NiagaraCOOL reports?

So, where are the photos and the WTNs from this past weekend's big event??

I wasn't able to be there myself, so I want to know what I missed.

I'm still recovering, but I just posted about the food that I cooked in the Forum Kitchen. I didn't have a chance to take any notes on the Italian Wines (and others) that we had at the picnic, but when I get my head together I'll post about the Saturday winery tour.

Bruce,
Howie did a fantastic job with the food (as always) I left stuffed to a point where I came home and went to sleep. There was a nice collection of wines dominated by Italy but there were plenty of others including some fantastic sparkling Vouvray and John brought a nice MARTINboro Sauvignon. The wineries all took great care of us on Saturday- Cave Spring included a tour of all the vineyards and a great tasting. Dave Gimbal set us up at Vineland and Flat Rock- great tours and world class wine (even reds!)

[James Roscoe]

Bruce,
Howie did a fantastic job with the food (as always) I left stuffed to a point where I came home and went to sleep. There was a nice collection of wines dominated by Italy but there were plenty of others including some fantastic sparkling Vouvray and John brought a nice MARTINboro Sauvignon. The wineries all took great care of us on Saturday- Cave Spring included a tour of all the vineyards and a great tasting. Dave Gimbal set us up at Vineland and Flat Rock- great tours and world class wine (even reds!)

We breathlessly await John Fiola's report. I think he was taking notes. (Of course we are still waiting for his report of his tour of New Zealand! )

I did not take notes of anything but let me hit the highlights in general chronological order from my point of view:
Buzzies with Howie and John which we have done two years in a row so I assume that is now a tradition.
The Ed Draves Tour! Ed is the most fantastic tour guide you could want and he drives so he has to spit! The additional plus is you get to hear all about PearlAnn and Chris. What could be better?!?!?!?
Cave Springs - This was far and away the best winery tour I have ever been. The winery owner takes us up into the vineyards and shows us the soils, the vines, the entire package! It was a wine geeks dream. then he takes us back for a private tasting. I could have spent all day with him. His enthusiasm really came across in his wines, especially the Rieslings. If you see a Cave Spring Riesling, grab it!
Vineland and Flatrock wineries - These were also first rate operations. We were treated well here too. There is good juice in Canada!
Suzzette's - (Edit) John, Ed, Howie, Jeannette, our two daughter's and myself met for dinner at a very nice restaurant in Howie's hometown. The prime rib was excellent as was the pasta. We downed an excellent bottle of Vineland 2000 Cabernet Franc. We also had a bottle of Bordeaux superiuer (Bois Redon) after my Pomerol proved badly corked. to top the evening off we watched the state cops take away some poor schmoe on an apparent drunk driving rap.
Niagara Falls - These never get old. We took our two teenage daughters here for the first time on Sunday morning. It was a little dreary, but we had fun.
THE Picnic - the food was top notch. The wine was world class. I lived the two Stuebens, one by Dan Smothergill and one by Howie Hart. The contrasting styles were fun to taste. The Italian white wines were a revelation. All dry and all excellent with the array of seafood "Howie put out for us to sample. The Huet Vouvray, however, stole the show for me among the white wines along with an outstanding 1976 Riesling brought by Ed Draves. He will have to chime in with more information. the reds were also great. I knew I loved Amarone and there was some nebbiolo there that was singing by the end of the show. Someone brought a really nice Chinon that I enjoyed.
The People - It was great to see people like Steve and Terri (early congratulations!) Dan and his wife with their friends (sorry, I am failing "the name test") as well as the all wonderful John Fiola and Ed Draves (about whom nothing more need be said). So where was Paul B? or Bruce and Debbie? Or Paulo and Cynthia (I here they are a hot item ) or the most gossiped about non-attendee, JB?
HOWIE - A big THANK YOU! to Howie for a great weekend. I look forward to next year! (DiCamillo's Rocks!)

Wow, what a social whirl. Great to hear it all went so well.
Cave Springs rocks, that is for sure!

So where was Paul B? or Bruce and Debbie? Or Paulo and Cynthia

Cynthia was working.

Hey James John or Howie- if anyone has a pic of Tom and me, I need it. Thanks

[James Roscoe]

So where was Paul B? or Bruce and Debbie? Or Paulo and Cynthia

Cynthia was working.

You call that an excuse? You really are pathetic!

Hey James John or Howie- if anyone has a pic of Tom and me, I need it. Thanks

I have a lot to do tonight, so I don't have time to resize and upload the photos now, but I'll try for tomorrow night (before Chat) and email you some full size versions.

Hey James John or Howie- if anyone has a pic of Tom and me, I need it. Thanks

I have a lot to do tonight, so I don't have time to resize and upload the photos now, but I'll try for tomorrow night (before Chat) and email you some full size versions.

awesome, thanks

NCOOLTom.jpg

Tom from Cave Spring showing John Fiola and James Roscoe the various types of rocks in the soil at their vineyard.

NCOOL Taste.jpg

Jeanette and James Roscoe, with Ed Draves in the middle, tasting at Flat Rock Cellars.

[James Roscoe]

Thank you for the "flattering" pictures Howie. Maybe I need to start pulling the "Julia B. routine".

Seriously, it was loads of fun. The trip to Cave Springs was especially memorable. Thanks again for all your hard work.

My favorite wines of the Saturday tour were:
2006 Cave Spring CVS Estate Riesling - wonderful nose, long finish with just a hint of anise
2005 Cave Spring Brut 88% Chardonnay, 12% Gamay - nice bubbly
2000 Vineland Cabernet Franc - very intense with black olives on the nose
2005 Flat Rock Pinot Noir - deep cherry color, long complex finish - lovely wine.

Howie.......2006 Cave Spring CVS Estate Riesling - wonderful nose, long finish with just a hint of anise

Came across this one last night, $34.
This weekend, DeVines store is pouring Canadian wines as part of our holiday coming up on July 1. 18 tables including Cave Spring.

James,

I was the most gossiped about non-attendee?? I'm worried that you all were lacking for entertainment. What happened?? Did people not want to hear about how you broke your ankle one more time??


JuliaB

2006 Cave Spring CVS Estate Riesling - wonderful nose, long finish with just a hint of anise

Might this be CSV (Cave Spring VIneyare) rather than CVS? I found a Cave Spring 2006 Niagara VQA Riesling and a 2006 Cave Spring Vineyard Beamsville Bench VQA Estate Bottled Riesling today when I was out and about. Both were very reasonably priced ($12 and $15 respectively). I picked up a bottle of the Cave Spring Vineyard to try. Looking forward to it, and really sorry that we couldn't make the winery visits. Ed does a great job of arranging them.

I'll post more on NiagaraCOOL when I get organizized, but it was a great time as usual. Howie, many thanks for all your work and great cooking. And James, thanks.

Steve, you have some terrific wines there...and prices are better than out here in AB-land!!

I'm worried that you all were lacking for entertainment.

Actually, we did have entertainment. A local singer/guitar player Howie knows entertained for the better part of the afternoon and we passed the hat at the end. Veterans of NiagaraCool might be interested to know also that we had the big pavillion, complete with electricity, thanks to Howie getting the application in at the opening bell. The weather cooperated beautifully too with a nice breeze from the west and clear sky.

But the reason you haven't seen more about the picnic is that the number of attendees, and consequent bottles of wine and wine discussion, was down from past gatherings. In particular, some of the regulars whose understanding and perspective about wine have made NiagaraCool special were notably absent. We had a very good time, I'd certainly go again, but the missing brought about an elephant in the room that couldn't be ignored.

2006 Cave Spring CVS Estate Riesling - wonderful nose, long finish with just a hint of anise

Might this be CSV (Cave Spring VIneyare) rather than CVS? I found a Cave Spring 2006 Niagara VQA Riesling and a 2006 Cave Spring Vineyard Beamsville Bench VQA Estate Bottled Riesling today when I was out and about. Both were very reasonably priced ($12 and $15 respectively). I picked up a bottle of the Cave Spring Vineyard to try. Looking forward to it, and really sorry that we couldn't make the winery visits. Ed does a great job of arranging them.

I'll post more on NiagaraCOOL when I get organizized, but it was a great time as usual. Howie, many thanks for all your work and great cooking. And James, thanks.

Well Steve, the good news is we plan on Chautauqua next year- ending with a Niagara County winery (near Howie's house, where Howie always finds a great place to eat).

Cave Spring is one of my favorite wineries- the people are great as well.

Psychologists, my tribe, take it for granted that the mind is wonderfully complex and mysterious. Yet this understanding never detracts from the jolt in seeing it in action. I had such an experience at NiagaraCool. While on the tour at Vineland Estates I vaguely remembered a wine research station having been in Ontario. I asked our tour guide, but he knew nothing about it. It later occurred to me that the name of the place I was thinking of might have been Vineland, so being at Vineland Estates probably had resurrected the memory. Sure enough, I found on the web that an agriculture research institute exists to this day in Vineland, the probable successor to what I half-remembered. But then the real kicker occurred. Reading Philip Wagner's Grapes Into Wine, I picked it up again this morning for the first time since NiagaraCool. Turns out I had left off on page 84 at: "Several new hybrids from the Vineland, Ontario, viticultural station are also finding some favor". The mind is indeed a wonderful thing.

I'll post some more later, but let me say another great year and many thanks to Howie (and Ed, but I wasn't part of the touring this year) for putting on the shindig and tirelessly cooking for the entire day. We had great weather and good company -- what more can you ask?

Mark