Some thoughts on the County

On a recent trip to Prince Edward County I picked up a winery route map and found that there are now a little over 30 winerties open. The first thing that struck me was that, is there going to be enough demand for all this wine that is going to be produced? When I first read about the County in 1998 I wanted to visit to get a feel for the area. There were no wineries open at that time but after visiting thought that this would be a good area for maybe 10 to 15 wineries with a lot of vineyards growing grapes only to supply them.
In 2005 I thought this was coming to fruition. It seems like if you own a vineyard then you must also have a winery from which you can vinfy the terroir of your location. Looking around in the County I also get this impression (irrational as it is inspite of the facts to the opposite) that there doesn't appear to be enough vineyards planted to supply them. The winery route map indicates there could be around 37 wineries when the dust settles. In my opinion this will end the rapid growth phase of the County and a period of maturation will begin with time passing and grape crops from the area getting higher in quality from plants that have been in the ground for a while. Some wineries will entrench their position and become  staples of the area while others will  fall by the wayside for reason's varying from circumstances beyond their control like weather or as simple as because they didn't make a good enough product.
In any account, I can't have anything but respect for anyone who has the guts to open a winery because of the high risk involved.

We took the Glenora ferry and then the Loyalist Parkway to Kingston. The first half of the drive was rather scenic but once you come up to the power plant the scenic description ends. There is a maximum security prison enroute (Millhaven) which did not make it conducive to a leisurly drive for me. I am not saying don't drive this route, just be aware whats on it.

We had another good lunch at the County Cider Company open air patio and I made a flip cam video of the surroundings. The menu is limited to stone oven pizza and other similar items but they make it well and goes with the great cider they produce along with the best view in the County.  Click the title of this entry for more info

New Winery videos

New videos are up for Rosewood Estates Winery & Meadery and Jackson-Triggs Winery in the Niagara Peninsula. Thney can be found on Wine Dining Channel or the Wine Dining Vlog. The links are on the other side of this entry. Just scroll down slightly.

A testimony from a Pro.

Here is an article from Tony Aspler (done a while back) about him finding out that sweet foods can make a wine taste stronger and sour foods can make a wine taste milder.
It didn't work for him in everything he tried ( and I don't say it will be 100%, every time) but it worked well enough for him to admit that this flavour balancing technique is viable.
This hasn't put him out of business, read the article to find out out what I mean.  You can get it by clicking the title of this entry.

Its Salt not Protein

In the last little while I've been thinking about a little part of a phone conversation I had with Tim Hanni some years back. I had watched JL Groux head winemaker at Hillebrand Estates at the time, state that the protein in steak will nullify the tannins in a red wine during an episode of the Rogers community cable program Wine Dining. I had mentioned this "fact" to Tim in our conversation and he quickly corrected me by saying that was
BS.  He went in to clarify why that was the case. The blunt truth is that it is the exact opposite, if you have a tannic wine with a steak by itself it will increase the astringency of the tannins. When you use salt then they are pulled back.
In my own experience I purchased apple wines from Ocala Winery in Port Perry which were off dry and tried them with steak straight up. I found that they worked (worked for my Hyper sensitive taste leanings, see the Budometer entry if you need clarification) to my knowledge it is the Umami that is in the steak especially when it is aged that increase the sweetness of the wines tried.
Go to the November 24 2009 entry in Tims blog to get the full story. Click the title of this entry to get there

I defer to the Master

I found a blog that is recently started by Master of Wine Tim Hanni. It is now part of this blogs links. Some of it is related to the flavour balancing seasoning Vignon. I can't comment on it because it isn't available in Canada to my knowledge. The over whelming amount of info is of straight educational value as far as I'm concerned and urge anyone interested to head over there and read it.
Sweet foods and Umami make a wine taste stronger sour food and salt make a wine taste milder. The recent updating and the related building on this foundation is readily available now from the source.
Click the title to acccess his blog or goto the links section on the side

Gabe Magnotta a Maverick?

I never met Gabe Magnotta but I did hear of his actions in the Ontario wine industry. I was saddened to hear of his of his death Dec 20 2009.
He has been characterized as a maverick in the Ontario wine industry because of his confrontations with the LCBO and about how he went to market his wines. I went to dictionairy.com to get a clarification on the word Maverick and find myself not liking the connotation it infers.
Everything I see and read does not show a Gabe Magnotta who was out to subvert the system in place. I see someone who saw certain aspects of the system that were unfair to him and wineries in general and took advantage of certain practices in the system to right the wrongs that he saw.
The fact that he had the courage to take actions that were contrary to "the normal practices of the industry" for me is a point of respect and shows an ability to think outside the box. He had principles and "walked the walk" to stick to them.
Gabe was very open about blending wines from outside Canada with Canadian product and really does not share any of the fall out from the Cellared in Canada debacle. He made wines of varying qualities which range from Monday to Thursday quaffers to world class reds that beat first growth Bordeaux in blind tastings (Millennium comes to mind, which was made from Chilean grapes). Ice wine was made that was less expensive and allowed more people to sample the first wine product Canada became renowned for.
There were also innovative products like  his Sparking Vidal,  and Sparkling Cabernet Franc ice wines  as well as Ice Grappa.
Gabe Magnotta was a man of principle who did what he thought was necessary to make his winery successful even if it meant he had do things that were perceived as unpopular. I own a small amount of stock
in his winery and it was these qualities that enticed me to participate in a small way and I'm glad I did.
Peace be with you Gabe. You did it your way.
There is an article that goes into specifics about Gabe Magnotta's life. Just click the title of this entry

Video Updates

The first part of 2010 will see me very busy so I have put through a number of new videos. You can now view Oraganized Crime Winery. Birchwood Estate Wines, Stratus Vineyards, Strewn Winery, Inniskillin Winery and Flat Rock Cellars. All can be viewed on either the Wine Dining Vlog or Wine Dining Channel.
The links are the side of this entry.