Tag: Ontario

Some people watch their calories in the food they eat and the beverages they drink.  Some low-calorie wines are in the Canadian market.  I received three low-cal wines from Svelte Wines, a label from Arterra Wines Canada, coming from Niagara Falls, ON and Oliver, BC.  On the labels, it notes that these non-vintage wines come from a blend of foreign…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

Inniskillin Wines near Niagara-on-the-Lake holds a significant place in Canadian wine history as the country’s first estate winery since Prohibition. The granting of their license on July 31, 1975, was a historic event, as it was the first winery license issued by the LCBO since 1929. The founders, Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser, are credited with starting the winery. Inniskillin began…

My next pair of Ontario Cabernet Franc wines in my research goes to Konzelmann Estate Winery and Reif Estate Winery which are located west and south of Niagara-on-the-Lake respectively.  Konzelmann has lake influence, while Rief has the Niagara River influence.  Both wines are Reserve level and both from the 2020 vintage, which was viewed as a fantastic vintage, so both…

Here are two Ontario Cabernet Franc wines from Flat Rock Cellars and Featherstone Estate Winery & Vineyard coming from the Niagara region.  The two wineries are separate entities, but it worked out to have single bottles of their single varietal Cabernet Franc wines to be tasted and discussed together.  Flat Rock Cellars is solely owned by Ed Madronich, while Featherstone…

I received two Cabernet Franc wines from Pillitteri Estates Winery as part of my discovery and discussion about how this grape expresses itself in the Niagara region of southern Ontario.  These two wines are from the 2020 vintage, with one, the Exclamation Cellar Series, being the top tier, which is only made in exceptional years.  It should be interesting to…