TNs: Ontario Meritage Reds 1998

I have never been impressed with the tank farm wines from Jackson Trigg (always preferred wineris to factories).

For a large producer with outlets in both East and West that isn't too bad, try some of the Inniskillin wines.

Salut/Hi Chuck Reid,

le/on Thu, 24 Jul 2003 10:21:48 -0400, tu disais/you said:-

Can't speak to over-the-hillness, but they were exhibiting at a "top sweet wines" exhibition in Bommes - Michael P was there too. They were rubbing shoulders with Ch Yquem (unusually the good Comte was in evidence but not on the stand). In view of the good comments I've read here about their ice wines, I was very interested to taste them. Of the >60 wines I tasted at the show, I'd rate the Inniskillin in the bottom 10, I'm afraid. VERY unidimensional. Miles and miles behind the German Eiswein (in price too) we had later, I'm afraid.

I am not a fan myself - in BC wines I go for many of the smaller producers - Poplar Grove, La Frenz, Burrowing Owl, Blue Mountain, Kettle Valley.

When I do get around to tasting the Iniskillin line up every couple of years or so, they seem to have at leasta few that are worth putting in bottle, which is more than I have ever been able to say about Jackson Trigg.

For a larger small winery, try Sumac Ridge, although their top end bottlings have been escalating in price recently.

No surprise there - most Canadian icewine is unsubtle sugary plonk, nowhere near the quality of similar wines from other parts of the world. They sure do appeal to the oriental market, though.

Is Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards a small or large producer. A friend has a few bottles of 1996 Pinot Noir that we will be trying in a few weeks.

Do you know this one and what we can expect?

I think it is from the Okanagan Valley.

Myron

Okanagan Valley.

It is - from near Okanagan Falls.

Generally mundane, but the odd one does surprise. Maybe you'll hit one of the high points. Let us know.

I can't really comment on the Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards Pinot Noir. I have to say that I am not fully accustomed to the Okanagan Pinot Noirs although people whose opinion I respect have held that several are well worth the trouble of finding. Quail's Gate produces one as nice as I have tasted, although I feel unqualified to describe it adequately.

I CAN mention that Hawthorne Mountain makes some of the better icewine in BC. Their ehrenfelser icewine is quite nice. On that note, I should also mention that the Cedar Creek ehrenfelser is also a really nice wine. Never having encountered ehrenfelser before, I was surprised at the strong pink grapefruit notes in the Cedar Creek wine and the Hawthorne Mountain icewine retained some of that flavor and had the complexity that (I see in this group) many people find missing in the Canadian icewines.

This past year should be an interesting one for BC icewines. In many vineyards, the grapes for icewine hung until sometime near February. Now, some may question what impact this will have on the wines but, as cultural practices in the vineyard are really only now developing in this region, this should give the winemakers (and wine drinkers) an interesting view into just how Okanagan grapes should be handled to best express the Okanagan.

It must be remembered that practices used elsewhere cannot be adopted wholesale as the climate is so very different. For example, Oregon grape growers had to learn how California practices needed to be adapted to the specifics of Oregon. The Okanagan is the northern reach of the Sonoran desert (Canada's only desert, in fact) and between the shortened growing season (caused by its northern location) and the length of days during the growing season (similarly caused), you get a pattern of cool nights and long warm days that are quite different from what you see elsewhere. Okanagan wineries could very easily develop the cultural practices and knowledge of which varietals perform best to be widely considered world class. The wines we see today are the result of only 15 years practice with vinifera.

Finally, the original poster asked about Ontario Meritage wines. I will simply mention that, in the Okanagan, Sumac Ridge (which was referred to in an earlier post) makes some nice Meritage wines (both red and white).

Richard

Further to the icewine question; I would encourage anyone looking for a nicely complex and spicy example of the genre to try Pilliterri (?) Gv Icewine. Really lovely IMNSHO ;>)))