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What a golden opportunity (no pun intended)!  Mountain Road Wine Company, in Beamsville, has 6 years worth of Vidal Icewine currently listed on their tasting menu … Icewines that date from 1999 to 2004; an opportunity to see and taste the evolution of “Canada’s gift to the wine world”.  I could not pass up the chance to share this experience with friends, so I invited a number of them over on Saturday March 8 to give their noses and palates a workout.  How was I to know that Toronto would get 20cm of snow on that very day when I set up the event two months earlier?  But three brave souls felt the tasting was worth the effort, and risked life and limb, to take part in this unique bit of bottled history.  So we lined up six glasses, popped the corks on the six slim (375ml) bottles and poured a different wine into each to compare and contrast these wines.

Colour …
The theory I started this taste-off with was that there would be a colour difference along age lines; meaning that the 1999 would be the darkest of the 6 and as the wines got younger their colour would lighten (i.e.: 2000 lighter than 2001, 2001 lighter than 2002 etc.).  But this is where vintage variation comes into play (as well in as taste and smell).  The darkest of the wines (almost fully rust coloured) was actually the 2000 and then lightened in the following order:  2001, 1999, 2004, 2003 and 2002 (light golden).

Nose …
The broad range of smells we got from these wines were very interesting indeed – none were unexpected except for the 2001, which had a tinny smell to it and very little in the way of fruit.  Someone made the suggestion that it had picked that smell up from the tank it was made in.  The most appealing smells were from the 1999 and 2000 (darkest).  1999 (a gold medal winner at the 2004 Ottawa Wine Show) had a vibrant bouquet of honey, pears, apricots and apples – almost ten years old and it still smelled young and fresh.  2000, on the other hand, seems to have aged much faster than it’s younger counterparts, developing smells of caramel, toffee, rusty apples and other bruised fruit – there was also a slightly oxidized smell, not unpleasant, but not exactly appealing either.  Other smells from the wines were, honeyed apples with cinnamon spice (2002); fruit cocktail in light syrup (2003) and subtle wildflower honey aromas (2004).

Flavours …
The big revelation was the tasting.  Everyone’s mouth watered at the chance to taste icewine history.  There were both surprises and letdowns.  The 1999 lived up to its gold medal status, delivering a thick liquid loaded with honey-soaked dried fruit, very lush in the mouth.  2001 was a beauty, not at all what the nose suggested (remember this one smelled tinny), very flavourful with apples and pears, peaches and apricots along with fresh fruit compote.  After those two, the rest paled in comparison on the tongue.  2000’s promising nose died in the glass, resulting in a sour, bitter finish; 2002 was too thick – “nice flavours but just too thick, it’s like having a mouth full of apple sauce.”  2003 had rusty nuances, “like fresh fruit with a bite taken out of it then left on the counter to brown”; and 2004 followed its promising nose with lots of apples and honey, but a metallic finish that didn’t round off the experience well.

Conclusion …
Sipped on their own, each wine has its own charm and certain nuances would not be apparent – but when lined up back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back (6 wines remember) those that were superior rose to the top.  The surprise was the 1999 Vidal, which really showed well and had little sign of fading away any time soon … just one year later (younger) the 2000, unfortunately, seems to have grown too old before its time.  Our little posse chose the 1999 as our unanimous favourite, while the 2001, despite its rather lackluster nose, easily came in second with its beautiful performance in the mouth (nobody could believe it was the same wine).  I urge you to try this little test for yourself.  Mountain Road Wine Company is located at 4016 Mountain Street in Beamsville.  Thanks to Steve Kocsis and Joanna for providing the wines for this little diversion on a cold and snowy March afternoon.

Ask the Grape Guy … “How long will open Icewine keep in the fridge?”
I performed a test on these 6 bottles three weeks after the initial tasting.  I left them in the fridge with just their cork stoppers in – the results of the tasting were very much the same as the first time I popped their corks.  In fact, some of the flavours were more vibrant, although the liquid inside the bottle was definitely more viscous and thick.  Interestingly, the same order of preference applied – though the ’02 was showing much better and the nose of the ’01 had really opened up.

* N.B. the 2000 just won a Gold at the Toronto Wine and Cheese Show – could be that we had a faulty bottle (i.e.: oxidized).

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Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch:  A Whole Whack of Rieslings
Visit the winery or their website for more details or to purchase these great wines.

Peller Estates Private Reserve 2006 Riesling – $15.95 (W, WTH)

www.peller.com 

Peller was the only Canadian winery to pick up a medal (silver) at the prestigious 2008 Riesling du Monde competition … over 500 Rieslings were entered from all over the world, and we all know who rules in that category on the world stage, so to pick up a silver is a pretty big deal.  So what does a world silver medal Riesling taste like?  Like a very good Riesling - but I suspect you want to know more than that.  Well this Riesling is big on minerality, with peach and lime as back up.  The taste is big on acidic bite:  lemon-citrus pucker with the dichotomy of tart lemonade sweetness, especially in the fore-palate, but then it moves back to its mineral/wet stone roots.  It has a very elongated finish that lingers in the mouth with both taste and acidity.

Twenty Twenty-Seven Cellars 2007 Riesling - $24.95 (L - September 2008)

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Winemaker Kevin Panagapka has an idea.  It’s not new, nor is it unique, but it does allow him to follow his passion of being a winemaker with his own label.  He buys the best quality fruit he can and then, to make his wine, rents some space so that he can save a little money (having your own equipment can be expensive), money he doesn’t have, yet.  But if he keeps making wine like this, he’ll soon have a tidy sum and his Twenty Twenty-Seven Cellars will have itself a very reputable name.  His grapes, for this wine, are sourced from the 30+ year-old block of vines at Featherstone, and as thanks he puts their name front and center on the label.  Smells of peach, lemon-lime, lavender and honeydew, along with a few others, find their way into your nose.  Flavours are just as enticing on the tongue:  citrus, crisp Bosc pear and tons of soft white peach.  This one’s a real juicy affair with a smooth medium-acid finish which is long on tree fruit – delicious.  By the way, the name 20-27 Cellars comes from Kevin’s grower number, which he was issued when he registered his small plot of Pinot Noir grapes with the Grape Growers of Ontario.  After trying this one, I’m now looking forward to the wine, and you should be too.  Only 100 cases were made of this Riesling.

 

More Riesling Reviews … 
Calamus Estate 2007 Riesling (W) – Featherstone 2007 Old Vines Riesling (W, WTH)
Hillebrand Trius 2006 Riesling Dry (W, WTH) – Hillebrand 2006 Showcase Riesling (W, WTH)
Lailey Vineyard 2007 Riesling (W, WTH) – Ridgepoint Wines 2006 Medium-Dry Riesling (W)
Thomas & Vaughan 2007 Riesling (W) – Vineland Estate 2007 Semi-Dry Riesling (W, L)
Tawse Winery 2007 Sketches of Niagara Riesling (W, L)

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Schott Zwiesel Review – aka those “unbreakable” crystal glasses

 

As many of my regular readers know, I am a big proponent of good glassware, so when the folks at Schott Zwiesel (Fortessa Canada) heard this they invited me down for a demonstration of their glasses.  Now I hear you asking, “who is Schott Zwiesel?”  I’m glad you asked, cause I’m about to tell you.

Schott Zwiesel has been making crystal stemware since 1872.  According to their brochure, they were the first company to produce lead-free crystal.  They used to make glasses for Riedel, but when Riedel made overtures about buying them, they decided to head out on their own.  And why was Riedel so hot to trot about buying this little glassmaker?  Because of their new “Tritan” crystal, a magnesium-titanium alloy that made the glasses dishwasher safe, strong and more resilient – in other words, ‘break resistant’.

For any of you who have ‘tinged’ a crystal glass off the counter, dropped one in the sink, or, heaven forbid, onto the floor.  You’ll know they shatter into a million pieces and scatter throughout the house – you’ll find pieces caught between your toes three weeks later in rooms that were not even remotely close to the actual break site.  This ‘unbreakable thing’ I just had to see for myself.

Lloyd Thistle took me through the entire line, showing me that they are as varied in shape, size and style as Riedel (and other glass makers) – and, like the others, have glasses specifically designed for certain wines.  But the most impressive part was when he lined the glasses up on the table between us and began swinging his arms around knocking over the glasses … not one broke.

That’s all well and good, but how do they compare to other crystal glasses when it counts … tasting wine.  For that I went to Chateau des Charmes to meet with Michele Bosc and taste their wines in these glasses.  The Chateau is one of the wineries that used to be exclusively Riedel, but a trip to New York (Manhattan) and an experience with Schott Zwiesel changed her mind.  We tasted a variety of wines in a variety of glasses – each one matched with its Riedel counterpart, I even did the same test at home with a variety of wines from around the world with the same results – Schott Zwiesel performed just as well or better.  When asked why she chose the Schott Zwiesel glasses to use in their special events tasting room, Michele stressed that price per stem had nothing to do with it (even though stem for stem the SZ glasses are less expensive than their more renowned counterparts).  Balance was her first answer, as she held the glass in her hand, “I love the way this glass feels,” and of course the “unbreakability” factor played a role – “anything that minimizes breakage saves us money in the end.”  She had never seen the knock over trick – so as Lloyd had done with me two weeks earlier I put a glass on the counter and tipped it over – Michele readied herself for the smash (and I must admit I prepared my apology in my head, just in case this experiment went awry), but to both our surprise the big bang never occurred … “impressive,” she said, “but I still wouldn’t do that, I’d be too afraid.”  Although it is nice to know you have that safety net.

Finally, back home I had one more childish trick to prove these glasses were really what they claimed, I moistened my finger and traced the rim of the glass, within seconds the tell-tale high pitched crystal-hum filled the room.

A few weeks later, the moment of me being completely sold happened. I was putting my glasses away in their box and one of the glass bowls winged off another’s base with a loud ‘ping’; my usual glassware would have been in pieces … Schott Zwiesel, not even a chip.  And after 30+ dishwasher cycles, they looked as good as new and without spots.  I’m convinced – less money and unbreakable – I’m sold on Schott Zwiesel.  But I’ll let Lloyd have the last word on these glasses being “unbreakable”:  “People call up and ask for the unbreakable crystal glass – it’s not unbreakable, we’ve broken some ourselves, during demonstrations – dropping them on concrete is still bad … they’re ‘break resistant’, I can’t stress that enough; but even after I explain that, people still call them unbreakable.  Just to set the record straight, unbreakable glass is called plastic.”

To learn more about Schott Zwiesel contact Fortessa Canada.