernet Merlot Meritage > $20 (3rd place – white ribbon): 2004 John Howard Megalomaniac Melot/Cabernet Other multi-varietal < $20 (1st place – red ribbon): 2007 Niagara College Teaching Winery Cab Franc/Baco Noir Other multi-varietal < $20 (2nd place – blue ribbon): 2007 Pelee Island Winery Cab Sauv/Petit Verdot ]]> http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/11/winners_from_the_royal_agricul.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/11/winners_from_the_royal_agricul.php Latest News Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:31:27 -0500 who you know, I guess) I was chosen to be a judge for the 2008 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Wine Competition. This was their first year, and they wanted to go in a bit of a different direction then most wine competitions, by using industry "experts" like sommeliers, restaurant owners, agents and winemakers, instead of traditional wine judges. I was one of ten judges, most of whom worked at various restaurants around town: Sara D'amato from the Four Seasons, Mark Cutrara from Cowbell, John Sinopoli from Table 17, John Pekka Woods from Alice's Restaurant, Jeremy Day from Cafe Taste, Steffan Howard from Palair Royale, and a few others who's credentials I didn't jot down. It was a great group, and I think we choose a group of wines that showcase some great Ontario potential. Riesling, oaked Chardonnay, Meritage and Cab Franc were all very strong categories; and there were some great standouts like a Fume Blanc from ???. There was even a Baco Noir that made almost everyone's short list of the top few wines. For some reason none of the Pinot Noir really shined, which is too bad given it's Ontario's (I think) best varietal. Maybe none of the really top producers made entries... The show was fairly small this year, held with little fanfair, and with only about 90 entered wines. Apparently the organizers wanted to keep the show small in order to work out the kinks before going all-out next year. The tasting itself was organized by Brock's Oenology & Viticulture program, with profs Gary Pickering and Dr. Linda Bramble leading two tasting groups. The entire event was a wonderful experience, and it was a treat to take part. Thanks go to Tammy Dopson & Pamj Misener at the Royal Winter Fair for having me, to the people from Brock's CCOVI program for running a great event, and to all the other judges -- it was an absolute joy to talk about wine with you all. If the Fair will have me, I'd love to take part again next year! I'll post results, and some of my own notes, when I get them back from the organizers... Update Nov. 20, 2008: I've posted the winners here.]]> http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/11/judging_at_the_royal_winter_fa.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/11/judging_at_the_royal_winter_fa.php Latest News Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:18:57 -0500 On Saturday, July 26, Cafe Taste on Queen St. W in Toronto will be hosting the Ontario Wine Fair -- a public tasting featuring 17 Ontario Wineries. I'll be there all day, pouring with Norm Hardie, who makes some fantastic Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. Come by if you can. $40 gets you in the door and I think all wineries will be offering a 2 or 3 samples each, so it's well worth the price of admission. Cafe Taste is at 1330 Queen St West (@ Brock St.) Wineries coming include: Norm Hardie, Malivoire, Calumus, Coyote's Run, Henry of Pelham, Huff Estates, Inniskillin, Jackson Triggs, Kacaba, Lailey, Southbrook and many many more... http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/07/ontario_wine_fair_on_saturday.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/07/ontario_wine_fair_on_saturday.php Latest News Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:29:46 -0500 I drove down to Niagara-on-the-Lake to pick up my Icewine juice order from Watsons yesterday. I had ordered 15L of whatever variatals he produced and was happy to see that he had three different varietals to offer this year: Vidal, Riesling-Traminer and Cab Franc. This is the first time I've been able to get ahold of red Icewine juice and I'm excited to try my hand at it. Last year his Cab Franc came out murky and he sold the entire batch to a professional winery that owned the centrifuge required to clarify it properly. But this year it fell clear naturally and he was selling it to amateurs like myself. http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/02/picking_up_2007_icewine_juice.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/02/picking_up_2007_icewine_juice.php Latest News icewine 2008 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:55:34 -0500 first time I went I focused on tasting as many wines as I could, from the most renowned producers -- labels like Turley, Scott Harvey and Woodenhead. I aimed for higher-end, more expensive zins that I didn't have access too at my local supermarket (which had a pretty good wine selection, to be fair). This time around I tasted roughly the same number of wines, somewhere above fifty but less than seventy-five, but focused instead on the different regional characteristics of Zin across California. I looked at five different regions: Mendocino in the North, Russian River Valley, Napa, the Sierra Foothills and Paso Robles. I used Dry Creek Valley as my baseline, given my familiarity with the Zin Sasha makes from Ray Teldeschi. Here's what I found: Mendocino's Zin was stylistically all over the map, and I didn't find much commonality between producers. Russian River Valley definitely had the 'spiciest' wines of the bunch and showed much less fruit than other regions. This was by and large quite pleasant, and is often exactly what I look for from Zinfandel in general. The Sierra Foothills and Paso Robles had the fruitiest zins -- gobs and gobs of jammy fruit. Not for the faint of palatte (like mine perhaps). That said, I loved the Scott Harvey 1869 and both wines from Cedarville. Napa Valley consistently showed the most restraint. I might go so far as saying some were even elegant -- a term not normally associated with Zin. I found they had some of the spice of RRV and some of the fruit of the Sierra's, but in a more balanced, harmonious package. I especially enjoyed the Truchard and Hendry in the South (almost Carneros); Tofanelli in Calistoga and the wines various producers made from Howell Mountain fruit. Napa was clearly my favourite, though there were RRV wines I really enjoyed as well. Sasha's getting some more RRV fruit from the Buckhorn vineyard and has graciously offered to let me piggyback 1/2 a ton off his order, enough to do my own barrel as a custom crush client. I'm looking forward to trying my own hand at this grape. ]]> http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/02/zap_2008_dialing_in_the_zin.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2008/02/zap_2008_dialing_in_the_zin.php Latest News zin event california 2008 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:46:13 -0500 In 2006 I simply tried to taste as much different Ontario wine that could -- if someone made it, I wanted to taste it. This year, I've tried to focus a little more on the regions, varietals and wineries I like the best -- I tried to dial-in what I like specifically about this region and it's grapes and it's people. I've come up with my favourite five Ontario varietals, in order: - Pinot Noir - Riesling - Chardonnay - Cabernet Franc - Sauvignon Blanc My top five favourite wineries (Unfortunately, I've yet to try Hidden Bench or Daniel Lenko, two highly regarded producers. I look forward to trying them in ‘08), in order: - Le Clos Jordanne - Norman Hardie Wines - Peninsula Ridge - Fielding - Malivoire And the five Ontario wines I enjoyed most: - 2004 Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Terrace Pinot Noir - 2005 Norman Hardie "County" Chardonnay - 2005 Closson Chase Chardonnay - 2006 13th Street, Funk Vineyard Riesling - 2005 Peninsula Ridge, Fumé Blanc http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/12/top_5_of_2007.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/12/top_5_of_2007.php Latest News Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:00:47 -0500 I wasn't planning on making another order for Icewine juice from the Neufeld's this year, their juice is about twice as expensive as Watsons, but the quality of my '06 Icewine from their vineyard was just so good I couldn't help myself. And really, it's not *that* bad when you think it works out to about ~$10/bottle. So I just called John and ordered another 20L of juice, which will run about $600. Still, ouch. http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/12/2007_icewine_order_with_the_ne.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/12/2007_icewine_order_with_the_ne.php Latest News Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:29:11 -0500 Riesling from Wismer Vineyards in Niagara (up on the Bench), and it's now finished fermentation. I racked it off it's fermentation lees this evening and it'll now spend the next six months aging and clarifying. I'm most surprised by the clarity of the wine -- it's super clear. I guess fining it with Argilact before I started fermentation helps clear up the wine significantly. I also fermented it for the last couple weeks in one spot, up high, to prevent having to move or jostle it. This seems to have helped. As for first impressions: not nearly as sharp and acidic as last years Riesling (a 6.5 TA vs. 9.5), and a significant amount of citrus on both the nose and the palate. There's a little residual sulfur smell on the lees, but this not much transfered in the racking and I'm sure I can get ride of it before bottling with a little copper. I'm happy with how it's turning out. . ]]> http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/12/white_ferments_are_finished_fo.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/12/white_ferments_are_finished_fo.php 2007 Riesling 2007 Riesling: Fermentation Notes Latest News Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:05:12 -0500 http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/11/fermentation_day_18_still_3_to.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/11/fermentation_day_18_still_3_to.php 2007 Riesling: Fermentation Notes Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:00:00 -0500 http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_8_2.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_8_2.php 2007 Riesling: Fermentation Notes Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:30:09 -0500 I just talked with Norm and the acid numbers are all crazy-weird: A TA of 5.1g/L and pH of 3.05. This presents a bit of a problem -- ideally I'd want to add Tartaric Acid to bring that TA up a couple g/L, but I don't really want to take the corresponding hit of lowering the pH so much (what's a Riesling like with a pH in the 2.8 - 2.9 range?) Anyway, I added .5g/l of tartaric acid before fermentation started, so I just added another 1g/L now to raise it to a total of 6.6g/L -- still low for Riesling, but as high as I dare push it. Ideally this would be up near 7.5 or even 8, but there's nothing we can do about that. Also, there's still a bit of H2S smell on the juice, so I racked once to add oxygen, and later tonight I'll add another .2g/l of Fermaid K to raise nutrients a bit more. As for fermentation progress, here are today's numbers: Brix: 17°B @ 60°F http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_4_confirmed_n.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_4_confirmed_n.php 2007 Riesling: Fermentation Notes Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:32:50 -0500 I've tackled the H2S problem by adding both nutrients and some oxygen to help the yeast ferment properly. I typically don't like to add yeast nutrients to any ferment until the fermentation is completely underway, so I waited until today (2 days in). I added .2g/l of Fermaid K to the bottom of another carboy, and then splash racked the fermenting juice into the new carboy -- thus adding both nutrients and oxygen. Update: a few hours after the racking and there's been a significant reduction of the H2S smell. It's not completely gone, but it's better. I'll confer with Norm and see if there's anything else I can do that will help. http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_3_adding_nutr.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_3_adding_nutr.php 2007 Riesling: Fermentation Notes Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:25:44 -0500 Fermentation is roaring along. I've chilled the juice down to about 12 - 14 degrees Celsius in order to slow fermentation and preserve as much of the fruitiness as possible. To chill the juice, I've placed the 23L carboy in a beer-keg bucket, and filled the bucket with cold water. I keep the water cold by rotating frozen cooler-packs in the water a few times a day. PM update: I've noticed a significant H2S smell coming from the airlock, this will need to be dealt with tomorrow. http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_2.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_2.php 2007 Riesling: Fermentation Notes Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:00:00 -0500 I inoculated the 2007 Riesling today. Before inoculation, I racked the juice off the lees formed by the Argilact I used to settle the juice a couple days ago. I lost about 1/2 a litre -- not much, and the juice was very clear. And Before dumping any yeast or acid in, I racked off and put 1L of reserve juice into the freezer, in order to add back a touch of sweetness (if desired) before bottling. Norm wasn't sure of the TA yet, as he hadn't run numbers, but anticipated it was going to be a little low, and would need 1/2 to 1 g/l of Tartaric Acid to bump it up a little. So, since I don't know the TA, I added 0.5g/l of Tartaric. I then inoculated (according to Scott Labs yeast-rehydration recommendations) with 5g of VL3 yeast and 5g of Go-Ferm. The fermentation took a few hours to get going in a 1L bottle of juice, and once that was roaring, I dumped it into the larger carboy, with the rest of the juice. http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_1_inoculation_3.php http://www.trufflepigwine.com/2007/10/fermentation_day_1_inoculation_3.php 2007 Riesling: Fermentation Notes Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:00:00 -0500