Last year I was tasting through Ontario Cabernet Franc wines, and I adored the wines from Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery Estate Vineyard, so I had great expectations when I received Chardonnay wines to review as part of my Ontario Chardonnay Review study. I was not disappointed. These are excellent wines.
In case you wanted to know about the name of the winery, “Wending” is the concatenation of two Cantonese characters, which together means an educated, cultured person. The owners, Ron Giesbrecht, veteran Niagara winemaker and business partner, Ying Feng, aim to take a slow path to crafting terroir-focused wines.
Here are my notes for these two wines.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2020 (Sold Out)
This wine won a Gold Medal at the 2024 Chardonnay du Monde Awards. Quite an achievement. Winemaker’s notes, “The marvelous 2020 growing season and harvest was nearly perfect in all vine-related respects in Niagara…The tools and methods <to produce this wine> include French oak (only about 8% new), long and cooler barrel fermentation, full malo-lactic fermentation, and 10 months on lees, in barrel.”
Appearance: A clear, bright, deep gold colour.
Nose: Medium intenstiy aromas of buttered popcorn, ripe pineapple and apple, and butterscotch. The aromas are a little lighter after decanting.
Palate: Dry, medium body, with a silky smooth, soft, thicker mouthfeel. Buttery texture. Dried pineapple and apple flavour plus butterscotch and a touch of oak and pepperiness. Medium-minus acidity. A medium-minus body after decanting, lighter mouthfeel. No change to the flavours.
Finish: A long length finishing with pineapple and butterscotch flavours, a touch of oak and pepperiness. Buttery texture till the end. A lighter mouthfeel on the finish after decanting, plus there is more oak and pepperiness on the palate.
Rating: 
– The Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2020 shows a deep gold colour with aromas of buttered popcorn, ripe pineapple, apple, and butterscotch that soften slightly with air. The palate is dry and medium-bodied with a silky, buttery texture, offering dried pineapple, apple, butterscotch, and touches of oak and pepperiness alongside moderate acidity. It finishes long with pineapple, butterscotch, oak, and peppery notes, maintaining a rich texture while becoming lighter in feel after decanting.
Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2021 (Sold Out)
Winemaker’s notes, “The harvest time was not the dream that 2020 had been but earlier varieties were less affected and Chardonnay is an early to mid-season ripening variety. When wet weather looms, this means is that the grapes must
dictate when harvest occurs and it is almost always a bit sooner than the winemaker would prefer… The tools and methods include French oak (16% new), long and cooler barrel fermentation, full malo-lactic fermentation, and a long and restful
18 months on lees, in barrel.“
Appearance: Bright, clear medium-plus intensity mix of lemon and gold colours.
Nose: Medium intensity, deep aromas of ripe pears, pineapples, and apples, with touches of sweet spice and butterscotch. Lighter intensity aromas after decanting, but same aromas.
Palate: This wine is dry, medium-bodied, with a smooth, soft, thicker mouthfeel that gets lighter on the mid-palate. Pears, ripe pineapple, butterscotch, and cinnamon flavours. You get a thicker mouthfeel after decanting, with the weight not getting lighter on the mid-palate. The acidity is maybe a touch lighter.
Finish: Medium to medium-plus length, finishing with ripe pineapple, pear, butterscotch and a touch of oak on the finish. No change to the finish after decanting.
Rating: 
The Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2021 shows a bright lemon-gold colour with aromas of ripe pear, pineapple, and apple layered with sweet spice and butterscotch, softening slightly with air. The palate is dry and medium-bodied with a smooth, slightly thicker texture, offering pear, ripe pineapple, butterscotch, and cinnamon, with a fuller, more even weight after decanting. It finishes medium to medium-plus in length with pineapple, pear, butterscotch, and a touch of oak.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
Unfortunately, these two wines are both sold out at the winery. I also could not see either wine listed at the Ontario LCBO website. I am not surprised, as these two wines are excellent.
