the fried, the grilled, and gamay

I have two words for you: tofu and wine. These are things I love. I can’t remember when I ever had my first taste of tofu. It may have been while I was travelling in China back in the 80s, or perhaps it was during some hippie-induced food experiment during the years spent living in Toronto. Either way: I ate it; I liked it; I'm still eating it.

I can tell you that my first glass of wine was Lonesome Charlie. I have no idea how old I was, but probably way too young to be drinking - legally. If you don’t know Lonesome Charlie, it was sold in beer-sized bottles by the six-pack when I was growing up, and was really more like a wine cooler, all fizzy and sweet, than a bottle of wine. Not exactly auspicious wine beginnings, but hanging out by the lake next to a campfire with my girlfriends on a starry night, I’m pretty sure that Lonesome Charlie seemed the best thing ever back then. At least I was drinking Canadian wine!

Whenever I tell Dave we are having tofu for dinner I get the same reaction: a somewhat deflated ‘oh,’ and then a polite ‘I’m sure whatever you make will be good’. He eats it, but it’s not his favourite thing. He’d eat creamy pasta, or curry every day for the rest of his life if he could. Me, I like firm, cold tofu sprinkled with sesame and soy for lunch, or medium tofu fried to a crisp and sprinkled with bonito flakes, or soft tofu scrambled like eggs with green onion and garlic, which brings me to Kate. You may remember Kate from American Girls Drink Wine fame. Kate likes tofu as well, and she suggested we get together and cook up some tofu; see what we could create. We decided to keep it in the realm of Chinese food.

I searched suggestions for pairing wine with Chinese fare and these were the main contenders: Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Beaujolais, unoaked Chardonnay, and sparkling wine. We decided to try some Gamay (this is the grape that makes Beaujolais), but not before we opened some rosé to sip while we chopped.

This was a nice, simple ruby coloured, cherry flavoured glass of wine. Some crisp acidity and tending more towards the medium-bodied texture, it was great to sip in the late afternoon ($11.95).

We marinated and grilled some firm tofu, cubed and fried some medium-soft tofu and tossed it with a noodle stir-fry, and we baked some soft tofu, crumbled on top of eggplant and black beans. However, after all these years, I'm still confounded by frying tofu. I press, and pat dry; I fry in hot oil, but it still manages to stick to the pan, particularly the medium and soft versions.

On a positive note, this Ontario Gamay was a good match for the food.

In the glass: cherry, and blackberry, light and acidic but with some vanilla and spice adding a layer of depth, finished off with some soft tannins ($13.75).

Who out there fries tofu with success?

weekend wine buy: masi soave

There’s nothing like watching a cold bottle of white wine sweat droplets of water on the kitchen counter to remind you that summer is here. I drink this verrrrry cold - much colder than white wine should really be drunk - when the thermometer starts to rise. It’s one of those easy, casual white wines, like cut-offs and a t-shirt. It's also a fun bottle to serve to guests; you can say things like Sooooaaaaave and Gar-ga-nega. There's something about how those words roll around in your mouth. I get a little carried away with 'herbaceous' as well.

Soave is a wine-growing region in Italy that is comprised of the rolling hills just east of Verona (that's not so far from Venice and the North Adriatic). Garganega is the popular white wine grape grown on those hills, and in this bottle it is mixed with a little Trebbiano.

In the glass: floral and nutty with citrus fruit, pear and a nuance of candy apple. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a light, bitter-tinged, lemony finish ($9.75). So go ahead, open yourself a bottle of Sooooaaaave this weekend and enjoy.

Does anyone out there have a favourite, inexpensive white wine that you like to drink on hot days?

booze news and other sundry items

One: I've (okay, I confess again) Dave has made it easier to leave comments on my postings. Apparently all I had to do was click a box. Now you don't have to be registered to comment; you can leave a note as 'anonymous'.

Two: Groovy Grapes is holding a mixology class, so if you've ever wanted to know how to make that perfect martini, here's your chance.

Three: Earlier in the week I discovered Marc-André. He hosts a website that features Ottawa food blogs (and now wine blogs too, as he's generously added me to the list). If you have a minute, wander over and see if there is anyone in town you are missing.

Four: My 'Bio' page is up. You can see some lovely photographs of me and Dave.

Five: I'll be back tomorrow with some wine.

a little housekeeping

Just a quick note: I've added a 'subscribe by e-mail' option on my blog page. Well, Dave added it while I hovered anxiously over his left shoulder worried we were going to delete my whole blog. I'm technically challenged, and a coward. He's neither. In theory this should make it easier, if you care to follow my posting habits but don't want to use one of those feeds. If it doesn't work please let me know. I'm also working on a 'bio' page (that should eventually appear as a separate page at the top of my blog).

Since I can't leave you without something to drink, here's an inexpensive something I picked up at the SAQ (in Hull) on Friday.

In the glass: shiny, and deep ruby in appearance with a mild sulphuric aroma that blew off quickly and left stuff of plum, tobacco, red cherry, liquorice and bitter chocolate to enjoy. Medium-bodied and a bit thin on the palate, but with a nice cherry finish, this wine was only $7.70 at the SAQ; that's a pretty good deal of a wine for a Friday night.

Valdepeñas is in the south of Spain where it gets hot and dry in the summer, and cold in the winter (although I'm sure if they spent a winter in Ottawa, they'd re-define 'cold'). This is Don Quixote country where there is a history of winemaking dating back to the Romans. When Spain moved its capital to Madrid in the 15th century, the demand for wine from Valdepeñas got an extra boost and it's now a busy winemaking region.Tempranillo is a favourite red grown in the area because of its ability to tolerate the climate, but this part of Spain was originally popular for the 'clarete' style wines made here; wines made by blending white and red grapes.

The Los Molinos wines are made by the Solís family who have been making wine since the 1950's; they are a large operation and sell wines all over the world.

Word: in this part of Spain, Tempranillo is called Cencibel.

four reasons to drink pinot noir

1. Oregon
In the early sixties, against everyone's better judgement, Richard Sommer started planting vinifera grapes in the Umpqua Valley. It's a story, I'm sure, that could be told by many a grape growing visionary who has taken those first, bold steps toward planting in a marginal region. Today Oregon is known for its Pinot Noir and specifically for its small scale wineries. The region is geographically diverse and the climate varies from temperate conditions near the coast, to hot and dry in-land beyond the Cascade Mountains. This bottle is from the Willamette Valley where the gentle maritime influences, and long days of sunshine are conducive to growing Pinot Noir.

In the glass: red cherry with hints of earth and violets, and just a waft of smoke. The very soft tannins contribute to a smooth, cherry-filled finish. This is an elegant wine with nice acidity ($23.95).

2. New York State
There are seven wine growing areas in New York State. The Brotherhood Winery is situated in the Hudson River Valley where the river provides a moderating effect on the cool climate and the surrounding hills funnel breezes from the Atlantic. It's an historic region and this bottle is from the oldest winery in America, opened by French Huguenots in 1837 for the production of altar wine. Pinot Noir has mostly been grown in the Hudson Valley for sparkling wine, but the warm days, cool nights, and tests of time are showing that some nice red wine can be made from the grape.

In the glass: coffee, chocolate, sweet cherry and a little pepperiness all leading to an earthy finish. This wine is on the medium-bodied side and could be sipped by itself (this came from my cellar; it's not available any more at the LCBO, but if you ever get a chance to try a Brotherhood Pinot Noir, do it).

3. South Africa
There is a long history of winemaking in South Africa and it is often considered a region that straddles the old and the new world. The Dutch brought grapes with them in the 1600s when the Dutch East India Company set up a refueling station for ships trading in the southern seas. Grape planting was highly encouraged, but we can thank the French Huguenots, again, who came along with their winemaking experience in 1680. Pinot Noir is not widely grown here, but as experiments in the cooler growing regions continues, there are some great Pinot Noir bargains to be had from this part of the winemaking world.

In the glass: a heady nose of earth, vanilla, cedar and dark berries is followed-up by a full finish that holds the reminiscence of something sweet. The tannins are a little rough, but are balanced out by the fullness of the wine (the alcohol) and that impression of sweet on the palate ($14.95). 4. Tasmania
Once home to a penal colony Tasmania is now an important cool climate grape growing region in Australia. In fact, a few bottles of sparkling wine were recently found in an abandoned cellar making Tasmania the oldest wine growing region in the country. This quiet island to the south of the continent is set in the Southern Ocean which provides cooling breezes in the summer, and creates a warming effect in the winter. While the rest of Australia is known for big, full-bodied red wines, Tasmania's cool climate creates lighter wines with a bit more finesse. Pinot Noir is the primary red grape grown.

In the glass: this medium-bodied Pinot has a nose of red cherry, earth, and pepper with a long, dark cherry finish ($21.95).

Pinot Noir is a great food wine. It's light and usually holds some acidity that makes it a refreshing sip between bites. Aside from the Wine By Joe which was fairly light and elegant, the rest were closer to being medium-bodied than is typical of Pinot Noir. We still liked them, and that tendency towards a fuller body will probably give them more universal appeal. They all went well with the food we had on our plates:

-Lentil and feta salad
-Crab cakes with a lemon tartar sauce
-Cascabol spiced pork meatballs
-Roasted red pepper and pesto wraps
-Brie, smoked nuts, cheddar, goat cheese, olives

weekend wine buy: j.p. chenet

I've been drinking a lot of white and rosé wine lately, but today has me craving something red. We're off to eat at Jack's, so I picked up this cheap bottle, not sure of what to expect. I'm not driving tonight; I'm not working tomorrow; Jack will no doubt be already sipping his homemade brew (a Beaujolais-type thing that is actually pretty good with food), so I'm only experimenting on myself... and Dave, and it's okay if I drink most of it myself.

This bottle comes from the Languedoc region of France. That's in the south where most of the wine in France is made. This happens to be a Vin de Pays d'Oc which is a French way of saying it's a country wine from the region of Oc, or Languedoc (about 85% of French country wine comes from this region). These wines are a step between basic table wine, and the wines that are made with a specific regional appellation attached to their label. The country wines still follow certain rules of production like minimum alcoholic strength, restrictions on grape varieties, and submissions to tasting panels, but can play outside the stricter appellation rules like using grapes that are disallowed, or making single varietal wines. They can be extremely well made and a great bargain.

In the glass: this deeply coloured wine has aromas of cedar, vanilla, and smoke, but they don't overwhelm the presence of dark cherry and plum fruit. The tannins are fairly soft, but a little bitter, and the fruity finish is held up with some nice acidity; a medium-bodied wine that could stand a little chilling on a hot summer's evening ($11.95).

This was a pretty good bottle of wine for the price. I now know, after looking it up on the internet, that JP Chenet is the largest exporter of wine in France; a wine pretty much made by a business, but if it's good and it's cheap, then I'm okay with that. I'll drink a bottle that has been toiled over by a loving family tomorrow to even the balance.

other thrills at the finger lakes

On our way to taste wine last weekend, we first stopped in Ithaca for a bite of lunch. Ithaca is a charming town that is home to Cornell University, a great wig shop, and the Moosewood Restaurant. The town was actually named after the Greek Island of the same name, and sits on the eastern edge of the Finger Lakes wine region. It was, I also discovered, a thriving centre of filmmaking during the silent film era before the industry became centralized in Hollywood. Once we looked at the map and discovered it was a short detour to The Moosewood, we took a sharp right turn and had our fill of vegetarian cuisine (and then went wig shopping).

The restaurant is situated just below street level in an historic building that has been turned into a stylish shopping centre. The pale yellow walls and pine wood furniture are punctuated with bright splashes of fresh flowers, ornate mirrors, and chalkboard art. We didn't have a glass of wine, but perused the list and found a strong representation of local wines. We chose to sip alcohol-spiked fruit juices while waiting for our meal.

I was a vegetarian for years back in the 80s and 90s and have cooked many a recipe from Molly Katzen's books. I don't use them so much anymore, but they were a driving force in my cuisine de maison at one time. I have made the vegetarian moussaka often enough to know the recipe by heart, and still make it from time to time. So, a stop at the place that was the driving force for those early cookbooks of Katzens was a bit of a thrill.

My mother had a sweet potato and coconut curry while I had this brown rice salad with a Singaporean-inspired dressing and some marinated tofu. It's not haute cuisine, just filling, hearty, vegetarian fare with an emphasis on flavour. It was everything I expected it to be.

wine festival & finger lakes

At the mention of it, a wine festival seems like a refined and urbane event. This would be a chance to celebrate wines with other like-minded people in a stylish setting. These are the people who play croquet on a Sunday afternoon, and sip Champagne cocktails. Images of linen-clad people, composed and cooly mingling together atop a breezy hillside under white tents crossed my mind. We'd sip from our glasses, chat with winemakers and perhaps even take a few notes, I thought. But let me put it to you in another way. Wine Tasting (defined): to distinguish and test the flavour and quality of wine. Festival (defined): the pursuit of gaiety, revelry, and merrymaking, therefore Wine Festival (defined): the pursuit of gaiety, revelry, and merrymaking with lots of free-flowing wine thrown at it, as well as a little beer, and a few coolers. I have to admit, I was a little conflicted. It did all look like fun, but I did want to seriously try some wine.

So, where do these two aspects of our love of wine meet? The part where we want to taste and experience and share thoughts, and the part where we just want to let go and allow ourselves the indulgence of abandon? For me, it's at my dining room table, or the table of a loved one, and in a setting that is small enough for me to remember where the bathroom is. However, that we all have a different relationship with wine is an homage to the diversity of humanity, and the fact that wine is such a versatile beverage is an homage to the longevity of the vine. This festival was about putting aside that notebook, relaxing into the atmosphere of revelry, and enjoying the wine without lingering too much.

On another note, The Finger Lakes (defined): in upstate New York were carved by the same block of ice that created the Great Lakes about 11,000 years ago. Once the glaciers receeded, they left behind a bed of slate with a thin layer of topsoil and steeply graded slopes alongside these long, slender lakes; perfect for growing grapes. I was amazed by how many grapes are planted; there are rows, upon rows lining the shores of Lake Seneca. It's hard to believe this is the third largest wine growing area in the U.S. and not the first.

We sampled a few before heading to that (Bacchanalian) wine festival.

From here, a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon made its way into our luggage.

Since it's creation as a recognized wine producing region in the early 80's, The Finger Lakes have grown to over 100 wineries. That's enough to warrant a second visit.

wine, togas & pizza

Under a billowing American flag, atop a mossy hill next to a race track, a blues band competing with the hooting and hollering in the background, we had our first taste of The Finger Lakes with some wine and cheese at the opening ceremonies of their wine festival last evening. We dressed appropriately.

That's my mother and she spent weeks making those costumes out of curtains - like I knew she would. The festival opens with a toga party, aptly named as it resembles more of a Roman convivium (these were the Roman counterparts to the Greek symposiums where wine was diluted with water and served out of a huge amphora; the point was to release the mind for lively conversation; Roman conviviums tended more towards the all out party atmosphere).
We were in good company.

People were swigging right from the bottle, or from glasses that looked like this.

If you didn't bring your own glass, it was plasic cups. There were wines named 'Peach Splash', and 'Festival Berry', and 'Carpe Vinum' being served alongside pizza and burgers. This is definitely a wine celebration that doesn't take the wine part of itself too seriously. People come dressed to compete and be chosen for their costumes, and their joi de vivre. At the end of the evening a King and Queen of the festival are chosen, but not before a rowdy, romping parade around the grounds. I decided to bring my mother because I thought she'd fit right in.

We plopped ourselves in the grass and poured a couple of plastics cups of luke-warm Riesling which went down just fine in the festive atmosphere.
Today we are driving up Seneca Lake to visit a few wineries and then heading back to the festival. This afternoon's festival activities should be a little contrast to last evenings. We were told there would be pens and paper handed out at the door.

weekend wine buy: orvieto classico

This is an old standard in our house, much like this bottle of red, and for these days of warm weather it fits all the criteria: inexpensive, so I can buy lots of it; good; it can stand being very chilled and still holds some aromas and flavours; inexpensive; not too complicated, so it's good for casual sipping; makes a nice food accompaniment.

Orvieto is a wine making region in Umbria in Central Italy, and the wines from the Classico denomination were much sought after by the Romans. The tufa soil and volcanic detritus imparts a unique character to the wines. The picture on the label is a scene from the striking town of Orvieto which is an ancient village set atop a rocky outcrop surrounded by bucolic fields of green and grapes pinoined to wooden stakes. At least that's what it looks like in my picture book; one day I may be so fortunate as to have a first-hand experience.

In the glass: very floral, and slightly nutty and earthy with fruity overtones of peach, apricot and lemon; this medium bodied wine leaves a tangy, lemony aftertaste that makes it nicely refreshing ($11.60).

Chill a bottle over the weekend and try a few grapes that you may not have tried before. It's made from a blend of Grechetto, Procanico or Trebbiano, Verdello and Canaiolo Bianco.

a taste of prince edward county

It has been a few years since I last visited Prince Edward County and things have changed. What took us a few days to explore all that The County had to offer in wine would now fill the better part of a week. The area has gone from twelve wineries to thirty-seven, and they are now on their ninth annual Taste The County event. A festival really, this happens in September and is a great, quick way to sample the local wines.
We visited some established favourites as well as a few new wineries.

One of my favourites is still Norman Hardie Winery, although I can barely afford his wines except for the Melon de Bourgogne that he makes as a 'fun' project, so we were told by the young man who had strode in from the field to pour for us. It's $19.20 and very different this year from what I have tasted in the past. They aged it in oak (seven weeks in three year old 500 litre barrels). It has those up-front crisp and mineral components, but then there is a hint of tropical fruit and a slightly fuller body on the palate (Melon de Bourgogne is the grape used to make Muscadet in the Loire Valley and is traditionally very light and crisp - to go with the seafood).

The wines at Sandbanks were approachable and affordable, and the place was packed with people by midday when we stopped in for a taste. They have a nice new tasting room that is much bigger than the old one; apparently they needed it. We brought home some rosé that was just slightly off-dry and fruity. Luckily for us, some of their wines are available through the LCBO, but if you want something more they offer free shipping throughout the province on orders of two bottles or more.

We had some nice whites at Huff Estates and just generally enjoyed the architecture and outdoor sculptures. They are doing some interesting Bordeaux-style reds which is a departure from the main focus on Pinot Noir in the region.

Most exciting was tasting the wines at Lacey Estates Vineyard. A small family venture with only eight acres planted to date, they are now serving their second vintage. The wines are lovely and show great promise. Kimball Lacey is making the wine; he has studied at the University of Guelph, worked with Norman Hardie and is currently the Assistant Winemaker at Closson Chase. This dedication is obvious in the wines. The Pinot Noir was delicate and almost sweet on the nose with a silky mouthfeel. There is a lavendar farm next door and I wonder if that may affect the aromas of the grapes they are growing. Some of the oaked Chardonnay came home with us.

Sugarbush Vineyards is making some nice Riesling; they have a distinctive mineral and petrol component, which I like. They are also a small, family operation and have labelled themselves the garagiste winery of The County. They're not registered as organic, but employ organic practices. Oh, and they have FREE DELIVERY to Ottawa and Toronto on the last Friday of every month.

I mostly favour County whites, but these are some of my favourite reds: the Marachel Foch and Baco Noir at Sandbanks; the Pinot Noir at Norman Hardie, and at Lacey (I am now wishing I'd brought home a bottle of their Pinot Noir to taste next to a bottle of Norman Hardie); the Merlot at Huff Estates. I prefer most of the reds with food. For sipping I lean towards the Chardonnay, Reisling, or a rosé. But that's just me; you'll have to make a trip to decide for yourself.

marynissen estates

In December of last year Jeff Hundertmark came to Ottawa to speak at my graduation dinner and brought with him a few bottles of his 2007 Solstice red wine, so when I knew we were going to Niagara I wanted to stop by Marynissen Estates to pick up a few bottles for myself. Jeff is the winemaker at Maynissen Estates. Luckily for us, he was in the boutique the morning we stopped by, and even better he then took time from his day to show us around.

Marynissen Estates is one of the older vineyards in the region. John Marynissen was the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon vines here and we wandered over to the row of rugged, old roots that have been growing since 1978 while Jeff talked about the ripening stages of Chardonnay versus Cabernet Sauvignon. He pointed out different rows of grapes and talked about the winery’s philosophy of non-intervention farming. This means that they basically do as little as possible to the vines in order to let them express their natural state through healthy fruit. Jeff experiments with plantings to see what will do best in the vineyard; they currently have a small amount of Malbec that they will use for blending. He also experiments with blends. That 2007 Solstice that we tasted in December is an interesting mix of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. And he dapples in Old World style; not everything is filtered. It comes down to expressing what has been happening in the vineyard in the best possible way.

Standing in a field of flourishing grape vines and talking to Jeff was I thought, about as good as it could get, and then he sat us down and let us taste an array of wines.

These were definitely some of my favourite wines tasted on the trip. The reds in particular are absolutely my favourite; they are outstandingly rich and full with a nice depth that was out of the ordinary.

I realized, while talking to Jeff, that he sounded much like friends I have who are artists, and that winemaking is not dissimilar to making a piece of art: spending months, sometimes years on a creation; staying flexible and in touch with the audience, and the materials, and the internal forces that allow for creativity; trusting instincts and finding a personal voice; eventually having to let go and trust you have done the best possible job, and allow the world to then be the judge. Our conversation was peppered with all of these concepts. Jeff is an artist and his canvas is the grapevine. A few weeks earlier he was pairing ice cream with wine, how creative is that?

2007 Barrell Aged Chardonnay: baked apple, coconut, and butterscotch, with some lemon on the palate and a lovely toasty, creamy finish.

2008 Summer Solstice: this is a blend of Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Chardonnay; floral with some ripe peach and pineapple, some minerality, and a little zing of lime zest; very refreshing.

2007 Gamay: rather full-bodied for a Gamay with blackberries, stewed strawberry, tobacco and a tannic bite; it follows through with a fruity, spicy finish.

2006 Syrah: floral with a vibrant red cherry and tobacco; smooth and slightly peppery on the finish.

2007 Syrah: deep fruit and complex aromas of tobacco, spice, mint; round and full on the palate and a long black cherry finish.

2007 Lot 31 Cabernet Sauvignon: initial aromas of earth, red fruit, and spice give way to a delicate floral nose; nicely balanced, with ripe tannins. This was a real treat for us. Lot 31 happens to be where those old vines from 1978 grow.

2007 Lot 66 Cabernet Sauvignon: this wine, along with the Lot 31 Cab are tribute wines made in memory of John Marynissen who passed away in 2009; deep red fruit, liquorice, cedar and cassis with a definite tannic structure and a full mouthfeel.

2007 Cabernet Franc: molasses, tar, date and chocolate with some cherry and a nice tannic backbone.

weekend wine buy: big house white

I first read about this white wine on Rachelle's blog. I have since read about it on Robin's website and have heard it discussed on the radio, so I do not take any credit for sourcing it out. I only pass this along in case you haven't heard of it somewhere else, and in the spirit of sharing. Given the current heat wave we are having in Ottawa, a chilled white wine is the perfect accompaniment to sweating it out this weekend. From California, it's an interesting blend of grapes: Chenin Blanc; Malvasia Bianca; Muscat Blanc; Rousanne, and Viognier.

In the glass: this is all about big fruit aromas. Melon, peach, passionfruit, pineapple, topped with a hint of honey give way to a slight bitterness on the finish. A big, full-bodied wine, it's good really cold ($9.95).

We are opening a bottle to sip while I make burgers for the barbeque. Jack is coming over and he demands a glass of wine the minute he's through the door; he's like that. This is one of the things I find very endearing about him. Then we are opening one of the wines we bought from The Foreign Affair to have with the burgers. The bottle really should be had with something a little haughtier than burgers, but we don't mind mixing cadillacs and dirt bikes; we're like that.

the foreign affair winery

The Foreign Affair Winery is all about Len Crispino’s love affair with wines made in the appassimento style. After having lived in Italy for a time, he was seduced by the wines of the Veneto region. In 2000, upon returning to Canada the Crispinos planted some grape vines with the intention to make wine in a very particular style. Appassimento refers to the practice of drying grapes in straw baskets and is a winemaking technique used in various regions of Italy and, well, in other regions of the world also. It’s actually a very old practice. The important thing is that drying the grapes results in a deeply concentrated wine, like Amarone. We were curious. We made this our first stop on our Niagara trip. We bought more wine than we really should have.

I’m saving these bottles for sharing with friends because they are very interesting, and very good. Descriptors such as raisiny, kirsch-like, chocolate, and luscious are scattered all through my notes about the red wines. We also tasted wines made from dried white wine grapes and the Chardonnay was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. It is perfumy with aromas of tropical fruit, crème brulee, underlying notes of earth, and a nice, rich texture.

These wines range from $25 to $110 in price - moderate to a slightly higher price range. This is because as the grapes dry, they lose water (thus the more concentrated flavours) and produce less liquid. Hence, it takes more grapes to make less wine. The grapes also have to be harvested by hand in order to keep the berries intact. If you are interested in a treat, or gifting a bottle of wine, this is definitely something special. And if you can afford it, well then I’m just jealous, and you should buy a slew of this stuff. Anyway, they aren’t as expensive as high-end Amarone.

The Foreign Affair Winery boutique is located in the Niagara Peninsula, and they have a sommelier on-staff, which is always nice for question-answering, or you can go to their website and browse the offerings.

pillitteri estates winery

The Sunday afternoon we arrived at Pillitteri Estates the vineyard store was doing brisk business. Tour buses were parked in the expansive driveway, one half of the boutique was filled with people going through a tutored tasting, and the other half was busy with wine sales. We were lucky enough to be spending the night on the vineyard, so we made our way through the maze of people and announced our presence to a rather flustered but friendly staff member. As we waited for someone to show us to our accommodation we browsed the shelves of wine and took in the vibrant atmosphere. Connie, a member of the Pillitteri family, soon showed up with a large smile and outstretched hand. Chattering along the way, she showed us to our room: a space in a small cluster of apartments built on the site of an old garage where Gary Pillitteri made his first ice wine that launched the Pillitteri family into this thriving business.

The next morning we woke to find ourselves over-looking the first vines that were planted on the vineyard, just across the driveway. We sipped on coffee and enjoyed the early morning quiet. Then we wandered over to the wine boutique where we found Lena Pillitteri, a petite, vibrant woman. Everyone calls her Mama she informed us. She was only too happy to chat with us about, well anything, obviously comfortable in her role as the family matriarch and versed in dealing with the crowds that come and go. She told us the story of how her son-in-law entered one of her husband’s home-made ice wines in a local competition, and won. Fast forward to Gary Pillitteri’s Grape King crowning and a business that currently makes over 60,000 cases of wine a year.

But it wasn’t always like this: Gary and Lena Pilliterri moved from Sicily in 1948 with an eighteen month old baby and started working the plot of land on which they live. They began converting what was a fruit farm into the vineyard they currently tend. Pictures on the wall in the boutique show the estate in the sixties when fruit trees were predominant; then in the seventies, eighties, and nineties the landscape of trees began to give way to more grape vines until finally, in 2000, there are no more fruit trees and only vines of grapes surround the building. The building is filled with cork, re-used wood, concrete, and steel. These materials were used to reflect the philosophy of the winery: cork, for the tradition of winemaking; re-used wood, a reflection of the Canadian landscape; concrete and steel, a harkening to the future and evolving winemaking traditions in the New World.

Later that morning Gary Pillitteri strode in from the vineyard after planting the first of his Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes. These are the grapes that are used in the Veneto region of Italy to make Amarone-style wine and are the first of their kind to be planted in Ontario. There is also an acre of Sangiovese planted in the fields (another Italian variety, this time from the region of Tuscany). A pioneer, Gary Pillitteri and a handful of other visionaries defied popular opinion and believed that it was possible to create a viable wine region in Ontario. He was among the first to plant vinifera grapes in this area, and because of these first intrepid steps, the Niagara area is currently the largest wine making region in the country. “When they told me it wouldn’t work, well that just made me all the more determined to plant” Gary told us. He talked about the hard work that it took to go from a winemaking hobby to a family business by taking small steps, one at a time.

Today Pillitteri Estates exports over thirty percent of its wine, and they are the largest private producer of ice wine. They have rows and rows of awards, a testament to the quality and popularity of their product. As they’ve grown over the years however, they’ve stayed true to their family roots: Gary's son Charles is C.E.O.President of Sales, his daughter Connie is C.F.O President of Operations, and his daughter Lucy is C.M.O. President of Marketing. His son-in-law Jamie Slingerland is the Director of Viticulture.

Mid-morning we lingered in the tasting room and ran through a sample of what the estate has to offer.

2008 Gewürztraminer: an interesting wine; it’s dry, so with all the full aromatics of a Gewürztraminer but with a crisp bite on the palate.

2007 Sur Lie Chardonnay: a smooth, round wine with a hint of nuttiness to it.

2009 Gewürztraminer/Riesling Fusion: this has just a hint of Riesling ice wine blended into it which results in a rich, honeyed finish.

2007 Bottled Blonde: this was one of our favourites: a blend of Semillon, oaked Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sur Lie Chardonnay, and Riesling – very interesting.

2006 Gamay Rosa: quite earthy and spicy for a Gamay with some cherry and cranberry fruit. This would make a great food wine.

2007 Merlot: this Merlot has seen some French oak and as a result shows some tobacco and spice alongside some berry fruit. This would also make a great partner to the right meal.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon: tobacco, deep fruit, spice, and a nice tannic presence.

2007 Cabernet Franc: another of our favourites. Nicely structured with some floral, bitter chocolate, and dark cherry.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Ice Wine: raspberry, raspberry with some nice acidity.

2005 Special Select Late Harvest Chambourcin: this reminded me of a Port wine with pronounced chocolate and coffee on the palate.

2008 Sparkling Cabernet Ice Wine: a whole new mouthfeel sensation for me. Neil, our guide, expressed it better than I can: it’s like liquid cherry pop rocks in your mouth.

Everything we tasted was very approachable. There is a nice array of wines that show characteristically for their varietal, and others that are more experimental in their nature; something for everyone.

At the end of our stay, as we were packing up to leave, I looked out the window to gaze upon the Pillitteri home: a modest two story structure. I was struck by the balance that the Pillitteri’s have managed to maintain. They are well aware that they are in a business, and they work hard to make a living from their passion, but they are also artisans, keepers of the earth, and a family with a shared vision of the future.

niagara highlights

Some Niagara highlights, aside from the wine.

The sniffing garden at Reif Estate Winery (that's Reif rhymes with life, not Reif rhymes with leaf - I didn't know). Unfortunately we didn't take a picture, we were a little too engrossed in the pinching and sniffing. They have garden beds with herbs and flowers segregated into different wine aroma profiles.

The food and all VQA wine list at Stone Road Grille. All I can say is you must go there if you are ever in Niagara-on-the-Lake and have a meal. We arrived without a reservation, but they happily sat us at the bar and we had an amazing meal of oysters and duck confit. I got to have a glass of the Calamus Pinot Gris which made up for the fact that they were closed on the day we tried to visit.

The view from John Howard Cellars of Distinction, and again from Flat Rock Cellars.

The architecture at Southbrook Vineyards.

The sheep at Frogpond Farm.

The general ambiance at the Niagara Teaching Winery. It's a dynamic place staffed with a crew of very enthusiastic people. We had a fun tasting there.

And then there was Pillitteri Estates Winery and Marynissen Estates, but that's another story.

Oh, and The Falls, but there's no wine there, just ice cream and kids.

away from niagara

After twenty-five wineries, a little lost money at the casino, some good food, some bad, really bad food, one amazing meal, four cases of wine, and some mileage on the truck, we have left Niagara and are in Toronto enjoying the World Cup and the amazing hospitality of our very charming friends Joe and Laurie. And we are, of course, enjoying some of that wine with more of Joe's grilled meals. He is the king of hidden kitchen cooking. This is a little makeshift grill he created on the back deck with some pottery shards.

We drank more of the Coyote's Run Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc blend that we bought and I was wishing we'd bought more. If you live in the Ottawa area and want to try it, you better go get some now because I plan to clean out the shelves when I get home.

We've had a few bottles from the Angel's Gate Winery.


This is a bottle from Maleta Winery, a very small operation that only sells off the vineyard. Their rosé is a great afternoon sipping kind of wine with a nice fruitiness and a light touch of honeyed sweetness.


We brought back a bottle from Caroline Cellars.

And I can't forget Laurie's Sour Cream/Blueberry Crumble Cake. Oh my, I'm eating it for breakfast.


And her salmon paté. It's so good, I'm eating that for breakfast as well.