essex wine report

Well you think that a vintner has it easy. You think that you can do it better. Try again. These guys are not amateurs and work really hard.

As you know TSO and I endeavored to make cider last weekend. Well was it easy? Was it fun? Am I a budding Cider maven? Well it was hard work, was kinda fun, was educational and wasn’t too easy.

I had made beer for years then stopped when I moved to Toronto. I was rather good at it, but grain and hops are a lot easier to deal with than fruit. Be it apples, grapes, watermelon it doesn’t matter these things are tough. We bought 3 bushels of apples from Simpson Orchards which they mixed to give me a good cider(if I managed to get it right). Well that helped as I had no idea what the English equivalents are, so they did it for me. I appreciated that and when we finally got there they we just waiting for us to load up. I give them kudos and if you want to destroy your kitchen burn up a fine German appliance and test its grounding, go see them, they are really nice.

We took them to Tso’s and got on our way. I am too ‘cost effective’ to buy a press so we used a juicer I had found at my mother’s. It worked rather well, but I think we may have killed it. We filled the carboy after 2 bushels, so we stopped until I could get another carboy from my mum’s. That was Wednesday and the juicer started to spark after a ½ bushel or so(maybe it had to do with the water/juice mixture all over the counter…maybe I should have cleaned it up, but the juicer is grounded) and finally blew the breaker with about 10 apples left. Well hopefully the poor thing survives the next batch as it worked rather well. I found a part source on the web,( so I can ‘improve it’ ) but on top of this I found it interesting that the model # was very close to the famous German machine gun from ww2 and this juicer was made in Germany…..what did they make during the war??????? “I know nothiiiing”…

Then I checked the specific gravity(no way was I going to get to 1.007 which is ~ 15% of potential alcohol…bloody English drunks cos that is where I was supposed to get to…maybe if I added 50lbs of sugar) but my wonderful hydrometer is almost unreadable and I really think the amount of pulp affected the reading. Well I am looking at ~ 5% so that should be good. Why can’t they make a hydrometer which is readable?????????????? I want the digital one….yup that would help me. All I can say is that it tasted really good as cider and with some alcohol and carbonation it could be killer. I don’t expect Woodchuck quality, maybe Scrumpy.

Well Monday I got a frantic call from Tso. The pulp had risen to the top (beer doesn’t do this) and she was afraid that it was about to explode the carboy. Oi, it was going thru the air lock thus not allowing the CO2 to escape thus pressurizing the carboy. As I was in a meeting, she made an executive decision and removed the pulp…she said it tasted good….it looked awful as she saved it to show me…..day saved. It looks good but………..

I really don’t know how one does mega batches…cleaning is a pain, its hard work and it makes a real mess. Remember, I’m an old beer maker and I get Mt. Cidersuvious. What did I learn from this life experience???? I know nothing about making fruit stuff and its way tougher than making beer. I also got was a deeper respect for what these winemakers go thru. Will I do it again……HELL YEAH!!

Another wonderful weekend which I spent in the wonderful metropolis of Northridge about ½ mile from the Dairy Freeze. Tso and I managed to bottle my stout and start the creation of my cider. More on that after I get a report from Tso re: Mt Cidersuvius. Well my directional ability shone brightly as I thought the apple orchard in Mersea was near Point Pelee so we went for lunch at Paula’s. Well the scheduling effect was dramatic so I could buy no wine, but we had Grolsch (bought for bottles) and went back to Ruthvenish area for the apples.

What is the relevance…….I don’t know except that I wanted to go to a winery by Tso’s and its either Aleksander or Mastronardi. So tonight I opened a bottle from Ruthven’s finest or second finest winery(depending who you like better that day) Mastronardi.

The winery is basically directly across the street form Colosanti’s. I suggest that you go to the winery prior to walking the the goat pen, poop just doesn’t go well with wine.

I had a revelation after I had the Cabernet Franc from Aleksander. The wine reflects the wine maker to such a great degree. The Benbems are cool laid back people and the wine reflects that. Muscedere reflects the though fullness of Rob ( an engineer by the way) and Erie Shores reflects the civility of Harvey and Alma. I’m working on that theory but it seems to be holding up.

So how does the wine here reflect the wineaker here? I don’t know because I have not met Ms Leblanc. Her pedigree is long and she can make a wonderful wine. If anyone knows the terroir (dirt for you cityfolk like me) she does. There is a passion at that winery that is obvious. They believe in what they make and shout it from the rooftops. Its good that they make such good wine because if they didn’t…oi.

Tonight I am having their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is deep red and unxious. Yes that is a word.

Music is Kind of Blue, Miles Davis; a wonderful piece that I love. Its on cd which I don’t, but I am too lazy to find my vinyl copy. This music is just so cool and I was wanting to put on The Birth of Cool but I found this instead and I will suffer thru it. This is when Miles was at his best and his band was amazing. Do yourself a favour and get a copy….Japanese virgin vinyl would be the best but at ~ $50 US it is rather dear, cd is ok but no mp3 pullleeeese (ok for kid pebble but not real music).

Now dinner was a disappointment. I bought some sirloin tips and I think they came from the loser of the 3^rd race. I tried to marinade them in balsamic vinegar and various herbs overnight, but it was a loss. My apologies to Mac whom I should have went to to buy meat. He is a great butcher and if I had bought from him I would be much happier….buy from people you know! Or as Mario Batali says, “get to know your butcher”.

Now to the wine. Deep red and thick like a Cab Sauv should be. I tried some pre-aeration and smelled tobacco, leather, deep red fruit and oak. It tasted wonderful. Very smooth and good tannins to stand up to food. Lots of oak and deep fruitiness. After aeration a revelation. Good before it was wonderful after. The tobacco/leather smell receded to a smooth black fruit smell. Take your pick, they were all there. It did the same thing their Merlot did. The volume seemed to change post aeration giving almost an unxious felling in the mouth. It got thicker and creamier, it seemed to gain volume. Its weird, but a good wine became great. Strong tannins, lots of fruit, and a wonderful smoothness. Though big, it doesn’t attack not does it linger, it just fades away nicely. It flows down the throat and the tannins hit and the oak says hello but there is no grab, just good taste.

It held up to a balsamic et al marinated grilled steak no problem. The sweetness of the balsamic gave it issues but it was a fine match, they played well off each other.

I really see this wine as a fine accompaniment to a good meal rather than a drinking wine, BUT remember that I am a Pinot guy so this is a BIG wine for me. Prime Rib would be a natural, so when you want big but beautiful this is a wonderful choice.

Well this Saturday,Tso and I are making cider. As per my belief system the apples will be local (though storage) and I will try to be as natural as possible. I really think that this product is a natural down here and I hope it will taste good. I am not going native and do what the English sites suggest, mainly stealing the apples, building a press and no yeast. I will be legal and try to keep the alcohol to ~5%. It’s been fun researching since English apples and Canadian apples are called different things and its the blend of these apples that makes it go. So we have a few to choose from and I’m using the idiot savant approach as I really dislike apples but really like cider. I think this calls for a field trip to do research . The Oak, I think since they carry all the Woodchuck line, which are my favorite ciders.

I could have made wine, but I wouldn’t want a few vintners to cry when I make a far superior product than theirs. So to keep everyone positive, I will make cider and only crush one cider maker. His cider is excellent, but I want to make a different style(and cheaper too), so we’ll be able to get along.

I’ll keep you all posted on my progress. Please wish me luck…I think I’ll need it.

I am always happy when I see something get better.

I have always liked D’Angelo’s wines. This is the place for red lovers as there aren’t many whites to be found here. All the wine seem to have a lot of nose and flavor, but aren’t ‘in your face’. They are typically aged far longer than most (in this case they were from 2002) and when aerated they really open up.

Well of late the winery was not what it was or could be. Service at the store was poor and there just wasn’t any buzz.

Tso and I stopped by on Saturday, as we had been told that the winery was relaunching. We found it much improved over our last visit. The counter service was much better and the wine is as good as ever. I just wish Sal would make a Pinot again. His is/was soo special and you just know when you get some. It has a nose and color that is ‘his’.

Only 3 reds are available, a Chambercin, a Cabernet Franc and a Foch Well, I would skip the Chambercin and go straight to the Foch and the Franc as they are both just so much better. Lots of nose and taste. I bought 2 of each so a review will be forthcoming.Don’t get me wrong, the Chambercin isn’t a dog it just isn’t as good.

The surprise is that Sal is making a white wine. Well he offers 3, all Vidals, but of course they are all related to his ice wine. A standard, a late harvest and in ice wine form the triumverant. The ice wine is very nice, full of flavor and without that sticky thick taste that I see too much of in Niagara. We bought a Late Harvest and had it with desert. It was really really nice and is really the better value. It’s about 80% of the ice wine and as such was very enjoyable and of course not nearly as sweet.

Can it be improved….yes quite a bit. It really needs a general clean up and a sprucing up of the store, but it is way better than it was so I am not complaining as the wine tastes so nice.

On Saturday night, Tso and I had the pleasure to be invited to our friends’ home for dinner. They had recently returned from Niagara and wanted to share some wine. With the good friends, superb food and wine, life was very good and still is.

Of particular interest was the wine. He had quite a bit before the evening, but I fear we put a rather large dent into it. We started with a Cab Franc from one of my favourite vineyards, Ridgepointe. It was very good. Then off to Vineland Estates for another Cab Franc, again very good. Sprinkled with the remaining Vineland Cab Francs was a very nice Tuscan and an Australian. All were very good. Now when Tso and I came home I did a usual and stupid thing. I opened a bottle of wine, a Cab Franc from View Pointe. Now here is the rub. Compared to the Niagara’s it was rather spicy; peppery to be exact. I don’t think Mr. Fancsy ran around the barrels with a pepper mill. I really think that this is a note from the terroir. I have really seen this from the Erie Shores Cab and it is/was more pronounced than the View Pointe. As they are down the street, it must be something to do with the soil. It is not anything bad, it just is different and it shows the area. I will look for this in other Cabs from here.

Now after Saturday I really think that Cabernet Franc may be “Our Wine”. It seems to gro very well in both Niagara and down here too. It also is a non known grape so it may the “right grape”. Like how Washington has taken to Pinot, Cab Franc may become our thing. Not a bad choice, I may add

Today, April 9 is the 90^th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge. Walk around South Walkerville and you will see many streets named after the battles of WW1where our soldiers turned us from a colony to a country.

My grandfather thankfully missed this war, but we lost two from my mother’s side. One in present day Namibia fighting for the South African Air force and one decorated posthumously for heroism while in the Royal Navy.

Now our finest are facing battle in Afghanistan. We can only hope that all can come home safe and sound. Though this is impossible, they know what they signed up to do and are doing it in a very professional way. Let them do for Afghanistan what our fathers did in Holland. The local regiment, Essex Scottish, played a large role in liberating the Dutch. My father told me stories of feeding the Dutch, not killing Germans. Let that be the story our troops tell their children, about how they helped the poor Afghans rebuild their country.

Please take a moment to remember our fallen heros and troops in Afghanistan. We may complain about how hard we have it today, but remember that our forefathers had the honor to live and die in muddy, rat infested trenches where death could come at any time. What we have to face is nothing compared to what these heroes went through.

Let me give you some free advice……when talking to Revenue Canada, a double martini just makes it make a lot more sense. They are really nice and polite, but when they tell you that you have to pay it helps to have a drink there.

Aleksander Review

I had a rather bad week when I reviewed this wine. On top of that I had an allergy attack coming on and I tended to lose my taste as the night went on. On the weekend Tso and I had another bottle and it was so different and good. The wine is very different than the basic Franc and it has a “sweetness” usually not associated with the grape. This wine is definitely an expression of the winemaker who appears to not want to run with the crowd.

Tonight has been fun…see my advice so I needed a drink. Along with a steak I decided a nice bottle of wine would help too. A big wine…yup…oops none in the wine fridge. So what do I have???

A nice 2000 Cab Franc from Pelee Island. If you have been to the winery you know that they make a lot of great wine that is only sold from there. I particularly like the Meritage and have a Gewurtztraminer waiting that was recommended by someone who knows.

This wine is rather interesting. When I tasted it I thought that I would either love it or hate it. I really still don’t know.

This wine is very oaked and is just too much for me but I still kinda like it. It held up to my steak well and is truly a good wine.

The aroma to me is oak. A lot of oak. The taste is oak too. I just taste oak, with a nice wine behind it. This is opposite of the Aussie beaver fare but still not me.

Buy some and see if you still have rodent tendencies…just joshin… its not bad and if you like oak this is your thing. Its really smooth and is oaky. I am finishing this happily.