|
Canadian harvest 'best in 25 years'
October 4, 2007
Panos Kakaviatos
Hot dry weather is proving exceptional for Ontario's 2007 harvest, with some growers calling it the best vintage for decades.
'We had a very warm spring, a warm summer and unseasonably warm weather now,' Daniel Speck, co-owner at Pelham Estate Winery in Ontario told decanter.com. 'This weekend, it is supposed to be 28 degrees, which for October is very warm. It has been the driest year in 37 years.'
Speck, whose winery specializes in Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Merlot said the 2007 harvest was rot-free and proving to be a 'grape grower's year.'
'It's one of those years where the second tier houses will be delivering at a high level and the first tier will be blowing the doors off,' he said.
Other producers underlined the hype, saying the 2007 Ontario harvest would be one of their best.
'Unbelievable, the best harvest I've seen in 25 years,' Allan Schmidt, president of Vineland Estates Winery, told the Toronto newspaper Globe and Mail.
Harbour Estates Winery, in Jordan Station, Ontario, has just begun harvesting Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc:
'The grapes have been hanging so well, there is still a good chance to gain brix (sugar level) and all the nice things we need to make a vintage grape harvest,' Fraser Mowat, president and owner, told decanter.com. 'Early fermentations have been particularly smooth and trouble free – a very good sign for the quality of the vintage.'
Have your say...
To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com, making sure the relevant headline is in the subject field
 Good for them! They deserve it after some of the difficult vintages they've had over the last 6 years.
John Tait, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Just a reminder to Decanter that British Columbia is still very much part of Canada and our wineries may not have enjoyed such a fine vintage as Ontario this year! We do wish them well however. There are very fine wineries in both regions.
Michael Bullock, Victoria BC, Canada
Headlining "Canadian harvest 'Best in 25 years.'" to an article describing Ontario is like headlining "Europe harvest best in 25 years." for an article describing only Bulgaria's.
The Niagara and lake Erie appellations in Ontario do produce passable and even some good wines but the only great wines from Canada are grown in British Columbia, particularly the Okanagan Lake appellation, which is 5000 kilometers away.
H. Lynn Keller, Boston, MA, USA
H. Lynn Keller's damning of Ontario wine regions with faint praise is clearly off base, as anyone with extensive tasting knowledge of both regions would know. As Mr. Bullock notes above, there are fine wineries in both British Columbia and Ontario. The respective regional styles and strengths are different; I think there's a modicum of implied agreement on this point. I would claim to have a decent base of experience with both regions' wines, going back for nearly twenty years. Of course it is always a matter of taste, but I've never had a B.C. Riesling that was on a par with the finest Niagara renditions, especially if we regard the Rhine basin model as the benchmark to aspire to. It's also hard to argue that the very best examples of '95, '98, '99 or '05 Bordeaux varietals from Ontario take a back seat to their comparable B.C. cousins. On the other hand, I would much rather have a chunky B.C. Syrah than the leaner Ontario version.
Ontario may not have the consistency year-to-year that the Okanagan's wines have shown (particularly at the Okanagan's south end, officially a desert climate) but to state that "the only great wines from Canada are grown in British Columbia" is akin to saying that the only great red wines of Europe come from Spain. Finally, it would appear that Keller has forgotten (or possibly doesn't know about) Icewine, the universally recognized Canadian specialty, often describable as great and regularly beating out other world dessert wines in international competitions. The vast majority of this product originates in Ontario.
Steven Drotos, VINEXX / Torion, Hamilton, ON, Canada
|
|
Register on decanter.com absolutely free for news alerts delivered direct to your email inbox, and our fortnightly newsletter with advance notice of what’s coming up in Decanter magazine, offers, competitions and more.
PLUS registration is a one-stop shop for the Decanter magazine Archive and Decanter Fine Wine Tracker. |
Search for similar news stories
Back to index
|
