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Sandbanks (non-vintage) "Sleeping Giant" Foch - Baco Noir (Ontario VQA)
2024-05-20 02:16 Paul Bulas

The Sandbanks blend of Baco and Foch is a unique red that I enjoy trying every now and then. It is typically well made, dry, and elegant.

Unlike in previous years, this one is non-vintage; I wonder what is up with the non-vintage status of Sandbanks wines of late. I recently found it on sale for $16 as opposed to the usual $19.95.

This comes with a composite natural cork closure, unlike the screw top used on the winery's Marquette. Beautiful dark garnet colour. Nose of dark cherries and a leafy, herbal note. Wonderfully dry and cleansing on the palate with good warmth from the 13% alc./vol. Very clean and well defined, from the palate right into the finish. Great with any meal that calls for a dry red—anything from pasta with tomato sauce to steak.

Sandbanks (non-vintage) Marquette Reserve (Ontario VQA)
2024-05-19 23:56 Paul Bulas

This wine is not available at the LCBO, but is available at the Wine Rack outlets. $19.95.

Deep, clear garnet colour with a ruby tint. Big nose of candied black cherries upon pouring, framed with a nice amount of clove and vanillin in the background, but also framing the fruit. Dry, refreshingly tart acidity and good texture; gentle warmth from the 13% alc./vol. There is some astringency in the background; Marquette is more tannic than the old-school hybrids like Baco and Foch.

Warm, cleansing finish. Very food-friendly. I am having it with leftover lamb roast and potatoes, but really, this wine would go well with so many things.

I'm glad to see Marquette growing in presence in Ontario, and am also glad that the VQA regs seemed to readily embrace the variety rather than keeping it out of the club.

2016 Sandbanks Foch - Baco Noir "Sleeping Giant" (Ontario VQA)
2020-10-03 18:46 Paul Bulas

This blend of Foch and Baco has been one of my go-to reds for well over a year now. Sandbanks Estate Winery is located south of Belleville (eastern Lake Ontario, north shore—basically across the lake from Rochester).

The wine pours with a beautiful, saturated black-cherry/magenta colour. Sweet and herbaceous Vitis riparia aromas are immediately dominant on the nose and are backed up by lively summer raspberry fruit. There's oak here, but it's well integrated and in the background, offering more structural support than overt aromatics—which is fine by me, as the palate benefits from this oak treatment.

Tart but balanced acidity fans out across the palate, offering a refreshing texture and good warmth from the 12.8% alc./vol. The finish is elegant and a touch spicy from the oak, but in a restrained way.

Excellent wine and well worth the price (it varies between $18 and $20 at the LCBO depending on time of year).

One of the best, and a welcome addition to the modern red hybrid winescape.

Vieni Estates 2012 Foch Vintage Reserve (Ontario VQA)
2020-10-03 18:41 Paul Bulas

Vieni 2012 Foch Vintage Reserve (Ontario VQA)

I was impressed to find this fine Ontario Foch at Vintages recently. Truth be told, it sort of flew over my radar, having been released this past summer.

The wine pours with a beautiful, and typical, saturated deep-garnet colour that fades to a "weathered sumac" black-mahogany hue at the meniscus. It opens up in the glass with wonderful, big, quality aromatic oak aromas. Mingling with that, there are tart black currant and blue plum aromas. Aromatically, this reminds me of the many reserve Fochs that graced the Ontario wine scene right up to Y2K.

On the palate, there is tart, lithe acidity and a clean, dry, palate-cleansing texture that carries the fruit and oak aromas right across it — with power, lightness, and elegance, all at the same time. This is classic Ontario Foch.

The finish is dry and elegant, with replays of the same aromatic compounds.

It is a shame that so many excellent examples of varietal Maréchal Foch have disappeared from the Ontario wine scene over the past decade. For this reason, it is a joy to find a winery producing a treat like this, from a grape that deserves much more respect in this part of the world for climatic suitability and innate quality characteristics.

The wine retails for less than $20 and is 14% alc./vol.

2016 Inniskillin Baco Noir (Ontario VQA)
2018-01-20 05:06 Paul Bulas

This wine initially caught my eye last summer when I spotted it at a Wine Rack store. Baco from Inniskillin? That's a new one. Up to the turn of the millennium, Inniskillin had produced an Old Vines Foch (the very wine that turned me onto red hybrid wines twenty years ago); sadly, production of that wine was discontinued in the early 2000s—a mistake!

This Baco pours with a dense black-cherry colour that fades to medium-deep magenta at the meniscus. The initial aromas are of blue plums with a slight overlay of peppercorns—classic Baco. The entry is very supple with balanced acidity (the mildest of any Baco I've tasted) and a broad warmth from the 13% alc./vol. On the palate, the acidity remains mild but cleansing, as it works its way to the back of the palate. The finish is short and clean.

It's a good Baco that retails on general list at the LCBO now as well (limited availability), for $15.95 CAD.

I still would like to see Inniskillin bring back their Foch!

2015 Henry of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Baco Noir
2018-01-02 01:45 Paul Bulas

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery is Niagara's Baco Noir specialist. Not only are they a consistent producer of quality varietal Baco in the region—they actually produce three distinct releases of the varietal wine, all with slightly different oak aging regimens and fruit sourced from vines of different ages.

In reserve for today's New Year tasting is the Speck Family Reserve. It's the only one that I hadn't tasted up to now. It retails for $25 at Vintages and is available at select stores only.

This wine hails from the winery's original planting of Baco, dating back to 1984. That's interesting, because it means that the vines predate the whole VQA system under which the wine bears a "VQA Ontario" designation. Even though the wine technically hails from the Short Hills Bench appellation, VQA does not deem hybrids worthy of appellation-specific nomenclature—an absurdity, as wine writer David Lawrason rightly pointed out in his write-up on the wine.

The bottle is closed with an elegant, solid, top quality natural cork. The cork showed deep purple-black staining once pulled out, though only where it had been in contact with the wine, indicating a good seal.

The wine poured with a gorgeous, saturated black, cherry-mahogany hue which, in the glass, morphs into a weathered-sumac hue at the meniscus. At 13.5% alc./vol., good tear development can be seen along the inside of the glass (and is even visible in the picture at right).

The nose is deeply oaky, with big, bold, black-cherry fruit and prominent wood vanillins from the American oak. There is lengthy integration of bold oak and fruit. On the palate, lithe, bright acidity leads the way; the texture is dry and cleansing along the mid-palate and energetically lively into the finish. The flavours finish out with beets, red currants, a hint of dried tomatoes and just a tap of oak at the end.

Very well done, but bold and oaky in style. If you prefer less oak, try the winery's Old Vines release.

Happy New Year!

New-Generation Cold-Climate Wines at Hoity Toity Cellars
2017-02-19 05:00 Paul Bulas
In the autumn of 2013, I visited Hoity Toity Cellars, located near Mildmay, in Ontario's Bruce County. I had been interested in the winery for some time because they are growing some newer-generation hybrid grapes, such as: Louise Swenson, Frontenac, Frontenac Gris and Marquette.

The last time I had tried any of these wines was years ago - and in fact I had never tried Frontenac Gris before at all - so I was quite interested in learning more about the winery and these thoroughly modern wines. The new-generation hybrids are particularly interesting to study as they are enabling viticulture in parts of Canada where it had been limited or not practiced at all.

The 2011 Community Harvest (Frontenac) is the first straight Ontario Frontenac that I have ever tasted. Previously, I had only tasted one other Frontenac - grown in Minnesota - at a wine tasting in Michigan, in 2004.

The wine pours with a deep and dark ruby colour, with dense black-cherry highlights near the edge of the glass. It's a dark red wine, but is not inky in the way that the more common hybrids Baco and Foch can be.

Swirling brings out a very distinct candied-cherry nose - something that immediately reminds me of the aforementioned Minnesota-grown Frontenac. There are some minor rootsy hints in the nose as well. The acidity is much like that of Baco Noir: light, lithe and tart. On the entry, the acidity is immediately balanced by a touch of residual sweetness, but remains zingy and lively across the mid-palate. More candied cherry emerges there and is met by a fine-grained, light, tannic overlay. The mouthfeel is invigorating, tart and cleansing. At 12.1% alc./vol., there is just a slight warming aspect to the finish. The aftertaste is fruity and tangy.

This sort of lively, light, fruity texture seems to characterize varietal Frontenac. 

$16; purchased at the winery.

The 2011 Kicked Out of the Country Club (Marquette) is the first straight Ontario-grown Marquette that I have ever tasted. Marquette is a new-generation red hybrid out of Minnesota.

The wine pours with a deep scarlet-garnet colour that lightens to a beautiful deep ruby at the edges of the glass. Aromas of pin cherries and spicy oak on the nose, with a hint of raspberry. Crisp texture, with mouthwatering acidity and spicy oak replays that carry through to the mid-palate. At this point, there is a very pleasant overlay of grainy tannin, adding a most pleasant structural element to the wine. The bright cherry flavours re-emerge on the finish, and are wrapped up in another subtle wave of spicy French oak. 10.8% alc./vol.

$20; purchased at the winery. 

The 2012 Kicked Out of the Country Club (Marquette) pours with a black-magenta hue with deep-ruby highlights. Initially, some effervescence clings to the inside of the glass.

Aromas of candied cherry and some woodsy notes emerge from the bouquet, with hints of oak spice - an appealing bouquet. Good texture on the entry, with brisk, bright acidity, an overlay of firm tannin, and good warmth wrapping up the finish. More cherry flavours come in on the finish, and linger nicely as the finish fades.

This wine should be opened and decanted for a few hours to integrate. A very good, and promising, example of what Marquette can do in Ontario.

Disclaimer: I was given this bottle at the winery to review.

The 2012 Dusty White Glove (Frontenac Gris) was a new experience. I had never tried a wine made from Frontenac Gris before, due to its relative scarcity in Ontario. Frontenac Gris is a light-skinned mutation of the regular Frontenac grape. It may help to think of the relationship between the two varieties as akin to that between Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.

The wine pours with a light, pale cantaloupe hue. Aromas of sweet pineapple, honeydew melon and peach emerge with swirling. There is a nice amount of effervescence on the inside of the glass as well.

This Frontenac Gris is great as an aperitif, but I am already thinking that it would go well with game bird (quail, pheasant) as it seems to have a certain heft despite its colour.

Pineapple flavours fan out across the palate, and the slight effervescence together with a balancing touch of residual sweetness, add a fine textural appeal. Clean, fruity and brisk on the finish. Very good.

$16; purchased at the winery.

Finally, a couple of cider notes. Although I dedicate this blog exclusively to hybrid grapes and their wines, I was also interested in the Hoity Toity ciders during my visit. They, too, are an interesting part of the winery's product line.

The Hoity Toity Cellars "Rusty Bling" Hard Cider, aptly named, has a rusty-copper colour with an orange-pink glint. It has a fine effervescence when poured and looks pretty and distinctive in the glass.

Although a fine aroma of Dolgo crab apples opens up on the nose, the acidity is not like that of Dolgo crabs but is actually tame and gentle on the palate. There is a welcome touch of crab apple tannin on the mid-palate, adding a lovely texture. The taste includes a bit of marmalade-like, orange-skin astringency on the mid-palate. That said, the cider isn't particularly sweet. At 7.2% alc./vol., there is a gentle warmth to the finish, which is clean and subtle.

Rusty Bling shows how tannic apples (in this case, crab apples) can help to create a cider with considerable structure. Rusty Bling works well with food: poultry or game birds would be a fine match.

$14; purchased at the winery.

The Hoity Toity Cellars "66 Pickup" Hard Cider is clearly made from different apples than the Rusty Bling. It has a pale, clear straw hue and looks bright and refreshing already in the bottle.

Clean, bright apple aromas emerge from the nose, and the cider is crisp and dry. It is very much a "champagne-style" cider, and there is not the sort of discernible tannic grip that is very evident in the intriguing Rusty Bling, with its crab apple influence.

You could drink this cider in place of a sparkling wine, or even a white wine - though I think cider is its own thing and as such, can easily guide a food choice, just as wine can be used to select an appropriate meal type.

Disclaimer: I was given this bottle at the winery to review.

I enjoyed my visit to Hoity Toity Cellars. Congratulations to the owner and staff for putting new-generation hybrid wines on Ontario's viticultural map.

2014 Georgian Hills Maréchal Foch (Ontario VQA)
2016-12-12 01:44 Paul Bulas

I had wanted to try this Foch for a long time, given that it comes from a "non-traditional" wine growing region in Ontario: the southern shore of Georgian Bay. That, plus the fact that I'm a fan of the Maréchal Foch grape, made this a "must get" wine.

Varietal Foch was easy to find in Ontario up to and just past the turn of the millennium; slowly afterwards, though, it began to disappear from the winescape. For this reason, I am always excited to find new examples of varietal Foch, as this is a grape which deserves more respect for the heft of the red wines that it can produce in climates with short growing seasons and occasionally harsh winters.

The Georgian Hills Foch is closed with a natural cork; upon pulling out the cork, I noted lots of inky-purple saturation on the end of the cork (a signature sign of many red-hybrid wines) and also noted some tartrate crystals intermixed with the pigment.

The wine pours with a deep, saturated, black/cherry hue. In the glass, hue is an intense but translucent black/cherry/garnet when held against a light. Foch is a teinturier grape—one that has pigmented skins and pulp, and therefore, it makes a wine of great visual intensity.

The aromas are of light black cherry; they are simple, and not as layered as the much missed, oak-aged Niagara Peninsula Fochs tended to be (and as the Vieni Reserve from Niagara still is). That said, the cherry fruitiness is inviting.

Bright acidity and light but good tannins arrive on the entry. The wine is dry and pleasant on the mid-palate, and at 12.5%, it is gently warming. Very good structure on the mid-palate, without the zinginess that many a Baco Noir has. I've always thought that Foch was the more interesting of these two grapes (both were common in Ontario, but Baco is still more widely produced today).

$14.95 at the LCBO; available at stores mainly near its area of origin.

2012 Leelanau Cellars Baco Noir (Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan)
2016-12-04 00:04 Paul Bulas

While in Michigan I picked up this varietal Baco Noir which hails from the Leelanau Peninsula. On the label it says, "A Taste of Northern Michigan"—very nice.

I had previously never tried Baco from such a northerly location, being instead more accustomed to those produced in Southern Ontario.

The wine is of a medium-ruby hue; quite translucent in the bottle. In the glass, it shows typical Baco saturation, and seems a darker shade of garnet.

Aromatically, it is unlike most Ontario Bacos, showing a bright red-berry fruitiness that reminds me of a few Bardolinos that I've tried over the years. On the entry, the wine is tart and lively in a rounded way (a Baco trait for sure), and has good warmth as well, clocking in at 12.55% alc./vol. The finish is fresh and palate-invigorating.

A good wine. I got it for USD $15 and would buy it again.

2013 Peller Estates Baco Noir (Ontario VQA)
2016-06-05 01:11 Paul Bulas
The 2013 Peller Estates Baco Noir pours with a deep, dark garnet core that turns bright ruby at the meniscus.

The bouquet shows fantastic aromas of plums, prunes and brackish, wild, Vitis riparia. The texture has a bright, clean, crisp, invigorating and tart entry with tart blue plum flavours that fan across the palate. There's excellent fruitiness.

The texture is warm, balanced, clean and cleansing, with acidity leading and tannin playing back-up.

The finish is crisp all the way across the palate, with a clean and bright personality. There's prune jam and tartness on the finish.

This Baco has 12.5% alc./vol. It costs $10.95 and can be found on regular list at the LCBO. It's bottled with a screwcap closure.

An excellent, clean Baco...at an exemplary price!!

2013 Magnotta Dry Vidal Equus Series (Ontario VQA)
2016-05-29 23:07 Paul Bulas
I remember enjoying this wine tremendously many years ago. I'm happy to say that Magnotta's dry Vidal, while having undergone a name and label change since the early days, is as fine a wine as I remember it.

In fact, I love dry Vidal table wine so much that the background on my blog is a photo of Vidal grapes growing in Niagara wine country. Vidal is one of Ontario's most versatile wine grapes.

12.8% alc./vol. Clear, medium-straw/yellow hue in the glass. Wonderful aromas of lemon candy, pineapple, pine needles and guava. Crisp and focused on the entry, with that lively and lovely varietal acidity; a warm but balanced texture; and a palate-cleansing, fully dry finish that I appreciate.

Magnotta's retail outlet is a fine place to visit and the prices are right. I have long believed that Magnotta makes Ontario's best dry Vidal table wine... I still believe it, having tasted this version.

$7.45 for a 750 ml bottle, and worth every penny.

2012 Vieni Estates Briganti (Ontario VQA)
2016-01-10 19:00 Paul Bulas

I was delighted to recently find this wine on general list in the LCBO. Vieni Estates' Briganti is a three-way blend of Foch, Baco and De Chaunac—at one time, three of the most common red hybrid grapes in Ontario.

You just don't see much innovation in this category of wine anymore. Up to the turn of the millennium, there were quite a few very good varietal Fochs, and even a few varietal De Chaunacs. This release seems to represent something of a rebirth for the genre, and I couldn't be happier. Having tried Vieni's excellent Foch Vintage Reserve last month, I was excited to see this release from the same winery.

The wine is bottled in a smart, screw-top bottle. It pours with a saturated, deep garnet colour that fades to a cherry-garnet hue at the meniscus. Baco Noir seems to lead on the nose, with briny, plummy fruit and some complex rootsy notes that are typical of many wines with V. riparia lineage. On the palate, there is brisk, clean acidity and very good texture; the wine is dry and cleansing. On the mid-palate, I seem to get more of the Foch notes, but in general, no single grape dominates. The finish is dry and clean—this is a wine made for the dinner table. It is well balanced at 12.0% alc./vol.

For stylistic comparison to other wines—think of a brisk northern Italian red like Barbera.

My food pairings would be lasagna, ribs, and pizza. The wine has the acidity and heft to invigorate and refresh the palate.

My only suggestion would be to give this wine some time in oak: even just 6-8 months in American (or Canadian!) oak would be sufficient. Aged this way, it would be very reminiscent of the excellent Harrow Estates Baco that Carlo Negri used to make in the late 1990s.

This Vieni Estates Briganti is a very welcome addition to Ontario's winescape. It is $12.95 on general list in the Ontario VQA section of the LCBO.

2010 Frogpond Farm Organic W‌inery Chambourcin (Ontario VQA)
2015-12-20 07:08 Paul Bulas

The wine pours with a beautiful, clear dark ruby colour; it is translucent yet has a dark tone all the same. The nose is very light; just some red currant and possibly some light cherry fruit. I pick up no oak on the nose at all; a pity, as I think that this wine would have benefited immensely from some oak aging.

On the entry, the Chambourcin is light and tart with brisk yet well-apportioned acidity. It's quite palate-cleansing, much like its other hybrid cousins (e.g. Baco and Foch - though Baco tends to be quite a bit more tart). The mid-palate is mildly warm (12.4% alc./vol.), acid-driven and cleansing. The finish is light and short.

If you were to compare this to a vinifera wine, Barbera or Chianti would be fair benchmarks.

I do think that this wine would have benefited from 8-10 months of oak contact - even if it meant using oak chips instead of barrels. The oak vanillins would add a welcome extra dimension to the whole package.

Even so, I am delighted to have discovered this wine. It will be on my "watch for" list from now on.

It retails for $14 at the LCBO.

2014 Peller Estates Baco Noir (Ontario VQA)
2015-12-20 07:07 Paul Bulas
This is one of the best Bacos in Ontario: it is always fairly priced and done well.

Deep ruby-black with a ruby-magenta meniscus. Aromas of sweet plummy fruit and wild V. riparia grapiness. Mouth-filling, with bright, tense acidity and great structure. 2014 wasn't a great vintage for reds in Ontario, but Baco and its other V. riparia-derived brethren typically manage to shine, despite such obstacles.

Invigorating, palate-enlivening mouth feel, coupled with a dash of balancing residual sweetness and typical diminutive tannins.

The finish is clean and lean, and it leaves your palate refreshed.

12% alc./vol. Screw cap closure. $11.95 on general list at the LCBO.

2014 No. 99 Wayne Gretzky Estates Baco Noir (VQA Ontario)
2015-12-20 07:07 Paul Bulas

The Great One knows a great grape.

12.5% alc./vol. The wine pours with a deep scarlet-ruby hue and dense but translucent saturation. Superb, briny, plummy / V. riparia varietal Baco nose, with lively, tart red currant fruit.

Bright, refreshing tartness on the entry. Zingy, tight entry, with good focus and a firm backbone. The wine is, much like Barbera, a great palate cleanser. It would go superbly well with ribs, steak, pizza and any pasta-and-tomato-sauce combination. A natural match with any of these.

$15.95. Limited distribution at the LCBO.

2013 St. Julian Reserve Traminette (Lake Michigan Shore)
2015-09-08 02:20 Paul Bulas
A wonderful white wine from Michigan. It pours with a clear, pale straw colour. 12% alc./vol. The nose has the typical spicy/rosewater nose of Gewürztraminer, with a hint of the aromas typical of Riesling and Vidal—though this is varietal Traminette.

A bright, lemony acidity sweeps the palate, fanning out to reveal lemony, floral fruit and a balancing residual sweetness. There's lots of floral flavour in this wonderful Michigan wine. Crisp and off-dry, it works both as a standalone sipper and with food.

It went well with herbed, grilled chicken breast. A good buy, and a good representation of the Traminette grape.

2010 Sue Ann Staff Baco Noir (Ontario VQA)
2014-04-15 05:37 Paul Bulas
This is a relatively new Baco in Ontario's wine scene. It hails from the Jordan area in the Niagara Peninsula.

Screwcap closure; a light, 10.8% alc./vol.

The Baco pours with a clear, dark ruby colour and a black-cherry hue; it is translucent at the core and pinkish-ruby at the meniscus, with decent tears.

Swirling brings out pleasantly brackish, funky V. riparia aromas that waft about on the nose (and that are interestingly reminiscent of Cynthiana).

There's the lithe, tart acidity, that is so very typical of Baco; but even with that and the low alcohol, there is good balance. The mouth feel is invigorating and zingy.

Sour-cherry fruit wraps up the finish, with additional brackish replays.

$14.95 on general list at the LCBO - the same price as Henry of Pelham's Baco.

2012 Villa Nova Estate Aenigma
2013-11-25 05:31 Paul Bulas

I recently visited Villa Nova Estate Winery, located in Ontario's Norfolk County. I had read about their wines online and wanted to try them - especially the Aenigma, which is a blend of Regent, Frontenac, and Cab Sauvignon.

Previous to this, I don't ever recall seeing a wine for sale in Ontario made using the Regent variety. Regent was created in Germany in 1967 by crossing Diana (Silvaner x Müller Thurgau) and Chambourcin (see here for more information). This is a very welcome addition to the wine scene in Ontario.

The 2012 Aenigma is interesting not just for the blend of grapes it consists of, but also for the fact that it is finished with Ontario white oak - something that is still a rarity here. I heartily applaud this decision to use locally sourced oak, both for the unique flavour profile and for the regional authenticity.

Aenigma pours with a beautiful, dense garnet colour that turns to deep magenta at the rim of the glass. Obviously, Regent has inherited the amazing pigmentation of other V. riparia-based hybrids. Fruity, spicy oak hints mingle with pepper-infused black cherry notes to create a very elegant bouquet. Moderate acidity leads the way, with a beautifully dry mid-palate on which superb puckery tannins flesh out broadly. Subtle oak-spice replays fan out at this point and linger prominently into the dry, tasty finish. The wine is 14% alc./vol. but everything is so well balanced that the finish displays just a gentle warmth.

This is a most excellent wine - one that I will be proud to serve on my dinner table in the future. An excellent blend with character, quality and structure. Once again - if you need a vinifera equivalent to gauge the style, think of the Chianti Classico style.

I would also add that this wine has clearly convinced me that Regent deserves a prominent place in Ontario's winescape: it produces an excellent red wine.

$14.50 per 750 ml bottle. Available at the winery only.

2011 Coffin Ridge "Back From the Dead Red" (Ontario VQA)
2013-11-17 07:06 Paul Bulas

2012 Konzelmann Baco Noir (Ontario VQA)
2013-11-13 17:53 Paul Bulas