On the Road with the Grape Guy

Ontario Wine Reviews: 66 Wines from 31 Wineries

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

Not all reviews make the newsletter, there's just so many good wines and not enough space ... so every three to six months (or so) I clear out the backlog of wines ... here are the reviews that were written but until now have never seen the light of day. 

(click on the wine name to link to the full review)

Lake Erie North Shore

Nothing this time round

Niagara Escarpment

Domaine Queylus 2017 Droite
Featherstone 2017 Cabernet Franc
Featherstone 2018 Phoenix
Fielding 2016 Cabernet-Syrah
Fielding 2017 Red Conception
Fielding 2017 Rock Pile Red
Fielding 2018 Pinot Gris, Rock Pile Vineyard
Fielding 2018 Riesling, Lot No. 17

Good Earth 2016 Big Fork Red
Good Earth 2016 Chardonnay
Good Earth 2016 Pinot Noir
Good Earth 2017 Pinot Grigio
Henry of Pelham 2016 Family Tree Red
Henry of Pelham 2017 Chardonnay Estate
Henry of Pelham 2017 Gamay Estate
Henry of Pelham 2017 Revel, Cabernet & Baco Noir
Henry of Pelham 2017 Vidal Moscato, House Wine Co.
Henry of Pelham 2018 Baco Noir
Henry of Pelham 2018 Riesling, Speck Family Reserve

Honsberger 2018 Riesling
Legends 2017 Malbec
Megalomaniac 2017 Cabernet Franc Icewine, Coldhearted
Meldville 2018 Sauvignon Blanc, 4th Edition
Organized Crime 2017 Pinot Noir, Break-In
Organized Crime 2017 Riesling, Wild Ferment
Organized Crime 2018 Pinot Gris
Tawse 2016 Pinot Noir, Cherry Avenue Vineyard
The Farm 2016 Pinot Noir, Neudorf Vineyard
The Farm 2017 Pinot Noir, Black Label
Vineland Estates 2017 Pinot Meunier

 Niagara-on-the-Lake

Diamond Estates 2018 Sauvignon Blanc Serenity
G. Marquis 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon
Lakeview Cellars 2017 Chardonnay, Barrel Aged
Pondview 2015 Pinot Noir, Bella Terra
Sunnybrook 2017 Poire Sec
Trius 2017 Chardonnay, Wild Ferment – Watching Tree Vineyard
Trius 2017 Merlot

 Prince Edward County

Broken Stone 2016 Intensity
Cape Vineyard 2017 Cabernet Franc
Casa Dea Estates 2015 Cabernet Franc Reserve
Casa Dea Estates 2015 Pinot Noir
Casa Dea Estates 2016 Mavi
Casa Dea Estates 2017 Embrace
Casa Dea Estates 2017 Melon De Bourgogne

Hinterland 2011 Les Etoiles, RD
Hinterland 2018 Borealis
Hinterland 2018 Whitecap
Hubbs Creek 2017 Chardonnay unfiltered
Huff Estates 2017 Pinot Gris
Huff Estates 2017 Riesling, Off-Dry
Karlo Estates 2018 Pinot Grigio, Lake on the Mountain

Lighthall Vineyards 2017 Pinot Gris
Lighthall Vineyards 2018 The Fence
Lighthall Vineyards 2018 Pinot Gris
Lighthall Vineyards 2018 Progression

Rosehall Run 2016 Certain Ratio
Rosehall Run 2017 Tempranillo
Rosehall Run 2018 Sauvignon Blanc, Hungry Point
Stanners 2016 Chardonnay
Stanners 2016 Riesling
TerraCello 2018 Vidal

Other Regions & Virtual Wineries

Potter Settlement 2016 Geisenheim Riesling
Potter Settlement 2016 Vidal
Potter Settlement 2017 Chardonnay, Triple Rare
Potter Settlement 2017 Frontenac Rouge
Potter Settlement 2017 Sauvignon Blanc

Washington Story 2 : Sinister / Powers / Woodward

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

April 1, 2019 ... Yes it was April Fool's but there was nothing funny on a bus in Washington State where we were deadly serious about learning  what makes Washington wine so damn good and yet at the same time they are having  a lot of fun with it.

Kicking our day off at Owen Roe, who had, up to this point, the best rosé of the trip (oh, but wait, the best rosé is still to come). The winery was established in 1999 in Oregon to focus on Pinot Noir, but then 10 years later bought a Washington property to make other reds and whites … but it was the reds that truly impressed including a bottle with a severed hand on it.

2016 Sinister Hand ... (****+)
2015 Syrah ... (****+)
2016 Yakima Valley Red … (*** ½+)

(click on the above names to read the full review)

Next stop on our journey: Powers Winery.  A 71-acre property with vineyards up to 1,000 feet above sea level. Organic since 1988 and certified in 1990 - they produce 1 million bottles a year, though it grows only 8% of what they require.

2016 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ... (*** ½+)
2015 Columbia Valley Syrah … (****)
2014 Reserve Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ... (****+)

(click on the above names to read the full review)

Last stop was for dinner at Woodward Canyon, started by Washington pioneer Rick Small in 1981 (at the time one of the first wineries in Washington State) - after dinner, and the wines tasted below, Rick opened up the door to his cellar to let us try some Washington State history with his 1999 and 1987 Cabernets.

2017 Chardonnay … (*** ½+)
2015 "Artist Series #24" Cabernet Sauvignon ... (*** ½+)
2016 "Old Vines" Cabernet Sauvignon ... (****+)

(click on the above names to read the full review)