Celebrating Canadian Wines: Our Ladies Wine Club Experience

We started our Ladies Wine Club a year ago. This marks the second time we’ve celebrated International Women’s Day with a wine tasting. Last year, we enjoyed sparkling wines, and this year we decided it was the perfect opportunity to embrace our patriotism by sampling some delightful domestic whites.

I don’t want to get too political here. However, I do think it’s important to discuss the Ontario and Canadian wine industry.

In Ontario, the LCBO had almost $1 billion in sales in 2023, of which 17% were American products. By not selling any American products at the LCBO, we impact the US wine industry. We also support our own wine industry by purchasing more Ontario wines.

There may be a silver lining to the increase of US tariffs. We can proudly buy Canadian wine and discover some hidden gems.

Why talk about white wine?

The wine industry as a whole has been suffering in recent years. There are so many options out there like coolers, ciders and ready to drink cocktails. White wine and sparkling wines have increased in recent years compared to red wines. Consumers are trending toward easy drinking, lower alcohol beverages and in most cases white whites check the boxes. Also white and sparkling wines are very food friendly especially when there is spiciness involved.

No. 1 Sparkling wine- York Vineyards

Natalia and I started off our evening with a sparkling wine from York Vineyards. York Vineyard is owned by Rachel and Marty Werner. It is the first winery in the region to make exclusively sparkling wines. This 20 acre winery began making wine in 2013 yet had their first release this past summer. We tried the Sparkling Brut Reserve ($120) which is 66% Chardonnay and 34% Pinot Noir. Aged 72 months on lees. It spent 24 months in French oak (20% new). With a delicate dosage of 2 g/L, this wine is elegant. It is a testament to the quality of wines that can be produced in Ontario. Decanter Magazine gave it 96 points!

We paired this wine with shrimp crackers/curry peanut sauce. All the Asian food was made by Dumpling and Co.

No. 2 Dobbin Estate Winery-Riesling

Our second wine of the night was a dry Riesling from Dobbin Estate Winery. This was paired with a mango/shrimp salad which was perfect to highlight the acidity of the wine.

Score: 94

“This complex and ripe expression of Riesling comes from an exciting new producer in Niagara. Grapes from the vineyard west of St. Catharines were harvested over a month-long period to craft a wine with intriguing complexity and satisfying structure and texture. An enticing flavour suggests grapefruit, green apple and honey with some kerosene/petrol aromas that add to the complex character.” -Christopher Waters, Globe & Mail

An amazing wine and a varietal that does not get the recognition that it deserves.

No. 3 Featherstone Estate Winery-Gewurztraminer

Camille, our lovely hostess for the night, wanted Natalia and me to serve a Gewurztraminer. This one did not disappoint.

This wine is Featherstone Phoenix 2023 and at $18.95 was the deal of the night. The RS at 12 g/l was higher than all the other wines tasted this evening. However, it was a great pairing with the Chinese dumplings and Vietnamese fresh salad rolls. It complemented the spicy sauces as well. Gewurztraminer is known to have aromas of lychee and roses and this wine did not disappoint. Such a lovely aroma. I could have spent the entire night smelling this wine! This is the style of wine that needs to be paired with spicy Asian food!

No. 4 The Long Way Home-Chardonnay

The fourth wine featured was a Chardonnay by The Long Way Home ($48)

This 2022 wine is a classic expression of Chardonnay grown in the cool-climate of the Beamsville Bench. 

“Made from a single vineyard (Felseck) with minimal intervention. This wine is a blend of cool, skin fermented and whole bunch pressed, barrel fermented fruit. It is aged for 10 months in French oak.

The wine shows fresh aromatics, balanced natural acidity and a fine, creamy texture.”

This wine made by veteran winemaker Marlize Beyers. I love this wine for its elegance and balance. No one element outshines the other. They come together to complement each other, giving us an Outstanding Ontario Chardonnay!

No. 5 Creekside Estate Winery-Viognier

Our fifth wine to taste that evening was a 2023 Viognier from Creekside Estate Winery. ($34.75)

Rob Power (winemaker since the winery’s inception in 1997) and assistant winemaker Yvonne Ervine makes brilliant wines. This is no exception. Here is their description of this wine …”On the nose, a beautiful bouquet of fresh cut gardenia, sweet honeysuckle blossoms and gobs of ripe peach paint a picture the sunny days gone by. Never one to disappoint on the follow-through; our Reserve Viognier is as much about texture as it is about flavour. At first, unctuous vanilla envelopes the palate, while focused acidity adds structure through to the finish leaving a lingering note of fresh fennel and warm anise”.

We paired the Chardonnay and Viognier with Camille’s Fondue. Yes, we began the evening with an Asian theme. Then, we took a quick turn down the path toward yummy, gooey cheese! Both wines paired extremely well with the richness of the cheese. This was also accompanied with gluten free bread from Edible Options(St Catharines, Ont)

No 6 Natalia and Catherine’s Icewine

Our tasting was finished off with a Vidal Icewine that Natalia and I made in 2023.($Priceless) We thought that Icewine and Butter Tarts from 13th Street Winery was the perfect combo. I hope our wine group agreed with us. The sweetness of the tart actually made the sweet wine taste less sweet and I think was a great complement.

As an experiment, try something sweet with a glass of dry red wine. The dessert’s sweetness will cancel out any fruitiness in the wine. Only the bitter tannins will stand out.

It was a great night exploring the Ontario white wine scene. I am sad that we only managed to taste a few of the many wines available to us. So……..Here is my suggestion. Do some of your own exploring and discover the amazing variety of wines Ontario have to offer.