The Caledon area is a lovely place to go for a ride or drive. Indeed, a coffee and dessert or ice cream in Belfountain used to be the way we’d finish a visit to the Forks of the Credit area.
But now, we often head to that neck of the woods just to visit Spirit Tree Estate Cidery on Boston Mills Road. The cidery is the ideal destination for lunch (Wednesday – Sunday) – they have a terrific bistro – or even just to go to have some of Ontario’s finest craft ciders. (I suggest you try their tasting flight – it’s a great way to sample the different styles they make. You’re sure to find one that becomes your favourite.)
The building is a labour of love – a northern take on adobe-craftsmanship. The bistro has a cozy French country feel, with small tables and a lovely bar. My favourite is the deck off the side – it’s a peaceful place to kick back and relax, enjoying the countryside.
On a recent visit, Tom Wilson, proprietor and cider maker, was kind enough to chat with me about his inspiration for the cidery and about the craft cider movement in Ontario.
Over the past 18 months, I had heard rumours about a new winery in Mono – a “non-traditional” area for a winery. Among the news tidbits about the winery, I remembered reading that Jonas Newman of Hinterland Winery in Prince Edward County was somehow involved. Earlier this summer I found out it’s called Adamo Estate Winery and so I contacted them to see if they were open to the public. They said they’d be opening in September.
So, last Friday was a beautiful day for a drive in the country and a friend was game to head to Mono. Before we left, I phoned the number on the winery’s website to find out if they were open. I was surprised when they answered as “Hockley Valley Resort”. That was unexpected – I had no idea there was a connection between Hockley Valley Resort (a ski/golf destination) and the winery.
Mono is about an hour north of Toronto, near Orangeville, and we were there in about an hour. The winery is on 3rd Line, just up the road from the resort. I was quite surprised by the huge, attractive structure that houses the winery. Because it’s so new, I was expecting something more on a start-up scale.
We headed through the welcoming red doors and were wowed by the gorgeous high-ceilinged tasting room and bar area. We were immediately welcomed by JP Adamo, one of the owners of the winery.
JP was happy to tell us about the winery. They have 20 acres under vine and are increasing that in the near future. They primarily grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but they also have some Riesling, Vidal, Merlot, Gamay, and Chardonnay Musque. When I said I was surprised that they aren’t focused on hybrids that are less susceptible to cold (they’re next to a ski resort, for heaven sake!), much less that they are growing Merlot, he explained that – like the wineries in Prince Edward County – they bury the vines. (One of the things they turned to Jonas for experience about, no doubt!)
I had hoped to meet their winemaker, Shauna White, but she was not at the winery that day – she was down in Niagara overlooking the harvest of some grapes that they get from other vineyards. They plan on producing small batches of estate wines, which means consumers have the opportunity to judge for themselves the impact of the different terroir.
Though it’s always tempting to taste a variety of different wines – especially at a winery you’ve never been to – we opted for a Chardonnay flight and a tasting of two Pinot Noirs. All the wines were very good. Of the Chardonnay, I especially liked the 2011 Sogno (which apparently means dream in Italian) un-oaked Chardonnay.
Both 2014 Pinots were quite nice, though we both had a mild preference for the Lowrey (from the St. David’s Bench area of Niagara-on-the-Lake) over the Parke (from the 20 Mile Bench area). Indeed, if you’ve ever had any of the Wes Lowrey’s Five Rows Craft Wines, the similarities are amazing.
Adamo Estate Winery is a terrific addition to the Ontario wine scene. If you’re the type who likes to drive through rolling hills – maybe to take in the fall colours – it’s a great destination. It’s off to a spectacular start and it’s definitely a place to enjoy now – and likely long into the future.
JP Adamo was kind enough to let us shoot a short video of him describing the winery. You can find the video here.
As I mentioned in my last post – last week a friend and I headed down to the Niagara region to visit a few wineries. Our hope was to stop in at a some of the newer ones that we’d not been to. Because it was a Tuesday, I had told my friend that we’d be taking our chances, as some of the smaller – or newer – ones may not be open seven days a week.
Icellars Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake was one that I was interested in, but that is open by appointment – and I hadn’t made one. But, after a delightful visit to 16 Mile Cellar in Jordan, we continued to NOL. We came off the QEW at Glendale (by the White Oaks and Niagara Teaching College) and made our way on York Rd. to Concession 5.
Because I had seen a photo of the winery, from a distance I knew we were headed to the huge red industrial-looking building just beyond Coyote’s Run Estate Winery. There were no cars, but as we got to the door, Adnan opened it and welcomed us.
Given the name, my friend and I figured Icellars probably focused on icewine. We soon learned, however, that the winery name comes from the owner’s last name: Icel. It turns out, the gentleman who welcomed us was Adnan Icel, the owner and winemaker.
Adnan Icel of Icellars Estate Winery
One of the first things I mentioned to Adnan was how attractive the winery’s logo – a stylized stag – is. With this, Adnan proudly explained that the chose the logo because it represents icons included on ancient drinking vessels from the Hittite region of Anatolia, which is in modern day Turkey. Adnan, who hails from Turkey, was also very happy to explain the 2000 year history of winemaking in Anatolia. He is a very captivating, genuine teacher and it was a fascinating history lesson…
Adnan is a mechanical engineer by training, but he has long had an interest in owning a farm. In about 2008, the family decided to grow grapes and Adnan set out to look for a property that is warm, as he is focused on producing big, bold reds. He purchased the 60 acre property on Concession 5 because the temperature in that area is consistently warm. Like its neighbor Coyote’s Run, Icel’s property has both red and black soil.
When I was asking how this year’s growing season has been, his engineering background emerged. He mentioned that he has installed two weather stations in the vineyard and is constantly monitoring the temperature. He even ran into the back and returned with his laptop to show us a graph showing that as of that morning, the August temperatures this year exceeded those in 2012, which was one of the best Ontario vintages.
Though it is a fairly large parcel (especially for a new winery), Adnan intends to keep the production small. He will make a few single varietals – for 2015 he expects to have a single varietal Cab Sauv and a Cab Franc – but he will also focus on blending. And, as another homage to his Anatolian roots, the Bordeaux-style blends will bare names that relate to Hittite history. So, for example, his 2014 Arinna, which is a blend of 66% Cab Sauv, 33% Merlot, and 1% Cab Franc, is name after a major Hittite winemaking city.
Icellars has four wines available at this point: 2014 Chardonnay, 2014 Merlot, 2014 Pinot Noir, and the 2014 Arinna, which was my favorite. Though it’s still quite young, it was quite complex. I can’t wait to see how it ages!
Be sure to check out Icellars’ website – it’s rich with information about the history of Hittite winemaking and there are lots of photos of archaeological finds from that region.
For many of us, summer can be pretty hectic – or at least it certainly seems that way. As a result, weekends seem to fill up with visits with friends and family and outdoor activities. If you’re like me, you find it pretty unbelievable that we’re already into September. Of course, it’s not all bad that it’s September already — it means vineyards are lush with fruit and grape picking is just around the corner.
Regan Kapach — Winemaker at 16 Mile Cellar
So, on Tuesday I played hooky from work (pretty easy since I work for myself) and a friend and I headed out toward Niagara to stop in at some new wineries that I’d not been to. It was a Tuesday, so I was mindful of the fact that some places – especially newer wineries – might not be open early in the week, but we decided to take our chances.
Though I don’t usually make an appointment for visits, on our way down I decided to phone 16 Mile Cellar to find out if they were open. The call went into voice mail and I left a quick message saying we’re headed down and I wondered if they were open. A few minutes later, I got a call from Regan Kapach, the winemaker, and she welcomed us to stop in.
16 Mile Cellars was founded in 2010 but it hasn’t been open to the public for too long. It’s in Jordan and – as you might guess from the name – it’s on the 16 Mile Creek. Regan said that of the 28 acres, about 10 are planted with Vinifera grapes. Though they grow a bit of Geisenheim, they focus on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They produce two lines: their basic line is called Rebel – and they have Rebel Chardonnay and Rebel Pinot Noir. Their higher end wines are their Civility Chardonnay and Incivility Pinot Noir.
For a newish winery, they’re clearly on a good path. Their 2012 Rebel Chardonnay was the gold medal winner in the 2016 Ontario Wineries Oaked Chardonnay under $20 category.
As I said, I rarely make an appointment for tastings. I’m really glad I broke with tradition this time and phoned ahead. It was a real treat to have Regan take us through the tasting. She took over the winemaking in 2013. Thomas Bachelder was consulting for the winery before that. Regan described the winery’s production goals and about their plans in terms of using less and less new oak over time. I found it especially interesting that they have established a target of about 12% new oak.
I’ll be keeping 16 Mile Cellar on my radar and I’ll definitely be stopping in again – to try 2013 and later vintages.
I’ll write about a couple of our other stops in subsequent posts.
A couple weeks ago I was chatting with John Rode of Hardwood Estate Vineyards and he mentioned .wine and .vin domain extensions are now available. I haven’t seen one (mind you, I haven’t really looked) but today I got an e-mail from Go Daddy, my domain register company announcing them – so I’m sure I’ll start to see them. (“The connoisseur’s domain”, so the ad copy says.)
My first thought when I got the e-mail today was that these new extensions aren’t really something I, as a consumer, find particularly helpful. Would it make finding a particular winery on-line any easier? Doubtful. In fact, if anything, I mainly see the potential for abuse: trolls buying up .wine and .vin domain names for well-known wines and wineries and then being willing to sell them for a fee.
So, I called John Rode to chat about it again. He had a more positive take – at least for winery owners who take a pro-active approach. He said he sees these extensions as a chance to have a defacto trademark of a name at a pretty low price. In other words, now that Harwood Estate Vineyards has locked up the .wine and .vin extensions – no other winery – whether here in Ontario, elsewhere in Canada, the U.S., or the world, can have a web presence with the name Harwood Estate Vineyards. True enough…
But still, seems like overkill to me – and just more stuff wineries have to pay attention to…
Last night’s Ontario Wine Society event at Quince Bistro was fun. It was a walk-around tasting featuring the wines from three excellent Prince Edward County Vineyards and a selection of finger foods from Qunce:
The Grange of Prince Edward County — with Maggie, one of the winemakers there (and daughter of winemaker Caroline Granger) there to talk about what she was pouring;
Trail Estate Winery – with Alex Sproll there to tell us about what he was pouring and about the newish winery; and
Traynor Family Vineyard – with Mike Traynor, winemaker/owner was there to tell us about what he was pouring and how things are going at the very new winery.
Mike Traynor — Winemaker/Owner of Traynor Family Vineyard
All the wines were very good representations of Ontario wines. It was interesting to hear how the past few harsh winters and springtime freezes have impacted the PEC wineries. As a result, many are ending up sourcing at least some of their grapes from other growers — typically in the Niagara region.
So, with the exception of the wines from The Grange, where all their wines are from their estate grown grapes, some of the wines served by Trail Estates and Traynor Family Vineyard were not necessarily made with PEC grapes. (Of course, it’s also worth noting that both of these wineries are still quite new, so it’s no wonder they have to look elsewhere for grapes in order to have wine to sell.)
If I had to pick a favourite from each winery, I’d choose: The Grange’s 2010 Pinot Noir Reserve, Mike Traynor’s 2014 Sauvignon Blanc, and Trail Estate’s 2013 Cab Franc-Cab Sauv blend.
I love Prince Edward County but I’ve always wondered what it’s like in the “off season”. So my sister and I decided to enjoy a few days rest and relaxation on Dec. 22 and 23 with a visit to the County.
Hinterland WineryCounty Road 33 Beer Co. at Hinterland Winery
Of course, our first stop was a winery — we stopped in at Hinterland Wine Company to see what’s “brewing”. You see, I had heard that owners Vicki Samaras and Jonas Newman didn’t have enough to do (they also have an interest in a winery in Greece!) so they are starting to make craft beer. The brewery, which hasn’t officially opened yet, will be called County Road 33 Beer Co. Unfortunately we just missed Vicki and Jonas — but next time I’m in the county, I’m sure the brewery will be open and hopefully they’ll show us around and tell us what inspired the new venture.
From there we stopped in at Sandbanks Estate Winery. The colourful Muskoka chairs, which I always think are so welcoming in the summer, added colour to an otherwise grey December day. There we did a horizontal tasting of Baco Noir, which was fun. We also discovered one of my new favourites — their Baco Noir Reserve.
SideStreet Gallery — Wellington
We stopped in Wellington and Bloomfield for a bit of browsing. In Wellington we enjoyed SideStreet Gallery, and had a pleasant conversation with owner Paulette Greer.
In Bloomfield we were quite surprised at how HUGE Green Gables Gifts and Greetings. The welcoming front of the building makes you think you’re walking into a quaint little shop. But as you make your way from room to room, you realize it’s a quaint BIG store with lots to look at and tempt you.
Saylor House Cafe – Bloomfield, PEC
If you’re peckish, as we were, I suggest you stop in at Saylor House Cafe. We didn’t want lunch, per se, just some tea and something sweet. The most tempting sweet was a frosted number that looked like a carrot cake. When I asked about it, I was told it was a Hummingbird Cake. Not too helpful a description, I thought. When I made a face, the owner smiled and explained that it’s name coconut banana cake that gets its name from the fact that those who eat it end up humming with joy. Well, with that explanation — how could we not try it! Trust me, it was worth its name.
Apples for Ice Cider – Waupoos Winery
We also made it out to Waupoos Winery because I wanted to show my sister the different fruit trees that they grow — things you wouldn’t expect to find in Ontario — like lemons. To my sadness, the trees were gone. Thinking that maybe I had imagined that from earlier visits, I asked. Turns out, they take the trees in during the winter. (That explains it!) Across the street from the winery we had noticed a grove of apple trees with the red gems still on. My guess was that they were left for pressing in winter after they’re frozen. Indeed, that’s the case — they’re hoping to make an iced cider.
Claramount Inn December 2015
Since it was the holidays, we decided to go first class and stay at the Claramount Inn. Turned out to be a great choice. The spa was open, as was the indoor pool, not to mention Clara’s Restaurant. The view of Picton Harbour was terrific — definitely a place to return to.
Picton was buzzing with last-minute shoppers. We promised ourselves we wouldn’t shop too much, but we couldn’t resist the shops. We especially loved the UnGallery and Arts on Main. One of the especially noteworthy things that reinforced my warm feelings for The County is the fact that the day we were there (Dec. 23rd) parking on Main Street in Picton was free, with any money put into the parking meters going to the local food bank! (One of the rare times I didn’t mind paying for parking!) What a terrific idea, eh?
This trip was more balanced than my usual trip to The County because we took more time to enjoy the different things there are to do — from wine to food to arts and hospitality. Truthfully, it only made me love The County more!
Post Script: , we didn’t have a chance to stop at Karlo Estates, but I hear that Derek Barnett, formerly of Lailey Estates, has taken over as winemaker at Karlo.
A friend and I headed down to Beamsville for a wine and cheese tasting at Tawse Winery. I booked the tasting about a month ago and was really looking forward to it. It was only $10 and I thought it would be a great excuse to get together near the holidays and an opportunity to do something different.
Unfortunately, two days before the event, something came up so my friend had to cancel. She felt bad because she felt she had stuck me with an extra ticket. I told her not to worry, as I was quite sure I’d be able to find someone else to go with me — even on short notice. I was right. I phoned another friend and she was only too happy to fill in.
It’s unseasonably mild here, so we left early, figuring we’d make a few stops before the tasting. Megalomaniac is just up the road from Tawse and the last time I was there, they were expanding their retail premises, so I wanted to stop and see the new digs. Boy was that a great decision!
Turns out, they are hosting a Holiday Open House this weekend. They had different tasting stations set up throughout their huge tasting room and it was all complimentary. Guests start with their Bubblehead — it’s a traditional method sparkling Pinot Noir. Then they directed us to their main tasting bar for their reds — four regular and two premium reds. (My favourite was their 2012 Big Mouth Merlot.) Then it was on to whites, and even a few icewines. In total, 11 wines were available for tasting. As an added bonus, they were offering specials if you bought two or more bottles.
If you’re on any winery mailing lists, no doubt over the past few weeks you’ve been getting notices about holiday promotions (lots of free shipping, which is especially nice if you’re doing a lot of entertaining over the holidays) and holiday open houses. I hadn’t really thought about making time to stop in at any — until today. Now I realize that besides avoiding the crazy mall parking lots, the open houses are a lovely way to get into the holiday spirit. It’s relaxing and a great chance to find some wonderful wines to serve your guests this holiday season or to give to those on your list.
I write a bi-weekly blog called On being … that’s more general musings on life. Because my most recent post for On being … was inspired by a recent event at Oxley Estate Winery, I thought I’d share that post here…
On being … a celebration of home
I was visiting some friends who live in the wine region along the north shore of Lake Erie, south of the Windsor/Detroit area. It’s the kind of place where people often give the name of the county, rather than the town where they live, because they figure more people have at least heard of the county. It’s primarily an agricultural area, but it’s got more of a small town feel than a rural feel, if you know what I mean.
Chef Aaron Lynn at Oxley Estate Winery
One of the highlights of the weekend was a special dinner at Oxley Estate Winery. The formal title was: Oxley Celebrates Home. If you guessed they were doing the locavore thing, you’d be right – but with a few added twists. It so happens their young chef (Aaron Lynn) is a local kid who went away for culinary training and, after honing his craft working in some fancy restos, he returned to the area last year. Lucky for Oxley Estate and for those who have a chance to eat at the winery.
“Todd’s Perch”
Not only did each of the five courses feature local ingredients, the chef named the dishes after the local purveyors – a nice touch, I thought. So, for example, we dined on Todd’s Perch (named after Todd, the local commercial fisherman the restaurant buys from), Rick’s Lamb, and Farmer Doug’s apples. But that wasn’t all. Before the meal, the chef introduced all of the local suppliers and asked them to stand so we could honour and recognize them as the people responsible for all the good things we were about to enjoy.
And, the celebration of things local didn’t end with the food. Ann, one of the owners of the winery, introduced the musicians who would be entertaining us. Turns out they too were from the area and when they’re not in town, they’re in Nashville working as backup musicians to some well-known country music stars.
During the dinner I was chatting with a woman sitting next to me. She was a local and so I was asking her a bit about the area. We talked about one of the bigger towns in the county and about how much it’s growing. The town’s population is up to about 21,000, which is pretty big, as towns go. And, like many Ontario towns, there’s a definite centre with some small shops, a few restaurants, a couple banks, and a library. But, the pickings were pretty limited in town. I wondered aloud where people go if they have any kind of serious shopping to do. She laughed and said that these days, she can get pretty much anything on-line. But, if there’s something she can’t order, it’s probably available in Windsor, which is “only about 25 miles away”.
Then I asked about grocery shopping. I had noticed that there are two well-known supermarkets, but I’m used to checking the weekly fliers of at least four major chains before I go grocery shopping. She said she didn’t care that other major grocers weren’t around. “I love shopping at those supermarkets. The people that work there are my neighbors and friends – why would I go anywhere else?” I was really struck by her response.
Later in the conversation, the topic of the refugee crisis came up. She mentioned she’s catholic and she said that in the next few weeks her church would be deciding on whether they will take in a refugee family, as the Pope has suggested. She said she’s going to push hard for them to do so.
I hadn’t heard about the Pope’s suggestion that every parish should sponsor one family, but it struck me as being in line with something else I read the Pope said about the current wave of refugees. He urged people to not see the crisis as involving hundreds of thousands because it’s just too overwhelming. Instead, we should respond to them as individual people – just one at a time. Though it’s such a simple idea, it’s about the most concrete, constructive idea I’ve heard from any leader about how to deal with the situation. I smiled at the idea of some refugee family settling down there and eventually calling themselves locals.
After dinner, I was thinking about how the theme of the evening could just as easily have been “the joy of human interaction”. Living in the city has its conveniences, opportunities, and even independence. But, if you’re not careful, city life can also bring with it a loss of connectedness. Fortunately, the condition isn’t irreversible. My weekend in the country reminded me that the best way to feel connected again is to celebrate what each individual brings to your life. If you do that, I think you’ll feel at home wherever you are.
Traynor Family Vineyard is one of the newest wineries in Prince Edward County – they opened in September 2014. When we stopped there in June they had a big crowd for their Open House and folks were enjoying the live music.
They also had something I’d never seen – a Tesla Charging Station.
I spoke with Donna Traynor (mother of owner/winemaker Mike Traynor) and she wasn’t quite sure how Mike convinced the Tesla folks to put them in – but it’s a terrific idea – especially if you’re out and about in PEC and you find your Tesla could use a charge.
Even if you don’t have a Tesla, it’s worth a look, so why not stop in this long weekend. Picnickers are welcome and the Traynor family (Mike and his wife Rebecca) would be happy to help you choose the right wine for you to enjoy there or to take home.
But now, we often head to that neck of the woods just to visit Spirit Tree Estate Cidery on Boston Mills Road. The cidery is the ideal destination for lunch (Wednesday – Sunday) – they have a terrific bistro – or even just to go to have some of Ontario’s finest craft ciders. (I suggest you try their tasting flight – it’s a great way to sample the different styles they make. You’re sure to find one that becomes your favourite.)
