Henry of Pelham Family Estate

Perfect summer weekend: i4C Lobster Roll lunch at Henry of Pelham

Published on by Ingrid Sapona

I don’t really need an excuse to head to Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery – it’s always been a favourite of mine. But, when I read they were hosting a signature International Cool Climate Chardonnay (i4C) event, I thought a visit there would be a great way to celebrate a friend’s birthday – and I was right!

Today’s event was a lobster roll lunch for two that included two rolls and a bottle of their 2023 Three Hills Estate Chardonnay. Lucky for me, my friend drove so I enjoyed a bit more than my share of the wine – and I have a generous glass left over for later tonight. We shared a picnic bench in the shade with two other women enjoying the lunch and the live music. The scrumptious lobster rolls were made by chef Erik Peacock, whose Short Hills Kitchen is open for the summer at the winery.

Henry of Pelham is off the beaten path (though it’s clearly no secret, as the place was busy), so you really feel you’re out in the country. And at this time of year, the vines and fruit trees of Niagara are green and brimming with the promise of fruit (and wine) to come. (I happened to be down to the Shaw Festival yesterday and we stopped at a fruit farm and picked up some first-of-the-season peaches. It seemed really early to me, and I was pretty skeptical that they’d have much flavour. But, I had one this morning and it was sweet and juicy and the pit came out with no effort, which I love. I can’t imagine how good the later varieties will be!)

After lunch, because it was too nice a day to simply head back to Toronto, we continued along the back roads to 13th Street Winery for dessert. The place was absolutely hopping with folks enjoying wine, food, and live music. It was terrific seeing so many people out enjoying wine country. And, as you can see from the last photo, wineries aren’t necessarily just for grownups. These young fellows certainly seemed to enjoy the atmosphere and lawn at 13th Street Winery.

Though I’ve been doing this blog for a long time – I sometimes forget how lovely it is to leave the city and head out into Ontario wine country for a relaxing afternoon.

Holiday Specials

Published on by Ingrid Sapona

I am on the mailing list of a lot of Ontario wineries. I sign up to receive emails from them because I like hearing what’s going on at the winery. I’m always impressed with the ideas wineries have in terms of events they’re running and Wine Country Ontario-type events they participate in.

This time of year, there’s an added bonus to being on their email list, as LOTS of them are running Black Friday and Holiday specials. For example, the other day Henry of Pelham had a couple of different offers – one for a mixed case and one featuring two bottles of six of their wines – at 24% off! It was a one-day sale, so not much time to debate.

At first, I thought – gosh, I don’t need another case of wine. But I’m hosting a few get togethers and there will be visits to friends where I’ll want to bring along a bottle of wine. Indeed, in thinking about it, I realized I’ll probably go through a case pretty quickly. And the idea of having a nice selection of Ontario wines on hand – and at a handsome discount – made the ultimate decision easy. (I ordered the case that features two bottles of six wines.)

If you’re not on your favourite wineries’ email lists – it’s usually pretty easy to sign up on their website. Alternatively, it’s probably worth checking their site this time of year to see if they have any on-line specials for the holidays – you may find some irresistible special like I did.

Pre-release event at Henry of Pelham

Published on by Ingrid Sapona

This afternoon Henry of Pelham hosted a pre-release of six wines, including its 2021 BIN 106 ‘Lost Boys” Baco Noir. This is a limited edition wine that is well worth heading to the winery to snag before it runs out. It’s from some of the oldest vines in the region (planted in 1984) and it is luscious. I’ve always thought of Baco as being one of Henry of Pelham’s outstanding offerings and so I was looking forward to trying it – but this exceeded my expectations!

Daniel Speck

I was talking to Lawrence Behler, the winemaker, about how much I enjoy Henry or Pelham’s Bacos and he said the winery has always treated Baco with a great deal of respect. I think he hit the nail on the head and I think that is particularly evident in the 2021 BIN 106.

On our way to the winery, I confessed to my friend that I didn’t know who the winemaker was. So naturally, that was the first question I asked Daniel Speck, one of the brothers who own the winery. I was so pleased to learn that it was Lawrence, who I first met at an ice wine weekend when he was the winemaker at Peller Estates in 2008. After that he headed to Colio in the Lake Erie North Shore region (Harrow) and then I knew he went out west for a time. After that I lost track of him – but he’s back in the Niagara, which is great news.

Lawrence Buhler, winemaker

The other standout for me at the tasting was their 2021 The Shadow Rock Sauvignon Blanc. Daniel Speck was pouring it and he explained that this particular parcel is near a pond. In the late afternoon it gets partially blocked and the slight coolness from the shadow helps the fruit develop different from other parts of the vineyard. Apparently, it’s also interesting because being near the pond the darkness brings out the night insects and frogs and it gets pretty lively in that patch. One other important note about the wine that makes it different from other Sauvignon Blanc is that it is lightly oaked, which makes it – yes, a Fumé Sauvignon Blanc. I asked Daniel why they decided to de-stress the “fumé” and he explained that they did so because some people think they don’t like oaked whites and so sometimes they won’t even try it. Go figure…

I’ve always enjoyed a nice Fumé Blanc – and The Shadow Rock is delicious. It has the grapefruit and pear you expect from a Sauvignon Blanc but the bit of oak gives it a round, fuller mouth feel. Next time you’re at Henry of Pelham be sure to try it – it might surprise you. Indeed, among today’s crowd, it clearly was a big hit – by the time we got to the retail shop to buy some, they had run short of it. They will have it re-stocked tomorrow morning, so we ordered it. I look forward to serving it to some friends this summer. I won’t tell them it’s an oaked Sauvignon Blanc until after they’ve tried it. I’ll be they will enjoy it and will be more open to trying a fumé blanc in the future.

The other wines introduced at the tasting were: the 2021 Dry River Riesling, the 2020 Smith & Smith Gamay, the 2020 Cabernet-Merlot Speck Family Reserve, and the 2020 Pinot Noir Speck Family Reserve.

A side trip to Jordan Village

On our way to Henry of Pelham we were a bit hungry so we decided to stop at Jordan Village to see if we could grab a bite. The GPS had us turning from Nineteenth Street onto Wismer Street and then to Main Street in Jordan Village. Well – that was a no go, as Main Street in Jordan Village is completely closed for construction. Fortunately, if you stay on Nineteenth Street (rather than turning onto Wismer St.) the Jordan Village parking area is open and you park and walk through the Village around the construction (which is supposed to be completed this summer, so we were told).

We knew there was a coffee shop in the Village but we didn’t know the name. Well, it turns out is now the RPM Bakehouse and it’s run by the folks who run the restaurant at Pearl Morissette winery. They had a lovely light menu featuring interesting sandwiches on their house made breads, as well as some coffee shop type sweets. There was indoor and outdoor seating and so we had a light lunch outside (in mid-April!). The Bakehouse was an excellent find – a very nice choice when you’re in the mood for more than just a muffin and coffee but not quite a full-service meal. It’s definitely a place to remember and return to.

RPM Bakenhouse

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Published on by Ingrid Sapona

A hot summer Sunday with no plans. What better time to pop into a winery, I thought. Since I was in Niagara-on-the-Lake last week, I thought I’d check out something in the Niagara Escarpment region.

I decided on Henry of Pelham Family Estate because, according to their website, they were having live music (Ron Hoover, apparently) from noon to three p.m. and because The Coach House Café, which is run by Chef Erik Peacock, is open.

I got there at about 1 p.m. and parked and didn’t see where the music might be. I stopped in the tasting room and asked and was told there was no music today – it was yesterday. I mentioned that I thought I read it was going to be both Saturday and Sunday. The woman explained that unfortunately, the musicians told them yesterday that they wouldn’t be returning today.

I was very disappointed. I get that it’s not the winery’s fault – and maybe I should have phoned before making the 100+ km drive. But, I figured since it was on their website, I would just be bothering them if I phoned, especially if they’re busy.

Anyway, music or not, I could still enjoy some wine and a bite. So, I ordered a tasting flight. I’ve always loved Henry of Pelham’s Baco Noir so I ended up with a sample of their 2019 Old Vines Baco and their 2019 Spec Family Reserve Baco Noir, in addition to a sample of their Cuvée Catharine Rosé Brut. I told them I wanted to have something at the Café and they graciously brought the flight out to my table.

The Café menu was limited, which is not unusual. I was intrigued by this starter: Nachos, Lobster Queso, Cotija, Pico de Gallo, Avocado Salsa Verde, Lime Crema. I thought perhaps there was a comma missing between “lobster” and “queso” and I asked the server. She explained that it’s not a typo – it’s melted cheese that’s flavoured or infused with lobster. She assured me it didn’t taste fishy and I assured her that wasn’t a concern, as I had hoped there might be actual lobster on the nachos. She said no, but that the lobster queso is pink from the lobster and is very good.

I wasn’t sure about the lobster queso, so I decided to order one of the sandwiches instead. When I said I wanted fries with it, she said that they don’t have fries but that they have potato chips instead. Man – it wasn’t my day…

Rather than a sandwich and chips, I decided that the nachos sounded different enough that I should try them – after all, chefs are quite inventive in ways I’m not. Well, when the bowl arrived it looked interesting, though what I thought was probably the lobster queso was more like Velveeta orange than pink. Sadly, there was nothing that made you even imagine lobster had anything to do with it. The nachos were pretty much ball park nachos in a nice bowl. Very, very disappointing. I thought about ordering something else, but I didn’t have a lot of faith that anything else on the menu would be worth trying and I certainly didn’t want any more disappointments.

No Disappointment with the Wines

Luckily, the wines didn’t disappoint at all. They do a very nice job on their traditional method sparklings and both Bacos were delicious. In the end, the one I enjoyed the most was the 2019 Old Vines Baco. They were out of the 2019 in the wine shop, but I’ve heard the 2020 vintage in Ontario is one of the best, so I brought home some 2020 Old Vines Baco Noir.

All the way home I debated about whether to do a post about my visit today. I try to accentuate the positive, but I’d be lying if I didn’t express some of my disappointment. In the end, I decided to write about my experience today because readers deserve to know that sometimes visits to wineries are not all you’d hope.

Bottom line – Henry of Pelham Family Estate is a lovely spot and worth going to for their wines (if not for the Café or any kind of entertainment that may be scheduled). There’s a lot of history there too, so be sure to walk around and definitely try their Baco Noirs – they are exceptional.