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A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 993: House Guests and a Mass of Winery Visits

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Napkin: Oops! Did I buy wine again instead of milk

Saturday, September 20th: Dined at home with chicken pasta and a bottle of Perez Cruz Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 from Chile’s Maipo Valley.

Sunday, September 21st: Dinner: lamb chops and 13th Street Winery Syrah 2023.

Monday, September 22nd: Jill Troyer dropped by to present me with a hot-off-the-press copy for her book, The Winemaker’s Gamble – a biography of the late Paul Bosc Sr. of Château des Charmes – with a lovely inscription.

Dinner: roast chicken with a bottle of Decoy 2019, a Napa Valley red.

Wednesday, September 24th: Our two house guests arrived, independently, Lea from California and Alison from England. I met Alison when I judged at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London several years ago. She looked after our Canadian panel and became enthralled with Canadian wines. So much so, she took a Brock University course online, traveled to BC and Quebec and is now probably the most knowledgeable writer in Great Britain on the Canadian wine industry. Alison also created a wine competition for the wineries of Essex County where she lives. We tasted together at Flat Rock Cellars the following wines:

The Flat Rock winemaker Andrea Garcia brought us a tank sample of newly pressed 2025 Pinot Noir juice. The unfermented juice tasted delicious. Can’t wait for the wine.

Andrea Garcia with 2025 Pinot Noir juice

Thursday, September 25th: Deborah, Alison and I were invited by Thomas Bachelder to taste at The Bat Cave. Thomas, as usual, opened a whole lot of bottles (13 in all). Came home with an open bottle of Bachelder Wismer Foxcroft Gamay Noir 2023 for dinner.

Thomas Bachelder in the Bat Cave

Friday, September 26th: Visited Stonewall Estates for a tasting. They told us that their event calendar for weddings is booked solid through 2027. We tasted the following wines:

In the afternoon, we dropped into Southbrook Winery for a tasting, beginning with Southbrook Triomphe Sparkling, followed by Southbrook Poetica Chardonnay 2016, Southbrook Estate Syrah 2023 and Southbrook Poetica Red 2020.

Southbrook wines

Later that afternoon we dropped into the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum for the launch of Jill Troyer’s book.

Jill Troyer speaks at the launch of her book

Dinner at home – grilled salmon with a bottle of On Seven Devotion Chardonnay 2020 and a bottle that Alison had picked up in Quebec at the winery, La Belle Alliance Toujours 2020 (Frontenac Gris, which had won the Best Canadian hybrid award at Decanter this year.)

Deborah’s grilled salmon

Saturday, September 27th: The wedding of the daughter of close friend, held on a farm in Pelham. The wine on the table, Southbrook Triomphe White 2023 and Southbrook Triomphe Merlot 2019.

Sunday, September 28th: Thomas Bachelder arranged a tasting for Alison, Deborah and me at Le Clos Jordanne:

Snacks at Le Clos Jordanne tasting

For dinner, Simonsig Starting Blocks Chenin Blanc 2024.

Monday, September 29th: Alison and I dropped into Marynissen Estates to say hello to winemaker Marc Pistor, who was Alison’s tutor (by Zoom) for her course on Ontario wine. At the winery, we watched the arrival of the Chardonnay grapes and their passage into the de-stemmer, en route for the fermentation tanks. Then a tasting:

Marynissen wines

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