Biodynamic Wines

What is Biodynamic Wines

Logo for Canada Organic Farms

Last week I touched on Red Stone Wineries and how they were a biodynamic winery. This week I want to explore what that actually means.  What does it mean for a winery to be 100 % organic and is it even possible in the modern era.  Well, it's very possible as you will discover today.  

Sheep hard at work at Southbrook

Southbrook Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake proudly claims to be Canada's first organic winery.  This means every drop they produce is 100 % organic.  Their winemaker, Ann Sperling, has gone to unprecedented lengths to prove that you can be biodynamic certified even in a cold climate.  All materials for farm are produced by the farm.  That means even the manure for the soil is produced there.  Instead of using machinery to trim grapevines they use sheep.

Biodynamics was started in 1924 from the lectures of a philosopher named Rudolf Steiner.   Before Steiner's death a group of farmers were concerned with the amount of chemicals being used in agriculture.  These farmers got together with Steiner and the term biodynamic was born.   So a philosopher impacted science and agriculture.  

Southbrook's Wine selection

Southbrook has created some of Niagara's best wines from using this method of farming.  It is important to note that it's not just working with nature, it is relating to nature to certified biodynamic.  Winemaking is an art form to Southbrook.  Honestly, you can drink all their wines because they made them with so much pride in mind.  

The 11th Annual Empty Bowls

Soup, Wine and Charity!

On March 9, 2016 Bethlehem Housing and Support Services hosted their 11th Annual Empty Bowls Charity Fundraiser.  A quick run down on Bethlehem House:

• Founded in 1985.
• Created out of a need to help people who are homeless due to poverty issues, physically disable, mental health conditions, or victims of domestic violence. 
• Between 2014-2015 51 families lived in Bethlehem Place.
• 75% of people who moved out of Bethlehem Housing and into independent home ownership or market housing.  

For over 30 years Bethlehem has been helping families in Niagara Region.  To support this they put on many events; however, their most interesting one to me is Empty Bowls.  Empty Bowls is essentially a soup cook off.  Chefs from around the Niagara Region come to earn bragging rights.  This year there was Weinkeller (who took home first prize for their mussel chowder), El Gastronomo Vagabundo, Dani's Bistro, Johnny Rocco's, Nini Panini Factory (People's Choice Winner), Red Stone, and many more.  Each guest gets a bowl, which is handcrafted and unique.  They also get a drink passport.  This is my favourite part of these events, wine and beer tastings for everyone.  

Red Stone Winery

At Empty Bowls this year Red Stone Winery arrived.  They had brought with them their Riesling.  Red Stone Winery is the new kid on the block.  In the sense it's been open for a year now but I hadn't had a chance to try their wines yet.  Red Stone is also a restaurant.  They don't do tours but they have food and tasting flights, as well as, a wine store.  They are the sister sight to Tawse Winery and both are owned by legendary Moray Tawse.  They have some unique blends of wines at Red Stone.  What makes Tawse's wines so interesting is since 2013 they have been given Organic and Bio-Dynamic Certification.  This means no pesticides, no chemicals and the grapes are picked by hand.  It also means that they treat the soil as if it's a living organism.  There's a lot that goes into and I highly recommend reading their philosophy on vineyards. 

With all my posts I try to recommend a wine for my readers to go out and buy.  This time I'm going recommend you take an adventure.  Go to the Red Stone at 4245 King St. in Beamsville, ON.  You won't be disappointed.  

Travel well my friends.

Cuvée Impact

Education and Wine go together in Niagara

Tonight is the start of Cuvée.  Cuvée is an annual awards gala for the Ontario wine industry.  Starting today and ending on March 6, 2016 wine makers from across Ontario choose their favourite wines for  a grand tasting The Scotiabank Convention Centre.  While it's very interesting and pretty there is actually an impact to Cuvée.  Money raised at the event goes to students learning about wine.   

Last year was a major success for Cuvée.  The event drew people from the industry, the community and event Ontario's Lieutenant Governor.  Last year Cuvée raised a total of $33,000. Out of the $33,000, $5,000 went to the Niagara Community Foundation.    $15,000 was then set up for scholarships and $13,000 went to the wine industry for grape research.  

• Scholarships of $5,000 and $2,500 went to students at Brock University's Oenology and Viticulture bachelor of science program.
• $2,500 went to students pursuing Grape and Wine Technology Certificates.



The event is being hosted for the first time at The Scotiabank Convention Centre.

• An additional $5,000 scholarship for Cuvée award for a graduate of Oenology and Viticulture program.

 Tickets for Cuvée are expensive.  They are about $200 a person this year and chances are really good by the time you are reading this they are sold-out.  However, it's a good event that supports students, and let's be honest, with tuition rates what they are, students could really use the help.  Cheers to you Cuvée keep up the good work.    

Wine in the Grocery Store

VQA coming to a store near you. 

Kathleen Wynn buying some bread and some wine at a grocery store.

Let's get this out of the way; I am not writing a political article.  This is a wine blog and this simply wine news that affects wineries in the region.  So now that is out of the way onto the blog. The government of Ontario announced that they are opening wine sales to grocery stores.  The plan is to eventually allow wine sales in over 300 stores.  However, it'll start with 70 in Fall.  

“Finally, people in Ontario will be able to buy their wine and groceries at the same place, at the same time, at the same checkout. This is a win-win-win scenario — more choice and greater convenience for Ontario’s wine lovers, increased opportunities for Ontario’s winemakers and the many farmers who support them, and a brand-new sales channel for wine producers from around the world.” - Kathleen Wynn, Premier of Ontario.

This is pretty exciting stuff. I can now buy my steaks and vegetables at the same time I buy my wine.  I think this great. I can get everything I want in one location and that's amazing.  This not just wine.  They are also, allowing ciders to be sold in the stores too.  There are some excellent ciders out there.  That is a another blog article for another day because there is a lot I can write about there.  

The challenge is going to be which grocery stores get to sell wine.  When beer was introduced to Ontario grocery stores they didn't introduce it to St. Catharines.  I think they should start off by putting the stores in Niagara Region.  Just my little way of looking after our growers and wine makers.   

    

Age Appropriate Wines Only

Old wine or new wine that is the question...

Picture from pixabay.com

This week I had an opportunity to drink a 2008 Stratus White and I doubt you’ll be able to find it at LCBO or even at Stratus Vineyard.  I was worried because I’ve read that some white wines don’t age well at all.  Eight years later it was still pretty good wine.  I wasn’t disappointed at all. 

8 year old bottle of white wine.

To help explain the whole process cellaring wine, winefolly.com, put together an infographic, which helped me a lot during my research for this post.  From what I gather wine is an investment.  You have to think of it like the stock market.  Hold on to that bottle of wine because it’ll become unique in 10-15 years.  Basically, tannin is an acid that breaks down alcohol over time, which makes the wine taste more palatable. At least this explains why and how long to cellar wine for.  It certainly doesn’t answer my question of why wine is better with age. 

Through what I’ve learned through the wonderful world of Google, white wine can become vinegar if you age it for too long.  However, some reds you can age for 40 plus years and it’ll be amazing.  This is because of the tannins that you find in red wines. The longer the tannins break down the better the red wine.  It is recommended to cellar a Riesling for only 3-5 years.

Grapes matter, photo credit: pixabay.com

According to Rick Vansickle, a very good year for Niagara Wines was 2013.  Vansickle is a local wine reporter who had articles in the St. Catharines Standard.  Vansickle's reasoning behind this was the sunny and hot days of 2011, which made more good grape growing.  All these factors add to make a great wine.  You can keep a bottle in a cellar for long periods of time but if the year the process was started it could still end poorly.  You also have to take in the age of the grape vine.  It all matters when it comes to wine.  

The thing is, with any beverage, you like what you like.  Some people like wine that tastes like gasoline.  Some people like wine that tastes like leather.  At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter.  I got to drink wine with someone I enjoy the company of and I enjoyed every minute of it.  My advice to you all is drink what you enjoy, and if your lucky, drink it with someone you enjoy it with.   

BYOW in St. Catharines

Bring Your Own Wine

Photo from tripadvisor.com

There are a lot of restaurants in Niagara Region.  Some are really good.  Some are not really good.  Today I want to tell you about one of the best ones.  I went to The Office Tap and Grill this Tuesday.  It is located 22 James St. St. Catharines.  They have amazing food and amazing staff.  Go read all the reviews at Trip Advisor, if you don’t believe me.  Their menu is the awesome.  The Office offers a wide range of food and drinks.  It’s one of the few locations in St. Catharines that makes a good Manhattan.

Google Maps Location

I had the wonton nachos for my appetizer.  It was a really interesting take on a traditional dish.  For dinner I got the lamb shank and it was also really great.  Give the menu a click you won’t be disappointed. 

But wait, Jon, I thought you were a wine guy who talked about wine.  Why are you talking about this place that serves food and cocktails?   

Here’s the best part of The Office and why I’m including it in today’s wine blog.  The best part is that you can bring your own wine.  Right now your probably saying to yourself, that’s nothing new in Ontario.  You are 100 percent right.  The Office offers free corkage on Tuesdays.  That means you get to bring your own wine and not get charged for the corkage fees.  It decreases your bill significantly.  If by chance you forget to bring your favourite bottle of vino The Office has many wines from the Niagara Region for you to enjoy.   Check out the full list here.

Wine and Dine on Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day All you Wonderful People out There.

Valentines Day is quickly approaching.  As a guy who tries to avoid all special occasions I tend to dread Valentines Day the most.  When I was single it was about going out and celebrating freedom.  Now that I’m in a committed relationship I find myself having to care about this faux holiday.  Every year I have to figure out what to do.  This year I’m going with a theme and it’s the same theme as my blog. 

Don’t worry; if you are single this list will benefit you too.  Welcome to the ultimate dinner and wine pairing list. 

Reif Estates Cabernet Merlot

Valentines Day is a celebration even if you’re single.  Don’t be lonely, drink and find other lonely people.  As such, I feel a celebration needs to be kicked off with a sparkling wine.  My sparkling of choice is from Tawse winery.  The Spark 2014 Lime Ridge Riesling is recommendation to you.  As for the food to eat with the wine, a lime shrimp and avocado salad would be easy to make and delicious. 

The main course comes from Reif Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  It’s a Braised Beef Bolognese with a Reif Estate Cabernet Merlot.  It sounds hard to cook but totally worth it.  To be honest you could have this dish with box wine and no one would notice because it’s that good. 

Lastly we have desert.  Go make this ice wine cocktail from my last blog.  After you make that drink you buy a book of heart shaped chocolates and eat the entire box in one sitting.  Why?  You just spent hours in the kitchen cooking up food now you have to treat yourself with some chocolate and cocktail. 

That's the best way to enjoy Valentines Day in my humble opinion.  As always please drink responsibly.  

Niagara Ice Wine Festival 2016

Ice Wine Cocktails are Easy

Hello and welcome to my first blog post.  My blog is a guide to Niagara wines for the everyday person.  To be very clear, I am not educated in the ways of wine.  I am not a sommelier.   I hope that this blog will be learning experience for me and for the reader.  Every week I want to take you on an adventure that will introduce you to wineries and showcase the region I live in and have come to enjoy.  We are going to kick things off with the Ice Wine Festival because it's winter.

The last three weeks have been busy in Niagara Region.  The holidays are over.  So why is it busy?  It’s been busy because it is Niagara Ice Wine Festival.  A three-week event that showcases Niagara’s award winning ice wines.  I can never make it to all the events going on when these festivals start but I do try.  They are a lot of fun and you get try a lot of wine.  January focuses on Niagara’s ice wine.  Ice wine is interesting because the grapes have to be harvested at -8 degrees.  The festival takes place in three of the regions finest locations.  The first week is in Niagara Falls, the second week is in Jordan, and third week is in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  For more information on the event and things you’ve missed out on this year check out Niagara Ice Wine Festival. 

This year I braved the cold and headed to Jordan.  Friendly tip; wear long underwear, gloves and a hat.  I tried to get by without these items and was very cold.  To make a long story short I went to Jordan and tried some ice wine.  My favourite is from Stoney Ridge.  But to be honest, I find all ice wine a little sweet for my tastes.  I think that’s why I enjoyed NOTL’s event on Saturday better.  It was the Flash & Panache: Ice Wine Cocktail Competition.

The Flash & Panache: Ice Wine Cocktail Competition is exactly how it sounds.  You buy tokens and walk from vendor to vendor trying out different ice wine cocktails.  At all these events there’s live music but the band was pretty funky.  It was cold again but this time I didn’t care.  I wander around and savored cocktails from the best restaurants and wineries the region has to offer.  It inspired me to go out and create my own.  I learned that I know nothing about mixology.  Gin and ice wine mixed together is not a cocktail.  I contacted my good friend Kellie, check out her Twitter account for drink ideas @KellieOverIce, she’s a bartender, a waitress, and graduate from Culinary Arts program at Niagara College. 

Here’s what her brilliant mind came up with:

Created on Highball App

Ice Wine Cocktail created by @KellieOverIce

Thanks for reading my first blog post.  Hope you enjoyed it.  Please drink responsible.