In June, Séverine Pinte, French born viticulturist and managing partner at both LaStella and Le Vieux Pin wineries, was awarded the Knight of the Order of Agricultural Merit. The award was presented in Oliver, British Columbia by the Consul General of France, Nicolas Baudouin.
Photo credit: en.wikipedia.org
The Order of Agricultural Merit (Ordre du Mérite agricole) is presented by France for outstanding contributions to agriculture. It is the highest distinction given in France to individuals, both French and foreign, who have made significant contributions in the fields of agriculture and the food and wine industry, whether in public duties or in the practice of agriculture. It also rewards people who have distinguished themselves in scientific research or in related publications.
Severine Pinte came to LaStella and Le Vieux Pin in 2010 with 14 harvests of international winemaking experience along with 8 years of vineyard management. She is a graduate of the infamous ENSAM (Ecole National Superior Agronomic of Montpellier) where she acquired her Masters in viticulture and oenology, and her National Diploma of Oenology. After graduating from ENSAM she apprenticed at the Cave de Tecou in the AOC Gaillac before coming for the first time to British Columbia to work for Domaine de Chaberton as an assistant winemaker. In 1999 she returned to France and worked a year in Bordeaux under the direction of Andre Lurton in Pessac-Leognan. For nine years Severine was head winemaker and viticultural council for ‘Le Vignoble des 2 terres’ in the Terrasse du Larzac terroir.
In 2003 Severine worked at Frankland Estate winery in Australia and learned about the Australian way of making Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux originated varieties. Curiosity and the pursuit of new challenges lured Severine to British Columbia’s Okanagan.
Severine is an active member of British Columbia’s wine industry as a board member of the B.C. Wine Grape Council. She is a leading advocate of sustainable viticulture practices and was instrumental in launching the Sustainable Winegrowing B.C. certification program.
She has proven to be a true steward of the land, making some of the finest, most sought-after wines in B.C. at both Le Vieux Pin and LaStella wineries. The wines produced by the two wineries may be purchased online through their respective websites, www.levieuxpin.ca and www.lastella.ca .
During the first week of August my wife Valerie and I made our first post pandemic adventure to Prince Edward County. I came prepared with a selection of wineries that I felt deserved a closer look, each having caught my attention for a variety of reasons.
The wineries are not presented in any particular order.
Hinterland Wine Company is a boutique winery specializing in wines made using the traditional method. Hinterland uses minimal intervention in their winemaking process, allowing the unique terroir to shine through.
I was particularly impressed with their 2021 L’Imparfait Seneca, which is classified as an orange wine, though it is very much red in colour. It is a blend of 67% Pinot Noir, 26% Marquette and 7% Savagnin grapes. If you like a sweet wine this one is definitely not for you; it has distinct earthy tones.
From Closson Chase we came away with some of their 2022 Estate Unoaked Chardonnay and 2021 Churchside Pinot Noir.
The unoaked Chardonnay was sourced entirely from their South Clos vineyard. It was whole cluster pressed, then cool fermented in stainless steel at 14 C.
The Pinot Noir is sourced entirely from their Churchside vineyard. Destemmed with no crushing and cold soaked for 3-5 days. The juice was then fermented in oak tonneau and aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 20% new. The wine has five to seven years of cellaring potential.
Rosehall Run, 1243 Greer Rd, Wellington, Ontario
At Rosehall Run we found a 2021 Chardonnay Musque, a wine that not many wineries seem to produce. It is an unoaked variety that contains Chardonnay Musque grapes, rather than the more common Chardonnay. The wine is 100% estate grown and bottled.
Another find was their 2019 Cabernet Merlot which is a blend of 49% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Franc and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that were sourced from select vineyards in the Niagara Peninsula. This wine has a cellaring potential of a minimum of ten years. It has been consistently rated as a 92 out of 100 by several wine critics.
Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards and Estate Winery, 990 Closson Rd, Hillier, Ontario
At Grange I had to go with one of my favourite varietals, Cabernet Franc. In this case it was their 2020 Cabernet Franc, which contains 100% estate grown grapes. This is unusual for Prince Edward County given the slightly cooler climate and shorter growing season than either Niagara or the North Shore of Lake Erie.
Broken Stone Winery, 524 Closson Rd., Hillier, ON
This find I must credit my brother for as he happened by it when he was touring the County earlier this summer. He brought me back a bottle of each of their 2018 Intensity Meritage Blend Niagara Peninsula and 2021 Gamay Noir Barrel Reserve. Both were delightful.
In addition to purchasing these two wines, I also picked up some of their 2021 Chardonnay Sans Chene.
Karlo Estate Winery, 561 Danforth Rd, Wellington, Ontario
I am pleased to report that Karlo is back in full swing with a complete lineup of both red and white wines, including their unique red blend Quintus. Winemaker, Derek Barnett, has recreated this work of founder Richard Karlo using a blend of the classic noble grape varieties, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Old Third Vineyard, 251 Closson Rd, Hillier
The Old Third produces unfiltered Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. Unfortunately, the tasting room is inside a barn that can only be entered by climbing steps consisting of some uneven precariously strung planks with no handrail. This proved too much of an obstacle for my post-stroke climbing ability so I had to pass on going inside.
Stanners Vineyard, 76 Station Rd., Hillier
Stanners locally grown Cabernet Franc has always been one of my favourite Prince Edward County wines but given the small quantity produced, it is often difficult to obtain and this year is no exception. The 2020 Cabernet Franc VQA Prince Edward County is already sold out, as well as the 2020 Pinot Noir VQA Prince Edward County and the 2020 Pinot Noir VQA Prince Edward County. However, I was still able to obtain the 2020 Cabernet Franc VQA Lincoln Lakeshore. The grapes for this Cabernet Franc came from a single vineyard in the Lincoln Lakeshore sub-appellation of the Niagara Peninsula. The grapes were hand harvested then destemmed to whole berries with no crushing. The wine was aged in mostly older French oak barrels for 19 months and was not fined or filtered in order to preserve its fine fruit flavours. This wine is likely to age gracefully for quite a few years.
Devils Wishbone, County Road 7, Prince Edward County, Ontario
In the past I always enjoyed several of Devil Wishbone’s red varietals. When I last visited the County in 2020 the winery was temporarily closed. I anticipated a return visit there this summer but was saddened to learn that the owner, Jennifer Baldini, passed away in June of 2021 after suffering from a two-year illness. The retail operations of the Devils Winery had been closed since the onset of her illness in 2019 but the vineyards were maintained in anticipation of her successful recovery. Sadly, this didn’t prove to be the case and Devils Wishbone is now closed permanently.
Since the 1990’s Irish Whiskey has been gaining ever increasing popularity among liquor drinkers and thus, there are more people than ever trying Irish whiskey. As a result, there are now more selections on the market than ever before.
Irish Whiskey has a much more silky or smooth finish than other whiskeys, which is one major reason for its increasing popularity. There is less alcohol burn when drinking than with other types of whiskey.
Each Irish whiskey has its own unique flavour and may be produced in several different ways (see The Styles of Irish Whiskey from March 12th). How do you decide which whiskey is best for you? Below are some suggestions based on my own experiences to help get you started. In this list are whiskeys that are commonly available in liquor stores with a price point under $100. However, discovering your ultimate favourite will require you trying several different ones in order to find your preference of style and flavour.
Jameson Irish Whiskey ($42 CDN)
Like many, this was my introduction to Irish Whiskey.
The aroma has floral notes, such as honeyed fruits and cut grass. The taste contains hints of fresh fruit such as pears and apples. The finish has hints of honey and spices.
Jameson may be enjoyed with a few drops of water or mixed with a bit of lemon juice.
Bushmills 10 Year Old ($57 CDN)
Bushmills is one of the most prominent distilleries in the Emerald Isle, specifically Northern Ireland. Bushmills 10 Year Old, uses 100% malted barley.
The nose contains hints of banana skins and butter mint with lots of sugar and vanilla. The palate has a lot of fruity notes.
Writers Tears Copper Pot ($55 CDN)
Writers Tears is a smooth and easy-to-drink whiskey. It is made using a combination of single malt and single pot still which produces a variety of fruity notes. There are flavours of honey, vanilla, and fruit.
Green Spot ($85 CDN)
Produced by Mitchell & Son, alongside Yellow Spot and Red Spot, this pot still whiskey is my personal favourite. This Irish pot still whiskey is an easy-to-drink spirit, made using both unmalted barley and malted barley.
The nose has hints of apples with tastes of butterscotch, vanilla, and honey on the finish and is aged in a blend of first and second-fill Bourbon casks and sherry casks.
The Sexton Single Malt ($50 CDN)
This whiskey is crafted using 100% Irish malted barley and aged four years in sherry casks for a uniquely smooth finish. There are notes of dried fruit, nuts and honeycomb.
The Sexton is a bright golden spirit with aromas of toffee, marzipan, citrus, allspice and hints of dark chocolate. The taste has notes of dried fruit, a direct result of ageing in Oloroso Sherry casks. The finish is smooth and supple with a hint of sweetness.
Final Thoughts
Although any of these whiskeys provide a good starting point there are many other great ones out there waiting for you to discover.
This year was the 22nd addition of the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (NWAC), which took place in Penticton, British Columbia. There were 1,930 entries from 255 wineries. All entries to the competition are 100 percent grown and produced in Canada.
Photo credit: winealign.com
The National Wine Awards presents four major awards: The Canadian Winery of the Year, The Best Performing Small Winery, Icewine of the Year and Cider of the Year. Within each of the 37 categories, wines are eligible to compete for Gold, Silver or Bronze medals, all topped by Platinum medals, which are presented to the highest one percent of wines across all competition categories.
The major award winners and the Platinum and Gold medal winners from the top 25 wineries are presented below:
The Winery of the Year is Hidden Bench Estate Winery in Beamsville, Ontario. Being one of the most respected Niagara wineries since its inception 20 years ago, Hidden Bench has finally won Winery of the Year honours by earning 12 medals – two Platinum, five Gold and five Silver. Congratulations to proprietor Harald Thiel and his team, including winemaker Alex Baines and viticulturalist Joel Williams.
The Platinum and Gold winning wines were:
Platinum
Hidden Bench Pinot Noir Felseck Vineyard 2020
Hidden Bench Chardonnay Tete De Cuvée Rosomel Vineyard 2020
Peller Estates Niagara 2021 Andrew Peller Signature Series Rieslin
The 2023 Best Performing Small Winery of the Year was presented to Deep Roots Winery of Naramata, British Columbia. Deep Roots had the best-scoring top five wines in the competition among wineries producing fewer than 10,000 cases. Their 2020 Reserve Chardonnay earned a platinum medal, one of only three Chardonnays to do so, as well as four gold medals for:
Deep Roots Parentage Red 2020
Deep Roots Gamay 2022
Deep Roots Syrah 2020
Deep Roots Sauvignon Blanc 2022
British Columbia wineries dominated the Small Winery category, claiming nine of the top ten rankings. The remaining top 10 small wineries are as follows:
2. Corcelettes Estate Winery, British Columbia
3. SpearHead Winery, British Columbia
4. Township 7 Vineyards & Winery, British Columbia
5. Painted Rock Estate Winery, British Columbia
6. Van Westen Vineyards, British Columbia
7. Orofino Vineyards, British Columbia
8. River Stone Estate Winery, British Columbia
9. Moon Curser Vineyards, British Columbia
10. The Organized Crime Winery, Ontario
Note: A minimum of five wines must have been entered to be eligible for Winery of the Year and the Top Wineries lists. Ranking was determined by the total score of their top five wines, not total number of medals.
The complete listing of all the winning wines from this year’s event is available on the Canadian Wine Awards website, www.winealign.com/awards.
A Layman's Wine Musings 