Cheers

p.s. A few suggestions for ultra-cool Chards

Malivoire 2008 Moira Chardonnay
Flat Rock Cellars 2007 Riddled Sparkling (mostly Pinot, but 1/3 Chard)
Rosehall Run 2008 Cuvee County Chardonnay

Props to our awesome sponsors Spotlight Toronto and Wine Align! The great folks at Wine Align have set up a promo code for all WineCampTO attendees – just hit up the site, sign up and use this promo code: “WineCampTO” to get 3 months FREE of the premium service.

For those looking for more info on the wines that were poured:
13th Street 2007 Cuvee Rose
Flat Rock Cellars Reisling 2009
Chateau des Charmes Gamay Droit 2008
Tawse David’s Block Cabernet Franc 2007
Kacaba Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Rosewood Mead Harvest Gold

Please send us any feedback you have about the night – we want to work as a community to make the next WineCampTO even better!

Year in, year out, the riesling grape simply loves what Ontario ‘terroir’ has to offer. As white wine drinkers look to explore, beyond chardonnay, they need look no further then riesling. We have a fine example from the particularly good white wine vintage of 2009. Flat Rock’s rieslings (they also have a vineyard specific Nadja’s Riesling) are perennial favourites on the wine competition circuit. Their 2008 Riesling won a gold medal and regional trophy at the prestigious Decanter Magazine World Wine Awards – an impressive accomplishment.

Flat Rock Cellars, welcome to WineCampTO No. 3.

Keep cool, and we’ll see you all tonight at Crush Wine Bar!

p.s. Looking for tickets? Sorry, we’re all sold out=(

Rick’s topic for wednesday>
The proliferation of “value” wines … Fresh, Steve and Chris, Sibling Rivalry, Open, etc. Is this new class of 11-14 dollar wines good or bad for Niagara? Lots of discussion on this here in Niagara. Good points of both sides of the debate. An interactive discussion.

Rick Van Sickle
Rick has been a newspaper journalist for over 30 years and is currently the city editor at the St. Catharines Standard and writes a weekly Niagara wines only column for the newspaper. He has been a committed lover of wine since his early 20s. Rick is focused on Niagara wines with a weekly column now appearing in the St. Catharines Standard and Welland Tribune. He also writes for Eat Drink London Magazine, Pro Shop Magazine on wine-related matters, www.travelinggolfer.net on wine travel destinations, and is a contributor to Wine Access Magazine.
Rick’s latest endeavour is www.WinesInNiagara.com, a blog dedicated to local wines and food.

Grab your winecamp tickets!
http://winecampto3.eventbrite.com/

This year at WineCampTO we will be pouring Kacaba’s Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2007.
This was a gold medal winner at the Ontario Wine Awards in 2010 and Gold at Cuvee 2010 with as the ‘Winemaker’s Choice’.

Here is a description from Kacaba and you will notice a lot of ‘California cab words’, a good sign for a cold climate winery.

An avalanche of flavour with its floral, bitter chocolate and ripe black fruit nose. This is immediately unforgettable. Crushed coffee beans enhance the sensational blackberry fruit amidst a palate of great poise, harmony and luxurious polish.

I haven’t had this wine yet, but I can’t wait to try it. See you at WineCampTO!

Uh, not so much.

Try – sleepless Spring nights praying the thermometer won’t dip below 0 c and wipe out the vintage before it even starts, sleepless nights in June wishing the rain would stop and the sun would shine, sleepless nights in August willing the rain to return and give the vines a drink, sleepless nights in September mentally shooing the deer, birds, and rabbits away from the deliciously ripe grapes….oh, so many sleepless nights.

Moray maybe the owner of one of Niagara’s finest wineries, but as he’ll share with WineCampers, mother nature is his boss. It will be a good news story though, we’ll also get to sample his 2007 Tawse David’s Block Cabernet Franc (super exclusive, ultra limited!) which should change our tears from concern to utter joy.

Welcome Moray!

Moray Tawse (Tawse Winery)
Moray’s winery is one of a handful credited with taking the Niagara Bench (Jordan, Beamsville, Vineland areas) into the realm of world class. Moray, an avid wine traveler and most certainly a wine aficionado, didn’t take the decision to plant in Niagara lightly. He purchased his property in 2001 only after his research convinced him that the area had the potential to produce something truly special. His long-driving passion and refusal to compromise has helped shape the future of winemaking in Ontario.

This time around we’ll be pouring some amazing Ontario wines, chatting about ‘value wines’ made in Ontario, sustainable wine making, and give you some insights from a Sommelier about choosing the best wine. It’s gonna be a great time! Plus, awesome food will be served by Crush Wine Bar!

Event details:
WineCampTO – Wednesday, September 1 @ 6pm (will go until about 9pm…)
Crush Wine Bar – 455 King Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 1K4

Tickets: winecampto3.eventbrite.com/

A huge thanks to a couple of our awesome sponsors:

Spotlight Toronto is an online magazine focusing on food, wine and culture. The ’30 days of local wine’ program launching on September 1st, will primarily focus on Ontario wineries, restaurants, and the local wine movement.

And…

Wine Align is Ontario’s community-based service for reviewing, sharing and discovering wine. It’s is the ultimate service for making informed buying decisions at your local LCBO.

So, how about we kick off this years ’30 Days of Local Wine’ with a little  #WineCampTO No. 3

Details finalized…..tickets coming tomorrow….save the date – Wednesday, Sept. 1!

WineCampTO2 has come and gone and we’re only left with the lovely long finish of fine Ontario Syrah, Meritage, Merlot, Gamay, Chardonnay, and Riesling from the finest estates in the Niagara region Southbrook Vineyards, Flat Rock Cellars, Lailey Vineyard, Malivoire Wines and Ravine Vineyard.

Relive the good times through blog, tweet and pics here…

Blog Post
Twitter Chatter
Flickr Pics

Thanks to all for participating. We’ll see you at WineCampTO3!

Cheers.

The Fine Wine Reserve – Toronto’s premiere wine storage facility offering both self service wine storage and custodial wine storage.

WineryToHome.com – brings Ontario’s best wines to your doorstep. Shop from over 400 wines, most not available at the LCBO and have them shipped to your home or office.

WineAlign.com – using ratings from users and professional wine critics, WineAlign can help you find the right wine, for the right price, right now. Try their mobile version the next time you’re standing in the LCBO isle trying to figure out what to buy.

Homezilla.ca – a neighbourhood and home buyer’s research tool.
They connect you with the information you need to make informed home buying decisions when researching houses.