As a longtime Montrealer, there are many things about Ontario that I am still getting accustomed to. The fact that people are able to turn right at red lights (I still yell at drivers in French, mon dieu…), thinking it’s normal to go to work from 9-to-5, and that it’s kind of uncommon to speak three languages (one of which being Anglais) is still kind of weird to me. One of those things that I thought I would have a hard time getting used to and, admittedly, that we often looked down our noses at back home in Quebec, is Ontario wine. For whatever reason, we thought the stuff was a half-step above table wine and, really, was only good enough for cooking with if we didn’t want a second date with the person. Boy, were we wrong. Ontario wine is fresh and zesty, packing some seriously amazing flavours and reaping all the benefits that comes from growing grapes in a mild to cold climate environment. It is literally the definition of #AwesomeSauce.
What changed my mind? Well, I had the pleasure of participating in the LCBO’s Shine {ON} (#ShineON) Wine Tour of the Niagara Peninsula, and it was truly a day to be remembered. Beginning early in the morning, we had a chance to visit three different wineries over the course of our trip – Coyote’s Run, Tawse, and 13th Street Winery – and got the chance to taste some of the best wines that the Niagara region has to offer. We started the day off at the absolutely stunning Coyote’s Run vineyard with four samplings of Ontario pinot noir. (Is it bad that I am totally game for a glass of wine at 10am? Whatever, I’m a Quebecker, bien sur!) These included a Coyote’s Run vintage along with some great offerings from Weir and Earth & Sky as well, while we were serenaded by Royal Wood (a tall drink of Ontario vintage himself, if I may say so). As somebody who almost religiously drinks white, the lightness and essences of fruit present in these pinot noirs has me almost converted over to reds.
Following Coyote’s Run, we had hopped over to Tawse Winery where we had a fabulous tour of their barrel cellar (it smells amazing, FYI… easily better than new car smell) and their vine fields. Tawse amazingly also has a small farm with sheep and chickens that get to roam amongst their vines sometimes (read: drunk sheep? Best thing that didn’t happen on the wine tour.) And you can actually see the CN Tower and downtown Hogtown from their side of the lake. I think it was this moment that I finally shook off my vestigial distaste for Ontario wines as I came to realize that not only can the region produce amazing quality products but also that it is made so incredibly close to the city. Mind = blown.
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Back on point… We had an amazing lunch by Gastrohomestead (with Ontario white and red wine pairings, naturally) overlooking the field and it was basically the best moment of my life.
Our final destination on the Niagara Peninsula was 13th Street Winery, where we all got the chance to saber a bottle of their rosé bubbly. If you are unsure of what sabering is, basically you take a sword and swipe it down the bottleneck to pop the cork in a fantastically dramatic way. Wine lost. Party cred gained. We also got a sampling of four Ontario rieslings, all of which were amazing (pick up a bottle of Cattail Creek, Earth & Sky, Brickyard, and Sprucewood Shores if you have a chance, they’re fabulous) before sadly heading back into the city.
As I sat on our ride back to reality and chatted with one of the many new friends I met that day, I reflected on how the Shine {ON} (#ShineON) wine tour totally changed my perception of Ontario wines. Not only are they of amazing quality but also they are grown and bottled literally in the city’s backyard. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any other metropolis in North America that can boast this combination (other than maybe those snarky Californians). Now, whenever I am in the LCBO, I beeline for the Ontario aisle and, really, I would suggest you do the same. You won’t regret it. Bien sur!
