Newsletter #111 - What Could Have Been
24 Jun 2009- Details
- Category: Newsletter Archives
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OntarioWineReview Newsletter 111 ... June 2009 |
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- News From Our Vine: New Chair of the WCO
- Ontario Wine Review: What Could Have Been
- Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch: Two Five Star wines at 25-bucks
- Weekly Wine Notes and More: Cider, Meritage, Taste it Again and Vintages for July 4
- OntarioWineReview: Today’s Word is Hypocrisy
- Wine Event Spotlight: Pick a Winery, Any Winery
News … New Chair of the WCOCongratulations to Ed Madronich, of Flat Rock Cellars, who was elected earlier this month as the new Chairman of the Wine Council of Ontario. Is Madronich the Mondavi I spoke of back in Newsletter #105 ? Knowing Ed, I bet he thinks so – an eloquent and passionate speaker, not just about screwcaps and Flat Rock, but of the Ontario wine industry as a whole. A guy who has played on both the big boys team (Vincor) as well as being a small, yet vocal player in the industry through his own venture. Here’s wishing Ed all the best in his new position and all the endeavors he undertakes – here’s hoping he can make a difference.
Ontario Wine Review: What Could Have Been
An essential service is defined as: “those necessary to prevent danger to life, health or safety and disruption of the courts.” Employees who are designated as having essential positions must continue to provide services during a strike. While federally it’s pretty cut and dry as to who can and cannot strike due to their “essential” designation, there are provincial guidelines set out by the individual provinces. “Legislation in Ontario requires that Crown employees and ambulance workers have an essential services agreement in place before a strike can begin so that certain services can continue.” The LCBO is a crown corporation … hence the above statement applies to them. But the strike won’t last long, or at least there will be stores that remain open (which ever management feels are the most important to staff).
Who’s kidding anyone, the LCBO essential? Hardly. Best we call them an “essential money making service” because that’s the only reason to classify them in the same category as the one’s who save our cities from the fiddling of Nero and mass corruption (though some might say this is ironic because the LCBO is a corrupt system unto itself). But the government won’t let this cash cow lie fallow for long (ya gotta love a mixed metaphor). It’s for that reason that the wineries of Ontario have to strike while the iron is hot (or should that be the other way around? ‘Iron while the striking is hot’ – you get my meaning, I hope). The wineries will have to quickly get the word out to let you know where you can buy your wine – a major push on advertising and awareness: “While the LCBO lies dormant, Ontario’s award winning wineries are open for business and ready to serve during these troubled times.” And really, there is no better time to get acquainted with what the LCBO isn’t selling you. I’m talking about those great hand crafted, small lot, small batch wines, and also what the fruit wineries are making in your area (truth is, you probably live closer to one of those than you think). Now’s the time to let your fingers do the walking over your keyboard and search out your local winery(ies), find out how long it’ll take you to get there and, maybe, even make a day trip out of it (if necessary), to stock up. There really is no better time to get acquainted with what Ontario has to offer, wine-wise, and I know you’ve heard me say it before, but really, with the LCBO walking the picket lines what better time to get to know your local winery, and what you have been missing all these years.
So to all those lovers of Ontario wine, and to all of you about to discover what many of us have known for years, here’s to you; let’s all raise a glass to toast a long labour dispute, the hopeful resuscitation of an industry in desperate need of a shot in the arm such as this, and to a boost in sales and audience of the fine wines being made in this province, it’s been a long time coming, but now it’s time you found out that Ontario makes some world class fantastic wines that can only be found, you guessed it, at the winery.
Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch: Two Five Star wines at 25-bucks
Hillebrand 2008 Ghost Creek Riesling - $25.00 (W)
This wine is part of the Hillebrand ‘Showcase’ collection. These are wines that are small lot, small batch, single vineyard, single barrel, or for some other reason, a specially designated wine. This one comes from a small vineyard near a deserted creek; deserted meaning that water no longer takes a path along the creek bed, hence the water has deserted it. But that doesn’t sound all that appealing in these environmentally sensitive times … but ‘Ghost Creek’, now that has a spooky yet almost mythical ring to it. Last year, I really liked this wine, this year I like it even more, it’s an absolute beauty. There is so much going on in the glass that I could give you a list of descriptors that’ll apply to both the smell and taste: tropical fruit, lanolin, pineapple, peach, mango, lychee, with vibrant acidity and great minerality. Add all that to the 8.8% alcohol and a 3 (that tastes like a one) on the sugar code, and you’ve got yourself one heck of a beverage. This wine is subtle in the way it introduces itself before it becomes brazen: “Hello summer heat I’m Hillebrand’s Ghost Creek Riesling – I think you’ve met your match.” Only 300 cases were made so hurry, this won’t last long. Price: $25.00 – Rating: *****
Coyote’s Run 2007 Red Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir - $25.00 (W)
Weekly Wine Notes and More: Cider, Meritage, Taste it Again and Vintages for July 4The Grape Guy presents the "Weekly Wine Note"! A savoury selection of Ontario wines to impress, enjoy, or just plain drink! A NEW Wine Selection is added every Tuesday or you can listen to the Podcast.
June 23, 2009 – Peller Estates 2007 Private Reserve Meritage (read) (listen )
NEW Reports in the On the Road with the Grape Guy section:
Wines that got "lost" on my wine racks - some are Treasures others are Trash … Find out what happened
Find out what has happened to some of my favourites over the past few years
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OntarioWineReview: Today’s Word is Hypocrisy
Since we have a liquor board going (or possibly already) on strike, and one that in the past has shown that it’s so worried about the rules of cross-provincial border shopping – it’s only fair that we look at how the LCBO has helped out other boards when they went on strike and upheld the liquor laws of the land …
As you may remember, last year a stink was raised by Ontario’s LCBO about cross-border (and I’m talking provincial borders here) booze buying and shipping. It dated back to a 1928 law known as the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act - I even admitted to being a breaker of this law when I visited B.C. last summer (Newsletter #93 ). I found I was not alone, plenty of other readers emailed to admit that they too are felons of the vinous kind.
The LCBO decided that the less than 5% of booze that enters the province, that they do not get their greedy little mitts upon, was to be stopped. Winery principles in B.C. admit that it is a very small amount of sales that they send out-of-province; why they even bother is beyond me, especially with all those (potential) problems: unreliable shippers without heating or cooling equipment damage wines; being forced to buy a minimum of a case, as shipping costs can prove pricey for just a few bottles, and of course there’s the lack of a try-before-you-buy aspect - it’s hard to request a case of something that you’ve never tasted, no matter what the reviews say.
But our whistling-blowing moral compass, the LCBO, seems to have a skeleton in their closet which should have made them think twice before raising the red flag. In their own annual report for the fiscal year 2005-2006 they proudly printed, in black and white, a $25-million increase in profits due directly to the cross provincial border shopping of Quebeckers who were looking for holiday season booze, while their own liquor giant, the SAQ (Quebec’s equivalent to the LCBO) were on strike. As you can plainly see the LCBO was all for inter-provincial booze buying then.
It is also interesting to point out that the Ottawa-Hull area is a bonanza for both Ontarians and les Quebecois. It seems that beer is cheaper in Quebec, while wine has a lower price on the Ontario side; hundreds, if not thousands, of these cross-border smuggling expeditions are made weekly and nobody has said anything about it over the years. Could it be because it’s mutually beneficial to both the LCBO and SAQ’s bottom line? On the other hand, who does the BC matter benefit? Not the liquor board, they don’t get their tax share; so maybe it’s the wine buying consumer, hmmm.
Now, I’m glad that we haven’t stationed border guards on our provincial borders; can you just imagine, “Welcome to Ontario, anything to declare?” If this type of inter-provincial “looking the other way” goes on between Ontario and Quebec why can’t B.C. get a piece of that action - it goes both ways you know, BCers are interested in Ontario wine too, I was there, I fielded quite a few questions.
And here’s something else to think about and thank the LCBO for: Westerners already hate us here in the East, the LCBO has given them yet another reason - and all in the name of a few tax dollars. I am sure we could work something out; but if I were a B.C. winery I’m not sure I would want to now. While they were screwing the LCBO out of a few dollars, the LCBO turned around the screwed us out of BC wines. So you see, the LCBO has done it to us again, and this time I am not just talking about their over inflated prices: BC screwed a corporation, the LCBO screwed us all. Just another way the LCBO is working harder for you, think about that when you cross, or see, a picket line.
Wine Event Spotlight: Pick a Winery, Any Winery
While both Martha Reeves and Mick Jagger sang about summer being a time for dancing in the streets, there could just as easily be a song about summer being here and wineries hosting events. Pick any winery, check their website for their events listings and you’ll find a light lunch, winemaker’s dinner, comparative tasting, concert, or countless other things to keep you busy and fill your days sipping, savouring and enjoying wine country. Summer’s here alright and the time is ripe for visiting wineries near you – dancing in the street optional.
OntarioWineReview’s bi-weekly newsletter is devoted to the love, enjoyment and promotion of the wines of Ontario and the wineries that make them.
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