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Spring thaw

Fewer icewines on wine fest menu means more top-notch Canadian reds and whites to try

By: Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson

Posted: 04/21/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

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Niagara On The Lake (CNS)

BRITISH COLUMBIA

You'll be able to taste a wide variety of reds and whites from across the Okanagan Valley at the festival. From the Riesling and Pinot Noir grown at the north end of the valley (Kelowna and surrounding area) to the richer whites and dense reds being produced in the Oliver/Osoyoos area (near the US border), B.C. wineries will be out in full force.

Black Hills Estate Winery Nota Bene

There are some great Bordeaux-style red blends being made in B.C. -- watch for wines labelled Meritage at the fest -- and Black Hills' Nota Bene is among the best of them. If you've been a doubter of red wines in Canada, this is a great chance to taste what a $60 Canuck red tastes like.

Calliope Figure 8 (Okanagan Valley)

A "side project," if you will, of the mighty Burrowing Owl's Wyse family, this is a dense, chewy Syrah-Merlot blend with enough tannin to provide some structure.

Quails' Gate Pinot Noir (Okanagan Valley)

Located near Kelowna at the north end of the Okanagan's winemaking region, Quails' Gate specializes in Pinot Noir. Their wines have been served to noteworthy palates like U.S. President Barack Obama and Will and Kate. A personal fave.

Sandhill Pinot Gris (Okanagan Valley)

Hopefully winemaker Howard Soon is sticking around for the weekend tastings -- the well-spoken, award-winning Soon can explain just how well Pinot Gris fares in the Okanagan Valley. He has a soft spot for Manitoba, too -- his in-laws still live here.

ONTARIO

While there'll be plenty of cooler-climate whites and reds from Ontario for festival-goers to swirl, sniff and sip, there's also an interesting cross-section of bigger reds to check out, as well. One style of wine that many Ontario wineries are offering at the festival is blends, both red and white.

Coyote's Run Red Paw Pinot Noir (Four Mile Creek)

There's some great Pinot Noir coming out of the Niagara Peninsula right now, and Coyote's Run is a solid producer making this wine sourced from the Four Mile Creek sub-appellation.

Flat Rock Cellars Estate Riesling (Twenty Mile Bench)

Ontario is making some spectacular Riesling, and most of Flat Rock Cellars' cool climate-centric wines I've tried have been top-shelf. This one's from the sub-appellation of Twenty Mile Bench.

Niagara College Teaching Winery Unoaked Chardonnay (Niagara-on-the-Lake)

As the name implies, these wines are made by Niagara College students -- with help from winemaker Terence Van Rooyen. Anyone who outright dismisses Chardonnay probably needs to try one that isn't mired in heavy-handed oak aging.

Palatine Hills Merlot Proprietor's Reserve (Niagara Lakeshore)

Merlot is one of the grapes used to make fuller-bodied red wine that thrives in the Niagara Peninsula. Speaking of fuller bodies, Palatine Hills recently paired with Ottawa Senators tough guy Zenon Konopka to create ZK28 wines.

It can be a daunting task to navigate through the hundreds of reds, whites, bubblies and stickies that will be poured at the Winnipeg Convention Centre -- never mind the thousands of sippers in the building. In the past I've offered tasting tips/wine fest etiquette, etc., but rather than rehash that info (which is on the Winnipeg Wine Festival website at www.winnipegwinefestival.com), I thought I'd do something a little different.

The festival's Theme Regions this year are Ontario and British Columbia, and I feel it's my palate's patriotic duty to get you people fired up about some of the great Canadian wines that will be poured on May 4 and 5. While I've tried some of the wines listed in this column, others will be new to me but sound intriguing or have a reputation of being top-notch.

First of all, an interesting fact I noticed while perusing the wines being poured is that there's only a handful of icewines and late harvest/dessert wines being poured at the fest. While those with a sweet tooth will be disappointed, I'm actually thrilled -- B.C. and Ontario have so much to offer in the way of white and red table wines, and too often it's the sweet stuff that people are clamouring for.

Yes, in the wine world Canada is best-known for its icewines. This sweet wine made from grapes left to freeze on the vine before being picked, crushed, fermented and bottled has proved to be popular worldwide despite its hefty price tag. And, to an extent, sales of icewine around the globe have probably provided the cash flow for some winemakers to direct into making better red and white table wines.

So be it. The rest of the world can have our icewine (for now) while we continue to enjoy great value Canadian white and red table wines. Here are just a few of the wines I'm looking forward to checking out at the Winnipeg Wine Festival. You should too.

uncorked@mts.net twitter.com/bensigurdson

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 21, 2012 E4

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