Unaware

Yesterday, Sunday, was a beautiful day. We decided to carry through on our plan to head down to the Niagara Peninsula to check out a few wineries, sample some of their wares, perhaps bring some home...eat fruit from stands, that kind of sunny, summery thing. We took the kids, having been told by friends of ours who tour the region often that kids were fine, no one would mind. They were great, they were excited to see Lake Ontario, they loved the fruit, they loved running around on the grounds at the wineries. They couldn't understand why I wouldn't let them run down the rows of grapes.

We went to Daniel Lenko first, and theirs is a family operation, small and intimate. There aren't pictures of the place because you drive up, and the front building is a 60's style brick bungalow, a small house really that must have been the family house. When you walk in, you're home; you step into the small kitchen that hasn't been renovated since the 50's, and you sit at the crowded kitchen table with Daniel and a few other people, and you taste. Surprisingly, their unoaked chardonnay (we are not normally fans) was fantastic, and we knew that the cab franc was also a winner. We ended up with a six-pack sampler that included both. "Ended up" translates to "if these are that good, the rest will be fantastic". Hub did most of the tasting as I was driving, and the tasting was gratis here, well worth it. They obviously are putting their money into the wine itself, not the big show that we saw at the other places we visited. I didn't photograph anything here because honestly, while the charm of the home hit me full-on, that may not be the face they're promoting. Follow the link above to get a look.

We went back up the road and around a corner to Hidden Bench Vineyards, which has only been open for eight weeks. Their riesling was sharp but Hub tasted the rose and pronounced it drinkable. I think he just hated to walk away empty-handed from a place that has just started out. The huge difference here is that they've sunk a lot of money into the tasting house, and in tasting a flight of wine, you're paying $15 or $20 depending on the flight you choose. This seemed somewhat unreasonable, but I guess they have to pay for the fancy building somehow. It was quite lovely:


Then up to a fruit stand at a farm/cooking school, where the fruit was self-serve, on an honour system. The peaches were divine, and we all slurped away at the side of a very narrow road.

Finally, to Thirty Bench Vineyards. (The link is for the winery prior to its sale to Andre.) This place was started by a couple of profs from McMaster University, although it's recently been bought out by Andres (which is crap, but 30 Bench is premium). The woman who dealt with us either thought that we were the types to totally buy into the place, or else she felt sorry for me because I kept threatening to murder The Darlings. Eventually we let them run around outside, and I figured that as long as they were off the parking lot, the were fine. They thought this was fantastic, being free to run around, and they were also high on Freezies too, which helped.

In the meantime, the Gewürztraminer was lovely, light, slightly fruity but robust. The pinot noir I was not thrilled with, a bit rough around the edges but loaded with chocolate, it made me confused. A 1996 Cab Sauvingnon was a thrill but slightly out of our price range. The two interesting blends showcased the difference between the original winemaker, Yorgos Papageorgiou, and their new winemaker Patricia whose last name I don't know. Old world, new world, and we actually preferred the new world, warmer taste. Everything could sit and age for another five years, and the potential for each of these is outstanding. Also tasted the ice wine and then mixed it with the Reisling for a more complex flavour. In all, this was an exceptional visit and we came away with a wooden crate of six bottles and a membership so that they would send us cases of six bottles every quarter, plus invite us to their special pre-release tastings, luncheons and dinners. Yippee!

It was a long drive home again after this spectacular day, and I was sleepy when we got here. After dinner, Hub's brother stopped by to say that he hadn't been able to get hold of their sister. She's the one who was in the hospital just after me, and while I didn't write about it, it turned out that she had a whopping case of cellulitis that kept her in the hospital for 2.5 weeks. She was clearly on the road to recovery, and everything was going well, the infection was clearing up beautifully.

Hub and C. went over to Angie's place, and got the superintendent to let them in. She was sitting in her livingroom chair. The infection that cleared up still must have taken a tremendous toll on her body, and she couldn't withstand it. RIP Zia Angie.

It was a beautiful day; we were caught by what life can toss at you when you're not looking.