Henry Smith was the son of a Loyalist who moved to Canada during the American Revolution. The family settled in Niagara, in the area now known as the Short Hills Bench. Later in life, Henry built his an inn near the family property. He chose to name the tavern Henry of Pelham, a jab at the English Prime Minister at the time, and a reference to Pelham Road, which ran through the land he settled.

The inn, built in 1842, was still standing in the 1980s, when The Speck family, descendants of Henry, purchased what pieces of land remained of the original Smith land claim. The Specks had put together what they could to save a few land parcels, moved into the old inn, and replaced the vines that Henry had planted 150 years ago to make room for new vineyards. This is not a story of old money with a new idea; it was the hard work of Paul Speck and his sons that built a winery. They planted 65 acres of vineyards by hand over several summers. The winery was born, named after the man who originally farmed the land: Henry of Pelham.

Today, the three boys run different aspects of the winery; Paul Jr. serves as President of the winery, and is a founding director of VQA. Matt is Vice President and Viticultural Manager. Daniel serves as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Winemaking at Henry of Pelham is overseen by Ronald Giesbrecht, a Niagara native who followed up his University of Waterloo degree in microbiology with a Masters at University of Guelph. He studied oenology academically for some time and worked for two Ontario wineries before taking the role of winemaker at Henry of Pelham in 1990.

The Short Hills Bench where fruit is grown for the wines produced by the Speck family and team is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve protecting numerous species of flora and fauna. This land was carved out by the pre-glacial Niagara river, and soils are a mix of clay and silt covered by a sparse amount of topsoil. The clay soils restrict the vines productions naturally, but means the vineyards need special drainage to make up for the water-retaining qualities of the clay. Being a stone’s throw from Lake Ontario means that the vines have some degree of protection from Ontario’s winter ravages - warm air currents come off the lake and blow through the Short Hills.

The 2008 Reserve Off-Dry Riesling from Henry of Pelham (LCBO 557165, $15.95/750mL bottle) contains residual sugars from the late harvest grapes due to a short fermentation process. The grapes were taken from vines 15 years old or older. Scents of green apple, pink grapefruit, honey and hints of grass lift from the glass. Honey and apples dominate the flavour profile, with a citrus tinge. The finish is medium length, filled with echoes of honey and lemon. There is still great acidity present in this wine which keeps the palate refreshed and ready for another glass. This is a well balanced off-dry riesling, with great aromatics and interesting flavours.

Pinot Noir has been called "the heartbreak grape", “a minx of a vine… an exasperating variety”, and "sex in a glass". It's a difficult grape to grow and a difficult grape to make wine with but when everything goes well, the resulting wine is worth the trouble. The problem is, usually, everything doesn't go well. Like most grapes, Pinot Noir doesn't do well in summers that are too cold. Unlike most grapes, Pinot Noir also doesn't produce a good crop when it is too warm, or too dry, or too wet, or if there is an early spring, or a late spring.

The French wine region of Burgundy is the homeland of Pinot Noir and one of the few places on earth where some vineyards produce an outstanding Pinot Noir most years. In a region that is 3 kilometres wide and 50 kilometres long called the Côte d'Or or "Slope of Gold", Pinot Noir is crafted by a few into a silky smooth, fruity, beautifully balanced red Burgundy that wine lovers prize above all others. The Côte runs north and south and on the eastern slopes facing the morning sun, the Pinot Noir grows well. The flow of air down the slope helps to control the various molds that plague Pinot Noir. The warm days and cool nights are perfect for ripening the grapes and the warm, well drained soils keep the roots warm at night.

However, once you have the grapes, your problems are not over. Due to the grapes’ thin skins, it is difficult to get much colour or tannin into the wine. The fermentation of Pinot Noir can be difficult to control as they tend to get really hot and then the flavours and aromas boil off.

If all these problems aren’t enough, Pinot Noir is also genetically unstable. It mutates and sometimes produces grapes that aren’t really similar to Pinot Noir. This is why Pinot Noir is the parent vine for Pinot Gris aka Pinot Grigio and Pinot Blanc. Winegrowers noticed that some Pinot Noir vines were producing lighter coloured grapes and use those vines for cuttings to produce more vines. Eventually, they produced vines that were more or less stable and produced white wines that have little in common with Pinot Noir.

Of course, wine makers around the world are attempting to produce good Pinot Noir with various levels of success. In Ontario, wineries in the Niagara Peninsula and Prince Edward County are working on Pinot Noir; Le Clos Jordanne is thought by many to be the leader in Ontario right now, although there are many wineries producing good Pinots.

In the US, the Sonoma Coast in California and the especially Willamette Valley in Oregon are focusing on Pinot Noir. Having just spent a few days in Oregon, I can say that they are succeeding with producing a very classical styled Pinot Noir that is a medium red and exhibits aromas of red fruit, earth and cloves with flavours of raspberry, strawberry and vanilla with well balanced fruit, alcohol and tannins.

New Zealand is also producing some outstanding Pinot Noirs and Germany, possibly due to global warming, is producing better Pinot Noirs every year.

There is a saying that a good bottle of Burgundy costs $500. You have to drink 9 disappointing bottles at $50 each before you get to the 10th bottle which is so remarkable that you forget the other 9. That might have been true in the past but I am finding that purchasing Pinots in the $18 and higher range, I am rarely disappointed.

Lailey Pinot Noir 2007 VQA (LCBO # 591404 - $24.95) The nose is dominated by oak, dark cherry and earthy aromas. The dark fruit flavours last through the long finish which shows a little cold coffee. The firm tannins are still a little forward, suggesting that this wine could be aged for 3 or 4 years.

Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve 2007 VQA – (LCBO# 33894 - $25) This dark cherry red wine has aromas of dark plum, cedar and leather and flavours of cherry cola, raspberry with a nice hint of vanilla and dark cherry on the long finish. The fine tannins are slightly drying at the end and indicate that this wine could age 4 to 6 years. The alcohol, acidity and tannins are so well balanced that the 13.5% alcohol is not noticeable.

Ridgepoint Pinot Noir Reserve 2004 VQA (LCBO # 89003 - $20) Dark plum, raspberry and earth aromas come from the medium cherry red wine. As Pinot Noir skins are so thin, you can see through the wine unlike Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is medium bodied and quite dry. Dark plum, sour cherry and raspberry flavours are followed by a medium length dark, slightly sour cherry finish. The tannins, alcohol and acidity are nicely balanced. NOTE: The link above takes you to the 2005 Vintage currently in the LCBO. This bottle was from my cellar.

Matua Shingle Peak Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2008 (LCBO # 32441 – $29.95 March 24 Release) The nose of raspberry, dark plum and leather leads to flavours of dark raspberry and dark plums. The moderate acidity and alcohol are well balanced and give way to a long, dark raspberry finish.

Rodney Strong Estate Pinot Noir 2008 (LCBO # 954834 - $24.95) The grapes for this wine were grown in the Russian River area of Sonoma which is becoming the best known area in Sonoma for Pinot Noir. The fog rolls in overnight and keeps the grapes from getting too warm during the day. This gives a wine with dark red fruit aromas like raspberries and cherries with some leather and spice from the barrel aging. The fruit flavours are well balanced with the moderate acidity, alcohol and tannins.

Jean Claude Boisset Gevrey-Chambertin 2006 – (LCBO # 77313 - $69.00) The raspberry and dark cherry nose also shows some wood notes. The cherry and dark raspberry flavours are supported by the well integrated barrel flavours of oak, vanilla and cloves. The moderate acidity is in balance with the alcohol and tannins. This wine is ready to drink with the appropriate food but could certainly improve over the next 3 to 5 years in a cellar.

Domaine De La Vougeraie Clos De Vougeot 2006 - (LCBO # 88765 - $129.95) This wine is still somewhat tight as it isn’t ready to drink. The nose of dark cherry, earth and vanilla is followed by flavours of black raspberry and black cherry topped with a hint of oaky vanilla. The firm tannins need another 8 to 10 years of aging.

Oak has been used in winemaking since the Roman empire. It was used at the time because of its pliability; oak was simply easier to make into barrels. Eventually the influence of the wood was noticed, and as winemakers experimented with various other types of wood throughout the ages, oak has become the dominant treestuff from which wine storage is built. Other woods are certainly in use, but most affect the wines too much, and in undesirable ways. Oak is a reasonably neutral wood with a tight grain that allows for minimal influence. Vanillin is one of the major components of the wood that makes its way into wines, and provides a vanilla-like aroma to many wines. Oak also has its own naturally occurring tannins which will be found in any wine aged in oak.

The influence oak has on wine can be manipulated in a number of ways: the toast level of the barrel, the type of oak used, the size of the barrel, and the time spent in the barrel before bottling. Oak is toasted by a barrel maker in order to create the shape of a barrel. Winemakers can ask for various toast levels for varied affects on the wines. A light toast will not impart a great degree of extra character and is used by winemakers looking for a neutral oak in both reds and white wines; medium toast levels will provide a greater sense of vanilla and add some aromas of spice, used in many reds; heavy toasts will begin to impart coconut-type aromas as well as the sense of smoke which is used in both red and white wines.

Different types of oak provide different character due to their distinct grains, as well as the way they are made into barrels. Wines aged in American oak generally have more of the oak characteristics such as vanilla, tannin, and any characteristics brought by the toast level. European oak adds the same aromas and flavours to wine, but in a much more subdued fashion. New barrels made from new oak will influence a wine more than an old barrel. Many winemakers choose to age a wine in different barrels with different oaks, and blend the wine together before bottling. This adds a complexity of character to the wine.

Wines that age in a barrel longer will have a more pronounced oak character. The winemaker chooses a length of time to barrel age that they feel best suits the varietal. Some wines will only spend months, while others will spend years aging. In some parts of the world, wines are classified by the length of time they spend in oak barrels. In the Rioja region of Spain, for example, wines with the label "Crianza" have spent at least 1 year in oak. Wines labelled "Gran Reserva" have spent at least 2 years in oak.

The influence of oak on wine adds extra character that some wine drinkers enjoy, and some do not. The tolerance for aromas and flavours released by the wood vary palate by palate, which means a wine that tastes interesting to some will seem overpowered by the oak to others. As such it is an interesting tool for the winemaker that requires judicious application. Too much influence can draw criticism as the oak flavours take centre stage, pushing aside the fruit and structural elements. Too little influence may produce a wine that is not as complex or interesting as it could be.

Hidden Bench’s 2007 Estate Chardonnay (LCBO 68817 - $35/750mL) is a wine that is unabashed in its display of oak characteristics. The wine is golden straw coloured in the glass. Deep rich aromas lift from the glass - campfire smoke, buttery popcorn, honey, baked apple and lemon. The wine is rich and luxurious on the palate, feeling heavy and silky. The acidity in this wine is refreshing, and the bonanza of peaches, pear, lemon rind and a dash of pepper and clove is very interesting. The flavours persist for some time afterwards, and the spicy oak influence is the main residual. This is a textbook example of how oak can be used to make a wine more interesting. The smoke and honey can be attributed, to a certain extent, to the use of more heavily toasted barrels. The pepper and clove in the flavour profile is most certainly a byproduct of oak aging.

Merlot is more prominent on the right bank of the Gironde river in Bordeaux where it tolerates the cooler clay soils well. The most famous of the Merlot wines from that area would be Chateau Petrus which is between 95% and 100% Merlot, the remainder being Cabernet Franc. This is, however, a rare example and Merlot is usually bolstered by a healthy amount of Cabernet Sauvignon.

It’s in the New World that Merlot started to be placed in the spotlight instead being in the supporting position to Cabernet Sauvignon.  In the New World, Merlot is grown almost everywhere red wine is made. It has very fruit forward flavours, soft tannins, it’s generally very smooth on the palate and just about everyone likes it, even if they can’t describe it. This is part of the problem with Merlot. It makes soft, fruity, easy going wines that are quite drinkable with or without food but it isn’t always memorable.

Shiraz is fruitier and more forward while Cabernet Sauvignon has darker, more distinctive fruit flavours and more tannin so they are both more memorable. Pinot Noir, when made well, has more delicate and ethereal aromas and flavours and can really move the drinker. I’ve rarely heard anyone enthuse about a great Merlot. Even at wine tastings, people tend to pass Merlot to try other wines.

Even in the new world wine, Merlot has had a rough time since the movie Sideways came out. The movie caused what wine economists called “The Sideways Effect” in which both the price of merlot and the amount sold declined after the release of the movie while both the price and volume of Pinot Noir sold increased. It’s a shame. People really like Merlot.

Some of the local Merlots that I have tasted recently include:

Girls’ Night Out Merlot 2007 VQA Ontario – Colio Estates (LCBO #89847 - $12.95)
This is not quite what I was expecting. My wife suggested this one as she heard about it at work. As you can see in the picture, we opened it and tried it while watching TV.  This is a fairly big wine with a nose of dark cherries, plums, spice and oak with flavours of red cherries, blackberries and dark plums. The tannins and acidity were both smoother after the bottle sat overnight so I would recommend either decanting this or using one of those wine pouring gadgets that are aerate your wine. The medium length finish was dominated by bright fruit. This wine is ready to drink and will go well with most medium weight foods.

Konzelmann Estate Winery Merlot Reserve 2008 VQA Niagara Peninsula (LCBO # 439281 - $12.95)
You can see the differences in the 2007 and 2008 vintage by comparing this to the Girls’ Night Out. This is a lighter colour wine as 2008 was a much cooler and cloudier summer and the grapes did not get as dark. The nose is all red fruit, cherry cola and pepper. The flavours of red cherries, red plums and blackberries have a little cola in the background. The moderate acidity and very smooth tannins make this go down very easily. The slight residual sugar is only noticeable on the medium length finish.

Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery Merlot 2008 VQA Niagara Peninsula (LCBO #61101 - $14.94)
This wine was fermented in stainless steel to keep the fruit flavours and acidity fresh and then it was aged in barrels to give it some oak notes and to soften the tannins and make the wine approachable. The nose of red cherry and plums is enhanced by aromas of oak and cloves from the barrel. The cherry and plum flavours are well balanced by the acidity and tannins. The oak is subtle indicated that the majority of the barrels were not new. The long cherry finish highlights the very fine tannins. This wine might benefit from some aging but it is quite ready to drink now so why wait.

Willow Springs Merlot 2007 VQA Niagara – ($14 at the winery)
A bright cherry candy nose is followed by flavours of black cherry and dark plums. The moderate acidity and alcohol are supported by the smooth moderate tannins that are so typical of Merlot. There is some nice oak and vanilla flavours from the barrel aging on the finish. Again, this wine is ready to drink.

Rosewood Estates Merlot – Natural Ferment – 2007 VQA Beamsville Bench ($40 at the winery)
This wine was allowed to ferment based on the yeasts on the skins of the grapes and the yeasts that were floating through the winery. This is always a bit of a gamble as the winemaker can’t be sure which varieties of yeast will be in the wine. This frequently gives a more complex wine with subtle flavours. In 2007, the nose of the wine was dominated by bright red cherry aromas, oak and some spices. The flavours of red and dark cherry, dark plums and spice gave way to a long, dark cherry finish. This wine has very well balanced fruit, alcohol, acidity and tannins, and the oak is very well-integrated into the flavours. The tannins and acidity have the softness of a well made Merlot. As much as I like this one now, I would age a few bottles and try one a year just to taste the development.

The question of what makes a wine age gracefully, and even improve with age, is not easily answered. Science provides little clues to help the modern wine aficionado understand why critics and the obscenely rich swoon over Bordeaux wines from the 30s and 40s, or Barolos from the early 70s, or Sauternes from late 1700s.

It’s known that time affects the tannins in a wine; the chemicals from a red grape’s skin that cause the mouth to pucker. As time passes, the tannins will polymerize (join up) with other molecules in the wine, but how this affects the perception of the wine is still not that well understood.

Through the anecdotal evidence of decades of wine critics, there are a few basic tenets of picking a wine to age that are known to be true. To age well, a wine must have good structure. The main structural components are the tannins and the acidity. Tannins are responsible for the aforementioned tactile sensation. Acidity makes your mouth water, and creates the impression of tartness, curling the edges of the tongue. An older wine will need these elements to be in place decades later, or it will feel flat and uninteresting. Because of this, wines built to age typically have strong tannins and acidity. That is not to say they cannot be drank in their youth, but perspective quaffers must be aware that consuming these wines early will make for a different and possibly less than optimal experience.

Inside this structural frame, the winemaker creates an expression of the grapes used in the wine. This may mean ripe, and fruity flavours, strong earthy tastes or combinations of these and many other flavourful qualities. This is largely the choice of the winemaker, through selection of the grape varieties and winemaking techniques. On occasion, wine critics will describe a wine as taut or closed, meaning the structure is very good and there are significant hints of fruit flavours in the wine. The expectation is that with time the wine’s flavours will become more apparent, and the structure less overbearing.

Building wines to age is a practice long part of Bordeaux winemaking. Cellars across the globe cherish decade- and in some cases century-old bottles of Bordeaux wines. So when Vincor International was looking for a partner to help create BC wines with longevity, it was natural for them to look for a partner in France. The Groupe Taillon agreed to partner with Vincor in 1998, and a new venture was born when 25 acres of vineyard was purchased near the Osoyoos Lake in BC. The new winery was named Osoyoos Larose, for the nearby lake and to honour the Groupe Taillon’s prestigous 2nd growth Bordeaux estate, Chateau Gruaud-Larose. The site was carefully chosen for the climate as well as the varied soil types. The summer days are hot and dry, but nights in the shadow of the mountains are cool and allow the grapes to retain acidity. There are a variety of soils to suit a range of wine grapes. Winemaking and vineyard management at Osoyoos Larose have been overseen by Pascal Madevon since he joined the team in 2002. Pascal’s time in the Bordeaux region prepared him exceedingly well for the Osoyoos Larose mission - to build VQA wines matching the renowned quality and ageability produced by Bordeaux wineries.

The Osoyoos Larose 2006 Le Grand Vin (Vintages 626325| $39.95/750mL) was created with age in mind. The nose is meaty; full of smoke, pepper, black cherries, and well done toast. A sip builds an interesting picture for the palate. The wine’s structure is very solid, with sturdy acidity and firm tannins. The initial impression is flavours of red cherry and raspberry. In short order the red fruit flavours become dried, and are joined by earthy black coffee, dark chocolate, raw almond skin, raisins and fresh fig. This wine feels tight, the flavours seem compressed. The dried fruit flavours and figgi-ness continue throughout an incredibly long finish. This is a wine built to age, and will be quite interesting given 2-5 years in the cellar.

We have wine writers here at TasteTO for a very good reason - because neither Greg nor I know squat about wine. Oh, we like wine well enough, but we tend to stick to a few things that we know, and more often than not, we prefer beer, which we're both much more comfortable with. Because while beer is made by huge numbers of craft brewers around the world, most offerings are a variation on a dozen or so styles. Wine, however, varies not just from winery and grape variety, but by region, and don't even let's get into the difference in harvests from year to year.

Particularly intimidating are the wines of Italy. A country famous for its wine, and various wine regions, wine from Italy can be intimidating, especially to someone who doesn't speak the language. What I needed was a simple, basic, get you started kind of course that would let me compare a few wines without overwhelming me.

So when Angela Aiello of iYellow Wine Club invited me to check out iYellow Wine School, I jumped at the opportunity to attend the class on Italian wines.

Held on Saturday afternoons at Reds Wine Bar, the classes focus on a different style or region each week, and wine samples are all paired with food so students can see how different wines match (or don't match) with different dishes. Classes are $35 each (or $260 for the full 8-class series).

These are not intense classes with lots of slurping and spitting. They run approximately an hour and a half - just long enough to learn some basics, and to see how the wines pair with various foods. Reds' sommelier Taylor Thompson keeps things simple with four wines of different styles. While professional wine critics can often go through dozens or evens hundred of wines at one tasting event (I can do only about 15 - 20 before my palate collapses), newbies are best off with just a few so they can remember the distinguishing characteristics of each.

We start off with a couple of Chiantis and compare the differences between a "classico" (fuller body) and a "ruffino". Thompson explains what to look for in terms of visual characteristics, what happens when we swirl the wines, what to look for on the nose, and what differences (or similarities) appear when we finally sip the wine. The pairing is some house made tagliatellini with Pecorino cheese and we see how the acidity of the wine cuts through the richness of the cheese while the fresh pepper on this dish picks up the oakiness of the wine.

Moving on to a Barbera, the students can see that Thompson is leading us from lighter reds to heavier ones, and from milder flavours to strong. He explains the process of making Barbera wines and tells us a bit about the region. He does, at this point, fall into the "wine guy" trap of using a number of terms that wine newbies might not know, and in comparing grapes from different regions loses us (well, me, at least) a bit. A map or some other kind of visual aid would come in handy here, or even some handouts or the different processes - things that affect the overall taste of the wine but that wouldn't be something the average student would make a note of.

The Barbera is paired with a flatbread made with olives and Chef Michael Steh's in house charcuterie, both of which offer a saltiness and a spicy note that pick up on the peppery notes in the wine. Thompson points out that the Barbera we're sampling (Casina Cucco Barbera d'Alba Superiore 2006) sells for $20 a glass at the restaurant, so despite the simple set-up, students are definitely getting their money's worth.

My money's worth is in the final wine, an Amarone. The richest, heaviest wine of the bunch - indicating a higher alcohol content - the Amarone is a relief to me. As Thompson explains its characteristics - heavy, sweet, intense - I realize I've been second-guessing myself when it comes to Italian wines. I knew I like Shiraz and other heavy, masculine wines, and my preference in beer is almost always for dark, hearty stouts and porters with sweet notes (usually chocolate, coffee or oatmeal). The Amarone falls into that category perfectly and is on par with a Shiraz or a good stout. So while I've been ordering Amarones in Italian restaurants because I had one once and liked it, and didn't want to admit that Italian wine list scared the beejeezus out of me, it turns out that I've been ordering the best wine for me all along.

Okay, so I didn't come out of one class at the iYellow wine school an expert. There were points, as noted above, where I was overwhelmed with information and had nothing to reference. I'd have like handouts and a map. But I did come away with a better understanding of three basic styles of wine, what to pair them with and what to look for in those varieties. It gave me greater confidence in terms of knowing what I like and what I should be trying on my forays into the Italian aisle at the LCBO, or when ordering wine in restaurants.

One final note, unrelated to the execution of the event itself but more to the other students and prospective students - to really be able to appreciate and learn about wine, you need to be able to experience it with all the senses. It's incredibly important to be able to smell and taste the wine properly, which cannot be done if someone is wearing perfume or cologne. There were lots of people at the Italian wine event wearing strong fragrances, and it was a real frustration when it came to our ability to appreciate the products we were sampling. Wine and perfume really don't mix.

Is it because Cabernet Sauvignon is the best red wine grape in the world? Is it because Cabernet Sauvignon has such a distinctive flavour that it doesn’t really matter where it is produced? Or is it because Cabernet Sauvignon along with Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the grapes that are used to make red Bordeaux¹ and most winemakers want to try making their own version of red Bordeaux?

I don’t really think that Cabernet Sauvignon is the best red wine grape although it is one of my top three, the others being Zinfandel and Pinot Noir. Cabernet Sauvignon is very distinctive in flavour but it really does matter where it is grown. Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia is different from the Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Bordeaux and different again from that grown in Ontario or Chile. Cabernets from Australia often have a hint of eucalyptus on the finish that other regions do not get. Eucalyptus or mint is a telltale sign that your Cabernet came from a hot country.

And what about Merlot and Cabernet Franc? Again, they both produce differently depending on where they are grown with more bright fruit flavours and more tannin from hotter areas. Even in Bordeaux where these grapes originate, more Merlot is grown mostly on the right bank of the Gironde river and more Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc is grown on the left.  The right bank has clay based soils that retain more water and are cooler, while the left bank has more gravel and rocky soils that are warmer and better  drained.

So, does it really come down to Bordeaux envy?

Not really. The grapes that produce red Bordeaux and specifically Cabernet Sauvignon really are among the best red wine grapes regardless of where they are produced. Despite regional differences caused by the climate, soil and growing methods or what the French call terroir, carefully made Cabernet blends can be hard to distinguish regardless of where they are from. This is why, in the movie Sideways, California Cabernets were judged to be better than high end Bordeaux by the French judges.

As the French are quite particular about who uses their terms to label their wine, red wines that are made from blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot cannot be called “Bordeaux” or “Bordeaux Style” or anything else that refers to Bordeaux. This is why we often see new world wines called Cabernet, Cabernet Merlot or Meritage. Cabernet is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc although it can be all of either one. Cabernet Merlot is a blend of either or both Cabernets and Merlot and the Cabernets make up over 50% of the blend. Meritage, rhymes with heritage, is a blend of the six grapes that are authorized for Bordeaux, the three mentioned above and Petit Verdot, Carmeniere and Malbec. You are more likely to see to Petit Verdot in blends from California where it is also bottled separately. Blends from Chile and Argentina are more likely to feature Carmeniere and Malbec as they are widely grown there.

Here are some Cabernet blends I have tasted recently.

Alvento Elige VQA 2006 – Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 33%, Cabernet Franc 2% - $23.95 from the winery
Cassis, oak and vanilla aromas are followed by black currant, cherry and plum flavours with some cloves in the background. This wine was aged in French oak.  I’ve also tried the 2005 and 2004 vintages and they are aging very nicely.

Chateau Pey La Tour 2007 (LCBO # 925859 - $19.95)
Cherry, cassis and cedar dominate the nose while the palate is more black currant and black cherry. The cedar continues on through the finish. The fruit and tannins are well balancved in that neither dominates but there is a little alcoholic heat on the finish.

Stratus Red VQA 2007 $38 – available from the winery on June 1, 2010
A very forward nose of red fruit, oak, blueberry  and chocolate greets you. This is a full bodied wine with flavours of dark fruit, plums and raspberries with a hint of mint on the finish. 2007 was a remarkably hot summer here in Ontario. The tannins are quite firm so this wine could age up to 10 years but, with decanting, will be quite good with beef or lamb.

Vineland Estates Cabernet-Merlot VQA 2007 – Blend: 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 46% Merlot - $15.20 from the winery
A nose of black currant, cherry and some earthy notes is followed by flavours of black currants, dark plums and some herbal notes. This well balanced wine is ready to drink as it is already three years old.

Chateau Timberlay 2006 Blend: 80% Merlot,  10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc (LCBO #30072 - $ 15.95)
A blend from the right bank of the Garonne river in Bordeaux, this wine is much softer than the Cabernet Sauvignon dominated wines. The nose of red cherries and plums also has a misture of soy sauce and wood in the back ground. The flavours of red cherry and plum come from the Merlot while the tannins come from the Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now as it’s already 4 years old.

NOTE: Most of the wineries in Ontario will ship their wines. You can usually order through their websites or on the phone.

1. Yes, there is a white Bordeaux but not there aren't very many available at the LCBO and not many winemakers seem to be making their own version. One of the few white Bordeaux style wines in Ontario comes from Rosewood Estates and is labelled Semillon Sauvignon Blanc.

As I touched on in my column last week, one of the most frustrating aspects of being a craft beer drinker in Ontario is the haphazard way that the LCBO distributes the products in their seasonal specialty beer promotions. Unlike Vintages releases where the wines usually all show up on the same day as scheduled, the seasonal beers often hit the shelves weeks before or after the official release date, and follow a distribution pattern that is either completely and utterly random, or designed by a malevolent LCBO employee who enjoys toying with the hopes and dreams of beer geeks province-wide.

That's not to say that the wine lovers have it easy. Even though the Vintages releases come every two weeks like clockwork, the more limited items can be difficult to track down. Even some non-Vintages (or in the case of beer, non-seasonal) bottles can be hard to find as stock dwindles, and favourites may be restocked at different times in different locations. The online inventory search at LCBO.com makes it a bit easier to track things down, but the numbers aren't always reliable or up-to-date, and if you don't check it every day (or even multiple times per day), some things can arrive and sell out before you even know about it.

For anyone who can relate to the problems above, there's now an answer to at least some of your problems, in the form of a brand new website called Drinkvine. And it took an especially frustrated and tech-savvy LCBO customer to make it happen.

Drinkvine was created by Ralph Holm, a beer lover in Almonte - a small town near Ottawa - who often found himself missing out on new brews due to the limited quantities and spotty distribution in his area. So, being a resourceful fella with some technical know-how, he put together a program that could email him any time a particular beer (or any other product) appeared in the online stock numbers for nearby LCBO stores. As he notes in the discussion thread on BarTowel.com where he recently announced the site, "It worked great. Many times I knew that stock was in before it had hit the floor. I became the first person to know instead of the last."

After a few months of using the program himself, he reckoned that a lot of other people would also appreciate the service, and he started work on the website that was unveiled last week at drinkvine.com. Both the concept and interface are remarkably simple: you register your email address and password, set up lists of "my drinks" (via a simple search function) and "my locations" (based on postal code), and add any or all of the items on your "my drinks" list to a watchlist. Then, any time stock appears for one of your watchlist items in one of your locations, you'll get an email.

In addition, you can bring up a page on the site for any product in the database - whether it's on your "my drinks" list or not - and instantly see the 10 closest LCBO outlets (based on your registered postal code) that have it in stock. Conversely, there's a page for every LCBO location in the province, each displaying a small Google map and a list of any products from "my drinks" that are currently available according to inventory. In both cases, the number of units in stock is noted, making it easy to find which store has dozens of bottles available versus those that only have a couple.

Like any new website, there are still a few kinks to be worked out. And while it provides a more flexible and logical interface to the LCBO's online inventory information, the fact remains that said information is often incorrect for a number of reasons, most notably because it's not real time and is only refreshed every day or two. But those small issues aside, Drinkvine is still a remarkably useful resource, and one that any serious boozehound in Ontario will find immediately indispensable.

Stirring the Pot is a new feature where we talk to people who are prominent in the local food and drink scene. These are the folks who are creating the events, writing the stories, taking the photos or drafting the policies that make Toronto's food scene so amazingly diverse and interesting. They're the people who are doing work we feel our readers should know more about, or who have a unique perspective on how and what Toronto eats and drinks.

Angela Aiello is a dynamo wine ambassador with 10 year of experience in the local wine industry. She runs iYellow Wine School, an organization that offers events and courses that help teach people about wine in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Ange is the regular wine host for the CBC's Steven & Chris Show and for Le Gourmet TV.

How did you become interested in wine? What steps did you take to learn more about it?

The simple and short answer to both questions is “I drank a lot of it”. I started in the wine industry young, but truly developed a passion for wine as I grew older. I believe that you can really only learn about wine if you’re tasting it, so when I stopped working in wine country and in the industry, I started a wine club and starting drinking with friends and colleagues and we all explored, discovered and shared as we went along. And now after close to 12 years in the wine industry I am proud to say I’m still learning! And that is one of the greatest things about wine – every year, every vintage and every wine is constantly changing, so as it turns out you’re constantly learning, and that means you’re constantly drinking, tasting and reflecting on the wines you like. So in reality I am constantly taking steps to learn more about wine including traveling, attending wine schools and tastings at events. I think building your own confidence with your own palate preferences is a very important step to being interested in wine. For me I love Rieslings, Pinot Noir, sparkling wines, Syrah and dessert wines. Knowing what you like is half the battle, anyway!

Tell us a bit about iYellow wine club and what you do.

iYellow Wine Club began as a way to communicate with friends and colleagues about wine through a blog. It now is a community of over 5000 members, is based in Toronto and hosts regular social wine events, local wine tours, and an affordable wine school. We are a community of members who want to learn, experience, enjoy and share in the world of wine.

Personally, I consider myself to be a “Wine Ambassador” because I enjoy teaching people how to figure out what types of wine they enjoy. I try to help accomplish that through the wine club’s many activities, my on air appearances, writing, blogging, and simple “How To” videos. I love knowing what wine I absolutely love to drink, and I love teaching people that part the most. That is the whole reason behind the wine club – “building wine confidence” in each and every member however they want to build it. Most people are intimidated because they feel they have to know everything, but they don’t. A great place to start is simply understanding your own preferences.

Why do you think it's important for people to know about wine?

Why do you think it’s important for people to know about what they eat? I think the same rules apply to what you drink as it does to what you eat. Developing a taste for what you enjoy and becoming aware of what you put into your body is really what the food movement is all about. And where there is food, there is sure to be wine!

Right now, I believe we are in a “Wine Revolution”. What I mean is that many people, including many young people, are turning to wine as their drink of choice with food and as their stand alone alcoholic beverage when socializing with friends and family. Therefore, figuring out what type of wine you like is crucial to the enjoyment process of wine. Are you in the mood for a Chardonnay or a Riesling? There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of different varietals and taste profiles of wine – odds are there are a few you’re going to like.

Learning about wine is not only an amazing business and social skill to have, the personal benefits of understanding what you like and being able to match which wine with what food is not only a confidence booster, but it’s also part of the whole movement towards understanding and enjoying what we place into our bodies.

Why do you think so many people are intimidated by wine? What do you do through iYellow to help people overcome these fears?

I believe that intimidation comes from a lack of understanding and a feeling of being wrong. Making learning about wine “easy” and “approachable” is something I strongly believe in. iYellow is built on approachability. I believe that everyone should know what they personally like and dislike and building that confidence needs to happen in environments that are open, friendly, and fun - that’s what helps people learn easily. People also learn in different ways, so iYellow has created a club where no matter how you want to learn about wine, whether it’s socially, experientially, formally or by yourself at home, you can do it with us.

You do a lot to promote Ontario wines - why is this important to you?

I grew up drinking local wine, so I enjoy it and am proud of the region, the wines and the people. I do drink wines from all over the world, but Ontario has a special place in my heart and on my palate. I personally believe it is essential for people no matter where they live to develop an appreciation and knowledge of the wine they can call “local”. Almost every region in the world makes wine, so wherever you live odds are there is local wine being made close by. People from BC drink and appreciate BC wines, wine lovers from California enjoy wines from Napa and Sonoma, and the same goes for South America’s Chilean wine region. So the same should apply here at home in Ontario. Appreciating and understanding true VQA wines is something everyone should understand, but the problem is there is still ambiguity and confusion about exactly what Ontario wine is. I believe helping people understand the region is a very important part of increasing wide spread local appreciation amongst all wine drinkers, especially here in Toronto. iYellow tours, events, videos and articles all help teach our members about what VQA is, and the great wines we produce here. Building confidence through the ambiguity is what I feel is important and that is why iYellow is what it is – it is there to teach as many people as possible about wine in a simple, easy and approachable way. Just look at our steadily growing membership if there wasn’t a high demand for wine education iYellow wouldn’t be where it is today. So it seems I have been called to educate, inform and promote wine confidence from local to global wines! And it’s been quite the ride!

How can people get involved with iYellow?

Join the wine club! Membership is currently free and we offer wine tours, wine socials and events, a fun, approachable and affordable wine school and even an online local wine store. Plus we also are in development for a brand new website set to launch for March 2010. You are able to pick and choose which events you’re able to come to and our wine programs are built in an “a la carte” or “pay as you learn” style. So you can pick and choose which iYellow events you are able to come to depending on your schedule.

Enroll in the Winter term of iYellow Wine School
Join the Wine Revolution!
Explore. Discover. Share.

In Ontario, the new millennium marked the beginning of the Winery and Viticulture Technician program at Niagara College. The Niagara on the Lake campus became the first place in Canada where students could come to learn viticulture, winemaking and wine-related sales and marketing in a hands-on environment where real wine is made. The college has 38 acres of vines, science labs, wine equipment as well as a special wine sensory lab. A post graduate program started in 2008 specializing in Wine Business Management, which provides students with further business skills crucial to the success of wine endeavours. The college’s wine store opened in 2004, and was recently re-located and re-opened by Prince Charles. His Royal Highness visited the establishment and was treated to a tour of the teaching environments, winemaking facilities as well as a sampling of Canadian cheeses, products of the college’s culinary program and Niagara College Teaching Winery wines.

Wines from the college are produced through the hard work of students and winemaker Terence Van Rooyen, who also serves as Professor of Applied Oenology. Van Rooyen is a Master of Science in Agriculture hailing originally from South Africa. He worked for KWV Cellars, a now well-known label from the region. He spent time working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Oenology at the University of Stellenbosch, where his experiences in a multitude of wine research projects deepened his understanding of grapes and the winemaking process. In Canada he’s worked with Cilento Wines, and before joining the Niagara College, he was the winemaker for Stonechurch Vineyards. The wines produced by the program have won many awards nationally and internationally. In 2009 alone, the Dean’s List Pinot Noir 2007 won four awards ranging from Bronze to Gold, while the Dean’s List Chardonnay won two. In total, wines from the college were awarded 15 different awards, including a “Best in Category” for their Cabernet Franc Icewine 2007.

The Niagara College Teaching Winery Cabernet Franc 2007 (LCBO 155671, $18.95/750mL) continues the trend of quality wines. The fruit comes from the Donald J.P. Ziraldo Vineyard, in the St. David’s Bench region of Niagara. The aromatics are bold, showing plum, blackberry bushes, cedar, dried blueberry and tobacco. Acidity dominates the structure of this wine, immediately puckering the tongue and cheeks. Sour red cherry and raspberry are the dominant flavours, along with a sprinkle of white pepper. The finish is relatively long, filled with muted echoes of the sour red fruit and pepper. This wine will be a rewarding treat alongside rich wintry dishes, or to those that have the patience cellar it for a year or four.

Back in November, the Celebrate the Great Wines of Argentina tasting was held on the Trading Floor at the Design Exchange.  For those who don’t remember, the Design Exchange used to be the home of the Toronto Stock Exchange back in the pre-electronic days when stocks were traded by bunches of people in large rooms. The Trading Floor is about 10,000 square feet in size, with a 40 foot ceiling. The walls are still decorated with the eight original canvas murals that were there in 1937 when it opened. Due to the size and sound deadening effects of the extremely large murals, events there tend to be really calm and quiet.

Argentinian wines, on the other hand, are anything but quiet. Most of them are well made, bold flavoured and moderately priced. In addition, while many wine producing regions will have a signature grape, Argentina has two – Torrontes and Malbec.

Torrontes is a white wine that is pretty well unique to Argentina. Not much of it is produced and exported as it’s not very popular with people who like a relatively straight-forward white wine. As you can see in my notes below, Torrontes is more challenging than most Chardonnays.

Malbec, on the other hand, is grown in several other areas of the world including France, Ontario and Chile. However, only Argentina seems to have the perfect climate for rich, fruit forward, juicy Malbec. One of the original grapes of Bordeaux, Malbec was added to Bordeaux wines to give colour and add more fruity flavours than Cabernet Sauvignon usually has. Malbec is still an authorized grape for Bordeaux but when the vines were replanted in the late 1800’s after the phylloxera louse killed the existing vines, many grape growers did not bother to replant Malbec as it does not ripen well in a cool climate.

As Argentina has a warmer climate than France, Malbec ripens fully and consistently, giving us the dark red, juicy fruit-forward Malbecs that are so popular and they have made Argentina the fifth largest wine producing country in the world.

Rio Seco Torrontes 2009 (Whitehall Agencies - $9.95)
This is the everyday table wine version of Torrontes. The nose has notes of honeysuckle and citrus and has flavours of stone fruit like peach or really ripe apricot. There is a slight bitterness on the finish which offsets the slight sweetness.

Gamela Reserva Torrontes 2009 (Whitehall Agencies - $26.95)
This is the weekend or special dinner version of Torrontes. Rose and honeysuckle flowers come from the glass which makes the dryness of the wine a little surprising.  As the peach and slight citrus flavours finish, there is a slight lanolin quality to the finish similar to an aged Semillon.

Andeluna Torrontes 2008 (Stem Wine Group - $15.99)
A very aromatic wine with a nose similar to Gewurztraminer, there are notes of roses, honeysuckle and peaches. Flavours of peach and citrus are highlighted by a refreshing acidity that leads to a long citrus and lime finish.

Graffigna Centenario Pinot Grigio Reserve 2009 (LCBO April Release - $12.95)
The nose of apricots and yellow peaches is repeated in the flavours. The moderate acidity that shows up on the apricot and stone fruit finish makes this a refreshing summer patio wine.

Zuccardi Q Malbec 2007 (LCBO #723478 – January 20th Release - $18.95)
Lots of black cherry, vanilla and plum on the nose with blackberry and black cherry fruit flavours with moderate acidity makes this very drinkable. The tannins are slightly drying on the long cherry vanilla finish.

Trivento Reserva Syrah /Malbec 2008 (LCBO #492702 – January 9th Release - $12.95)
Cherry jam greets you followed by toasted oak on the nose. Red cherry flavours are supported by the firm tannins and moderate acidity. This wine is well priced and it would be worthwhile to lay down a couple of bottles to see how they develop.

Pascual Toso Merlot 2007 (LCBO #35188 - $12.95)
An interesting nose of dark cherries, oak and cloves leads to dark cherries and dark chocolate flavours in the mouth. The smooth tannins and moderate acidity mean that this wine is ready to drink now but it should improve with three of four years of bottle age. Stock up!

Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec 2006 (LCBO #79293 - $16.95)
Plum and cherry aromas mingle with the vanilla and oak notes. Cherry and blackberry flavours are supported by the moderate acidity and firm tannins. This wine could age four to five years.

Saurus Patagonia Select Malbec 2008 (LCBO – March Release - $17.95)
Blueberry and blackberry aromas and flavours fill the glass. This wine shows a slight heat on the cherry vanilla finish.

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[Editor's note - our intrepid wine reporter Glen Siegel wrote this piece in November but due to scheduling conflicts and our holiday break, we're just running it now. While the event has long passed, Glen offers some insight into the event and the wines of Italy that we think are worth sharing.]

The Wines from Italy Tasting on November 2nd was huge! It had to be to represent all the wines and wine producing regions of Italy. Italy has 350 authorized varieties of grapes in their 20 wine regions and another 500 documented varieties that are used to make wine for local or personal consumption. Italy is one of the few countries that produces wine in every region of the country and even if the regions are not household names, the wines are certainly well known. Most people have heard of Tuscany, the wine region, and Chianti, the wine, if only from the movie Silence of the Lambs. Other wine growing areas such as Puglia are less well known, although Mezzomondo’s Negroamaro is one of the best selling Italian Reds at the LCBO.

Despite this volume of grapes and wine, Italy was not the birthplace of wine making but it was responsible for creating the great vineyards of Europe. When the Greeks arrived in Italy around 800 BC, they found grapes growing almost everywhere and they introduced winemaking techniques and also several grape varieties of their own. Some of these grapes like Aglianico and Grechetto are still being grown in Italy today.

It took the Roman Empire to actually spread the vines around Europe. As the Roman Legions conquered area after area in Europe, they built roads and villages and, more importantly to us, they planted grapes. Roman soldiers had a daily wine ration as water was frequently unfit for consumption and wine was too bulky to transport so the areas around the legion outposts were planted with grapes and wine was produced for the soldiers.

Now you would think that any country with as over 800 varieties of grapes as Italy wouldn’t still be adding more but a small number of growers have planted international grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot to make Bordeaux style wines.

Tasting such a huge variety of wine needs some sort of strategy. In previous years I have tried tasting only Chianti or only Valpolicella. Last year I tasted only Barolos and Amarones. This year, I had a new plan. I tasted Chianti for an hour, Barolo for an hour, Valpolicella and Amarone for an hour as they are made from the same grapes and  are from the same wine region of Italy. I then wandered around and tried a couple of other wines including a few sweet wines.

As usual, there was also a light lunch served and two cheese stations with a variety of Italian cheeses. I usually don’t eat anything at tastings as I think it influences the flavours of the wines that follow. At this tasting, I have to stop for a break part way through and eat something and drink a lot of water. Even with this break, I find my tasting notes towards the end day are less complete and coherent.

Here are a few favourites:

Chianti Classico DOCG Castellare 2007– Castellare Di Castellina

This wine is a blend of Sangiovese (95%) and Canaiolo (5%).  The cherry jam aromas on the nose suggest a warmer area. The cherry and coffee flavours give way to a cherry and vanilla finish with slightly drying tannins.

Barolo DOCG Sarmassa 2005– Marchesi Di Barolo

Barolo is made from a grape called Nebbiolo. It’s a visually deceiving wine as it is frequently light in colour but big in flavour and tannins. This one showed a dark fruit and blueberry nose with some mint in the background. The red fruit flavours of strawberries, raspberries and plums lead to a medium length finish that showed the typical acidity of Nebbiolo. This wine is ready to drink now but it could stand a couple more years of aging.

Valpoliccella Classico DOC Superiore Ripasso 2006– Monte Del Frà

A blend of Corvina (80%) and Rondinella (20%), the nose of dark red fruit and chocolate lead to dark cherry flavours with a hint of chocolate in the back of your mouth.

Amarone Della Valpolicella DOC Bosan 2001– Gerardo Cesari – (LCBO 995225 - $84.00 – 750 ml)

Another blend of Corvina (80%) and Rondinella (20%) but this time in Amarone style, this wine has aromas and  flavours of dried cherries, dried cranberries, chocolate and coffee with a medium length finish. The tannins are still firm.  If I had the money I would buy 6 bottles and try one every year just to see how this wine evolves.

Sheppard spent more than two decades at Inniskillin making wines before starting at Coyote’s Run. His focus is to make approachable wines with authentic varietal character, matching the complex nuances of varietals and terroir with an elegant delivery. Steve Murzda was farming the property before the winery came into being, and continues to oversee grape growing there today. Jeff Aubry is the winery’s president, and one of the original founding partners. After a storied career he followed through on a dream to open a winery, with no experience save a long history of quaffing fine wines. The vineyards are home to a long list of grape varieties including Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Syrah.

Coyote’s Run Estate Winery is one of the smallest wineries in the region, and their commitment to small lots means the wines aren’t often seen on the shelves of the LCBO or anywhere outside of the winery and select restaurants. The 2007 Coyote Run Estates Winery Red Paw Vineyard Syrah (LCBO 144774|$23.95/750mL) is an exception, and can be found on the shelves of LCBO stores while supplies last.

The wine is deep crimson, with a greater transparency than expected for the varietal. Scents of black cherry, baked raspberry, and plum lift from the glass. A wisp of violet is present, as are tickles of white pepper. There is also a whiff of barnyard, an expected indication of brettonomyces. It’s light and satiny on the tongue to start, showing deep raspberry flavours. Velvety tannins pique the palate’s interest next, ripe blackberry and red plum tastes follow. The acidity is on point, providing a juicy counterbalance to the tannins. The tannin-induced pucker intensifies a little on finish, with raspberry, plum and hints of blueberry flavours persisting. It needs a little time in the glass to aerate and show all facets; it would benefit from decanting before serving.

There are few winemakers in the region that can produce a good syrah from the Niagara climate. With this offering, Sheppard demonstrates he belongs to this exclusive club. The team at Coyote’s Run Estate Vineyard are passionate about their wines, and passionate about building a quality product for Canadian wine drinkers. They’ve succeeded in bottling some of that passion in this elegant, well crafted Syrah.

Niagara’s Wine Visionaries – Profiles of the Pioneering Winemakers
Linda Bramble
James Lorimer & Company Ltd, 2009, 224 pages.  $29.95

I grew up in Niagara and then moved to Toronto after university so I thought I knew how the Niagara Wine industry had developed. I’m part of the Baby Duck and straw-covered Chianti bottle generation so I had lived through the important parts. However, it turns out that I had missed most of what was going on.

In the first chapter of Niagara's Wine Visionaries, Linda Bramble talks about the “sublime madness” of growing fine wine in Ontario. She covers the three major areas for grape growing and also talks about the history of the wine regions starting in 1811 with Johann Schiller’s commercial vineyard and winery in Cooksville, Ontario, and finishing with an overview of the present state of wineries in Prince Edward County.

Bramble gets into the real focus of the book in the second chapter when she talks about 10-year-old John Ghetti meeting Harry Hatch who had just purchased T. G. Bright and Company, a Niagara Falls winery. Only 10 years later, Ghetti would be the fieldman in charge of 1300 acres of experimental grapes for Brights. Over the next several years, Harry Hatch changed the way Ontario wines were produced, spending money on research into new varieties and methods of farming those new varieties to produce better wines.

In a similar fashion, Bramble talks about 8 key figures, or visionaries, and how they influenced the Ontario wine industry, in each of the other 8 chapters of the book. These visionaries are the people who could see beyond their own wineries and work towards what was best for the industry as a whole. These names should be familiar to most people who have been enjoying Ontario wines over the past 15 to 20 years: Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser of Inniskillin, Len Pennachetti of Cave Springs, the Speck brothers of Henry of Pelham and so on, ending with Norm Beal of Peninsula Ridge.

Over the course of the book, Bramble explains the complex, and odd, relationship of the wine industry, the LCBO and the government. Readers also learn about the long history of the current “Cellared in Canada” discussion that keeps popping up in the papers.

I would recommend this book as a “must read” for anyone who is interested in Ontario wines or in the history of Ontario.

Tony Aspler’s Cellar Book
Tony Aspler
Random House Canada, 2009, 339 pages. $32.95

Tony Aspler’s Cellar Book is subtitled “How to Design, Build, Stock and Manage Your Wine Cellar Wherever You Live” which is quite an ambitious goal. Aspler accomplishes this with the clarity, breadth of knowledge, and good humour that his writing usually exhibits.

Aspler covers the history of the wine cellar, where you should build the cellar, your options if you can’t build a cellar and then what you should put into the cellar. Although this sounds a little tedious, the book is full of anecdotes from Aspler and many of his friends about their cellars and their experiences with wine. People in Toronto will grin when they read a story involving a friend of Aspler’s and David Miller, long before he was Mayor.

For anyone just starting a wine cellar, Aspler provides suggestions for a 48-bottle beginners cellar that he estimates will cost about $20 per bottle. However, he also points out that if you drink a bottle a night and you want to be prepared, you really need a 1000-bottle cellar.

The largest part of the book is a review of the major wine regions in the world and a listing of Aspler’s “Dream Cellar”, his current personal choices from every area. He follows this with extensive charts detailing styles of wine by colour and country and also an extensive alphabetic list of wines with their styles, origins and the grapes in the wines.

The final section of the book is about tasting and serving wine, cooking with wine, food and wine matching and then wine alternatives.  This last section is not about alternatives to wine. It’s about alternative wines by style.

The epilogue to the book is about the difficulties Aspler runs into while trying to build a wine cellar in his new condo. It’s actually worth reading first!

This is a good book for people who are just getting involved in wine and don’t yet have a cellar, or who are planning their first wine cellar, progressing beyond the cardboard box under the stairs.

There are several grape varietals that haven’t made it into the limelight for mainstream consumers. Gewurztraminer, barbera, mourvedre, viognier, and cabernet franc are all excellent examples of such varietals. Cabernet Franc in particular can offer a fascinating assortment of aromas and flavours to wine aficionados. It’s a French grape, thought to originate in the Bordeaux region. DNA tests in the late 90s showed that the sophisticated black grape parented Cabernet Sauvignon together with the racy and outspoken Sauvignon Blanc. Cabernet Franc is oft paired by winemakers with its later ripening offspring to build perfume and bolster fruit flavours. It is a standard component of modern Bordeaux wines (and Bordeaux style blends), and until the mid 70s was equal in plantings to Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux.

Cabernet Franc prefers cooler climates. It buds and matures early, and as such is not as susceptible to the nasty weather which can show up later in the growing season. It’s already harvested, pressed and on its way to becoming a medium bodied red wine with mouth watering acidity, raspberry flavours and an herbaceous nose. Wines made solely from Cabernet Franc are produced all over the world. Notable wines made solely from Cabernet Franc come from the Loire, Washington State, NY State and Ontario’s own Niagara region. In Niagara, Cabernet Franc is used frequently in blends as well as excellent single varietal wines.

Tawse Winery in Vineland is a winery with a reputation for Cabernet Franc. Tawse was founded by Moray Tawse, with the intent of producing outstanding wines through exceptional stewardship of the land. The combination of organic, biodynamic practices and traditional winemaking techniques enhanced by modern technology is working for the team at Tawse; their wines have been winning over wine critics and Ontario wine drinkers since their state-of-the-art winemaking facility opened in 2005. Grapes are harvested by hand and sorted in the vineyard, so that any trimmings from the bunches are returned to the land to enrich the soils. The winemaking process at Tawse is guided by Pascal Marchand, a well known figure in the international wine world. After spending more than two decades in Burgundy producing critically acclaimed wines from Pommard, he returned to Canada to oversee winemaking at Le Clos Jordanne. He is now lending his expertise to the Tawse team as lead consultant. Peter Pender is the winemaker, passionately committed to delivering on Tawse’s vision. His time at the Niagara College Winery’s Viticulture program provided him with the tools and knowledge needed to bring the promise of exceptional wine to fruition.

The Tawse 2007 Laundry Vineyard Cabarnet Franc (LCBO 130997 | $29.95/750mL) shimmers in the glass, suggesting a lively acidity awaiting. The wine is a brilliant ruby colour. The nose suggests raspberry pie, cinnamon and a hint of pepper and blackberry. A sip brings an explosion of raspberry to the palate, and a remarkably balanced structure. There is vibrant acidity, balanced by velvety tannins. The raspberry flavours show throughout, along with some strawberry and cinnamon stick. The finish is long, with ripe red berries, cinnamon and a little pepper at the end. The team at Tawse present Ontario wine drinkers with a beautiful introduction to Cabarnet Franc, and at a generous price point for an outstanding example of the varietal.