Red Wine - Canada - The Accidental DrinkerThe accidental drinker

In August 2023 we landed in Montreal, Canada and headed first to the Eastern Townships, then down to Toronto with a few stops. Its worth noting that the Eastern Townships are about 1 ½ hours east of Montreal by car and worth a trip out as there are now over 20 vineyards to visit. The quality is good and as mentioned below can be fantastic.
We didn’t go to Canada purely to taste wine but we did visit a number of vineyards. Heres what we thought of them and their wines.

Quebec, Eastern Townships
La Bell Alliance

Wow, this could be one of the best vineyards in Canada and its wines are way above the average in the world in my mind. They make a range of wines from white, red and orange wines. Their terrace to sample their wines is a great place to spend time looking at the mountains in the distance and enjoying a glass or two. The owners Brock and Carolyn have passion for making great wines and they have so succeeded.
Their wines are vintage variable due to the growing conditions but all we tried were excellent. Solid structure with all components balanced. Acidity levels and flavours were delightfully in tune with each other.
Generally whites were fresh, rich and valopuous with a bit spice and ripe citrus, hints of Jasmine and honey. Great with Sushi and Asian foods
As a rule their reds were dry, full of flavours of black fruit, oak, raspberry and hints of chocolate with fantastic length. Truly excellent and well a visit out for the day if you are in Montreal.

Domaine Val Brome

This vineyard is only in its second year of production, and there are various reasons to buy the wine and not to buy the wine. The wines tasted are quite light with subtle flavours. It’s those subtle flavours that can make the wines ideal for a summer day, even at noon. But these are wines that are probably best drunk on their own.
I liked the Vidal as this was light, aromatic and floral, medium acidity, dry with stone fruit, great for Summer’s day drink as very easy all round.
Rose, dry with light hedgerow berries aromas and peach undertone. Too light all round though when cold, when warm you get more all round.
Chardonnay, aromas of mint and eucalyptus, light citrus, clean but not crisp, style is lighter and easier drinking.
Red, dry, rather light with raspberry, redcurrant and hedgerow aromas and flavours. It’s light enough for summer lunchtime and with salads and fish. Not a bad thing, just different.

I’Orpailleur

The style of this vineyard is similar to Domaine Val Brome. Their standard “Blanc” was light, dry with subtle flavours of citrus and with hints of stone fruits, the “Reserve” white had more presence, dry with riper citrus notes, a little more thicker in texture and better length.
Their “Rouge” was a little disappointing, very light with a lack of red fruit, its way there but I’ve had Rosé wines with more flavours. It’s the red wine for people who don’t drink red wine, so maybe its a great red?
The “Gris” was the best with firm citrus flavours, a little honey and softer acidity on the palette. The length was better and you felt that this was not a white to guzzle but to simple enjoy.

Domaine De Lavoire

A little gem here, with a good variety of wines. Their Vidal was light, dry and easy drinking. Reasonable length but a summer drinking wine like thd majority of Vidal wines. Their Rouge, was solid. Dry, medium bodied and flavours of redcurrant and plum that lasted in the mouth. For this far north it was a nice change to the weekend flavoured reds we had tasted.
Their Rosé sparkling was interesting. Light, dry but with sweetness in the background, it had flavours of raspberry and redcurrant. It was a wine that you either loved or hated.
The late harvest desert wine was ooohhh. It had all what you wanted from a desert wine. There was acidity, length, ripe citrus flavours the sugar wasn’t in your face but seductive. Now this was not Gold medal winning wine but not far off.

Ontario, Westport

Scheuermann vineyard

Are the wines better than the pizza’s? Well the pizza’s are very good and they have a good range. The wines are decent although lacking the quality of La Belle Alliance.
Their Vidal range is light and refreshing. The Pinot Noir is better, good balance between red fruit flavours, acidity, length and quite fresh. The Cabernet Franc is the best though. Dry, bold, excellent length and solid red and black fruit flavours and aromas. Very good indeed. At CAD45 a bottle it’s reasonable value but not exactly cheap.

Ontario, Prince Edward County vineyards.

Lighthall vineyard

Interesting wines these. The basic and Reserve Chardonnay wines were well balanced between acidity, flavours, structure and freshness. The reserve was a little heavier with oak and riper citrus flavours, a longer length on the palette too. The off dry Riesling was, well off dry and I could see this going well with Asian foods. Flavours of stone fruit and alittle aromatic not quite to my taste, but good for that style. The Pinot Gris wad the best for me. Lots of pear and apple with a little nutty undertone. Dry, rich and opulent it’s a wine to be sipped and not to be guzzle.

Exultet vineyard

Exultet vineyard

It’s the most understated vineyard I think I ever gone too. The tasting bar says a lot, although until you taste the wines its not clear what. This area was a sea bed 400m years ago with ancient limestone rock and it impresses a certain something in the wines. All the wines were excellent but theres a large range. The ones I was impressed by were at ghe heady heights of CAD40 to 70 a bottle but boy were they good. Their Cru and Exulted Chardonnays were rich, full of body and flavours of citrus, pear and hints of vanilla. The Pinot Noirs were lighter than expected but good flavours of redcurrant, cherry and hints of oak. The structure and length were excellent. The ice wine was for me the best. Rich but not overly sweet. Peach and hints of honey that caress the mouth and seem to stay there forever. At CAD45 for 200ml bottle it’s not cheap but excellent.

Rosehall Run

Rosehall Run vineyard

Another great vineyard in Prince Edward County. Their Sauvignon Blanc has light citrus flavours, fresh and easy drinking. Their St Cindy Chardonnay at CAD75 a bottle is truly wonderful. Dry, balanced acidity, creamy, medium bodied with citrus, apple, pineapple and notes of caramel and oak. The St Cindy Pinot Noir at CAD80 is medium bodied, dry with lots going on thd flavour front. Raspberry, cherry, hints of strawberries, there’s a hedgerow berries and a spice in there. Quite amazing.
Their Riesling at CAD25 was a bargain, dry, fresh with notes of pear, citrus and a mineral undertone. Its not the most accomplished Riesling but its a great wine for a setset or sitting in the garden on a summer’s day.

Norman Hardie vineyard

Amazing wines across the board and worth the higher price tag.
The County Pinot Noirs are dry, well structured with solid acidity and balance across the components. Flavours of raspberry, cranberry with vanilla and oak notes and a bit of herby and earthy undertone poking through. At CAD60 a bottle it’s excellent value for the quality. The Chardonnays are clean and fresh, lovely citrus and apple with a mineral overnote that makes these quite wonderful. Burgundy in style and high quality but not the price point. The food there was excellent too.

Ontario, Niagara region

In the Niagara region we had the honour of tasting the following vineyards with Tony Aspler the acclaimed Decanter World Wine Awards judge, food and wine writer. He knows good vineyards! Check out is blog https://tonyaspler.com for the low down on some amazing wines.

Kirby Estates

Possibly the best new kid on the block. Not long started and the first vintages are superb. The owners Maria and Scott are new to vineyard ownership but that have passion for it. They produce Merlot and Chardonnay, both start at CAD70 a bottle but the quality is rock solid so hard to complain about the price. We tried the Single Vineyard and reserve lines.the main difference between was that the single Vineyard range was slightly lighter but only when tasted side by side would you tell. The Chardonnays have complexity, high acidity is balanced with flavours of pineapple, lime and lemon. There’s a delicious creaminess underlining with a little vanilla poking through. The merlots are dry, tannins are soft with strong flavours of black plum and cherry with vanilla and hints of herbs. The issue I have is they are likely to produce about 5 to 6 thousand bottles a year so even when are prepared to pay the price, chances are that you won’t fine it available. That’s a real shame. I suggest pre-ordering.

Big Head Winery

Modern in what looks like an industrial unit this Winery produces some super wines at various price points, from CAD20 to CAD200+ a bottle.
Their Chenin Blanc Select was rather good, fuller and firmer than your average Chenin they use older vines and grapes with botrytis. Dry with richness and flavours of red and green apple, a little honey and lemon it’s fresh and long lasting in taste.
The Merlot Select was robust, firm tannins and dry. Red and black fruit flavours with a bit of tobacco. A slipping wine more than a drinking wine. We also got to try 2 new red wines not yet released in honour of the winemakers mother and mother in law. At over CAD200 a bottle theses are not cheap. Like the all the reds we tried, these were very good, great structure, balance and full of red and black fruits. That said the price was too much. I’d stick with their CAD50 or under wines.

Bachelder vineyard.

Bachelder vineyard

Another excellent vineyard. We tried the Gamay and Chardonnay wines. The Gamay wines were like a very good Beaujolais. Dry, light, raspberry and strawberry flavours with a bit of cranberry in there and underlined with notes of forest floor, earthy but with something in there. Very enjoyable and at CAD30 a bargain for the quality.
The Chardonnays were well rounded, fewsh citrus flavours with various levels of minerality poking through. All excellent and all reflecting the different parcels of land where the grapes grew.

Thirty Bench

This vineyard won a Decanter World Wine Awards platinum award in 2017 for their Cabernet Franc so know how to make great wines.
We tried their “Small Lot” Riesling range and all were slightly different but all were superb. Possibly the best Riesling I have ever tasted. The “Triangle “They had flavours of lemon and pineapple and a slate feel. Off dry but Crisp with fantastic freshness. The “Steel Post” Riesling had lemon, lime and green apple flavours but slightly off dry. The “Wood Post” Riesling was drier than the others with green apple and just a hint of orange. The “Wild Cask” Riesling had hints of peach, and yellow apple, slightly off dry but with a wonderful slate undertone.

Niagara College’s School of Wine, Beer and Spirits.

Niagara College’s School of Wine, Beer and Spirits

Well this was a gem. The Premier place for teaching the next wine makers and viticulturist’s. They make and sell their own wines and this should be a place to visit. We were lucky enough to have a small tour of their wine making areas and taste the “Balance” Brut sparkling wine. Dry, clean, crisp and fruit driven with a little brioche in the background. It’s the place that I would have been happy to buy a case of mixed wines to just try in the garden with friends. Unfortunately weight and duty limits prevented that as we were flying home the next day. So just the one bottle was taken away, a few books for the wife’s Canada wine exams that start shortly.