WTN: An excellent Dry White

My wife gave up wine for Lent. Silly thing, but since she usually demands red wines, this has allowed me to delve into some whites I've been wanting to taste. A couple of nights ago, I opened a bottle of Hart's Wine Cellars Dry White. This is a blend of 40% Vidal, 35% Vignoles, and 25% Cayuga made by some guy named Howie Hart .

I pulled it right out of the basement and popped it with no further chilling. Color was a deep lemon yellow. There were very forward aromas that I had a hard time putting a name to - maybe some peach, maybe some lemon oil, maybe a little roussanne-type waxiness. Initially very full in the mouth, with fruit/lemon oil flavors that carried through a full mid-palate. Then bright acidity took over, leading to a long, tart, lifting finish. This is a white wine with some heft that comes off without a trace of flabbiness to it and which ought to go well with a variety of foods. Very nice stuff.

Glad you liked it Mike. Blending can be fun and Vignoles can add some complexity.

I enjoyed your note, Mike!

Yes, Howie's wines are favourites of mine too. I love the idea of a three-way white hybrid blend. Scotch Block, one of the only wineries immediately west of the GTA, makes what I call a "field blend" that's known as Halton White. The 2002 release, which was the first-ever release, was a blend of Vidal, Seyval, Cayuga and Auxerrois - the only vinifera component. The Auxerrois was killed off the following winter, so now it's a blend of the survivor varieties! I loved the '02 release: you could really pick up some gorgeous light foxy whiffs from the very ripe Cayugas that year. That wine clocked in at 13.7% alc. and was finished with about 1% r.s.