WTN: Notes on my 2007 dry Niagara

I try to make a dry varietal Niagara wine whenever circumstances permit, and fortunately, I managed to locate a vineyard last autumn near Stoney Creek, Ontario (western Niagara Peninsula) where I could do the "U-pick" thing and hand-select the best bunches. The vineyard is pictured below.

Manual de-stemming and selection were followed by a 24-hour pectic enzyme soak, then crush and fermentation with a small portion of reserved skins. Primary completed without problems and soon enough I knew I had a winner on my hands: the flavour and balance of the wine were excellent.

Over the first couple of months in cold storage, though, a haze problem manifested itself - one that isinglass, gravity filtration, sparkolloid and plain old time simply failed to clear. Things were looking pretty dismal for what tasted like a promising wine but looked awful... Finally, I found a packet of chitosan finings - a colloidal shellfish preparation - that had remained from previous years. In desparation, I added the chitosan to the wine and in a few days, I had a brilliantly clear, bright wine.

The must was chaptalized to give a dry-finished wine with just over 12% alc./vol. Rich pale-straw hue with a deep greenish hue in the glass. Swirling brings out gentle, though unmistakable fusel/home-heating-oil/heavy-petrol oily notes coupled with forward acacia flowers, raspy citrus rind (I am convinced that this is Beamsville/western-Niagara-Peninsula terroir speaking - this citrusy aroma is well represented in the area's Sauvignon Blancs and Rieslings) and just the faintest musky-lemon-candy aroma framing it all. Light and crisp on the entry, with much crispness but moderate acidity overall; dry and light. Raspy citrus-rind replays on the mid-palate with some alcoholic warmth and malic tartness toward the finish. Clean finish; plenty of floral acacia/jasmine flavour and just a bit of musk on the finish, which is quite long.

Overall, I am quite happy with this dry Niagara. I feel that it is the equal of my 2003 effort, which was superior to both my original (2001) and 2005 vintages. The plan so far is to have some of my 2007 dry Niagara at NiagaraCOOL '08, so it will be my pleasure to present this wine then.

Looks good Paul. I'm just finally getting around to bottling my first 5 gallons of '06 bubbly - 100% chardonnay. I'll also be doing another 15 gallons of '06 bubbly - blend of Cayuga and Vidal. Then I'll start on the '07s - Steuben first.

Thanks Howie. Your Chardonnay sparkler sounds really interesting - can't say I've heard of too many 100% Chard sparklers, but the idea is appealing.

I will post notes similar to these on my '07 dry Concord sometime soon - I just need to get around to it.

All in all, both wines turned out very satisfactory ... and I have come away convinced that Concord does work very well when oaked.

Thanks for the notes Paul, and the wine looks great!
When I first started making wines from kits and concentrates (almost 15 years ago), I remember using a product called KC Fining. The kit contained two packets one was a fining agent the other a clarifier. Basically I believe the packet of clarifier was always chitosan and the packet of fining agent (depending upon on whether it was meant for red or white wine fining) was a fining agent- kieselsol, bentonite, gelatin, silica gel or isinglass. Today I think the packets are just labeled clarifier and fining agent, but the two packets are meant to be used in conjunction with each other.

Salute

...can't say I've heard of too many 100% Chard sparklers...

Paul, Chardonnay is one of the few grapes allowed in true Champagne, and if it's 100% Chard it is referred to as "Blanc des Blanc". Quite traditional, actually.

...can't say I've heard of too many 100% Chard sparklers...

Paul, Chardonnay is one of the few grapes allowed in true Champagne, and if it's 100% Chard it is referred to as "Blanc des Blanc". Quite traditional, actually.

Thanks Howie. Shows you how rarely I delve into French wine nowadays! I haven't had a beloved Madiran in quite a while now either.

NiagaraCool is a comforting thought right now. The wind is howling, it's 7 degrees F and yesterday I shoveled 3 times. A glass of Paul's Niagara and some of Howie's soup and Steuben are thoughts to get through winter by.

I racked for the 2nd time a few weeks ago and things looked good. I used a sur lee/batonage procedure this year, checking each week or so for off odors. None occurred. Everything had cleared reasonably before the 2nd racking except the Diamond which I decided not to rack. It had cleared as expected before the 1st racking but now looked more like fresh juice. Why should it alone respond in this way? Of course, it's in the basement of the tool shed where the temperature isn't much above freezing. I'll bring it down to the house to give the warmth a chance to speed things up. It absolutely must be ready in time for NiagaraCool!

Dan, your Diamond is the gem of the offline - so yes, it must be ready!

As you know, I think you have a truly masterful hand with that grape. It's one of the wines I truly look forward to trying every year.

Is there a maling list sign up??

The bottle looks very inviting, Paul!!! And your TN sounds delicious... congrats!!!

James, get with it..it`s mailing!!!! Shaky hand this morning????

James, get with it..it`s mailing!!!! Shaky hand this morning????

Paul,

Have you found that fining and filtering the wines changes the flavors?
I have read from some importers that the fining filtration process can strip flavors from the final wine.
Has this been your experience with the wines you make?

I enjoyed reading about your Niagara, and would love to try it myself sometime.
I have never made wine myself, just some home brewed beer.

Thanks,
Marc

Is there a maling list sign up??

Nope - I don't practice cult-like tactics

Seriously though, I will do my best to bring some to NiagaraCOOL, so if you can make it there, then you can certainly try it for yourself!

Have you found that fining and filtering the wines changes the flavors?
I have read from some importers that the fining filtration process can strip flavors from the final wine.
Has this been your experience with the wines you make?

Marc, I was worried about that too. Considering all I went through to try and clear this wine, I was quite sure that it was a goner - and then the chitosan came to the rescue. I was delighted and rushed to bottle the wine as soon as it had turned crystal-clear.

To tell you the truth though, I am very happy that the wine did not suffer any ill effects due to all the attempts to clarify it. A tannic red, perhaps, might have had some stripping occur ... but my Niagara came out just fine despite all the manipulations.

Paul,
Here’s an article from WineMaker Magazine (Oct 2007) written by Jeff Chorniak.

http://winemakermag.com/feature/733.html

Salute

Thanks Victor - I have corresponded with Jeff in the past. It was a most informative and enjoyable read.