ACWC Results

I promised you last week to publish the results of the 2008 All Canadian Wine Championships. Below is a list of the trophy wines and To highlight some local winners, Double Gold Medals went to Muscedere for their Pinot Noir and also to Aleksander for their Chambourcin. I highly recommend popping down to Ruthven to pick up the Chambourcin. It is a phenomenal value at just $10.95 per bottle. Kudos also go to Smith and Wilson for three silver medals for their Syrah, Chardonnay and Vidal.

The quality of Riesling in his area in Lake Erie North Shore is improving as Gold and Silver medals went to Rieslings from Viewpoint and Sanson Estates. Colchester Ridge Continues to shine with their wines as their Merlot and Cabernet Merlot both brought home medals.


All Canadian Wine Championships
2008 Results

Trophy Winners

Best Red Wine of the Year
Jackson-Triggs Okanagan, BC 2005 SunRock Meritage

Best White Wine of the Year
Wild Goose Vineyard, BC 2007 Mystic River Gewurztraminer

Best Sparkling Wine of the Year
Henry of Pelham Winery, ON Cuvee Catharine Rose Brut

Best Dessert Wine of the Year
Hernder Estate Winery, ON 2007 Vidal Icewine

Best Fruit Wine of the Year
Rossignol Estate Winery, PEI 2006 Blackberry Mead

Double Gold Best in Category

Pinot Noir
Muscedere Vineyards, ON 2006 Pinot Noir
Other Single Hybrid Reds
Aleksander Estate Winery, ON 2006 Chambourcin

Medals of Merit
Other Medal Winners
Gold: Viewpointe Estate Winery, 2006 Riesling
Gold: Colchester Ridge Estate Winery, ON 2006 Merlot
Gold: D’Angelo Vineyards 2002 Pinot Noir
Silver:Smith and Wilson Estate Wines,2007 C-K Chardonnay
Silver: Smith and Wilson Estate Wines, 2006 Smith’s Vidal
Silver: Pelee Island Winery, ON 2007 Blanc de Blanc
Silver: Sprucewood Shores ON 2007 Pinot Gris $14.95
Silver: Smith & Wilson Estate Wines, ON 2006 Syrah
Silver: Sanson Estate Winery, ON 2006 Baco Noir
Bronze:Sanson Estate Winery, 2007 Riesling
Bronze: Pelee Island Winery, 2007 Late Harvest Vidal
Bronze: Sprucewood Shores, 2005 LENS Pinot Noir
Bronze: D’Angelo Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Franc
Bronze: Colchester Ridge 2005 Cabernet-Merlot
Bronze: D'Angelo Vineyards 2005 Baco
Bronze: Colio Estate Wines, 2006 Late Harvest Vidal
Bronze: Muscedere , 2006 Cabernet Franc Icewine

Meritage… Take 2!

A month ago I opened up a bottle I was saving for a while now, the 2004 Meritage from Sprucewood Shores, and it ended up being corked. I am pleased to say Gord Mitchell, the Owner of Sprucewood Shores dug into the last case they had in their wine library to replace it for me. I hesitated to open the replacement bottle fearing lightning would strike twice, but alas the wine was good. Very good actually. The wine opened up with big blueberry aromas and just a hint of cedar. The tannins were remarkably mature with a solid acidic backbone. The wine is not what I expect from a Meritage as far as weight goes, it is a little light lending itself more to be enjoyed with a very meaty fish (such a s blue marlin with a blueberry butter) or a dish like chicken in a cream sauce, but very tasty indeed. This is a very well made wine. The use of oak is restrained and even the tannins are on the light side of balanced. The pleasant acidic backbone of the wine will definitely keep this wine alive for a few more years to come.

I wish I had opened up its younger brother, the 2005 Meritage to compare side by side. Instead I will rely on my notes and memory to compare the two. The 2005 is a very pretty wine with more cherry aromas than blueberry. On the palate the 2005 shows a hint of anise not found in the 2004. Both wines showed similar cedar flavors and as they opened both wines developed the stereotypical peppery ness of the LENS terroir (although the 2004 is more black pepper-ish and more pleasant than the 2005’s spicy white pepper… give it another year and I am sure it will balance out nicely like the 2004). If I had them both in my cellar at this time I think I would drink the 2004 and see what the 2005 develops like over the next year or so.

The Joy of Cork

So I have waited until the last minute to write this column because I am spending “Family Day” with Stephanie, MJ and Madeline and I planned to open a special bottle I have been saving for a special occasion—a 2004 Meritage from Sprucewood Shores. The 2004 was Tanya’s first vintage and the Meritage won a GOLD medal at the All Canadian Wine Championship last year. It was in such demand that they sold out on their Grand Opening Day. I showed up at the winery a month later looking for some and had to use all my powers of persuasion to pry a few bottles out of what was supposed to be their library stock.

I was looking forward to opening this bottle as I just tasted the 2005 Meritage a few weeks ago. It is a very pretty wine with a bright cherry & cedar nose with red liquorices and balanced tannins. A touch of the peppery Lake Erie North Shore Terroir came out as it opened. I was looking forward to enjoying the 2004 with a steak and sautéed mushrooms. I opened the bottle and poured some into our wineglasses. As I brought the glass up to my nose with the expectations of more cherry and cedar notes, I had to stop. Wafting out of the glass was the unmistakable aroma of nail polish remover. Now acetate is not an uncommon smell in wine, I opened up a 2003 Amarone from Italy two weeks ago with the same smell and numerous other similar bottles in the past.

The thing that all the wines I have tasted with this distinctive smell have in common is a faulty cork. If you have ever heard someone refer to a wine as ‘corked’, ‘corky’ or ‘faulty’, this is what they are referring to. In addition, if you have ever wondered where the tradition of tasting the bottle of wine before serving it to guests came from, it has a lot to do with avoiding the embarrassment of serving a ‘corked’ wine to guests.

According to most wine experts, anywhere from 5-12% of all bottles of wine are corked—almost 1 bottle per case! To me this is one of the most disappointing parts of having a wine cellar—not being able to enjoy that special bottle that you have been saving, on the special occasion.

Now what should you do if you encounter a faulty bottle? If you find it at home, you can return the bottle to the LCBO for a full refund. If you are in a restaurant, politely inform your server that the bottle is corky and they should bring you a new one. I will share a story of a time that I had a corky bottle at a restaurant.

About a year ago Stephanie and I took a long weekend in January and went down to visit some friends in Pittsburg. On the way back we stopped overnight in Cleveland and went out for dinner. We happened to come upon a Restaurant called the Blue Point Grill. When I was looking over the wine list it said that they had won a number of Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence and that they have 20 trained sommeliers on staff (wine experts). I asked the waitress if she was one of the sommeliers (which she was), and I challenged her to pick the wine for us. I told her off the cuff that my restaurant had a Wine Spectator award as well (not to brag, just so she didn’t try to bluff me off with an inferior bottle of wine). Anyway our waitress brought out a bottle wrapped in a napkin to have some fun and play name that wine, which I did--- corked! It was no problem as she just went and got another bottle. (Not that it is important to the discussion of corked wines but just to brag a bit, to the amazement of our waitress I did recognize the second bottle as a Spanish wine).

So if you ever discover aromas of must, mould or nail polish remover, or if you ever have a wine that just doesn’t taste right, feel free to ask for another one or return it to the LCBO for a refund.