Latitude of Ontario Appellations
42* - Lake Erie North
43* - Niagara Peninsula
44* - Prince Edward Country
Vine Canopy
- includes trunk, canes, shoots, leaves and fruit
- forms microclimate
Key elements contributing to ontario's wine-growing regions
- topography: proximity to lakes, lack of barriers allows wind access
- within northern wine belt
- good wind patterns
- moderate to long summers
- winter temperatures for icewine
Classic European Grapes (11)
Vitis Vinifera Varieties
- chardonnay
- riesling
- pinot grigio or gris
- sauvignon blanc
- gewurztraiminer
- cabernet franc
- cabernet sauvignon
- merlot
- shiraz
- pinot noir
- gamay noir
Types of white vinis viniferas (5)
- chardonnay
- pinot grigio/gris
- riesling
- sauvignon blanc
- gewurztraiminer
Altering position and number of shoots
Canopy management improves quality, optimizes yield, reduces disease incidence
- includes cultivating, clover crops, hedging, thinning, verasion of grapes
Spacing of fruit on the vine
- three main types of trellis systems "Pigs Get Killed"
- pendebogen (bow) for closely spaced
- guyot (flachbogen) for sufficient space
- kniffen for productive hybrids
Grape classification specifically pertaining to ontario
- maybe icewine? (Vidal, Riesling, Cabernet Franc are most commonly used)
- otherwise remember the vitis vinifera + the hybrids of Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, Baco
, Noir
- icewine has to be vitis vinifera or vidal
Wine Appellations of Ontario
Lake Erie North Shore
Niagara Peninsula
Prince Edward Country
Sub-Appellations of Niagara-On-The-Lake
"Look For Rowdy Sex"
Niagara Lakeshore
Four Mile Creek
Niagara River
St. David's Bench
VQA Ontario is...
Vintners Quality Alliance Ontario, standardizes production of Ontario Wines
What % of grapes fall into a certain category?
VQA categories:
- must be 100% made in ontario
- 85% in appellation or regional appellation
- 100% in subappellation or vineyard
Brix
- 17-19.5 brix in Ontario
Indpendent Tasting Panel for VQA Wines
- highly trained tasters that are independent of the wineries
- provided by the LCBO
- wines are ranked against an absolute standard (looking for faults)
Light-yellow colour of a white wine
More amber the wine, the older it is. Oak also darkens. Lighter wines are younger.
Traditional Methods of Sparkling Wine
- made in bottle itself!!!!
- harvested early
- pressed gently to reduce contact with skin
- base wines fermented
- tirage added and fermented in bottle
- aged sur lis
- riddling to collect yeast cells
- disgorging to remove sediment
- dosage to add some sugar
Charmat Method vs Traditional Method
- charmat method has 2nd fermentation in stainless steel tanks instead of bottle
- less expensive and faster
- larger bubbles and less complex
Service temperatures for a specific style of wine
- off-dry and medium dry with sweetness (Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Vidal) served 9 -
12 degrees
- refreshing whites (riesling, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, seyval blanc, sparkling)