This week I was out at Southbrook Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Ann Sperling, Director, Winemaking and Viticulture, was kind enough to show me around the vineyard. Seems the harvest in the Niagara region is going to be late this year (by about three weeks) because of the slow start after the harsh winter and the […]
Ingrid Sapona
Women Winemakers in Ontario
I’ve updated the app (watch for notification from the App Store for the update) and I’ve included a new category: Women Winemakers. I’ve been considering adding this as a category for some time, but a friend of mine thinks it’s sexist of me to do so…. After much thought, I decided to add it – […]
In their own words…
In my last post I wrote about the fact that there isn’t going to be a grape harvest in the Lake Erie/Pelee Island region. In chatting with folks at the wineries in that region, I was struck by how many of them shrugged and blamed “the Polar Vortex”. No matter what you call it, the […]
The Non-Harvest of 2014 for Wineries in Lake Erie/Pelee Island Region … seeing is believing!
Just back from a couple of days visiting wineries in the Lake Erie/Pelee Island Region and I’ve got to say — seeing is believing. Back at the end of February Tom O’Brien of Cooper’s Hawk Vineyards was the first person to mention to me that it looked like there might not be a 2014 vintage […]
Name that Winemaker!
I was organizing some of my photos and I came across a few photos of Ontario winemakers, so I thought I’d post them and make a game of it – Name that Winemaker! Here are the winemakers pictured: Jonas Newman; Caroline Granger; Martin Gorski; Jean-Pierre Colas; Ann Sperling; Paul Pender; Shiraz Mottiar. […]
How Ships Get from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie
A visit to the Welland Canal might not be high on your list of sights to see in-and-around Niagara Falls, but I guarantee it’s a side-trip you’ll remember every time you see a ship on Lake Ontario. A friend and I were returning to Toronto from a day of visiting wineries recently and we were […]
Rain Didn’t Dampen Spirits at the i4C Gala
These photos from the i4C Chardonnay World Tour Tasting and Dinner are proof that the only thing the rain dampened on Saturday was the plan for pre-dinner sipping among the Rhododendron Garden at Vineland Research & Innovation Centre. With one eye on the weather radar, the resourceful and resilient organizers quickly moved the tasting under […]
i4C School of Cool — Let’s Talk Sustainability
I’m wrapping my head around some of the topics raised at the i4C School of Cool Chardonnay Camp yesterday. Questions like: how much intervention is too much when making wine? Is stirring too much? What about additives? Lots to consider and blog about – but first, more great Chards to enjoy this weekend! Just one […]
Cool Climate Chardonnays
The International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C for short) is this coming weekend – July 18-20, 2014. This is the fourth year of the celebration and there will be 58 wineries participating from nine countries. I love structured events like this because they help me look at wine a different way. For example, those of […]
Some Prince Edward County Faves
A few weeks ago I was in Prince Edward County and I did a blog post about some new discoveries there. In that post I mentioned that I’d do a follow-up post about that trip – so here it is. First, a confession: I love the County (as locals refer to Prince Edward County). It […]