24
Aug
2009
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
Another early day, this one had a jam-packed morning. I woke at 5:30am and posted my notes from Day 2 … then it was time for breakfast and out the door for a 4-hour, 4-winery tour. It’s just like it sounds, each winery visited had one hour to show us their wares, then boom, back on the road we went. It’s the wine writer’s version of the smash-and-grab.
First up (9:00), Closson Chase. Now to be honest I have always found Closson Chase to be very pricey for my pocketbook – especially for what they were offering, which was a named (and fairly celebrated) winemaker in a new and unproven region. But with a few years of production and experience under their collective belts I think they are finally beginning to hit their stride and the price to quality ratio doesn’t seem so out of whack – we’re really starting to see what the early envisioners of this winery saw all those years ago. It was here that the $40 2007 South Clos Chardonnay mesmerized all who tried it. Bottom line on this one is, if I bought $40 Chardonnays, this would be my chosen poison, so to speak.
In the ten o’clock hour we found our way to Keint-He, a new winery set to open in early September... (see the rest of the story with pictures )
To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.
23
Aug
2009
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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
Day 2 saw us criss-crossing the County to visit four wineries and taste wines from 9 different wineries. How is that possible, you ask? Simply put, with our limited amount of time in the County (Saturday and Sunday) and more than 20 wineries, there is no way a large inquisitive group such as ours could hit that many places – so, some wineries were invited to pour at alternative locations. For example, we visited Amy Mumby (winemaker) and Ed Neuser (owner) at Waupoos Winery first thing in the morning, here we tried Waupoos wines as well as wines from 33 Vines and Fool on the Hill (a label produced by the County Cider Company). Best wine at this stop was from the Fool, delivering up a delicious and tasty 2008 Pinot Gris .
Black Prince Winery was another winery where other wines were being poured, this time wines from Harwood Estates also hit our collective glasses. The big news here wasn’t the wine it was what they are putting the wine into: the Prince has an interesting barrel program. An Ontario company called The Carriage House Cooperage are currently making Prince Edward County barrels (Canadian oak barrels sourced from wood grown wild in the County), which Black Prince is experimenting with. Here we tried a Chardonnay using the new kind of barrel and a double shot of Cabernet Franc – one aged in French wood the other in Prince Edward County wood – with dramatically different results. Terence Van Rooyen (consulting winemaker for the Black Prince) proclaimed “this redefines local”.
Our next stop was at The Grange of Prince Edward County where a delicious lunch of ... (see the rest of the story with pictures)
