Category: Ontario

Ontario’s Dobbin Estate Winery does not talk a lot about itself.  It lets their wines do the talking.   Last year I tasted their Dobbin Estate Cabernet Blend 2020, which I rated as one of my top wines for 2025.  They are located on the highly acclaimed Twenty Mile Bench, and they note their calcium-rich soils are ideal for producing Chardonnay,…

I received three vintages of Chardonnay from Ontario’s Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery as part of my Ontario Chardonnay Review.  I reviewed the 2020 and 2021 vintages previously (see article), and today I am reviewing their 2023 vintage.  Without further delay, here are my tasting notes for this wine. My Wine Tasting Note Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery…

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…

You may have noticed that I have been reviewing and writing about southern Ontario Chardonnay wines, from the Niagara Peninsula in particular.  I have undertaken my “Ontario Chardonnay Review” where I review a selection of wines from across southern Ontario, then using the tasting notes and soil maps of the region, to investigate how Chardonnay in the region expresses itself…

The next Chardonnay that I am tasting for my Ontario Chardonnay Review comes from Henry of Pelham.  I received four bottles of their Chardonnay wines.  Today I am tasting two of them: Henry of Pelham Family Estate Classic Chardonnay 2025 and the Speck Brothers Family Tree “The Goat Lady” Chardonnay 2023.  The winery follows Sustainable Winemaking Ontario’s world-leading standards in their farming…

For my Ontario Chardonnay Review, Cave Spring Vineyard sent me four bottles of their various Chardonnay wines.  In my previous article I reviewed two of the wines and I am now reviewing the remaining two wines.  This winery is one of the pioneers in the area, having been around for four decades.  They are certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario and…

My next wine for my Ontario Chardonnay Review comes from Tawse Winery, located in the Twenty Mile Bench area of the Niagara Peninsula.  I received their Tawse Quarry Road Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 for the review.  They farm organically, although I didn’t notice an organic symbol on the wine label.  This vineyard has been certified organic since 2008.  Here are my…

Today starts my unveiling of Ontario Chardonnay; a terroir-driven exploration of elegance and expression.  Chardonnay has long been a cornerstone of Ontario’s viticultural identity, offering a compelling canvas for terroir to shine.  Ontario’s cool-climate Chardonnay reveals a spectrum of styles, from taut and mineral-driven to richly textured and barrel-aged.  Here is an unoaked and an unoaked Chardonnay from two different wineries:  Featherstone Estate Winery Unoaked…

It is always a treat at a winemaker’s dinner to be able to talk with the winemaker who gives us some insight into how the wines we are drinking together were made and any challenges they encountered.  I recently attended a winemaker dinner at Provence Marinaside, featuring Jessica Otting from the Niagara region’s Tawse Winery, who gave us those insights. …

Every year in the deep, darkness and pouring rain of winter in Vancouver, we have Dine Out Vancouver, to try to get us out and excited about food, wine, and hopefully life.  I booked a dine out experience at Provence Marinaside.  A top notch restaurant in Vancouver, serving excellent French cuisine.  Here are a few pictures of what I enjoyed…