Tag: cabernet franc

2022 was an epic year for making wine, according to BC’s Hester Creek Estate Winery.  The year started out challenging with a late cold start, summer temperatures were not too high, low rainfall during the summer, but then lead to a long, warm end to extend the growing season, allowing the grapes to fully mature.  Many wineries noted that their…

Cabernet Franc has found a remarkable home in the diverse terroirs of Ontario, producing wines that are both vibrant and distinctive. Over the past several months I’ve tasted through 28 different bottles of Cabernet Franc, primarily from the Niagara peninsula, but also two bottles from Prince Edward County.  I wanted to examine how the unique climate and soil composition of the Niagara Peninsula,…

My last stop on my weekend trip to Lillooet and Kamloops was Monte Creek Winery.  I’ve followed along, tasted their wines, and wrote about them since they opened.  And as luck would have it, on this visit, they were celebrating their 10-year anniversary of opening the tasting room.  People have changed over time, and they planted an additional vineyard, Lion’s…

2017 was the last time I visited Fort Berens Estate Winery in Lillooet, along with other wine writers.  The winery was still young, but the quality of their wines were notable.  Almost every year since 2018, I interviewed their current winemaker to find out about their grape harvest.  And every year, I tell people how they should try Fort Berens’…

Today I have a mini-vertical of Cabernet Franc wines from the Niagara region’s Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, in particular their The Chestnut Tree Cabernet Franc wines from 2015, 2017, and 2018.  It is exciting to taste a vertical of wines from a single winery and vineyard, so that you can get a glimpse into how the wine ages and the…

Today, I paired my third dish from Sous Chef by Cardinal™ with a red and a white wine.  The dish was the Marsala Braised Chicken with seasoned long grained rice.  The white wine was the Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Chardonnay 2024, and the red wine was the Dobbin Estate Cabernet Blend 2020 (85% Cabernet Franc and 15% Merlot)…

Here are my latest two Niagara region Cabernet Franc wines to tell you about from One-Eighty Estate Winery.  The story of One-Eighty Estate Winery, “…all started when Bob and Marzia decided they wanted to pursue a new path in life…Bob and Marzia and their two daughters, Taylor and Sara, have always been risk takers in life…Opportunity arose to own and…

These next two Ontario Cabernet Franc wines come from a slightly different area than the other Ontario wines, I’ve been tasting so far.  Prince Edward County is a small region jutting into the north side of Lake Ontario.  It has a cooler climate compared to the Niagara region on the south side of Lake Ontario.  This area is best known…

The next Ontario Cabernet Franc wines I would like to tell you about are from Thirty Bench Wine Makers, who are located on the Beamsville Bench.  This is one of my favourite Niagara wineries, best-known for their Riesling and Pinot Noir wines, IMHO.  I eagerly anticipated opening these two Cabernet Franc wines to see what these wines offer.  Both are…

I am continually amazed by the wines and the wineries that I have come across as part of my study of Cabernet Franc wines produced in the Niagara region of southern Ontario.  One of the wineries is Drea’s Wine Co. which produces small batch, single vineyard, low intervention wines.  Checking their website, I read, “Drea’s Small Batch Wines are crafted…