The year on the bottle says a lot

Although we may not pay much attention to the year the grapes were grown (vintage) written on the label, it has more impact on the juice within then any other single factor. A cold rainy summer can lead to under-ripened grapes and will translate into red wines with ‘green’ or vegetal aromas – like green bell peppers, or tomatoes. Conversely, a beautiful long warm summer with a little bit of rainfall, and a fall with cool nights, will produce perfectly ripe grapes and give the winemaker every opportunity to make something special.

In Ontario, the summer of ’07 provided these ideal conditions for red grapes. Everything went right, so much so that they’re calling it the best vintage ever in this regions relatively short history. We have two fabulous examples from ’07 to show you exactly what we’re talking about.

First, Southbrook Vineyards 2007 Triomphe Syrah is “a dandy” as David Lawrason describes. Syrah (or, Shiraz) has a spicy, peppery character in Ontario. We anticipate even greater things from this grape as the vines, now just adolescents, take deeper root and transfer even more depth of flavour to the grapes of future harvests.

Second, or the 5th wine, we’ll be pouring the Lailey Vineyards 2007 Meritage. Derek Barnett has really nailed the reds for 2007. This is an example of a Bordeaux blend, the three grape varieties contained within (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc) acting in beautiful harmony. We’ll decant this wine to show you it’s potential for ageing.

Easy going, likes to party, gets along well with others (foods)

You’ve probably heard of the grape variety, and hence the wine, Pinot Noir. Well, think of Gamay Noir as Pinot’s younger, high energy, up for anything cousin. They grew up close to one another in France, Pinot in Burgundy and Gamay just a 100km South in Beaujolais. Aside: You might recognize the name Beaujolais, as in Beaujolais Noveau. This is the overly simple bubble gum tasting slightly acidic juice that you find in a flamboyantly coloured bottle that’s simultaneously released around the world on the third Thursday in November. If you have tried these wines, put them out of your mind as they’re a bit of a joke in the wine world and definitely not representative of the Gamay grape.

So, I think we were talking about how Gamay likes to party, and when you drink it you will too. Well made Gamay has expressive bright lively fruit aromas, it has a lot lighter feel in your mouth than a Shiraz or a Cabernet, and it’s typically much lower in alcohol which means you can drink way more (hence the party aspect). But what I find most interesting is that drinking Gamay makes you hungry. And because it’s such an ‘easy going’ grape it goes well with a lot of different foods. In conclusion, Gamay is the perfect wine for a cocktail party where you’ve made some yummy foods for your guests to enjoy and you want them to stay relatively conscious enough to party for the entire evening while still feeling all the good things that drinking red wine gives you. Enter our third selection for WineCamp – Malivoire Wine Company’s 2007 Gamay, made from organically grown grapes.

Flat Rock Cellars, 2007 Estate Chardonnay

You’ve probably tried dozens of different chardonnays in your lifetime, possibly without you even knowing. It’s likely that when you’ve ordered the ‘white wine’ or ‘house wine’ the grape variety was chardonnay and it was most likely oaked. I’ll bet they were all easy drinking, a bit of sweetness, kinda ‘clunky’ or heavy in the month, generally non-descript. Sure this is a stereotype, but a remarkably accurate one whether your chard was from California, Australia, Italy, Argentina. It’s the most popular white wine grape variety and it’s ubiquitous to every wine region the world over, including Ontario. But of course we’re different, it’s true, we are one of the few places in the world that really has a shot at doing something extra-ordinary with this grape variety. We still have much to learn about our regions ‘terroir’ and our vines will get even better with age, but our winemakers have already managed some pretty special stuff.

So, let’s break the boring old chardonnay stereotype and show you something lively and exciting with lots of character from a top Ontario wine producer Flat Rock Cellars.