Complications of Wine Language

Have you ever found yourself surround by friends or even strangers and been asked "how do you like the wine" Your mind searches for those wine terms, the wine language you read about in wine reviews.

"I like the rich fruity black cherry and smokieness in the nose and the even bitter finish." Is this the description that flashes through your mind. You want to say. "It's Good I like it." Well go ahead, say it! Wine tasting does not have to be complicated. You do not have to extend the boundaries of the English language to describe the wine.

I have never understood "bright black fruit with anise dill and leather notes." Bright is a term that describes light not taste, anise dill I understand, anise can be described as having a licorice flavour, leather denotes hmmmm okay. What if someone described the wine " with a touch of olive and saddle leather" Would you know if it was good or bad. Is a wine supposed to have a leather flavour?
What about tobacco? Descriptive term, used by some, to describe a flavor component resembling the taste of raw tobacco leaf in the finish of certain red wines. Seems to mainly apply to Cabernet Sauvignons from Bordeaux, France or the Napa region of California. " Cigarbox " is a common term often used as a near synonym especially if a cedar-wood note in the aroma is detected. (Non-smokers may have trouble with this word and its implication).

Perhaps I'm just a simple guy who likes his wine and prefers to say.. I like this wine. Its good. Most enjoyable. an easy drinking wine with fruity flavours

Don't be intimidated by the language of wine. Simply describe the wine as it tastes to you. Allow your senses to react to the wine. Wine is to be enjoyed. The wine language is unique but you do not have to know it or refer to it in order to enjoy the wine tasting experience.

The following article from the Wines of Michigan * website

The Simple Pleasures of Wine by Joe Borello
The topic of wine is fascinating and often times emotional. It is a simple agricultural product, yet many have a tendency to shroud it in mystery and complexity. It is important to realize that wine has been placed on dining tables for centuries as a natural beverage that serves as a pleasing and logical companion to food.

Few other products offer as much diverse subject matter as wine. Interests range from cultivating personal vineyards, visiting the actual property of a winery, collecting wine labels, building a wine collection of fine wines, to simply taste-testing different wine styles with friends.
Wine also combines instinctively with an interest in food. Many professional and amateur chefs are wine hobbyists because good cuisine demands wine both as an intricate seasoning ingredient and as a basic component of the dining table. Keep in mind that like food, it is important to create a point of reference for what you may like in wine. As time goes by and your tasting experience grows you will notice subtle differences in your preferences, It is helpful to seek information from others, but don't be intimidated by their opinions.

Although many hours could be spent studying the finer points of wine, it is best enjoyed as an uncomplicated subject. So, what is the best way to enjoy and learn about wine and food? The experts tell us there is no substitute for personal tasting experiences. Through taste comes the acquisition of knowledge. What better way to acquire knowledge then by visiting local wineries or gathering with a group of friends for a wine and food tasting? As you taste and compare wines you will find that not all are pleasing to you. Wine, like food, is made in many different styles to satisfy different tastes. It is up to the individual to choose the wines that best suit a personal palate and pocketbook. In North America we are fortunate to have over 900 winery tasting room facilities in which to experience a variety of tastes and styles of wine. Many of these wineries have educational tours and videos of the facilities and the winemaking process. Knowledgeable winery representatives then guide visitors through enchanting tasting tours of nature's fruit of the vine.


*this article was edited to fit our website. Permission to use the article was obtained from Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council.

Icewine
Do I love Icewine! Yes I do !

My experience with Canada's amazing drop of golden liquid began in the 1990s.
We recieved a sample of wines from one of Ontarios Niagara-On-The-Lake wineries.
Included was a bottle a Vidal Icewine. At that time we had never tasted this precious wine.

Sadley we did not enjoy the wine. It was too thick and tasted like syrup.  For the next ten plus years my wife and I avoided the product. Since icewine is rather expensive its not a wine to buy for a second change.

We did not try icewine again untill 2004, the year we traveled to Ontario and the Niagara wine region
It was at the home of Icewine  Inniskillian that we were offered the opportunity by Deb Pratt to tatse their icewine. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was so good.

Ever since then I have been a true fan of Icewine and have enjoyed many icewines from various wineries across Canada..Our website has six pages on Icewine.  These pages are our most visited.
They are also perhaps the most quoted pages on various websites, blogs and news articles around the world

Visit us www.winesofcanada.com

Sometimes it’s not easy running a website that features over 700 wineries, meaderies and cider houses. It is a challenge!  Not as big a challenge as the winemaker / winery owner must go to be successful. In today’s world of social media, the successful winery must adapt to the  forces of Social Media.  

Today’s social media includes Facebook, Twitter, websites , bloggers and numerous other platforms. We jumped on to the  new website trend  twenty years ago. There were far fewer wineries and the majority did not have websites. No one had heard of Facebook or twitter. We were there ,to except the Challenge, and introduce Canadian wines and wineries to the world.

With over 700 hundred wineries, meaderies and cider houses and the number growing the task of reaching out to all of them becomes more difficult. We only ask that the winery takes a few minutes to answer or initial question sheet so we may list them on the site. We also try to contact the winery once a year ( it use to be twice) and keep us posted on changes.
After twenty years of success there are still some wineries that cannot find the time to help us.

 

Grape researcher Robert Murphy says Wines of Canada is a great site to promote provincial wines to the world and to acknowledge special individuals connected to the wine industry. Robert Murray
 
Thank you for undertaking such as project as your wonderful website of winesofcanada" : David Craw president of the New Brunswick Grape Growers Association

 

You have a tremendous website. It's the encyclopedia of Canadian wine. Bryan McCaw

 

Today we use Facebook, Twitter and our website to help promote the wineries of Canada. We are a Social Media force that promotes our wines and wineries 24/7.  But we sure could use a little more support from those wineries

Visit us
www.winesofcanada.com

PS we also run www.winesofwoi.com

 

The perfect Hot Chocolate

 

Here is my method for making the perfect hot chocolate. It begins by placing two healing spoonfulls of
chocolate powder into a 12 oz cup. Now you add your fortified beverage; if you prefer add  hot milk or boiled water. Add just enough to make a paste. Now fill the cup half full of hot milk or boiling water.
Now add another spoonful of chocolate powder and mix..  If you have lumps change powder brands.
Continue to fill the cup leaving room to add either your fortified beverage to taste or whip. You may of course add both.

The milk and water must be hot enough to avoid producing lumps but please becareful and allow the
hot chocolate to cool before adding the whip cream. I strongly suggest you whip the cream yourself
Canned cream fades away quickly.

Happy New year!

The Power of the Pyramid

 

Kelowna is home to the Pyramid which resides on the grounds of Summerhill Pyramid estate winery
One of the oldest and most respect wineries in Canada. Its founder and owner Stephen Cipes first visited the Okangan in 1986 and believed he'd found unique conditions to produce "intensely flavoured small grapes"--the perfect base for sparkling wine. Cipes brought grape clones from France and "personally planted them on my hands and knees

At Summerhill the wines are stored in the Pyramid. The Summerhill Pyramid is second only to the Great Pyramid of Egypt for alignment and precision.  Mr Cipes says

The message is profound. We have a twenty year experiment proving the effect of sacred geometry on liquids with a twenty year track record of international gold medals. My goal from the beginning was and is to make the finest wine in the world, especially sparkling wines. The French tradition of putting sparkling wines in a dark cool place for thirty days for the cuvee and dosage to ‘marry’ was my original inspiration to achieve this goal. The wines are made using only minimal intervention winemaking, and grown 100% organically in this extraordinary pristine semi desert valley, and the clarification in this True Pyramid is the final step in production. These are alive wines full of nature’s grandness, made in the most unique winery in the world.

 Summerhill is a Certified Organic Vineyard using no herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers in the soil. In 2012 they achieved Demeter Biodynamic status. The wines are made under the direction of esteemed winemaker Eric von Krosigk.

In another first for the winery is pleased to share that they added a nitrogen generator to their production cellar just in time for the 2012 harvest, with the goal of reducing and/or eliminating the use of sulphur dioxide as a preservative in winemaking.  

Sulphur dioxide (a sulphite) is known to cause allergy-like reactions to people that are sensitive to this compound, so it is hoped that these reactions can be minimized. Using nitrogen in sulphur dioxide's place will also allow Summerhill to keep wine fresh in tank almost indefinitely, allowing much more flexibility with environmentally-friendly bag-in-box packaging, kegs, and with their acclaimed multi-vintage sparkling wines.   

Additionally, it will add environmental and cost advantages, with the winery not having to purchase and transport nitrogen in tanks.  This new generator provides the extra benefit of reducing the need for climate control in the winery, thereby conserving energy.

You can count on the team at Summerhill to provide outstanding wines, innovative thinking  and hospitality

 

Léon Millot is a red variety of hybrid grape used for wine . It was created in 1911 in the Oberlin Institute in Colmar, Alsace , by the French viticulturist Eugène Kuhlmann (1858–1932) by crossing the hybrid grape Millardet et Grasset 101-14 O.P. (which is Vitis riparia × Vitis rupestris ) with Goldriesling , which is Vitis vinifera . The variety was named after the winemaker and tree nusery owner Léon Millot.

Léon Millot ripens early, and has high resistance against fungal diseases. It is therefore suited for cultivation in colder climates. It gives powerful wine with some foxy aromas.
Léon Millot is cultivated in small amounts in Switzerland (on 9.35 hectares (23.1 acres) in 2009), Alsace and Canada . In August 2011, a Leon Millot varietal wine produced by a vineyard in the Finger Lakes region of New York State won the prize for “best red wine” in the “New York Wine and Food Classic,” sponsored by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation and open to all of New York's 307 wineries.

In similarity with many other hybrid grapes, Leon Millot was originally not allowed to be used in professional winemaking in the European Union . However, after the regulations were somewhat relaxed, varieties with some Vitis vinifera in their pedigree, such as Léon Millot, are currently allowed to be used for wine production in Europe.
Léon Millot was the product of the same crossing trials as Lucie Kuhlmann and Maréchal Foch , and these three varieties are related.

At Saxon Estate winery in Ontario they are uniquely positioned to make Leon Millot in both Rose and in Red from Estate Grown Leon grapes which are rare in North America. The Grape is gaining popularity in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Leon Milliot is just on example of Grape Varietals been introduced to the Cold Climate wine growing regions of North America

Otheres are Agria: is an early ripping grape suited to cool climate vineyards Agria is also known as Turan. Blattner: is a Hybrid not commonly grown. But has found a home in the BC Coastal Areas. Barber: is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy. the list goes on please see Grape Varietal

We Get Letters

actually we get e-mails, twitters, and Facebook messages..
The majority of which ask questions about Canada’s wine industry.
The most popular question is can I buy Icewine?  Can I buy it from you?  Can I import icewine?
Is Icewine sold in my town?

Yes you can buy icewine – Yes. Can I buy it from you –NO Can I import icewine- that depends where you live. Is icewine sold in my town.. for that answer we use to say check the yellow pages.. We cannot keep track of who sells what where..

The second most popular question comes from people who find old London or Brights wine bottles.
Can we drink the wine are the bottles valuable.  That answer can be found on the website under various subjects. We do have a page on Vincor (now Constellation Brands who both these labels) and Brights.
However “no” is the main answer. Although we try to provide a better response than just saying no.

We also get e-mails from people wanting to buy grape juice, icewine, vines or sell us a wine related product. This of course is not what we do. There are also students doing a report on wine seeking information. These are the e-mails that take longer to respond to. We try to help without doing the work for them.

Now we also have people looking for work. Today we received a letter from a man in China  who works harvesting apples; but wants to come to Canada to pick grapes over the winter. Sadly, in this case we could not help.

We like getting e-mails.. It tells that people are finding the website and we play a little role in promoting the wines of Canada.
Yes we have a  FAQ page