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 Red
Grape Varieties
Cabernet Franc
One of the classic Bordeaux varieties. Usually
blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and/or Malbec. It is now
becoming a very popular stand alone varietal in Ontario. It ripens a
little earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon and is cold hardy in comparison
to most other red vinifera. Fully ripened it produces wines with
tremendous red fruit (particularly raspberry), pepper and slight herbal
tones.
Pinot Noir
This variety does particularly well in our region. It is a challenging
grape to grow and vinify but when done right, there is nothing like it.
Cropping is the key to this grape as is fungal control. The grape does
not take well to green harvesting as it tends to pump its full crop
water in to the remaining crop, resulting in the opposite to what the grower
was setting out to do. The key to this grape in in the pruning and
spacing.
Syrah
Also known as Shiraz, this grape makes an outstanding wine across the
spectrum. A great blender but fantastic on its own when made into a
full-bodied wine. It is a little tender (doesn't seem to be as weak as
Merlot) but will ripen in Ontario. It produces a wine that has sweet
blackberry and spicey/peppery overtones. Ours has produced toffee aromas
and flavours in the hot 2002 year.
Baco Noir
One of our personal favourites. This grape is a joy to grow and ferment.
When fully ripened you get intense black fruit, smoke and spice. It's a
great wine with food or by itself. It tends to have higher acid than
other reds but this can be managed out with good vinification practices.
We suggest a long hot fermentation with a yeast that enhances its
natural flavours (RC212 or BM45 are always good). Baco sometimes needs
the addition of tannin to fill in the "middle" and this can be
done with grape tannin powder or a generous amount of American oak.
 White
Grape Varieties
Chardonnay
What can we say about this grape that hasn't been said before. It's
great...it grows well in Ontario, ripens well and is cold hardy. Oaked,
unoaked or as a champagne style.
Riesling
We love this grape. It is unrivaled in its versatility and in our mind
is the most overlooked grape. We have the GM239 clone which tends to
have a more apple, apricot and honey tones. In lucky years we get some botrytis
(noble rot) and the flavours are so intense its like a party in your
mouth. Dry, semi-sweet, sweet, late harvest, ice wine or sparkled....it
can't be beat.
Traminette
This is a fairly new hybrid that comes to us from Cornell university.
It's parentage is Gewurztraminer and you can not mistake it. It has all
the characteristics of a good Gewurz but is much more tolerant of our
climate. Also, the sugar/acid balance is always good. Great on its own
or as a blend (it is a major component of our Vineridge Blend).
Vidal
This very fruity and flexible grape has very thick skin and hangs well.
It is a great wine for sipping and is consistently a good wine to vinify.
It blends well and we have tasted some outstanding examples that have
been put through malolactic fermentation (believe it or not).
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