Yesterday was a hectic day. A good friend of Paul's had read about one of our trips across the border for wings and shopping on my blog and wanted us to show her where the restaurant was. We left here at 9 and didn't cross until 12! There was an accident and then a huge wait at the border. ARGH
It was to be a pit-stop for wings and beers (YUM) which she loved, and a quick shop and back over. We didn't delay in the US because we wanted to visit some wineries in Niagara before heading home.
My plan was to go to three I had never been to before. We ended up going to Tawse, Daniel Lenko, and EastDell. Two were amazing and one was OK. This post is about the wine.
Niagara was beautiful yesterday. This area is one of the main fruit growing areas of the country and many trees were still in full blossom. Lovely green leaves were sprouting from the vines and the promise of another vintage was there.
Tawse
This winery is a new one to the area. The winery is named after the owner Moray Tawse and opened in the spring of 2005. It is situated on the hillside terrain of the Niagara Bench in Vineland. It is so new that they are still working on the landscaping. Both the winery and the wines show much promise.
To take advantage of the locale the winery utilizes a six-level, gravity-fed system to process the harvest. Piping is also laid underground to store the heat accumulated from the soil and is used to generate power for the winery's use.
The winery is known for producing quality wine in small quantities. They had many Chardonnays, both oaked and unoaked. Elise tried one and declared it amazing - although the $ 50 price tag put her off. They only had one red for sale (which is the bad side of high quality/small quantity wineries!), a 2004 Cab Franc.
The tasting notes declare it to be:
Mid-weight, juicy, charming, slightly soft cab franc with ripe raspberry-strawberry jam fruitiness. Not as green as many Ontario examples. Fine to enjoy now with a loose, hottish feel. May age out by 2010. 750s releasing soon at $30 range.
We declared it to be GREAT! and departed with 4 bottles.
Daniel Lenko
While at Tawse we overheard the owner telling an obvious well-heeled wine lover that he HAD to stop in at Lenko for an amazing wine experience. This made me smile because it was already on my list.
I've driven past this winery many times in the past and had never stopped in - who based upon visual alone? The pic to the right is the tasting room. This is also the charm.
Daniel Lenko has been described as one of Niagara’s most interesting and outspoken winemakers. And based on the quality of his wine, he has every right to continue to do so. His focus and dedication have turned out some of the best wines in Niagara, but even with the continued attention his wines are receiving, he has little interest in expanding much beyond the current 3,000 case capacity.
While the Daniel Lenko Estate Winery has only been in operation for six years, the vines on the Lenko estate are some of the oldest in the region. The Lenko family has owned the 35 acre property since they moved from Manitoba in 1947. The original chardonnay vines were planted in 1959 and by the early 90s earned the reputation of supplying grapes for some of the best wines in the region.
Lenko’s keep it simple approach toward winemaking can be witnessed first-hand with a visit to the Daniel Lenko Estate Winery. Lenko’s establishment is a stark, but welcoming contrast to the multi-million dollar wineries/tourist attractions that are sprouting in the Niagara region. The only identifying mark for the winery is the three foot high sandwich board at the end of the driveway. His “wine shop” is the kitchen of his family’s home.
While the atmosphere of Daniel Lenko Estate Winery holds no air of pretension, many of his wines would be welcome on the most sophisticated wine drinker’s table. The care and quality Lenko brings to winemaking comes through in every sip. British wine critic Jancis Robinson says Daniel Lenko’s 2002 syrah is the best Canadian red she’s tasted. Unfortunately both it and the 2005 are all sold out.
We were greeted by Lenko's father who pressed a glass into our hands. When a spot became available at the family dinner table we took our seats and proceeded to try some amazing wines. We enjoyed the Meritage, the Merlot, and the Cab Sauvignon. I wanted to buy some of the Merlot but it is only available by the case and I wasn't sure if I wanted to drop $ 400 after our shopping in the US and other winery stops. I ended up buying two bottles of the Meritage and 2 of the Cab Sauvignon. Elise picked up a bottle of his Raspberry Reserve.
Daniel's father makes his own apricot and cherry jam. He was handing out samples and Elise declared it to be excellent (although a strange flavour combination when slathered on a Vegetable Thin cracker!). Certainly many of the people who bought wine also left with a bottle of jam.
Don't, don't overlook this winery because all you see is a non-descript house from the road. As with most family homes, the best is what is going on inside.
EastDell
Next up was EastDell. Now in the interest in full disclosure, when I said that I wanted to go to three wineries I had not been to before I was not completely truthful. I had been to EastDell but had never tried the wines because the tasting room was closed. A technically I know, but one must be accurate.
There's no denying that EastDell Estates is one of the most family-friendly wineries in the region with lots of things to do and space to roam for kids and adults. There is the spectacular view and the warm, casual ambiance of the Bench Bistro from which to enjoy it. There is the Bench Boutique where you can sample, and shop for, EastDell's award-winning wines, and a new winemaking facility to tour. There are also 5 km of nature trails to explore winding through the property's vineyards and lush Carolinian woodlot, along with a charming cabin for two, hidden deep in the vineyards.
EastDell was opened and pouring some new releases yesterday. We tried one of the new releases and before we tasted it the 'pourer' set us off by stating that she was interested in our opinion because she wasn't sure what she thought of it. This tells us - danger, danger! Of course, we did not like it at all. It was an insipid, weak wine. Our first dump into the sludge bucket of the winery tour.
We decided to forgo the other new release (although in researching for this post I note that the Black Cab is quite well-reviewed) and tried the 2003 Cabernet-Merlot blend. It was much better with true depth and hints of tobacco and cassis.
The 'pourer' (what do you call these folks?) indicated that they were almost sold out of their dry Rose so we committed a wine tasting room faux pas and tried it AFTER a full-bodied red (GASPs all around). It was clean and crisp with hints of strawberry and citrus. It was a nice summer wine for sipping outdoors and it was priced well so we bought 4 bottles.
It was 6 pm by the time we returned home. It had been a full day and I was tired but it was a fun day, great company, and great times. Imagine everything from wings and beers to fine wines.
hey bro - your gardens look wonderful! Our weather is just allowing me to clean up my gardens. I got the front ones done yesterday will finsish the other 2 today. I want to plant 2 or 3 flowering shrubs. Got any suggestions?
Posted by: Rose | May 27, 2007 at 09:06 AM
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