For our family vacation this year, we rented an RV and took a road trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto, Canada. Along the way, we drove through Niagara on the Lake, a cute town with restaurants, boutiques, and, more importantly, lots of wineries!
Peller Estates Winery
The first winery we went to was Peller Estates, a beautiful, family-owned winery. The building was very regal looking, I did not feel fancy enough to be inside! The tasting room was a long rectangle with lots of wines and wine accessories along the walls. In the center was the bar area for tasting the wines.
I tasted the sparkling rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon, Meritage, and Vidal Icewine. None of the wines I tasted really stood out to me. However, that could be due to the negative experience we had with the person conducting our tasting. He was not very friendly and acting as if our questions were stupid when we asked them.
Icewine
One of the wines I tried was icewine, a Canadian specialty! To make icewine, the winemaker waits until the grapes are frozen before they pick them. Since they are frozen, each grape only gives a drop or two of wine so it takes 10 times more grapes to make icewine as it does to make a regular bottle of wine! And this is definitely reflected in the price; each bottle of icewine was 375 mL {compared to a 750 mL regular bottle of wine} and they cost between $60-$99 per bottle! Luckily, I found a 200 mL bottle at a duty-free store across the border for only $20!
Icewine is very sweet and has a syrupy texture. No matter if I was drinking a red icewine or a white, I tasted hints of honey. Icewine can be made with almost any grape; my bottle is Cabernet Sauvignon but we also tried Vidal Blanc and Riesling icewines.
Kacaba Winery
Kacaba {pronounced kas-a-ba} was the second winery we went to on our way to Toronto. This winery is in Vineland, Ontario and was my favorite winery of the trip. It had more of a homey, countryside feel; much different than Peller Estates! Our server, Andrew, was very nice and was very happy to answer all of our questions. We did a structured wine tasting and tried a variety of their wines. The tasting consisted of 2 whites, 1 red and 1 icewine.
The owner of Kacaba has three daughters, Susan, Jennifer, and Rebecca, and each has a wine named for them! We tried Susan’s Sauvignon Blanc and it was definitely one of my favorites!
Susan’s Sauvignon Blanc had hints of citrus with grapefruit notes being front and center. It was sweet, but not too sweet. I am usually a red lady, but I would definitely drink this white again!
The icewine we tried at Kacaba was a Cabernet Sauvignon {my favorite!}. It was sweet and had strong notes of strawberry. The texture was like the icewine I tried at Peller Estates, smooth and thicker than other wines. I found it strange that Cabernet Sauvignon, usually a dry, bold wine, was being used in an icewine, a wine that is very sweet!
Redstone Winery
The last winery we went to in Canada was Redstone winery in Beamsville, Ontario. This winery had a very contemporary look, and their wines and foods matched the modern architecture.
For the wine tasting, each of us got to pick 4 wines to try. When tasting wines, you usually try to taste in order of sweet to not sweet and then desert wines at the end. I tried the sparkling rosé, Merlot, Meritage, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
This trip was the first time I learned about Meritage wine. Meritage is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. I loved it! Why drink only one red wine at a time when you can drink three?! It was very full bodied and had black fruit notes.
Their Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely one I won’t forget. At first it was like any ole cab: bold, dry, hints of oak and some black fruits in the background. Then when the wine hit the back of my throat, I tasted a hint of mint! While my mouth was dry and oaky, my throat was cool and minty! I had never had any wine with mint notes before!
The Meritage and Cabernet Sauvignon was served in a huge wine glass I had never seen before. It was basically as big as my head! The lovely server told me that the glass is shaped taller and skinnier at the top to direct the wine to the back of the tongue because the more posterior tastebuds are activated with that particular wine. After knowing this, I became more aware of where the wine goes with different glass shapes.
Lunch
After wine tasting, we had a delicious lunch at Redstone. I had a lamb burger with fries. The burger was probably about an inch and a half thick and the fries were served with garlic aioli, which I had encountered a lot in Canada! Our waitress told us that in Canada, they dip their fries, sandwiches, and pizza crust in garlic aioli! I loved the stuff, especially since I love garlic!
This trip to Canada has really expanded my tastes and knowledge of wine. Before, I really only bought bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon because that is what I knew I liked. Now, I’m more adventurous with the wines I purchase {I’m drinking a Pinot Noir while writing this!}. I also discovered different wines, like icewine and Meritage! Wherever you travel, try the wines of the region! If you don’t know what to try, ask the server what their favorite is!
Have you visited any Canadian wineries? I want to hear about them! Comment on this post or DM me at @medicineandmoscato
