My Canadian friends, I promise there'll be some grand cru quality wines featured in the next Canada tasting - even if that means I've to take the plane to get the high-end stuff over here
Yeah, these are all roughly low/mid-tier wines in Canada. Value for money in Canada is really the biggest issue we have, really have to spend >35$CAD a bottle to get anything good and directly from the winery. The Naramata and Oliver/Osoyoos region of the Okanagan is making some of the best wines right now. (Blue Mountain Estate, Checkmate)
Great to hear! If you ever need any good Ontario wines I'm happy to source you some if you're in Toronto in the near future! Definitely need some representation for producers like Hidden Bench, Foreign Affair, Thomas Bachelder and Malivoire (known for Gamay and Chardonnay but they do some unique stuff too. The Melon de Bourgogne they make is sensationally good!)
Leon! I commented separately, but I'll comment here again: For Niagara region, I recommend Two Sisters Vineyards, Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery, Domaine Queylus, and Chateau des Charmes - the first two make the best Cab Franc in the region, and the latter two make the best Pinot Noir in the region. For the Prince Edward County, I recommend Closson Chase for Pinot Noir, and Hinterland for sparkling white . I've been everywhere in the Niagara region and can definitely say those are the best, but I've yet to explore more of the Prince Edward region. Please come to Ontario, Canada to try these this summer !!! I'd take you and Konstantin myself for tastings !!!
I’m glad our Red Icon was able to be a part of your introduction to Canadian wine! I think you will find there is a huge array of wines coming from our beautiful region and country. If you’re looking to learn more, a trip here is a must. We’d love nothing more than to introduce you to some exceptional Okanagan wineries. But in the meantime, we work with Vioneers in Germany and they have a few other wines that could give you a broader idea of our wine program (lots of identity, I promise). In addition to the Red Icon, I would suggest our Syrah and Cabernet Franc would give exceptional context.
As somebody who recently worked at Lakeview Cellars for a couple of years, I can absolutely confirm that the 2017 Viognier is well past its prime but the 2019 and 2020 are beautiful right now. Thanks for the Canadian tasting!
Thanks for covering Canada! I think we do German wines best, like Rieslings, and more for simple fruit than complexity. Gamay is also very good in Ontario. Things that are aged in oak in Canada often get a heavy American oak treatment, which isn’t my favourite.
Canadian wines rock. Many are world-class. Glad you were able to taste the Painted Rock, but there are many winemakers in B.C. and in Niagara that are making outstanding wines.
That Red Icon is a beauty year after year, and it ages very well. I recently reviewed that vintage and gave it 94+ points on my blog! Glad you liked it!
Finally! Yay. I live in BC and have been going to the Okanagen for 20 years. Try Checkmate (a 100 point chardonnay), Phantom Creek, Painted Rock, La Vieux Pin, Black Sage and Burrowing Owl. Blue Mountain has a very well known Pinot. There are lots of others but these are very well known and generally high quality. I would say there is a distinct signature to Okanagen wines but I'm no expert. White wines have been very good value but not very sophisticated generally. Thanks for a great channel Konstantin.
Thank you so much for looking into Canadian wines! I am from British Columbia and love trying everything the okanagan valley has to offer. There are so many producers but you’re right that finding good exports will be a problem. We are very good at keeping our product here to be showcased locally. My favourite BC producers are Volcanic Hills, Cedar Creek, Mission Hill, Culmina, and one which does quite excellent white wines of German influence is Gehringer Brothers. Looking forward to the next episode featuring Canadian wine!
As a Canadian and a wine lover, I have tasted a lot of Canadian wine. If you can find it, I would suggest trying more Pinot Noir from Niagara (Bachelder, Five Rows, Tawse, Leaning Post) or Prince Edward County (Rosehall Run, Lighthall, Stanners). Other great grapes from Ontario are Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Gamay. You can also try to find traditional method sparkling wines from Ontario (Hinterland) and Nova Scotia (Benjamin Bridge and Lightfoot & Wolfville). And Syrah from Okanagan is outstanding - try to find Black Hills or Le Vieux Pin, especially. FYI you did pronounce Okanagan correctly. As for how cold it gets in Ontario in the winter, in Prince Edward County they actually bury the vines to protect them by “hilling up” the dirt between the rows. PEC is essentially an island of limestone (older than Burgundy) that sticks out into Lake Ontario so it typically gets a few degrees colder than the Niagara Region.
Dang I went to Tawse 2 weeks ago. Their 2013 Chardonnay icewine is to die for (too bad it's sold-out in their winery) Unfortunately their cab sauv icewine will be their last as production of icewine dropped in the past 3 years.
And Nichol Old Vines Syrah from the Okanagan, Naramata bench to be precise, made from the oldest Syrah vines in Canada I believe. Also Lock & Worth (Semillon & others from that winery too)
If I could recommend only one wine from Canada I would recommend Henry of Pelham “Cuvée Catherine” estate blanc de blanc sparkling made in the traditional method. Made from 100% estate-grown Chardonnay from the Short Hills Bench, this bubbly is fermented partially (20%) in barrel and then aged for an impressive 54 months on the lees. Look for elegant lemony flavours and aromas of freshly baked bread. 6 g/L residual sugar. It reminds me of bollinger special cuvée but is 1/2 the price. ($50 vs $95)
Over a decade ago, my wife and I were visiting Vancouver BC from our home in Oregon. At the suggestion of the sommelier, we had a glass of Pinot Noir rosé from Joie Farm in the Naramata area. It was the best rosé I’d had in years! Unfortunately it’s hard to get where we live.
We live an hour west of the Niagara region which affords us easy access to the best wines produced in the area, particularly the Baco and Pino Noirs. Without a doubt this episode barely scratches the surface for what Niagara, and Canada in general has to offer. Compared to more established global regions, our wine industry may be small, but it is ripe with wonderful world-class taste experiences. As many of the more knowledgable comments have suggested here, another visit would be well worth the trip!
I enjoyed this one. I live in Vancouver and in the okanagan a few times a year. I agree with your reviews, painte rock also has a good Syrah and 50th parallel has a good Pinot. There are some really nice wineries here, Le Vieux Pin, La Stella, Black Hills, Checkmate and Little Engine to name a few
Ontario wines from top producers are phenomenal. Niagara region is great these are some of my favourites. Hidden Bench Bachelder Leaning Post Reif Big Head But don't sleep on the Prince Edward County. Lighthall was definitely a standout.
@@xtan9879 blame govt taxation and hidden charges that federal and provincial govts add , not to mention the LCBO rip off. they get their cut even when sold at the winery.!!!!
(This was originally written as a reply to Leon's comment, but worth a read nonetheless) Within Ontario, and even more so within Niagara, different regions do better with certain varieties. For classic Burgundian styled wines, the Bench appellations (Beamsville, Twenty Mile, St. Davids, etc) and Prince Edward County do wonders, especially given the soil composition, slope and aspect relative to Lake Ontario (though the top of the Niagara Escarpment in the Vinemount Ridge appellation gives Hautes-Côtes de Beaune a run for its money). If you can, for Burgundian varieties, please get your hands on anything made by Thomas Bachelder - easily one of the best winemakers in Ontario (through certainly not the only one). For Gamay, it's a tossup between Bachelder and Shiraz Mottiar at Malivoire. For Bordeaux varieties, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara River, and Lake Erie North Shore (especially the South Islands appellation located on Pelee Island itself) do wonders, given how much warmer it gets in there. Pair that with particularly hot vintages like 2020 (where some winemakers had to harvest early or leave a touch of residual sugar to stay under the 15% ABV limit set by VQA), and you get reds that can rival the power and structure of Bordeaux or California's North Coast. Other years on the other hand are much less conducive to making Cabernet Sauvignon in particular - either needing to have extended hang time (2019 being a recent example - grapes for Icewine were harvested in mid-November, while both Cab Sauv and Cab Franc needed more time to reach ripeness), or having far more green notes than one would like. As mentioned, we do Riesling (and so, so very well, especially with cuttings directly from Mosel), but also Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc (which across several producers has a lovely note of red apple), and Syrah. Also, don't write off the hybrid varieties of Baco Noir and Vidal - the former (in the right hands, like Henry of Pelham) makes wonderful full-bodied reds, albeit with a touch of residual sugar; dry and off-dry Vidal (rather than Icewine) is gorgeous, with aromatics that only Gewürztraminer can rival.
I personally believe that Alsatian varietals are BC's best right now. That, and Pinot Noir, and Gamay. There are great Bordeaux blends, as well, but, as you said about Painted Rock, they're not exactly representative of BC, specifically. Though there are lots of great wines here, I think we're still struggling to find our niche the way some other newer wine producing regions have.
I have been to 50th parallel. It is near my in-laws. My wife and I visit often from the province of Alberta. Great to see you trying Canadian wines. Cheers.
Thanks for branching out and reviewing some wines from our country! Three of those were really considered entry-level Wines, although Pearl Morissette is a great winery, so even their entry level is reasonably good. The Red Icon is considered more premium, but definitely does better with age. If you taste a lot more of the big reds from the south Okanagan, you will begin to recognize a style that it fits in. There is such a diversity of climates within our wine-growing regions that you will not get a single “Canadian” style. If you want to try something truly unique get your hands on a bottle of Pinot noir from Vancouver Island (or better yet please come and visit, particularly during the Noir festival.) The Skinner family from Painted Rock are passionate about being ambassadors for our country and I hope you will take them up on the offer to visit! I have learned so much about wine from your channel. Very well done as always!
Thank you for doing this tasting. There are some very good wines from Nova Scotia and from BC and Ontario. I encourage you to continue to investigate. Wine industry in Canada is still young about 50 yrs old.
Nice to see my own backyard (Ontario) on your radar. Things are moving forward nicely with Ontario wines with many winemakers either from Europe or with experience in European wine regions and coming back to Ontario. As you mention, availability of some of the wines you should try are limited outside of Ontario. Hopefully you can get a chance to try some other expressions of some of the flagship styles like Riesling (Thirty Bench) Chardonnay (many from Niagara and Prince Edward County) as well as other Pinot Noir (Le Clos Jordanne). Happy to help with ideas etc if I can. Cheers!
Thank you for covering my country's wines. I understand as we are a very polite nation we don't force our wines on anyone. That. Being said I hope you get to do another segment on canadian wines that is more broad and more detailed than the ones you had at your disposal.
Konstantin, thanks for covering some of our Canadian wines. I happen to live in Niagara and thanks to you I've been experimenting with wines from around the world, including New Zealand and South Africa. You are correct that you've only scratched the surface with Canadian wines, so I guess you will have to make a point of visiting and doing more detailed tasting!
I'm so pleased to see that Konstantin had a chance to taste some Canadian wines. With that said, there are many wonderful wines from great wineries that I wish he had a chance to taste. I had the privilege of attending a tasting of a few hundred Ontario wines last week. There were many stellar wines from wineries such as Rosehall Run, Ice Cellars, Cave Spring, Henry of Perham, Hidden Bench and, the great, Norm Hardie to name a few. Many of these wines are not just great Canadian wines, they are wines thay can stand up to the best wines from the rest of the world.
I always look at your face when your first tasting the wine. It tells me so much of what you think of it..........anyways I enjoy your videos so much and as someone who is sitting for their WSET 2 on Sunday I have learned so much from you.
If you want good stuff from Canada, you have to visit the wineries. Here in New England, I can't remember the last time I saw a Canadian red or white on the shelves.
Canada wines awesome!! You really need to taste the best of the Okanagan, you will be surprised I'm sure! Syrah from Le Vieux Pin, Chardonnay and Merlot from Checkmate, Pinot Noir from Foxtrot Vineyards, Sparkling from Blue Mountain etc etc. Great wines are being produced in B.C!
I’m a Londoner but have holidayed in the Okanagen lots as have family there. Canadian wine is fantastic and if a much higher quality than I was expecting. It’s super hard to find outside of Canada, or at least the good stuff is. It’s like their little secret. I highly recommend people visit and try it
Great video as always Konstantin, thank you! As a Quebec based sommelier trained/ wine geek, my "local" favorites from East to West are : - Benjamin Bridge from the Gaspereau Valley in Nova Scotia. Organic sparkling specialists. As member of their wine club I receive 3 different wines per season (many of them exclusive micro-cuvées of sometimes a single barrel) so I can witness their experimentations and progress throughout the vintages. Never been disappointed, always great quality/experience price ratios. - Domaine Bergeville from the Appalachian plateau here in Quebec. Also sparkling specialists, but from practically 100% hybrids. Biodynamic. Big fan, also a member of their (very recent) wine club. - Négondos from the Deux-Montagnes region in Quebec. 1st organic producer in Quebec, since 1993. In my opinion their "Julep", a skin maceration of Seyval, is the best maceration wine in the country. - The Foreign Affair Winery from the Vinemont Ridge sub-appellation of the Niagara Peninsula. Appasimento specialists from mainly Cabernet Franc. I'm rarely impressed by Canadian reds, but they are one of the exceptions. Were purchased by Corby a few years back. Conventional farming though. - Little Farm Winery from the Similkameen Valley in British Columbia. Project of Master of Wine Rhys Pender and his wife. Organic but irrigated. Mineral driven wines from highly calcareous soils. Great Riesling (recently tasted the 2014 which was still youthful and full of energy) and my favorite Canadian Chardonnay. Keep up the great work! :)
There is an obscure wine type from Newfoundland known locally as screech. It undergoes additional steps in production after primary fermentation. It is entirely devoid of tannins and is often considered an "acquired taste".
Yes 🎉 I live in the Okanagan and am launching my channel in May featuring Okanagan wine, itineraries in wine country and so on. I’m so curious as to how or why you chose these wines to review. A curious bunch as a local but Painted Rock is a favourite. Each winery excels at certain varietals. 50th is great but I’m excited to see your next Canadian wine video! I have some local sommelier friends that are Canadian wine experts. I can get you in touch if you need a local’s perspective.
Thank you for covering the rapidly improving wines from Canada. I am from BC and am impartial to the Okanagan Valley DVA. Canada is slowly moving to a more old world classification system with the VQA (Ontario) and the BC VQA (British Columbia). The different terroirs are starting to be noticed and in BC for example we now have sub appellations and are starting to label wines as such, example Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley BC VQA. The Painted Rock Red Icon is a great example of what BC is doing with their wines currently. If you are looking for another Bordeaux style BC wine I recommend Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin. For Pinot Noir I recommend Martin's Lane from Kelowna BC or Meyer Familly from Okanagan Falls. For Merlot I recommend Black Rook from Checkmate Artisanal Winery in Oliver BC. For Riesling I recommend Phantom Creeks Riesling which is made under the guidance of MW Oliver Humbrech and is from the Black Sage Bench in Osoyoos BC. Finally for Chardonnay I recommend any of the Chardonnays from Little Engine on the Naramata Bench. Cheers.
I will be staying one night in Vancouver next week before going on a cruise. The only Canadian wines available in Houston, TX are the Ice Wines. I copied your note and hopefully will be able to try one of them.
My favourite wine region, where I like spending summer vacation, is Prince Edward Country. It’s about the same distance from Toronto as Niagara. I’ve tasted fairly good Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at some wineries which, among other things, claim that their soil is similar to Burgundy. Also, great Gewurztraminer which is very floral and less spicy. My close family loves it and always ask to bring some back. The only issue is consistency from one year to another, probably due to short growing season which can be cut short by rainy and cool fall. July is normally very hot and our routine is wine tasting during the day then enjoying warm water Lake Ontario and it’s clean sandy beeches in the afternoon.
Thank you for covering wines from not so well known regions. I am based in NY so a video on neighboring Finger Lakes, Long Island, or even Virginia will be great. Keep up the great work
As someone who lives in British Columbia, Canada. I highly recommend Chaberton estate winery out of Langley, BC and Moraine estate winery in the Okanagan. Since I got into wine nearly 7 years ago, they both continue to produce high quality whites and reds! See if you can find them!!!
Konstantin, it is time to try some Brazilian wines!!! You will be surprised specially by the sparkling ones. Check out Cava Geisse and 130 Blanc des Blancs from Casa Valduga. 👌👌👌
I really enjoyed this as a Canadian and someone who studies wine ~ working on my DipWSET (whoot whoot) , I found this funny, interesting and on-point! There are some amazing Canadian wines out there ... mostly they stay in the province where they are produced and as a result no one knows about them! :)
a few of my favs are Le vieux pin, Oosoyos larose, fairview cellars, Black Hills, Moon curser, Casinni cellars, Kismet, Hester creek , Black widow, Therapy vineyards, Deep roots, Bella, Hillside cellars, Little Engine, Meyer, Roche wines, Larianna Cellars, The Hatch, Fitzpatrick Vineyard, Tantalus Vineyard, Grey Monk, O’rourke , Summerhill, Cedar creek, Wild goose, Kitsch Wines, Black swift and Quails Gate.
Ontario (Niagara) makes some fabulous Savvies-highly recommend you search them out. Amazed you could get such esoteric wines. Nice to see they're getting out there.
Amazing to see you covering our areas :) I specialize in hosting entirely Canadian wine tastings only here in Toronto - there is SO much to try that so many Canadians never get to taste due to our monopolies.
I live in Canada, there are some half decent wines here. One region you forgot to mention is the "other" Ontario producing region, Prince Edward County, it's much smaller than Niagara but has some good stuff. My fondest Canadian wine drinking experience was last year, my sister and her husband were visiting from England for the first time since the pandemic and my father opened a Blomidon Estate 2017 Baco Noir from Nova Scotia he picked up directly from the vinyard and had been ageing - we drank the bottle, had a great conversation, and the wine was buzzing.
Hey Konstantin, great video, glad you could get to Canadian wines. I am from the Toronto area (living in DE now) and have some experience with the CA wines. I would recommend the below for your next endeavour : - Domaine Queylus (Droite or Res. du Domaine Cab. Franc. - Tawse (Meritage or Cherry Road Pinot) - Foreign Affair (Temptress or Gran Q) - Hidden Bench (Late Harvest Riesling or Locust Lane Pinot)
I live in the middle of the Okanagan wine region and have visited many of the wineries here. If you have a chance try Foxtrot Vineyards Pinot Noir as it is very good. Thanks for highlighting Canadian Wines in this video! Cheers!!
There are many interesting wines from the Okanagan Valley but most are consumed locally. It's even difficult to find them in the states. I was on Vancouver Island and tried several wines from the Okanagan. I had no experience with them and no expectations. I was surprised at how good they were and tried to find some when I got home to no avail.
I live just east of Vancouver. We have some fantastic wines that come out of the Fraser Valley, some traditional, some unique (non-traditional?). Also, the hot dry interior of the province (the Okanagan) produces some of the best wines you'll ever find.
All of my favourite Canadian wines so far tend to be the oddball low intervention focused wineries, like Trail Estate and their delightful and playful "Supersonic" concord pet nat from Prince Edward County in Ontario, Scout and their "Riesling Et Al" from the Similkameen Valley in British Columbia, or Rigour & Whimsy and their "Bifrost" orange wine in the Okanagan.
Next time be sure to give Tawse Wines a shot. Moray Tawse also makes outstanding Burgundy under the Marchand Tawse Label in France. His chardonnays and pinot noirs are great and they have a stand out Cabernet Franc. Or Gewurtz from Angel’s Gate was always one of our favorites.
Glad to see someone covering Canadian wines. I live in the U.S. close to the border so try to get a few bottles. I particularly enjoy Rieslings from Two Sisters in Ontario.
Nice Konstantin to see you do some Canadian wines, I'm actually going to the Okanagan valley in July and got 2 days of Wine Tasting Schedule, looking forward to it! Cheers.
The unripe tones of Niagara is common. There is a lot of vintage variance in the region. When mother nature allows for correct ripeness, Niagara produces amazing wine. The argument is that the greenness softens with aging and gets balanced out with the fruit opening up. Yeahhh i know. Okanagan is quite different. Ripeness usually isn't an issue, except for Cab Sauv. Over extracted and over oaked use to be the common theme. The region has much better wine makers now so that has been reeled in. I agree with another commentor, Ravine is worth finding from Niagara. So is Icellars and Tawse. From the Okanagan, Synchomesh is the one you want to try Riesling from. If you can find Little Engine Platinum, La Stella Maestoso, Checkmate Black Rook, and Phantom Creek Becker Cuvee all in merlot you would have a hell of a fight between the heavy hitters in the Okanagan. If I ever come to Germany I will bring them.
Also a group of Canadians attended prowein. I know you had a busy scenari schedule sooooo maybe that was a miss. The Canadian visua consulate should also be about to help🎉🥂
Wow, thank you! Great to see someone looking at Canadian wines other than Ice Wine. Do come to the Okanagan and visit some of the wineries, some lovely old vine Syrahs, Cabs and some delightful whites. Some of my favorite wineries in the region, Van Weston, Cassini, Silk Scarf and La Frenze, but there are other fantastic wineries to try. It would be well worth a visit!
Viognier is prone to oxidation and should be consumed young. And yes, many Viogniers are sticky and fat and lacking freshness. The best Viognier is still a Condrieu from the Northern Rhone. South Africa has some success, too.
You have to try the top offerings of pinot and chard in the prince edward county reagion of ontario they do it right out there. Plus the farming and winterizing practices are unique
Ontario and Quebec wines have done lots with interesting University of Minnesota new grape varieties, like Frontenac. I've tried some interesting Frontenac wines from the Georgian Bay area, and from Lake Temiskaming (other varieties too, I like the red they grow there) which even by Canadian standards is a very northern place to make wine.
I would definitely say that these wines are not representative of the best that Canada has to offer. For Niagara region, I recommend Two Sisters Vineyards, Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery, Domaine Queylus, and Chateau des Charmes - the first two make the best Cab Franc in the region, and the latter two make the best Pinot Noir in the region. For the Prince Edward County, I recommend Closson Chase for Pinot Noir, and Hinterland for sparkling white . I've been everywhere in the Niagara region and can definitely say those are the best, but I've yet to explore more of the Prince Edward region. Please come to Ontario, Canada to try these this summer !!! I'd take you myself for tastings !!!
Some really great producers out this way! Love Nichol, Lighting Rock, Echo Bay, Else, Ursa Major, Rust, Synchromesh, Bella, Daydreamer, Rathjen, Unworth, Anthony Bucannon, etc
I’m a cellar assistant very near to Canada (Traverse City, Michigan) and I still have yet to taste many Canadian wines other than some ice wine I tried years ago while working in the restaurant industry in Seattle, Washington. Thanks for the inspiration… I’ll have to give them another try. 🇨🇦👍🏼🥂
Thanks so much for doing a Canadian wine segment! Being from BC I, or course see a ton of BC wines, but had no idea if anything other than icewine was exported.
Appreciate the video. Too bad your selection was limited. I think you'd really like Rigour & Whimsy's roussanne marsanne. I also heard nice things about Averill Creek winery on Vancouver Island thst i have to check out. Im not a hug fan of the wines from Niagra, but BC wines can be quite nice.
Living on Lake Ontario in Rochester NY we get a number Niagara Peninsula wines, absolutely none from BC though which is a bit of a bummer as there are a lot of great wines coming out of there. Riesling is king, and you see Inniskillin in just about every shop (they have a Cabernet Franc Ice Wine too). Our shops focus a lot on Finger Lakes wines though for “local” brands. Thanks for featuring my neighbors from across the Lake!
Don’t worry about not getting much BC product in NY. Even here in Ontario it can be hard to source due to our antiquated provincial “import” restrictions.
We opened a 1995(!) Niagara Pinot Noir last night. Dumb at first, but really showing well after ~15 minutes. Really quite lovely, and not just for its age. And surprising body too-more so than most old Niagara "bigger" varietals I've tasted. Yum. Studding my onions with cloves made for a tasty matchup 🙂 And one last bottle to try: same vineyard, different winemaker (they called it the "Three Guys" release-3 winemakers, one grape source).
Candian wine can be stunning, and I could especially recommend trying to get hold of some Gamay, which might be as good as it gets outside of Beaujolais. As for producers, Foxtrot Vinyards is an excellent one, their Henricsson Vineyard Pinot Noir is very good. And if you want to try something crazy; Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 is an unique but very delicious sweeter wine, with tons of acidity and amazing floral notes. A must try if you can get it.
You brought up an interesting idea for a video that might be worthwhile: tasting aged white wines. What wines age well? How do they develop? It’s quite hard finding any whites with age on them in shops.
Hi Konstantin, do come to Canada sometime and try the wines that never make it to Europe, except for competitions. If you want an incredible treat, take a road trip east of Toronto. While Prince Edward County is an "up and coming" wine area, about 1/2 hr drive north of there is Tweed, home of Potter Settlement Wines. The winemaker has done some incredible wines, including several that get a medal wherever they are submitted. The Marquette has 28 medals for the latest vintage, including a gold medal at the Bordeaux competition. And the Portage fortified wine has five gold medals and has even won a gold medal in Portugal itself. And it has one of the greatest wine origin stories ever told. I just got back from visiting the winery and it is worth the trip!
Thank you for covering us! I expected okanagan to come out on top but I might be biased as a west coast person lol. I’d be curious about your opinion on Burrowing Owl. It’s one of the more upscale producers here
Hi! We would have to send you some Okanagan wines if it was possible, I live in the heart of wine country in the lower valley region. Most wineries are small and do not sell in stores but can be very exciting. I wish you could try more! I would be extremely interested in your views on them!
The Canadian wine industry is somewhat curious from a legal perspective. Inter-provincial trade is very tightly regulated making it difficult to find Canadian wines from out of province. The sale of alcohol in Ontario is regulated through a government owned corporation called the LCBO, which claims to be the largest single purchaser of wine in the world. So, in Ontario you can choose from one of the largest collections of wine in the world, but you usually cannot find any wine from outside the province. Ontario wine production is regulated through an organization called the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), which most wineries subscribe to and upholds pretty high quality standards. There is a lot going on in Ontario wine, and it is an exciting growth industry. I know that some of the higher-end wines are trying to be competitive on the international stage, but there are also a lot of great table wines, mid-range culinary pairing wines, and wines for going out with friends. It might be worth the visit! Also, you should to try Baco Noir. It is a wine which is exploding in popularity. It is a hybrid between European viniferia and domestic grapes. I would be curious to hear your take. All the best from Canada!
You totally missed out on Niagara County wines. Best expression (in my opinion) of what Canada has to offer. Give Closson Chase a try. Look forward to see you sip some of those. ❤️
You really need to come visit the wineries. I am lucky enough to live in the Niagara peninsula and love trying out different wineries. I especially love the wi especially from the Beamsville bench.
My favourite Canadian wine comes from a small winery called Burning Kiln. Small, niche winery, but their flavours are incredibly unique, owing to aging their wine in tobacco kilns. I think you would appreciate their flavours a lot.
Canadian wine is pretty hard to source even within Canada. Because of the government monopoly it's often hard to even find other province wines being sold in stores.
True, but you can legally order directly from the producers and sometimes get free shipping if reasonably close (no West-East coast). It’s not the same for beer, where a gray archaic area exists. It was easier for me to find certain Ontarian beers in the US than in QC. I managed to get some revel ciders wine hybrids too somewhat legally from their online store, so it’s a mess. Spirits is a no go. Not sure about other wine types (BC Saké, Quebec Makgeolli or blueberry wine, …)
I live in Michigan right on the Ontario border. I love going for wine tasting in the Niagra region. They have so, so many wineries there. I have enjoyed many! You do need to get on a plane and spend a vew days there!🍷😊
I live on Vancouver Island, a tiny wine region on the Pacific Coast… so, yea, lots of Canadian wines in the cellar. I’m glad you decided to try some of Canada’s wines. Sorry we keep so many of the greats to ourselves.
you said it yourself at the end - these are not a good representation of Canadian wines. in the past 20 years there was a significant progress in wine making in both Ontario and BC. As someone who lives in Ontario, and experience wines from all over the world, I can say with confidence, that some whites (Chardonnay) can age gracefully and compete with the top whites out there (e.g. Closson Chase). Reds are more challenged due to the climate, and I find most of the Pinot Noir are "diluted" in flavor and complexity. Some Cab Franc from Ontario are interesting. I would say there are handful of wine makers that produce nice-age-worth-red wines in Ontario (e.g. the high end wines from Trius, Stratus, Two Sisters and Inniskillin a few names that come to mind )
Okanagan valley, the most picturesque of any wine region I’ve ever been to. Some great wines there. But the Canadian government has high taxes. If you go, go in the fall.
Thanks so much for at least talking about Canadian wines....we have great terroir. Try the better Chardonnay and Pint Noir from Prince Edward County. Amazing !!!!! Because of our draconian trading rules we get very little quality BC wines in Ontario. So its tough to judge. Those that enjoy wine, are open minded and willing to try our homegrown wines are always surprised.
If you want grapes that speak to Canadian terroir, Syrah and Malbec from Oliver in the Okanagan are really special. I also, Niagara Chardonnay, Baco Noir, and Riesling from Beamsville Bench have a lot to say about the region. Hope you do more videos like this!
My Canadian friends, I promise there'll be some grand cru quality wines featured in the next Canada tasting - even if that means I've to take the plane to get the high-end stuff over here
Order direct from the producers!
Yeah, these are all roughly low/mid-tier wines in Canada. Value for money in Canada is really the biggest issue we have, really have to spend >35$CAD a bottle to get anything good and directly from the winery. The Naramata and Oliver/Osoyoos region of the Okanagan is making some of the best wines right now. (Blue Mountain Estate, Checkmate)
Great to hear! If you ever need any good Ontario wines I'm happy to source you some if you're in Toronto in the near future!
Definitely need some representation for producers like Hidden Bench, Foreign Affair, Thomas Bachelder and Malivoire (known for Gamay and Chardonnay but they do some unique stuff too. The Melon de Bourgogne they make is sensationally good!)
Leon! I commented separately, but I'll comment here again: For Niagara region, I recommend Two Sisters Vineyards, Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery, Domaine Queylus, and Chateau des Charmes - the first two make the best Cab Franc in the region, and the latter two make the best Pinot Noir in the region. For the Prince Edward County, I recommend Closson Chase for Pinot Noir, and Hinterland for sparkling white . I've been everywhere in the Niagara region and can definitely say those are the best, but I've yet to explore more of the Prince Edward region. Please come to Ontario, Canada to try these this summer !!! I'd take you and Konstantin myself for tastings !!!
@@theanalogkid and @schferleon - totally agree here!
I’m glad our Red Icon was able to be a part of your introduction to Canadian wine! I think you will find there is a huge array of wines coming from our beautiful region and country. If you’re looking to learn more, a trip here is a must. We’d love nothing more than to introduce you to some exceptional Okanagan wineries. But in the meantime, we work with Vioneers in Germany and they have a few other wines that could give you a broader idea of our wine program (lots of identity, I promise). In addition to the Red Icon, I would suggest our Syrah and Cabernet Franc would give exceptional context.
Yeah too bad your owner is an insufferable prick
As somebody who recently worked at Lakeview Cellars for a couple of years, I can absolutely confirm that the 2017 Viognier is well past its prime but the 2019 and 2020 are beautiful right now. Thanks for the Canadian tasting!
Thanks for covering Canada! I think we do German wines best, like Rieslings, and more for simple fruit than complexity. Gamay is also very good in Ontario. Things that are aged in oak in Canada often get a heavy American oak treatment, which isn’t my favourite.
LOL, yes, I agree with your thoughts and opinions. Didn't expect to see your comment here. How are you doing? I'm Jesse, do you remember?🤣
Canadian wines rock. Many are world-class. Glad you were able to taste the Painted Rock, but there are many winemakers in B.C. and in Niagara that are making outstanding wines.
LOL, yes, I agree with your thoughts and opinions. Didn't expect to see your comment here. How are you doing? I'm Jesse, do you remember?🤣
That Red Icon is a beauty year after year, and it ages very well. I recently reviewed that vintage and gave it 94+ points on my blog! Glad you liked it!
Finally! Yay. I live in BC and have been going to the Okanagen for 20 years. Try Checkmate (a 100 point chardonnay), Phantom Creek, Painted Rock, La Vieux Pin, Black Sage and Burrowing Owl. Blue Mountain has a very well known Pinot. There are lots of others but these are very well known and generally high quality. I would say there is a distinct signature to Okanagen wines but I'm no expert. White wines have been very good value but not very sophisticated generally. Thanks for a great channel Konstantin.
Thank you so much for looking into Canadian wines! I am from British Columbia and love trying everything the okanagan valley has to offer. There are so many producers but you’re right that finding good exports will be a problem. We are very good at keeping our product here to be showcased locally. My favourite BC producers are Volcanic Hills, Cedar Creek, Mission Hill, Culmina, and one which does quite excellent white wines of German influence is Gehringer Brothers. Looking forward to the next episode featuring Canadian wine!
Yes finally! So great to see you cover Canadian wine. Hope you do more in the future! 🇨🇦
As a Canadian and a wine lover, I have tasted a lot of Canadian wine. If you can find it, I would suggest trying more Pinot Noir from Niagara (Bachelder, Five Rows, Tawse, Leaning Post) or Prince Edward County (Rosehall Run, Lighthall, Stanners). Other great grapes from Ontario are Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Gamay. You can also try to find traditional method sparkling wines from Ontario (Hinterland) and Nova Scotia (Benjamin Bridge and Lightfoot & Wolfville). And Syrah from Okanagan is outstanding - try to find Black Hills or Le Vieux Pin, especially.
FYI you did pronounce Okanagan correctly. As for how cold it gets in Ontario in the winter, in Prince Edward County they actually bury the vines to protect them by “hilling up” the dirt between the rows. PEC is essentially an island of limestone (older than Burgundy) that sticks out into Lake Ontario so it typically gets a few degrees colder than the Niagara Region.
Dang I went to Tawse 2 weeks ago. Their 2013 Chardonnay icewine is to die for (too bad it's sold-out in their winery) Unfortunately their cab sauv icewine will be their last as production of icewine dropped in the past 3 years.
Don't forget Baco Noir 😁😁
And Nichol Old Vines Syrah from the Okanagan, Naramata bench to be precise, made from the oldest Syrah vines in Canada I believe. Also Lock & Worth (Semillon & others from that winery too)
Exultet from Prince Edward County are the winners from me. They are just magnificent (if a little pricey).
If I could recommend only one wine from Canada I would recommend Henry of Pelham “Cuvée Catherine” estate blanc de blanc sparkling made in the traditional method. Made from 100% estate-grown Chardonnay from the Short Hills Bench, this bubbly is fermented partially (20%) in barrel and then aged for an impressive 54 months on the lees. Look for elegant lemony flavours and aromas of freshly baked bread.
6 g/L residual sugar.
It reminds me of bollinger special cuvée but is 1/2 the price. ($50 vs $95)
Over a decade ago, my wife and I were visiting Vancouver BC from our home in Oregon. At the suggestion of the sommelier, we had a glass of Pinot Noir rosé from Joie Farm in the Naramata area. It was the best rosé I’d had in years! Unfortunately it’s hard to get where we live.
We live an hour west of the Niagara region which affords us easy access to the best wines produced in the area, particularly the Baco and Pino Noirs. Without a doubt this episode barely scratches the surface for what Niagara, and Canada in general has to offer. Compared to more established global regions, our wine industry may be small, but it is ripe with wonderful world-class taste experiences. As many of the more knowledgable comments have suggested here, another visit would be well worth the trip!
I enjoyed this one. I live in Vancouver and in the okanagan a few times a year. I agree with your reviews, painte rock also has a good Syrah and 50th parallel has a good Pinot. There are some really nice wineries here, Le Vieux Pin, La Stella, Black Hills, Checkmate and Little Engine to name a few
Ontario wines from top producers are phenomenal. Niagara region is great these are some of my favourites.
Hidden Bench
Bachelder
Leaning Post
Reif
Big Head
But don't sleep on the Prince Edward County. Lighthall was definitely a standout.
they all expensive af
@@xtan9879 get your bank roll up! You got it!
@@xtan9879 blame govt taxation and hidden charges that federal and provincial govts add , not to mention the LCBO rip off. they get their cut even when sold at the winery.!!!!
(This was originally written as a reply to Leon's comment, but worth a read nonetheless)
Within Ontario, and even more so within Niagara, different regions do better with certain varieties. For classic Burgundian styled wines, the Bench appellations (Beamsville, Twenty Mile, St. Davids, etc) and Prince Edward County do wonders, especially given the soil composition, slope and aspect relative to Lake Ontario (though the top of the Niagara Escarpment in the Vinemount Ridge appellation gives Hautes-Côtes de Beaune a run for its money). If you can, for Burgundian varieties, please get your hands on anything made by Thomas Bachelder - easily one of the best winemakers in Ontario (through certainly not the only one). For Gamay, it's a tossup between Bachelder and Shiraz Mottiar at Malivoire.
For Bordeaux varieties, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara River, and Lake Erie North Shore (especially the South Islands appellation located on Pelee Island itself) do wonders, given how much warmer it gets in there. Pair that with particularly hot vintages like 2020 (where some winemakers had to harvest early or leave a touch of residual sugar to stay under the 15% ABV limit set by VQA), and you get reds that can rival the power and structure of Bordeaux or California's North Coast. Other years on the other hand are much less conducive to making Cabernet Sauvignon in particular - either needing to have extended hang time (2019 being a recent example - grapes for Icewine were harvested in mid-November, while both Cab Sauv and Cab Franc needed more time to reach ripeness), or having far more green notes than one would like.
As mentioned, we do Riesling (and so, so very well, especially with cuttings directly from Mosel), but also Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc (which across several producers has a lovely note of red apple), and Syrah. Also, don't write off the hybrid varieties of Baco Noir and Vidal - the former (in the right hands, like Henry of Pelham) makes wonderful full-bodied reds, albeit with a touch of residual sugar; dry and off-dry Vidal (rather than Icewine) is gorgeous, with aromatics that only Gewürztraminer can rival.
OH MY GOD - I've JUST began this video, and I'm SO EXCITED FOR THIS !!!! Thank you for reviewing our Canadian wines !!!
I personally believe that Alsatian varietals are BC's best right now. That, and Pinot Noir, and Gamay. There are great Bordeaux blends, as well, but, as you said about Painted Rock, they're not exactly representative of BC, specifically. Though there are lots of great wines here, I think we're still struggling to find our niche the way some other newer wine producing regions have.
Canadian from the Niagra Terroir is brilliant, super Pinot's and Rieslings like those produced by Malivoire which sits on the ridge.
Noted for the next tasting!
I have been to 50th parallel. It is near my in-laws. My wife and I visit often from the province of Alberta. Great to see you trying Canadian wines. Cheers.
Thanks for branching out and reviewing some wines from our country! Three of those were really considered entry-level Wines, although Pearl Morissette is a great winery, so even their entry level is reasonably good. The Red Icon is considered more premium, but definitely does better with age. If you taste a lot more of the big reds from the south Okanagan, you will begin to recognize a style that it fits in. There is such a diversity of climates within our wine-growing regions that you will not get a single “Canadian” style.
If you want to try something truly unique get your hands on a bottle of Pinot noir from Vancouver Island (or better yet please come and visit, particularly during the Noir festival.)
The Skinner family from Painted Rock are passionate about being ambassadors for our country and I hope you will take them up on the offer to visit!
I have learned so much about wine from your channel. Very well done as always!
Awesome to watch! I would love to see an updated video in the future with some more focus on some of the better wineries in the Okanagan Valley.
Thank you for doing this tasting. There are some very good wines from Nova Scotia and from BC and Ontario. I encourage you to continue to investigate. Wine industry in Canada is still young about 50 yrs old.
Nice to see my own backyard (Ontario) on your radar. Things are moving forward nicely with Ontario wines with many winemakers either from Europe or with experience in European wine regions and coming back to Ontario. As you mention, availability of some of the wines you should try are limited outside of Ontario. Hopefully you can get a chance to try some other expressions of some of the flagship styles like Riesling (Thirty Bench) Chardonnay (many from Niagara and Prince Edward County) as well as other Pinot Noir (Le Clos Jordanne). Happy to help with ideas etc if I can. Cheers!
Thank you for covering my country's wines. I understand as we are a very polite nation we don't force our wines on anyone. That. Being said I hope you get to do another segment on canadian wines that is more broad and more detailed than the ones you had at your disposal.
Konstantin, thanks for covering some of our Canadian wines. I happen to live in Niagara and thanks to you I've been experimenting with wines from around the world, including New Zealand and South Africa. You are correct that you've only scratched the surface with Canadian wines, so I guess you will have to make a point of visiting and doing more detailed tasting!
I'm so pleased to see that Konstantin had a chance to taste some Canadian wines. With that said, there are many wonderful wines from great wineries that I wish he had a chance to taste. I had the privilege of attending a tasting of a few hundred Ontario wines last week. There were many stellar wines from wineries such as Rosehall Run, Ice Cellars, Cave Spring, Henry of Perham, Hidden Bench and, the great, Norm Hardie to name a few. Many of these wines are not just great Canadian wines, they are wines thay can stand up to the best wines from the rest of the world.
Hidden Bench is one of my favourites! I'd second that recommendation. Also the Beamsville Bench in general is a great sub-appelation.
I always look at your face when your first tasting the wine. It tells me so much of what you think of it..........anyways I enjoy your videos so much and as someone who is sitting for their WSET 2 on Sunday I have learned so much from you.
If you want good stuff from Canada, you have to visit the wineries. Here in New England, I can't remember the last time I saw a Canadian red or white on the shelves.
Canada wines awesome!! You really need to taste the best of the Okanagan, you will be surprised I'm sure!
Syrah from Le Vieux Pin, Chardonnay and Merlot from Checkmate, Pinot Noir from Foxtrot Vineyards, Sparkling from Blue Mountain etc etc.
Great wines are being produced in B.C!
I’m a Londoner but have holidayed in the Okanagen lots as have family there. Canadian wine is fantastic and if a much higher quality than I was expecting. It’s super hard to find outside of Canada, or at least the good stuff is. It’s like their little secret. I highly recommend people visit and try it
Great video as always Konstantin, thank you! As a Quebec based sommelier trained/ wine geek, my "local" favorites from East to West are :
- Benjamin Bridge from the Gaspereau Valley in Nova Scotia. Organic sparkling specialists. As member of their wine club I receive 3 different wines per season (many of them exclusive micro-cuvées of sometimes a single barrel) so I can witness their experimentations and progress throughout the vintages. Never been disappointed, always great quality/experience price ratios.
- Domaine Bergeville from the Appalachian plateau here in Quebec. Also sparkling specialists, but from practically 100% hybrids. Biodynamic. Big fan, also a member of their (very recent) wine club.
- Négondos from the Deux-Montagnes region in Quebec. 1st organic producer in Quebec, since 1993. In my opinion their "Julep", a skin maceration of Seyval, is the best maceration wine in the country.
- The Foreign Affair Winery from the Vinemont Ridge sub-appellation of the Niagara Peninsula. Appasimento specialists from mainly Cabernet Franc. I'm rarely impressed by Canadian reds, but they are one of the exceptions. Were purchased by Corby a few years back. Conventional farming though.
- Little Farm Winery from the Similkameen Valley in British Columbia. Project of Master of Wine Rhys Pender and his wife. Organic but irrigated. Mineral driven wines from highly calcareous soils. Great Riesling (recently tasted the 2014 which was still youthful and full of energy) and my favorite Canadian Chardonnay.
Keep up the great work! :)
There is an obscure wine type from Newfoundland known locally as screech.
It undergoes additional steps in production after primary fermentation.
It is entirely devoid of tannins and is often considered an "acquired taste".
Screech is Jamaican.
AWES😅ME!
I would say it's a fortified wine 👍🏼😂
Screech is RUM en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Screech
Screech is Jamaican rum, mostly made for consumption in NFLD.
Yes 🎉 I live in the Okanagan and am launching my channel in May featuring Okanagan wine, itineraries in wine country and so on.
I’m so curious as to how or why you chose these wines to review. A curious bunch as a local but Painted Rock is a favourite. Each winery excels at certain varietals. 50th is great but I’m excited to see your next Canadian wine video! I have some local sommelier friends that are Canadian wine experts. I can get you in touch if you need a local’s perspective.
Thank you for covering the rapidly improving wines from Canada. I am from BC and am impartial to the Okanagan Valley DVA. Canada is slowly moving to a more old world classification system with the VQA (Ontario) and the BC VQA (British Columbia). The different terroirs are starting to be noticed and in BC for example we now have sub appellations and are starting to label wines as such, example Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley BC VQA. The Painted Rock Red Icon is a great example of what BC is doing with their wines currently. If you are looking for another Bordeaux style BC wine I recommend Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin. For Pinot Noir I recommend Martin's Lane from Kelowna BC or Meyer Familly from Okanagan Falls. For Merlot I recommend Black Rook from Checkmate Artisanal Winery in Oliver BC. For Riesling I recommend Phantom Creeks Riesling which is made under the guidance of MW Oliver Humbrech and is from the Black Sage Bench in Osoyoos BC. Finally for Chardonnay I recommend any of the Chardonnays from Little Engine on the Naramata Bench. Cheers.
I will be staying one night in Vancouver next week before going on a cruise. The only Canadian wines available in Houston, TX are the Ice Wines. I copied your note and hopefully will be able to try one of them.
My favourite wine region, where I like spending summer vacation, is Prince Edward Country. It’s about the same distance from Toronto as Niagara. I’ve tasted fairly good Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at some wineries which, among other things, claim that their soil is similar to Burgundy. Also, great Gewurztraminer which is very floral and less spicy. My close family loves it and always ask to bring some back. The only issue is consistency from one year to another, probably due to short growing season which can be cut short by rainy and cool fall.
July is normally very hot and our routine is wine tasting during the day then enjoying warm water Lake Ontario and it’s clean sandy beeches in the afternoon.
Thank you for covering wines from not so well known regions. I am based in NY so a video on neighboring Finger Lakes, Long Island, or even Virginia will be great. Keep up the great work
Sounds great!
As someone who lives in British Columbia, Canada. I highly recommend Chaberton estate winery out of Langley, BC and Moraine estate winery in the Okanagan. Since I got into wine nearly 7 years ago, they both continue to produce high quality whites and reds! See if you can find them!!!
Konstantin, it is time to try some Brazilian wines!!! You will be surprised specially by the sparkling ones. Check out Cava Geisse and 130 Blanc des Blancs from Casa Valduga. 👌👌👌
I really enjoyed this as a Canadian and someone who studies wine ~ working on my DipWSET (whoot whoot) , I found this funny, interesting and on-point! There are some amazing Canadian wines out there ... mostly they stay in the province where they are produced and as a result no one knows about them! :)
a few of my favs are Le vieux pin, Oosoyos larose, fairview cellars, Black Hills, Moon curser, Casinni cellars, Kismet, Hester creek , Black widow, Therapy vineyards, Deep roots, Bella, Hillside cellars, Little Engine, Meyer, Roche wines, Larianna Cellars, The Hatch, Fitzpatrick Vineyard, Tantalus Vineyard, Grey Monk, O’rourke , Summerhill, Cedar creek, Wild goose, Kitsch Wines, Black swift and Quails Gate.
There are very nice wines and wineries! I tried already one, and it is great.
Ontario (Niagara) makes some fabulous Savvies-highly recommend you search them out. Amazed you could get such esoteric wines. Nice to see they're getting out there.
Amazing to see you covering our areas :) I specialize in hosting entirely Canadian wine tastings only here in Toronto - there is SO much to try that so many Canadians never get to taste due to our monopolies.
I live in Canada, there are some half decent wines here. One region you forgot to mention is the "other" Ontario producing region, Prince Edward County, it's much smaller than Niagara but has some good stuff.
My fondest Canadian wine drinking experience was last year, my sister and her husband were visiting from England for the first time since the pandemic and my father opened a Blomidon Estate 2017 Baco Noir from Nova Scotia he picked up directly from the vinyard and had been ageing - we drank the bottle, had a great conversation, and the wine was buzzing.
Prince Edward Country also referred to as the lost cousin of Chablis. There's a cheap gas station in the indigenous reserve too.
Hey Konstantin, great video, glad you could get to Canadian wines.
I am from the Toronto area (living in DE now) and have some experience with the CA wines. I would recommend the below for your next endeavour :
- Domaine Queylus (Droite or Res. du Domaine Cab. Franc.
- Tawse (Meritage or Cherry Road Pinot)
- Foreign Affair (Temptress or Gran Q)
- Hidden Bench (Late Harvest Riesling or Locust Lane Pinot)
I live in the middle of the Okanagan wine region and have visited many of the wineries here. If you have a chance try Foxtrot Vineyards Pinot Noir as it is very good. Thanks for highlighting Canadian Wines in this video! Cheers!!
There are many interesting wines from the Okanagan Valley but most are consumed locally. It's even difficult to find them in the states. I was on Vancouver Island and tried several wines from the Okanagan. I had no experience with them and no expectations. I was surprised at how good they were and tried to find some when I got home to no avail.
I live just east of Vancouver. We have some fantastic wines that come out of the Fraser Valley, some traditional, some unique (non-traditional?). Also, the hot dry interior of the province (the Okanagan) produces some of the best wines you'll ever find.
All of my favourite Canadian wines so far tend to be the oddball low intervention focused wineries, like Trail Estate and their delightful and playful "Supersonic" concord pet nat from Prince Edward County in Ontario, Scout and their "Riesling Et Al" from the Similkameen Valley in British Columbia, or Rigour & Whimsy and their "Bifrost" orange wine in the Okanagan.
Next time be sure to give Tawse Wines a shot. Moray Tawse also makes outstanding Burgundy under the Marchand Tawse Label in France. His chardonnays and pinot noirs are great and they have a stand out Cabernet Franc. Or Gewurtz from Angel’s Gate was always one of our favorites.
Thank you for educating us with the rare wines for most of us.
Glad to see someone covering Canadian wines. I live in the U.S. close to the border so try to get a few bottles. I particularly enjoy Rieslings from Two Sisters in Ontario.
Nice Konstantin to see you do some Canadian wines, I'm actually going to the Okanagan valley in July and got 2 days of Wine Tasting Schedule, looking forward to it! Cheers.
Hope you enjoy it!
The unripe tones of Niagara is common. There is a lot of vintage variance in the region. When mother nature allows for correct ripeness, Niagara produces amazing wine. The argument is that the greenness softens with aging and gets balanced out with the fruit opening up. Yeahhh i know. Okanagan is quite different. Ripeness usually isn't an issue, except for Cab Sauv. Over extracted and over oaked use to be the common theme. The region has much better wine makers now so that has been reeled in. I agree with another commentor, Ravine is worth finding from Niagara. So is Icellars and Tawse. From the Okanagan, Synchomesh is the one you want to try Riesling from. If you can find Little Engine Platinum, La Stella Maestoso, Checkmate Black Rook, and Phantom Creek Becker Cuvee all in merlot you would have a hell of a fight between the heavy hitters in the Okanagan. If I ever come to Germany I will bring them.
Also a group of Canadians attended prowein. I know you had a busy scenari schedule sooooo maybe that was a miss. The Canadian visua consulate should also be about to help🎉🥂
First, Okinawa is in Japan and second Canadian wine goes very well with moose and goose. I made the latter up just because it rhymes so beautifully.
You should try some staples like Osoyoos Larose from Okanagan or Domaine Queylus in Niagara!
Osoyoos Larose is just ok, and over-priced-again...
@@cleigh113 most CA wines are over-priced XD
Ontario produces lots of good Riesling, hope you cover some of them.
Wow, thank you! Great to see someone looking at Canadian wines other than Ice Wine. Do come to the Okanagan and visit some of the wineries, some lovely old vine Syrahs, Cabs and some delightful whites. Some of my favorite wineries in the region, Van Weston, Cassini, Silk Scarf and La Frenze, but there are other fantastic wineries to try. It would be well worth a visit!
Viognier is prone to oxidation and should be consumed young. And yes, many Viogniers are sticky and fat and lacking freshness. The best Viognier is still a Condrieu from the Northern Rhone. South Africa has some success, too.
You have to try the top offerings of pinot and chard in the prince edward county reagion of ontario they do it right out there. Plus the farming and winterizing practices are unique
Foxtrot makes some wonderful Burgundian wines. Pinot Noir is really excellent.
Ontario and Quebec wines have done lots with interesting University of Minnesota new grape varieties, like Frontenac. I've tried some interesting Frontenac wines from the Georgian Bay area, and from Lake Temiskaming (other varieties too, I like the red they grow there) which even by Canadian standards is a very northern place to make wine.
hiya! thank you for all your hard work and great videos. it is more appreciated than you might know. ^_^
I would definitely say that these wines are not representative of the best that Canada has to offer. For Niagara region, I recommend Two Sisters Vineyards, Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery, Domaine Queylus, and Chateau des Charmes - the first two make the best Cab Franc in the region, and the latter two make the best Pinot Noir in the region. For the Prince Edward County, I recommend Closson Chase for Pinot Noir, and Hinterland for sparkling white . I've been everywhere in the Niagara region and can definitely say those are the best, but I've yet to explore more of the Prince Edward region. Please come to Ontario, Canada to try these this summer !!! I'd take you myself for tastings !!!
Canadian wine is a hidden gem. The only way to taste the best examples is to visit. You will not be disappointed. See you there!
Some really great producers out this way! Love Nichol, Lighting Rock, Echo Bay, Else, Ursa Major, Rust, Synchromesh, Bella, Daydreamer, Rathjen, Unworth, Anthony Bucannon, etc
Need to try finger lakes rieslings
I’m a cellar assistant very near to Canada (Traverse City, Michigan) and I still have yet to taste many Canadian wines other than some ice wine I tried years ago while working in the restaurant industry in Seattle, Washington. Thanks for the inspiration… I’ll have to give them another try. 🇨🇦👍🏼🥂
Black Hills make excellent canadien wines!
Thanks so much for doing a Canadian wine segment! Being from BC I, or course see a ton of BC wines, but had no idea if anything other than icewine was exported.
I live in the US and we can’t get most of the wines from Canada. I hear so many great things about the Canadian Cabernet Franc.
Appreciate the video. Too bad your selection was limited. I think you'd really like Rigour & Whimsy's roussanne marsanne. I also heard nice things about Averill Creek winery on Vancouver Island thst i have to check out.
Im not a hug fan of the wines from Niagra, but BC wines can be quite nice.
Living on Lake Ontario in Rochester NY we get a number Niagara Peninsula wines, absolutely none from BC though which is a bit of a bummer as there are a lot of great wines coming out of there. Riesling is king, and you see Inniskillin in just about every shop (they have a Cabernet Franc Ice Wine too). Our shops focus a lot on Finger Lakes wines though for “local” brands. Thanks for featuring my neighbors from across the Lake!
Don’t worry about not getting much BC product in NY. Even here in Ontario it can be hard to source due to our antiquated provincial “import” restrictions.
We opened a 1995(!) Niagara Pinot Noir last night. Dumb at first, but really showing well after ~15 minutes. Really quite lovely, and not just for its age. And surprising body too-more so than most old Niagara "bigger" varietals I've tasted. Yum. Studding my onions with cloves made for a tasty matchup 🙂 And one last bottle to try: same vineyard, different winemaker (they called it the "Three Guys" release-3 winemakers, one grape source).
Candian wine can be stunning, and I could especially recommend trying to get hold of some Gamay, which might be as good as it gets outside of Beaujolais.
As for producers, Foxtrot Vinyards is an excellent one, their Henricsson Vineyard Pinot Noir is very good.
And if you want to try something crazy; Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 is an unique but very delicious sweeter wine, with tons of acidity and amazing floral notes. A must try if you can get it.
For a Canadian Bordeaux blend, I would have recommended the wonderful Osoyos Larose (Le Grand Vin).
It is a beautiful blend! Another good one is Lock Stock and Barrel from Rosewood Estates
You brought up an interesting idea for a video that might be worthwhile: tasting aged white wines. What wines age well? How do they develop? It’s quite hard finding any whites with age on them in shops.
Cave Springs Cellars is my go to Ontario winery...
Fun fact where I live in Canada, the vines have to be buried in the winter so the cold doesn't kill the vines.
Nice! Never had dry Canadian wine- exciting to vicariously experience these bottles :) Thank you!
Niceee… I’m quite weak in Canadian wines too although I must admit I had a lovely Blaufränkisch from Nova Scotia a few weeks ago!
Interesting!
Hi Konstantin, do come to Canada sometime and try the wines that never make it to Europe, except for competitions. If you want an incredible treat, take a road trip east of Toronto. While Prince Edward County is an "up and coming" wine area, about 1/2 hr drive north of there is Tweed, home of Potter Settlement Wines. The winemaker has done some incredible wines, including several that get a medal wherever they are submitted. The Marquette has 28 medals for the latest vintage, including a gold medal at the Bordeaux competition. And the Portage fortified wine has five gold medals and has even won a gold medal in Portugal itself. And it has one of the greatest wine origin stories ever told. I just got back from visiting the winery and it is worth the trip!
Thank you for covering us! I expected okanagan to come out on top but I might be biased as a west coast person lol. I’d be curious about your opinion on Burrowing Owl. It’s one of the more upscale producers here
Hi! We would have to send you some Okanagan wines if it was possible, I live in the heart of wine country in the lower valley region. Most wineries are small and do not sell in stores but can be very exciting. I wish you could try more! I would be extremely interested in your views on them!
The Canadian wine industry is somewhat curious from a legal perspective. Inter-provincial trade is very tightly regulated making it difficult to find Canadian wines from out of province. The sale of alcohol in Ontario is regulated through a government owned corporation called the LCBO, which claims to be the largest single purchaser of wine in the world. So, in Ontario you can choose from one of the largest collections of wine in the world, but you usually cannot find any wine from outside the province.
Ontario wine production is regulated through an organization called the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), which most wineries subscribe to and upholds pretty high quality standards.
There is a lot going on in Ontario wine, and it is an exciting growth industry. I know that some of the higher-end wines are trying to be competitive on the international stage, but there are also a lot of great table wines, mid-range culinary pairing wines, and wines for going out with friends. It might be worth the visit!
Also, you should to try Baco Noir. It is a wine which is exploding in popularity. It is a hybrid between European viniferia and domestic grapes. I would be curious to hear your take. All the best from Canada!
You totally missed out on Niagara County wines. Best expression (in my opinion) of what Canada has to offer. Give Closson Chase a try. Look forward to see you sip some of those. ❤️
You really need to come visit the wineries. I am lucky enough to live in the Niagara peninsula and love trying out different wineries. I especially love the wi especially from the Beamsville bench.
My favourite Canadian wine comes from a small winery called Burning Kiln. Small, niche winery, but their flavours are incredibly unique, owing to aging their wine in tobacco kilns. I think you would appreciate their flavours a lot.
Canadian wine is pretty hard to source even within Canada. Because of the government monopoly it's often hard to even find other province wines being sold in stores.
LCBO should stand for Limiting Choices in Beverages for Ontarians
True, but you can legally order directly from the producers and sometimes get free shipping if reasonably close (no West-East coast). It’s not the same for beer, where a gray archaic area exists. It was easier for me to find certain Ontarian beers in the US than in QC. I managed to get some revel ciders wine hybrids too somewhat legally from their online store, so it’s a mess.
Spirits is a no go. Not sure about other wine types (BC Saké, Quebec Makgeolli or blueberry wine, …)
I live in Michigan right on the Ontario border. I love going for wine tasting in the Niagra region. They have so, so many wineries there. I have enjoyed many! You do need to get on a plane and spend a vew days there!🍷😊
I live on Vancouver Island, a tiny wine region on the Pacific Coast… so, yea, lots of Canadian wines in the cellar. I’m glad you decided to try some of Canada’s wines. Sorry we keep so many of the greats to ourselves.
you said it yourself at the end - these are not a good representation of Canadian wines. in the past 20 years there was a significant progress in wine making in both Ontario and BC. As someone who lives in Ontario, and experience wines from all over the world, I can say with confidence, that some whites (Chardonnay) can age gracefully and compete with the top whites out there (e.g. Closson Chase). Reds are more challenged due to the climate, and I find most of the Pinot Noir are "diluted" in flavor and complexity. Some Cab Franc from Ontario are interesting. I would say there are handful of wine makers that produce nice-age-worth-red wines in Ontario (e.g. the high end wines from Trius, Stratus, Two Sisters and Inniskillin a few names that come to mind )
I lived in the interior of British Columbia and your final pronunciation of 'Okanogan' is bang on. "Oh-Ken-Og-In."
Tawes, he also produces in Burgundy.
Okanagan valley, the most picturesque of any wine region I’ve ever been to. Some great wines there. But the Canadian government has high taxes. If you go, go in the fall.
Thanks so much for at least talking about Canadian wines....we have great terroir. Try the better Chardonnay and Pint Noir from Prince Edward County. Amazing !!!!!
Because of our draconian trading rules we get very little quality BC wines in Ontario. So its tough to judge.
Those that enjoy wine, are open minded and willing to try our homegrown wines are always surprised.
Come one over for a holiday and explore the great white north! Okanagan is beautiful place to sip wines.
Cheers
If you want grapes that speak to Canadian terroir, Syrah and Malbec from Oliver in the Okanagan are really special. I also, Niagara Chardonnay, Baco Noir, and Riesling from Beamsville Bench have a lot to say about the region. Hope you do more videos like this!