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Newsletter-0052 Baco Tasting Nights ... Who Do You Love?

13 Mar 2007
OntarioWineReview Newsletter 0052 
March 2007
          
  Image
  • Ontario Wine Review:  Baco Tasting Nights ... Who Do You Love?
  • Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch: A couple of sweeties
  • Quick Sips:  Occasionally interesting things cross my desk that I would like to pass on
    • Wine Event Spotlight: 2nd Annual Hamilton Food and Drink Fest
 



Image OntarioWineReview:  Baco Tasting Nights ... Who Do You Love?
(Print a .pdf version of this newsletter)

“Let’s Drink Baco” … Reworked from the opening of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy

”Dearly beloved … We are gathered here today 2 drink this thing called Baco.
An interesting wine that Baco, it means different flavours to different people,
But I'm here 2 tell u – we’re here to find Ontario’s best one.
We’ll drink till we find it, we know where the grapes are from, making wine that’s big, bold and heavy.
So when u call up that winery in Niagara, the County or Lake Erie -
U know the one – It’s Been Your Favourite For Years.
Instead of asking them how much of that wine is left, ask him how much time it needs.
'Cuz in this challenge things aren’t cut n dry in the Baco-world
In this challenge, you’re on your own.
But if the other tasters try to shout u down - Go crazy.
Let’s Drink Baco … Let’s get nuts …

And that’s exactly how I felt when I put together this little challenge; many thought I was simply off my rocker to go through with a taste-off for a wine that “nobody likes”.  Ah, but that simply is not true!  Plenty of wineries grow it and make it – plenty of wineries sell it and sell out of it; which means, somebody is buying it.  And that is where the Baco Noir Challenge comes into play – instead of inviting wine writers and experts out to try the wine – I decided to invite the people who are drinking it and buying it and get their opinion … and I got lots of opinions.  But before we look at the nights and the winners let’s look at a brief history of the grape.

Baco Noir was created in the late 1800’s by Francois Baco of France by crossing a Folle Blanche (a Cognac grape) and a native North American grape which, to this day, remains unknown.  For awhile, in France, Baco Noir did quite well, but the French winemaking authorities that be, banished the grape from their vineyards by declaring that no hybrids were allowed.  Baco then found a new home in the Americas in the early 50’s, namely the Northeastern United States, later that decade the grape crossed the 49th parallel, around 1955, where it has done pretty well for itself.  In the 1980’s Baco once again fell prey to vine-pull as the Ontario government requested that grape growers turn their vineyards to more international grape varieties such as Merlot and Chardonnay; but not all growers listened, feeling that Baco Noir did have a rightful place here in Ontario.  At last count Ontario had 902.69 acres of Baco Noir planted (as compared to only 3.5 acres in B.C.).  Many wineries make a Baco Noir or use it in a blend of some sort.  24 wineries joined our challenge, submitting a total of 37 wines, which were tasted over four nights in three categories.  On each night we had one winner.

To read the write up from Nights 1 & 2  - February 5 / 12, 2007 (click here)
To read the write up from Nights 3 & 4  - February 19 / 26, 2007 (click here)



Image Grape Guy’s Pick of the Bunch:  A couple of sweeties
Visit the winery or their website for more information on how to purchase these wines.

Cave Spring Cellars 2005 Select Late Harvest Cabernet - $21.95
www.cavespring.ca

You’re going to see quite a few of these little darlings from the 2005 vintage.  That’s because in early-December ’05 Ontario had itself some cold temperatures but they were erratic; we dipped to minus-8 (perfect temperature for icewine picking and production) in the early morning of November 24 but jumped quickly back to more seasonal temps within a few hours.  Some wineries tried to take advantage of the first good freeze by running out to get a jump on their  icewine picking and production.  Alas, the below minus-eight freeze didn’t last long enough for the grapes to freeze properly for the making of icewine – therefore we should be seeing some very nice late harvest wines picked around that time.  This 50/50 blend of the Cabernets:  Franc and Sauv, were harvested on Dec. 2 to be exact – rhubarb and strawberry fill the nose, while the mouth picks out sweet strawberry and raspberry with a long finish reminiscent of peach-apple cocktail.  The colour is also extremely light due to limited skin contact.  Good acidity keeps you coming back for more … and more … and more; and at only 9 on the sugar code this one isn’t teeth-rottingly sweet.  Can you say yum!  I knew you could.

Harvest Estates 2001 Late Harvest Blue Bottle Chardonnay - $14.95
www.harvestwines.com

I have heard many terms used to describe a sweet wine; my favourite is “a sticky” (used mainly for Port).  I always thought it was because if you spilled a drop on the counter or table top it would become quite sticky, like honey or jam.  Well with this wine you can take that description a step further and call it “a-sticky-lip-licker”.  Turns out after each sip I found myself licking my lips repeatedly – being able to get another taste because the taste was always there.  Then again, there really was no need to go back all that often because the long lasting finish hung out for an extended period of time – guess with all my lip licking I was just a glutton for more.  The nose is soft, you’ll mainly find honeyed-pear; it’s in the mouth where this one gets interesting, because there’s a lot going on.  Not too sweet (13 by the code), not too hot with alcohol (only 9%) you find yourself second guessing each sip:  honey … no maple syrup … apple … candied apple … toffee apple … baked apple with a touch of cinnamon … do I taste some pear … no honeyed pear …?  Whatever it is, it’s darn tasty, mouth and lip coatingly tasty, yet not too thick, a rich mouth feel that keeps you guessing till the last drop.  Not sure what it tasted like when first released, but 6 years on, it’s a fine, and fun, dessert wine.  This unique sweetie makes for a wonderful dessert all on it’s own.

These wines are available only at the winery.

Hot Tip on a Hot Wine:  There’s a new sparkler in town and it just might set the bar for sparkling wine in Ontario – and it has set it pretty high.  Check out my review of the newly released Stoney Ridge Estate Winery 2005 Proprietor’s Reserve Brut Sparkling Wine.


Image Weekly Wine Notes and More

The Grape Guy presents "Weekly Wine Notes"! A savoury selection of Ontario wines to impress, enjoy, or just plain drink!  A NEW Wine Selection is added to the Wine Review Section every Tuesday!

Added to the Wine Review Section March 6 and 13:
The Grange 2005 Cabernet Merlot and Le Clos Jordanne 2004 Village Reserve Pinot Noir


Image  Quick Sips:  Occasionally interesting things cross my desk that I would like to pass on

For March 2007

The LCBO has launched NISS (New Item Submission System).  According to the LCBO press release, “suppliers and agents can now much more easily submit new products for review … conveniently track the progress of their submission and approval stages on-line … [allowing] staff to quickly log, track and approve or decline new submissions … almost eliminating paperwork and dramatically speeds up the application process by eliminating errors.”  Sounds great, but what have been the industry reactions around this new initiative.  Andrew Hanna of Hanna and Sons Ltd. says “all in all it’s a good system; instead of someone data entering off a piece of paper, we enter the data ourselves through a website – less chance for error.”  Andrew Green of Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Ltd. also agrees with Hanna’s sentiments, “we have found NISS to be a good system, it is an improvement.”  In the past, the feelings towards the LCBO have been, as this un-named source said, “It’s a monstrosity that needs revamping in so many areas … this is a good start.”  I guess time will tell if this initiative is a step in the right direction to revamping our liquor monopoly.

In December noted British wine writer and author Jancis Robinson visited Toronto on a book tour and tasting of some of the crème de la crème of Canadian wine.  While she did find 17 of the 70 wines she tasted were “world class wines from any point of view”, the most notable of her comments were directed towards the stature of the LCBO.  She commented that we Canadians are “fed stories which rather overstate Canadian wine’s place in the world of wine”, especially when it comes to the LCBO, who is always proud to claim their important player status as the world’s largest single buyer of wine.  Jancis says, and I quote: “I don’t see how it can be. For example, while the LCBO retails wine to fewer than 13 million people, of all ages, whose average annual wine consumption is 11 litres, the leading British supermarket Tesco has a 25 per cent share of the retail wine market in a country of 60 million people, so in effect supplies 15 million people whose average annual wine consumption is 22 litres.”  Something to keep in mind the next time you hear how mighty the LCBO is worldwide; I’m not saying the LCBO isn’t an important player – but they certainly aren’t the biggest.

Speaking of our place on the world stage, another Canada vs. Bordeaux tasting was held by the Niagara chapter of the Ontario Wine Society on January 27, 2007 – specifically, Niagara vs. Bordeaux.  Eight wines (4 Niagara, 3 French, 1 ringer from Long Island, New York) were rated by 45 tasters, prices ranged from $16-$35, and the wines ranged from the 1999 to the 2003 vintages.  Niagara took the top 3 places with Creekside, Jackson-Triggs  and Lakeview in the 1-2-3 position.

Finally, the Girl Guides of Canada are pleased to announce an expansion of their Bag-a-Cork recycling program.  This program is celebrating its’ 2 year anniversary and in that time 5 tonnes of natural cork has been recovered, mainly in the Greater Toronto area from approximately 150 drop off points.  Now with expansion across Ontario, more cork can be recovered and re-used, saving precious landfill space.  To find the cork drop off bin nearest you (to drop off your natural cork) visit www.bag-a-cork.org


Image  Wine Event Spotlight:  2nd Annual Hamilton Food and Drink Fest ... March 30 to April 1, 2007

Have you heard of the Hamilton Food and Drink Fest?  Well if you live in Hamilton you probably have, but outside of Hamilton, probably not, and I think it is time you do.  It is billed as the Festival with Taste! and now in its second year it sure sounds like it’s got plenty of it to spare.  Featuring over 50 exhibitors including local wineries from Niagara and the Lake Erie region, breweries from across Ontario and wines, beers, spirits and food from around the world – as well as right here at home.  Visit www.foodanddrinkfest.com for all the details, including time, place (Hamilton Convention Centre), dates (March 30-April 1), exhibitors list and best of all a $2 off coupon for admission ($12) at the door.

Image Ticket Giveaway:  Experience the 2nd Annual Hamilton Food & Drink Fest on us … we have acquired 2 pairs of passes to the event, so send your name, address (with postal code) and phone number to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. … please put “Drinking it Down in Hamilton Town” in the subject line.  Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Tuesday March 20, 2007.

Past Winners for Cuvee:  Speaking of winning, 5 lucky readers are going to the Toronto Wine & Cheese Show (www.towineandcheese.com) – they are:  Jason Alger (Erin); John McVicker (Toronto); Hayden Shadow (Scarborough); Leon Meslin (Mississauga); and Brenda Clark (Markham).  Congratulations and have a good time.


OntarioWineReview’ bi-weekly newsletter is devoted to the love, enjoyment and promotion of wine – not just any wine, the wines of Ontario and the wineries that make them.

Psst, Pass It On … keep the good wine flowing. Forward this newsletter to your mom in Milton, your son in Smith Falls, any other family member or loved one that you know needs good wine advice. To contact us with feedback, article ideas, comments, concerns or questions – email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. We look forward to hearing from you!

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You may use the content of this newsletter by including full credit to Michael Pinkus, Grape Guy and a link to www.ontariowinereview.com

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