Tasting Tour of Prince Edward County Ont. - long

Tasting tour of Prince Edward County

(Tom and Betty Noland honoring Queen’s graduates Cody Noland and Cody’s girl friend Candace)

Winery #1 Waupoos Estate Winery situated on the south shore of PEC Clay based soil underlaid with limestone. Candace and Cody in photo.

2006 Geisenheim (this is a riesling hybrid)
Light tan with a nose of earthy minerality with light exotic fruit. Nice midpalate feel with refreshing acidity light and lemony fruit. Medium to long finish of lemons. Fairly simple wine. Unique nose for a hybrid, unlike any other white I have tried.

2006 Geisenheim semidry (2% RS)
Light straw color. Shy nose of earthiness and touch of lychees. Lychees and lemons on the midpalate as the wine glides past the tongue the medium finish acidic fruit.
Purchased a bottle. Candace and Cody particularly liked this wine and I gave it to them as a graduation gift.

2006 DeChaunac semidry (2% RS) hybrid
Deep ruby red. Unique nose of smoke and minerals with some plumy notes and sweet caramel. Earthy smokiness on the midplate with some minerality. Nice medium finish of acidic fruit and a hint of smoke.
I liked this wine enough to buy a bottle.

2006 Pearl Noir (Baco noir – Gamay blend)
Medium ruby color. Smoky plums on the nose with a hint of minerality. Smooth tannins and acidic plums on the midpalate. Short to medium finish that left a bit to be desired.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot blend
Deep purple red. Nose of light cassis and sweet vanilla, smoke and a hint of plum. Light to medium bodied with mild tannins and good midpalate feel of acidity and plums. A bit short on fruit. Medium to long finish of acidic blackberries.

2007 Baco Noir
Deep ruby red color. Oaky nose with not much fruit. Nicely balanced medium bodied wine with smooth tannins, good acidity, chocolate notes and dark fruit. Medium to long finish of acidic fruit. I liked this wine enough to buy a bottle.


Winery #2 Black Prince Winery

2006 Geisenheim Bella Vigne
Light straw color. A nose of earth and melons. Smooth midpalate with good acidity and lemon fruit. Medium acidic finish which faded at the end.

2007 Harwood Gewurztraminer
Pale yellow. Classic gewurz nose of lychees and melons. Fruity midpalate and nice balance of fruit and acidity. Light to medium bodied with a short to medium finish of fruit. Nice sipper.

2006 Black Hand Series Cabernet Franc
Ruby red. Nose of fruity mushrooms and light plums. Nice balance with smooth tannins and good cherry plum fruit. Medium to long finish of acidic plums. Cody’s favorite red. I bought one for his graduation present.

2006 first crush Black Prince Cabernet Sauvignon
Medium ruby. Expressive nose of cherry jam and plums with a hint of oak. Very smooth and soft midpalate. Somewhat sweet. Short finish of sweet fruit.

2006 Black Prince Chambourcin (hybrid)
Ruby red. Nose of plums, strawberries and mead. Tart cherry midpalate that was quite acidic. Short to medium finish of acidic fruit. A bit high on acid for my taste.

NV Red Hand Castell
Deep garnet color. A forest floor nose with heavy blueberry. Good balance. Cinnamon spice midpalate with smooth tannins and balancing acidity. Medium finish of dark fruit and acidity.

Winery #3 Grange of Prince Edward County

2006 Sauvignon Blanc
Light straw color. A nose of gooseberries, kiwis and grass. Good balance. Nice gooseberry fruit on the midpalate. Medium to long finish. A bit of a hole in the midpalate.

2007 riesling
Light yellow. Ripe melon on the nose with hints of pineapple. Midpalate of refreshing acidity and lemon fruit. Medium to long finish of bright lemons.

2006 Assemblage Tumpour’s Mill 12% abv
Straw yellow. Lychees and petrol with background of ripe melons on the nose. Nicely balanced. Expressive ripe fruit (especially melons) on the midpalate. Medium to long finish of tingly lemons and melons on the finish. Bought two bottles.
Mix of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, and pinot gris.

2006 Pinot Noir
Light ruby. Earth and oak on the nose with a hint of cherries. Light bodied with cherries and oak on the midpalate. Short to medium finish. Oak a bit much to me. Cody did not like this wine.

2004 Trumpour’s Mill Cabernet sauvignon and franc
Medium ruby red. Oak and plums on the nose with a hint of cherries. Oaky midpalate with some fruit. Medium finish of acidic plums. Medium bodied.

Winery #4. Rosehall Run established 2006.

2006 Sullyzwicker white blend.
Pale yellow. Shy nose of lemons. Nice midpalate of acidic fruit. Light bodied wine. Medium length finish of lemons.

2006 Gewurztraminer
Golden yellow. Nice lychee nose with a background of melons. Nicely balanced midpalate. Light fruit medium finish. Bought a bottle.

2006 Estate chardonnay 12.7% abv.
Light straw color. Oaky nose with some lemon and floral notes. Good midpalate feel with sweetish fruit. Short to medium finish.

2006 Sul Lie chardonnay
Pale yellow. Apple and lychees on the nose. Nice balance. Fruity midpalate. Light bodied with a medium finish.

2006 pinot noir
Light red. Oaky cherries on the nose. Bitter fruit on the midpalate. Short to medium finish. Not much of a wine.

2006 Sullyzwicker Red Pinot Noir 22%, Gamay 45%, Cab Franc 33%.
Medium ruby. Light fruity nose of green gage plums. Midpalate a bit short on fruit. Nice medium finish.

2005 Cabernet sauvignon.
Medium ruby. Oak and tart fruit on the tonse. Tart fruit nicely balanced with acidity and tannins on the midpalate. On the light side for a cab. Medium finish.

Additional notes: Most whites are passable in Prince Edward County. Many of the red grapes are grown in the Niagara region of Ontario. Except for the hybrids, most of the local reds taste somewhat unripe. I purchased most wines for their unique qualities that intrigued me, not because they were really high quality wines. I especially liked some of the hybrids like geisenheim and De Chaunac. Which are probably the strength of PEC. All wineries supposedly charged for tastings, but the only winery that actually charged me for tastings, was Grange. Strangely enough this winery had the most impressive tasting room and the least impressive person pour wines. I think our Grange server was new and did not really know much about wine. The rest of the wineries had someone knowledgeable or the winemaker pouring wines for our visits.

My favorite winery was Waupoos, although Grange of PEC has a better wine quality reputation. I was not impressed with their server. We had lunch at the small restaurant at Waupoos. Beautiful view of the lake and their wines and menu were nicely matched. For example, we had 500 ml of geisenheim with our grilled scallops appetizer. Nice match. Then we had another 500 ml of De Chaunac with our main course, which for me was lamb sausage. Another fine wine food match. Their wine prices were quite reasonable ($15 per 500 ml, I think, and the menu nicely matched to their wines. That is my kind of restaurant.

PEC is the up and coming wine region of Ontario and is not at consistently high quality yet and is “Not ready for prime time” especially for reds. For example, I was there on June 1 and the vines had not yet completely leafed out. However, I must point out that we only visited 4 wineries and at least 2 or 3 other good quality wineries that should be tried before passing a consensus judgment on the entire county.

Many thanks for the notes. Everytime I drive by that area, I am very tempted to go in. Your notes were very interesting!

Most whites are passable in Prince Edward County. Many of the red grapes are grown in the Niagara region of Ontario. Except for the hybrids, most of the local reds taste somewhat unripe. I purchased most wines for their unique qualities that intrigued me, not because they were really high quality wines. I especially liked some of the hybrids like geisenheim and De Chaunac. Which are probably the strength of PEC.

Tom, many thanks for these exceptionally fine notes on a newly developing wine region in Ontario.

I completely concur with you on Geisenheim and Dechaunac. Last year at Fiesta Buckhorn, I tasted a few wines from the PEC appellation and, with the exception of a Zweigelt that was ripe and spicy - though they have to bury the vines! - I would say that the Dechaunac is the best red they've got going over there. The Chambourcins are a uniform disaster in my opinion. Why? Because Chambourcin is a late-ripening red hybrid that's better suited, frankly, to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, etc. I don't understand this fashion that has developed in Ontario for planting Chambourcin: it's too late-ripening to make really good wine up here and always comes out unnaturally acidic and thin. Really, Chambourcin should be seen as an ideal Mid-Atlantic grape variety; we do better here with Dechaunac and certainly with Foch.

Geisenheim indeed has a big tropical-fruit nose - I tried a 2003 Geisenheim from Willow Springs some years back and it was quite a mouthful and very flavourful.

Hi Paul,

You are right about your thin reds with high acidity. I really like acidity in my wines that helps make it food friendly. Many of the reds and some whites I tasted were a bit out balance with too much acidity and not enough fruit. Sure sign of somewhat unripe wines.

Tom - thanks for the update. Keep in mind that 2006, which is the vintage of many of the wines you reported, was a very difficult year, especially for reds in both the Niagara region and the Finger Lakes as well. The 2005s and 2007s were much better.

Hi Howie,

Yes, I realize that. And I think 2008 is going to be even more challenging than 2006. When you grow in a marginal area for grapes you have to deal with tough vintages. And you will notice I bought the 2007 baco noir from Waupoos. I thought it was the best red we tasted all day (better ripeness than the 2006 De Chaunac and the cabernet franc from Black Prince). Of course, it is a hybrid that seems to well under the cool climate conditions of Ontario and the Finger Lakes region.

I'm a regular visitor to 'the county', as the locals call it, as a good friend lives there. It's been interesting to see this area become a wine destination - who'd of thought? Lots of buzz and investment, but it is quite a marginal area (even for Canada). I'll have to start doing more winery visits when I am there...

tom - i have wanted to visit there as well - thanks. about your comment that the geisenheim is the most unusual hybrid you have tasted: being from geisenheim, this is not a hybrid in the same sense that the others you mention are. this is a straight vinifera cross not an interspecific cross as are the others. the uniqueness might be attributed to its being a rieslingxsylvaner cross; but i suppose it could be googled to find out exactly. the fact that it hasn't been named yet seems significant.

about your comment that the geisenheim is the most unusual hybrid you have tasted: being from geisenheim, this is not a hybrid in the same sense that the others you mention are. this is a straight vinifera cross not an interspecific cross as are the others.

Actually, David, I think it is a hybrid. This is off the Y2K glossary:

GEISENHEIM GM318-57:
White wine producing hybrid cultivar technically known as GM318-57 created in 1957. Reported as derived from Riesling cl.239 F2 and Chancellor parents. Moderately winter hardy. Susceptible to leaf burn from copper-containing sprays and fungus diseases such as Powdery Mildew. Usually ripens late September where successfully grown in Nova Scotia, Canada. A reportedly slightly hardier yet similar hybrid is the Jost (Geisenheim) listed below. A somewhat similar cultivar, currently grown on the south island of New Zealand, is a variety named Breidecker.

tom - i have wanted to visit there as well - thanks. about your comment that the geisenheim is the most unusual hybrid you have tasted: being from geisenheim, this is not a hybrid in the same sense that the others you mention are. this is a straight vinifera cross not an interspecific cross as are the others. the uniqueness might be attributed to its being a rieslingxsylvaner cross; but i suppose it could be googled to find out exactly. the fact that it hasn't been named yet seems significant.

From the Wine Grape Glossary (link on WLDG Home Page):

EHRENFELSER:
White-wine variety, resulting from the crossing of Riesling and a Sylvaner clone, developed in 1929 at the Geisenheim Research Station, Germany. Many consider it second only to the Kerner grape-cross as a frost-resistant Riesling type substitute for the better known Müller-Thurgau cultivar widely grown in Germany and elsewhere. Mild acid content discourages ageing. Claimed to have excellent Riesling grape similarities in taste etc. Moderately large acreages can now be found in the Okanagan region of western Canada where, according to local lore, it was originally planted in the late 1970's in lieu of a shortage of select clone Riesling cuttings. Subsequently the vine proved so adaptable and successful that it now, (1990's), constitutes British Columbia's 5th largest white variety crop.

thanks paul, i didn't think that geisenheim fooled around with interspecific hybrids. and your pretty sure that the grape called geisenheim grown in PEC is the one your mention - presumably not ehrenfelser anyway, or they would have called it that i would guess.

Yes, I'm sure that even without the numerical code attached to it, the Geisenheim that's being tried here and there in Ontario isn't the same as Ehrenfelser.

Some years' back, Ocala winery up near Port Perry (way out of any established wine region) was growing Kerner; I don't know if they still have it, or whether the continental winters got it eventually.

Personally, I hold out the greatest hope for grapes like Frontenac gris and Prairie Star across Central Ontario. If I were planting a commercial vineyard in an area experiencing regular severe cold, the hardiest of the hybrids would be my choice. Not sure, therefore, how suited Geisenheim actually is, what with its high vinifera makeup.

tom - i have wanted to visit there as well - thanks. about your comment that the geisenheim is the most unusual hybrid you have tasted: being from geisenheim, this is not a hybrid in the same sense that the others you mention are. this is a straight vinifera cross not an interspecific cross as are the others. the uniqueness might be attributed to its being a rieslingxsylvaner cross; but i suppose it could be googled to find out exactly. the fact that it hasn't been named yet seems significant.

Hi David,

Ed Neuser (owner of Waupoos) told me it is crossed with a Russian variety, but he did not say which one. To add to what Paul has found out, here is the google result from Appellation America:


'Geisenheim is a white wine-producing cultivar derived from a hybrid of Riesling and Chancellor parentage. The vine is moderately winter hardy, and has been grown with some success in Nova Scotia by German born Hans Christian Jost of Jost Vineyards. In this Canadian province, it is typically used to make dry, and off-dry white wines, and is occasionally used in a supporting role in Icewine."

Chancellor is a hybrid produced from seibel varieties. In my search of seibel varieties they all have some american parentage, although they are usually mostly vinifera. So, Geisenheim is a viniferaXamerican hybrid, although it is mostly vinifera.