Ontario Wine Review:  WINERY REVIEW:  Pillitteri Estate Winery
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Our winery reviews are done blindly – the wineries have no prior knowledge of our visit and are not made aware until just before we leave their premises that they have been “spot-checked” – this ensures that we get the same level of service that anybody walking off the street would get.

Over the past 10 years Pillitteri has become one of my favourite wineries to visit for a number of reasons:  1) during the festivals (New Vintage / Ice Wine / Taste the Season / etc.) they always seem to have a food and wine pairing that’s a must try; 2) the private room upstairs, in which these delicacies are served, has an elegant look and feel; plus there’s the beautiful view (out the window facing the vineyard); 3) their price points are excellent (ranging from easily affordable to those special occasion bottles) and their wines are delicious; 4) the staff is always knowledgeable and friendly.  But that was then and this is now.  As a reviewer, I must cast a more critical eye on things, and even with that critical eye Pillitteri did not disappoint my preconceptions.

My visit was during a recent festival; it’s always better to witness how a busy winery copes with the influx of traffic.  Passport holders were whisked into the back and up a flight of stairs to the private tasting and events room … black table clothes covered the tables and 3 staff were dedicated to the upstairs room taking turns as greeter, pourer/server, and explainer of the pairing.  Very professional and enjoyable … and no wait time.

Then it was down to the main tasting room – a long well lit bar with tasting “menus” which lie in-front of you, giving you a list of wines, prices and what’s open for tasting.  There are other particulars about the wine on this list namely sugar code and alcohol content.  The shelves of wine behind you (on the shop floor) can get pretty confusing when you are looking for something specific; that’s why, thankfully, the staff has a supply of wine behind them.  They can pull out a bottle or two of that wine you’re smacking your lips over on your say so - saving you from going on that search and destroy mission to find it (or is that a game of hide and go seek?).

You’ll notice this winery review was written backwards, because now we’ll quickly step outside for a view of the exterior.  To get into the building there are three doors:  the one on the far left leads to the tasting room and wine store; the one on the far right takes you into the market and gift store – a long windowed hallway separates the two rooms.  The building itself looks like an old-style market building that has been revamped, but still retains that country-market look and feel – a little roadside market that grew.  Which leaves us with a third door to look behind – the middle door.  And that brings us to the wow factor … (read on McDuff)

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Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch:  Something Icy and Something Mellow
For directions and more information visit www.pillitteri.com

Pillitteri Estates Winery 2002 Merlot Reserve - $29.95

I was in a tasting room when I sampled this one, and one of my fellow tasters said, “I hate that typical Ontario green pepper smell and taste in this wine.”  I looked over at him a bit confused – having already tasted this wine and having found no hint of green pepper what-so-ever – had I missed something?  I had to be sure … so back I went to re-taste.  Smell:  blackberry, cherry, plum, spice, oregano, chocolate – no green pepper. Taste:  follows nose and changes those straight cherry aromas to black cherry flavours.  Smooth and lush in the mouth; a long finish with nice oak, cinnamon and vanilla nuances as it lingers on the tongue.  But definitely no green pepper – at least none that stood out to me.  My fellow taster must have had a case of ‘tasting with a preconceived notion’.  Just in case you’re an Ontario Green-Pepper-Ite (or –aphobe) be prepared take those blinders off and give this one a go.  I fully believe that Ontario Merlot needs time to shuck it’s greenness and this one has had 5 years to develop and it has matured very nicely, thank you very much – green pepper not included.

Pillitteri Estates Winery 2004 Riesling Icewine - $50.00 (375ml)

Pillitteri devotes 55% of their production to icewine … that’s a lot of frozen grapes and a lot riding on the hope of minus-10 degree weather, but when it works it pays off – and Pillitteri has many icewines that pay off handsomely; like this one right here.  This Riesling is smooth and luscious in the mouth and a wine you could just sit and sniff all night long, if the taste weren’t so darn tasty.  Dominated by apples and pears on the nose, with hints of sweet apricot and peaches lingering in the background.  The palate offers up those apricots and peaches with a honeyied/caramelized coating and a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Tempted yet?  You should be – it’s delicious!

Two newly released wines also reviewed:  2006 Sur Lie Chardonnay and 2006 Bianco Merlot

Both spotlight wines are available at the winery and the LCBO – new wines are winery only.

Summer Selection:  Every newsletter throughout the summer, I recommend great summer-sippers to make the most of your patio, cottage or boat – this week’s picks are:

Vineland Estates Winery 2006 Gamay Noir - $14.95
Malivoire Wine Company 2005 Gamay - $15.95
Peller Estates 2005 Gamay – Private Reserve - $19.15

All currently available from the winery

Weekly Wine Notes and More:  Inniskillin, Chateau, 4 Places to Visit, September 1st Vintages Report

The 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 to http://ontariowinereviews.blogspot.com every Tuesday or listen to the Podcast at www.ontariowinereview.libsyn.com!

Here are the Weekly Wine Notes that were added to the Blog over the past two weeks:
August 21:  Inniskillin 2004 Brae Burn Vineyard Shiraz (read) (listen)
August 28:  Chateau des Charmes 2005 St. David’s Bench Cabernet Franc (read) (listen)

There are some new report in the On the Road with the Grape Guy section:

Spanish Wines on the General List
Lake Erie North Shore Vintage Tasting
Reif’s Sensory Garden (Pictures) and Featherstone’s Sheep (Pictures)
FEW-esta Tomato at Fielding

The September 1st LCBO Vintages Release report is available here:
Ontario "Vintages" Releases: Saturday September 1, 2007 Vintages Release