G. Marquis vineyards

Introducing one of the latest brands of wines to hit the LCBO, G. Marquis.

G. Marquis is all VQA, produced at the Niagara Stone Road vineyard in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The brand offers 2 lines, the Red Line and the Silver Line. The Silver Line is 100% Ontario VQA, made from hand-harvested grapes and includes premium Icewines and single vineyard vintages. The Red Line offers 100% Ontario VQA wines that are unoaked, and present a soft, fruit-forward profile.



I tried the 2009 Merlot with some of Stacey’s awesome lasagna! I must say the VQA really comes out. It was smooth and fruity, blanketing my tongue with mellow richness. It definitely goes well with hearty dishes laden with cheese and tomato sauce. Not quite as rich as a Cab, but substantial enough to go well with a good steak.



Pricing and availability are as follows:

The Silver Line

2008 Chardonnay VQA - $16.95 (VINTAGES LCBO)
2011 Pinot Noir VQA - $19.95 (VINTAGES LCBO Essentials)
Ice Rosé VQA - $29.95 (VINTAGES LCBO)
2010 Vidal Late Harvest VQA - $14.95 (Duty Free)
2009 Vidal Icewine VQA - $27.95 (VINTAGES LCBO)
2009 Riesling Icewine VQA - $34.95 (Duty Free)
2009 Cabernet Franc Icewine VQA - $39.95 (Duty Free)

The Red Line 

2010 Riesling VQA - $11.95 (LCBO)
2009 Merlot VQA - $12.95 (LCBO)
2010 Pinot Grigio VQA - $11.95 (LCBO)
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon VQA - $12.95 (Duty Free)


Cheers,
Mark

Crossing it off the bucket list: Niagara winery tour, and my challenge to you to share your favourite local wine!

Hang onto your hats, folks - Ontario does so much more than just icewine!

This past week I had the good fortune of experiencing my first-ever wine tour as part of LCBO's goLOCAL month, which runs from Sept. 11 to Oct. 8. The fact that it was my first wine tour, might I add, elicited gasps from my foodie friends. ;) Needless to say, and 8:30 am be damned, I think I was definitely the most excited person there! There I was, in all my nerdy glory, tweeting all the new tidbits of knowledge I was picking up, and I found three new favourite local wines to boot!

We took our own private VIA Rail train on the way up, which I loved (I love trains! Such a fun way to travel) and had a pretty tasty breakfast of oranges and grapefruit, orange juice, and a bacon quiche served with grilled sausage, Lyonnaise potatoes and scorched tomatoes - not bad for train food at all, I quite enjoyed it. We first visited Hillebrand Estates Winery (where we drank Trius, Vineland Estates and Peller Estates wines); then proceeded to Creekside Winery (for a food truck lunch courtesy of El Gastronomo Vagabundo and Gorilla Cheese, paired with Creekside Winery wines); and our last stop was Angel's Gate Winery (which *might* just be the most beautiful place on earth - you can see Toronto from across the water, and the building itself looks like a beautiful old church to me). There we tried wines from Angel's Gate obviously, as well as a couple of Dan Aykroyd's wines from Diamond Estates (no, he was not there!) and Henry of Pelham.

My favourite wines (most-favourite from top to bottom) were definitely:

2010 Trius Sauvignon Blanc
2010 Henry of Pelham Riesling
2008 Creekside Estate Winery Shiraz

And now it's time for some nerdy wine observations, facts and figures I learned along the way:

• What struck me instantly is how supportive the winemakers are of eachother. It really seems like a beautiful community to be part of.
• I also learned a lot about the terroir and geography of the region. I had no idea that the reason why bench regions are so good for grape growing is because they often are on a slant, meaning water drains away from the vines (which is good as they don't need a ton of water).
  
• I also didn't know that most of the bench regions and the other areas suitable for grape growing in and around Niagara have already been fully planted, so it's unlikely there will be much more planting there.
• Wine Country Ontario is between 41° and 44° North, which is the same latitude shared by Burgundy and many other cool climate wine regions of Europe.
• Wines from cooler climates tend to be more aromatic, lighter in body and higher in acidity than those from warmer climates.
• Core red varietals in Ontario are Baco Noir, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Gamay Noir.
  
• Core white varietals in Ontario are Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Gewurtztraminer, and Chardonnay.
  

Now get out there and find your favourite local wine OR if you already have a local favourite wine, share it with me, I'd love to try it so flip me your suggestions!

Yours in food,

-Stacey

Vintage Ink

Last month we were at the launch of Vintage Ink wines at Brassaii. Vintage Ink features blends of select Niagara wines for their Chardonnay and Merlot-Cabernet. Veteran wine artist Keith Bown brings his 25 years of experience to bear in selecting the optimal combination of each wine. Of note is the Merlot-Cabernet that uses mostly Cabernet Franc instead of more of the typical Cabernet Sauvignon. See the wine tech sheets below:



Vintage Ink Chardonnay Tech Sheet

VintageInkMerlotCabernet Tech Sheet









Posted by: Mark Rodas