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An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

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An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Paul B. » Wed Jul 04, 2007 2:25 pm

After reading an article about Ontario's wine scene that appeared a year ago on http://www.niagarapeninsula.com - article link here - I decided to write a letter to the editor. I share the letter here for our Northeasterners especially but also for anyone who may find it of interest.

_______________________

Dear Friends,

In the article titled History in the Winemaking by Rebecca C. Hawkes, dated July 1, 2006, mention is made of Ontario's past history with labrusca grapes (Concord, Niagara) and the terrible wines that marred the reputation of our province's wine industry. I would like to say that although much has been written in many online journals and in print about native-grape wines, there is quite a bit more that may yet be written about them.

I believe that the vinifera revolution, if it may be so termed, was a godsend for Ontario: with internationally recognized wine grape varieties there came an impetus to import quality vineyard management and winemaking to Ontario as well. Not only have vinifera varieties been grown and made into award-winning, internationally respected wines in Ontario, but French hybrid varieties such as Vidal, Baco Noir and Marechal Foch, have been succesfully made into quality regional table wines - these last examples being VQA-certified when grown in Ontario.

The part of the story about native-grape wines that I believe has not yet been told is the potential that they have for a complete makeover thanks to the existence of viticultural and winemaking standards perfected on vinifera. Native labruscas, although mainly grown for juice (and many old vines have been pulled out due to competitive pressures faced by Ontario growers), are being used at small artisanal estate wineries across much of the Northeastern United States to this day. Many of these wines, some of which I have personally evaluated, have nothing at all in common with Cold Duck or even the mass-produced and syrupy Kosher wines that bear the Concord name. Johnson Estate in Western New York and Chaddsford Winery in Pennsylvania are but two wineries that are making clean, flavourful and refreshing off-dry wines from grapes like Delaware and Niagara. Yes, these are bold and perfumey wines - but they are also clean and pure with a natural vibrancy. There are also award-winning dry versions produced by talented home winemakers, some of whom I know and whose wines I have enjoyed.

There is no question that memories of poorly made industrial wines take a long time to fade, and for some they never do. It could be another generation before the tide turns, but I believe that the problem with those wines was not the grape varieties but rather a lack of know-how and the wrong vision. I like to think that there will be room for all grape varieties on Ontarian tables some day - including the climatically suitable native labruscas.

Yours very sincerely,

Paul Bulas
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by David Creighton » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:29 pm

hello paul
1. the person who wrote that article had apparently talked to a few people; but has little real understanding of the situation. i doubt its possible to educate such a person further. not knowing that concord wasnt' the only miscreant - if that is the word - and not knowing about hybrids at all it would seem except to mention a couple of names shows that this is just a rehash from other sources. m entioning peller and hillebrand - apparently not knowing the original name for hillebrand while ignoring the true pioneers - inniskillin and ch. des charmes is also unforgivable but understandable.
2. are you SURE that chaddsford does a wine from native grapes. been there several times and can't remember one unless the 'spring' thing has some cayuga in it. i know it has vidal. or did i misread that part of your letter? david
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Paul B. » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:39 pm

Dave, they most certainly do make a Niagara, and it is frankly the best commercial Niagara that I have ever tried.

In fact, here is the spec sheet

Our good WLDGer Paulo Faustini brought this to NiagaraCool last year - for which I thank him heartily. I think that Chaddsford's example can be the beacon for others to follow.
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Thomas » Wed Jul 04, 2007 5:41 pm

Paul,

Being an avid letter writer, I want to tell you that yours is a good letter. Makes your case well and does it with a nice build up.

Far too many times, people who write stories like that are reporters but not necessarily well versed in viticulture or viniculture. Being a writer who covers the wine beat, that realization makes me crazy.


David,

Along with Inniskillen, the old Hillebrand was instrumental in pushing for the VQA system in Ontario--the very system that wound up banning so-called native varieties.

Take a look at my article for Wines and Vines: http://www.winesandvines.com/template.c ... tent=48975
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Paul B. » Wed Jul 04, 2007 5:51 pm

Thanks Thomas. Misinformation that sticks is one of the greatest foes of any educator - and I appreciate where you're coming from. The amount of it out there is so high that it can be exasperating wading through it as a reader, let alone writing in to the author or editor.

What gets me is how incomplete info gets copied and re-used, and re-used in various places - basically because it's easier that way. Too often the bottom line might mean that things aren't researched thoroughly before they are printed. Just as an example, I've seen the wine qualities of certain grape descriptions copied word for word on completely independent grapevine distributors' or nurseries' websites - notwithstanding the fact that these vines can produce very diverse wines depending on the terroir they happen to be planted in!
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Thomas » Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:00 pm

Paul B. wrote:Thanks Thomas. Misinformation that sticks is one of the greatest foes of any educator - and I appreciate where you're coming from. The amount of it out there is so high that it can be exasperating wading through it as a reader, let alone writing in to the author or editor.

What gets me is how incomplete info gets copied and re-used, and re-used in various places - basically because it's easier that way. Too often the bottom line might mean that things aren't researched thoroughly before they are printed. Just as an example, I've seen the wine qualities of certain grape descriptions copied word for word on completely independent grapevine distributors' or nurseries' websites - notwithstanding the fact that these vines can produce very diverse wines depending on the terroir they happen to be planted in!


Paul,

You should see the two email I got from Ontario wine people about my article. Some don't want certain information to get out to the public and they will feed what they want to feed to an unknowing reporter.
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Paul B. » Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:08 pm

Fantastic article, Thomas. It will be interesting to see how this all develops.

While the local wine industry has grown in leaps and bounds in the last 20 years, Ontario's wine culture as such has not grown beyond a select portion of the population - nor has a general "place awareness" grown among people at large. Our society - especially urban society, of which one major city, Toronto, is very close to the winelands - remains quite detached from the land and farming, and origin doesn't seem to matter to a lot of people. That might change if inexpensive goods shipped from great distances some day lose their price advantage.
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Paul B. » Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:10 pm

Thomas wrote:Paul,

You should see the two email I got from Ontario wine people about my article. Some don't want certain information to get out to the public and they will feed what they want to feed to an unknowing reporter.

I guess one shouldn't be too surprised. Organizations likely use whatever tools are at their disposal to further their own select interests - even if a more accurate overview of the given situation becomes a casualty along the way.
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Victorwine » Thu Jul 05, 2007 12:34 am

Hi Paul, enjoyed your letter to the editor more than the article itself, great Job! (If you get a reply from the editor, please get back to us).
One note about Chaddsford’s Niagara, the grapes are not grown in Brandywine Country (or the Philadelphia Countryside), but come from the Lake Erie AVA. Not sure if Eric Miller owns property in the Lake Erie AVA or he out sources these grapes. You might be interested in trying Niagara wines made from other PA wineries located in the Lake Erie AVA- Arrowhead Wine Cellars; Heritage Wine Cellars; Mazza Vineyards; Penn Shore Vineyards; and Presque Isle Wine Cellars. A few years ago I attended a PA Wine and Food Festival at Split Rock Resorts and even then these wineries were showing great promise with the Niagara grape.

Salute
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by David Creighton » Thu Jul 05, 2007 9:03 am

hi thomas - i know the OLD hillebrand was there near the beginning - but my point was that hillebrand is the name given by the new owners quite a bit later. for the life of me i can't remember what the name was of joseph pohorly's original winery, however.
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Paul B. » Thu Jul 05, 2007 9:25 am

Victorwine wrote:One note about Chaddsford’s Niagara, the grapes are not grown in Brandywine Country (or the Philadelphia Countryside), but come from the Lake Erie AVA. Not sure if Eric Miller owns property in the Lake Erie AVA or he out sources these grapes. You might be interested in trying Niagara wines made from other PA wineries located in the Lake Erie AVA- Arrowhead Wine Cellars; Heritage Wine Cellars; Mazza Vineyards; Penn Shore Vineyards; and Presque Isle Wine Cellars. A few years ago I attended a PA Wine and Food Festival at Split Rock Resorts and even then these wineries were showing great promise with the Niagara grape.

Victor, I much appreciate your comments and the suggestions.

Back at NiagaraCool '06, I made the comment (after reviewing the Chaddsford Niagara) that the Niagara grape can be thought of a true regional specialty in our area, for it bears the name of Niagara County - which is where in fact it was first bred. I guess you have heard of the New York Muscat variety (a muscat-labrusca hybrid); well, I think that Niagara can be thought of in analogous terms, almost like a "New York Viognier" due to its perfumey nature.

I am very happy to hear that these estates are taking Niagara to the heights it deserves, because it truly is a grape that was born in our general part of the continent.
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Paul B. » Thu Jul 05, 2007 5:24 pm

Victorwine wrote:(If you get a reply from the editor, please get back to us).

Victor, I am happy to say that I did get a reply. In fact, they posted my letter.
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter

by Ed Draves » Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:17 am

Paul,
Great letter- I appreciate your passion.
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Victorwine » Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:06 am

Congratulations Paul! Went to the Home Page of the site you posted and saw your letter.

Salute
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Peter May » Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:28 pm

I'm getting a touch of Dr Who here.

Paul wrote a letter in July 2007 about an article by Rebecca Hawkes dated July 2006 and his letter was posted on the site on November 30, 1999

Which means the article was a response to Paul's letter....
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Re: An article on the history of Ontario wine and my letter to the editor

by Paul B. » Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:41 pm

LOL Peter :!:

Undoubtedly there are some wicked gremlins at work on that server ... or maybe at the editorial board? :lol:
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Uhhhhh, Paul.....

by TomHill » Fri Jul 06, 2007 2:30 pm

it takes you a whole year to get your dander up enough to write a letter?? That shows a lot of restraint on your part, especially when it attacks your beloved native grapes.
It IS a very cogent and well-written letter, though.
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Re: Uhhhhh, Paul.....

by Paul B. » Fri Jul 06, 2007 2:50 pm

Tom, it took me all of five minutes to write when I read the article ...

Now, if you're talking about the gremlins playing with the dates on the website, that is totally outside my control :)
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