On the wine trail, one can get very excited and wrapped up in the spirit of tasting: the mood of your surroundings, the hype of the winery staff, everything culminates into a willingness to buy anything put in front of us. Of course, it’s the fear of any seasoned winery tour veteran to get home with his haul and wonder if his booty is actually fool’s good. I have to admit this was what befell me then I returned form Taste the Season in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The food, the camaraderie, the energy, all gets one jazzed about wine and food pairings. It lulls us all into believing that that wine we have in our hand is the best we’ve ever tasted. Now, I’m a Gamay fan, I love the fruity nature of the wines this grape produces, the ease at which the wine sails over the palate and down the throat; it treats the palate like a partner not as the aggressor. This Cattail version did well at the winery with its sausage companions, but would it stand up to fiercer scrutiny at home? I’m happy to report that it did. The nose is beautiful with ripe cherries, while the palate is also lightly coated with cherry flavour. This is an easy to drink, immensely quaffable wine of which only 50% spent 3 months in older oak barrels, to better season the wine. And they priced this one attractively too. In this the season of Beaujolais Nouveau, with it’s bubble-gummy flavours, it’s nice to find a homegrown Gamay with a little seriousness behind it. Chill for 30 minutes to a hour in the fridge and enjoy. Price: $15.00 – Rating: ****