Monday, May 18th: Dinner: shrimp in cream sauce with rice. And a bottle of Riverlore Sauvignon Blanc 2025.
Tuesday, May 19th: Dinner: chicken wings with a bottle of Stratus White 2010.
Wednesday, May 20th: My choral practice, so I had a cheese when I got home with a half bottle that was in the fridge – Flat Rock Cellars Twisted Pink 2024.
Thursday, May 21st: Dinner: mango and jalapeño chicken sausages with The Fox and the Grapes Reserve Shiraz Cabernet.
Friday, May 22nd: Dinner: chili con carne with Azienda Agricola Cogno Montegrilli 2024 (Nebbiolo from Langhe).
Saturday, May 23rd: Dinner: grilled salmon with a bottle of Casa Ferreirinha Planalto Reserva 2023 – a white wine from the Douro.
Monday, May 25th: Dinner: mango and jalapeño chicken sausages with One Pound Per Acre Shiraz 2024.
Tuesday, May 26th: Went to Flat Rock Cellars for Ed Madronich’s Embrace – Third Annual Release Tasting of the winery’s Capstone Series (Gravity Pinot Noir, Rusty Shed Chardonnay, Nadja’s Riesling) – three vintages: 2025, 2023, and 2017.
Ed Madronich leading the Embrace tasting
Lunch with the tasting
Flat Rock Cellars Gravity Pinot Noir 2025
Ruby color; toasty, black raspberry nose; medium-bodied, dry, well-balanced, firmly structured ripe red fruit flavours with lively acidity and well-integrated oak. (91)
Flat Rock Cellars Gravity Pinot Noir 2023
Ruby colour; lifted nose oak and raspberry, very Burgundian medium-bodied, dry, well-balanced, elegant; well-integrated oak and a firm finish of ripe tannins. (92)
Flat Rock Cellars Gravity Pinot Noir 2017
Mature ruby in colour; forest floor bouquet with drying red fruit notes; medium-bodied, dry, well-balanced, plum and prune flavours. (89)
Flat Rock Cellars Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2025
Light straw in colour with a greenish tint; toasty, apple bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, richly extracted apple and pear flavours; well-balanced, elegant. (91)
Flat Rock Cellars Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2023
Medium straw colour with a greenish tint; toasty, apple nose; beautifully balanced, elegant, Meursault style. (92)
Flat Rock Cellars Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2017
Deep straw in colour; toasty, apple nose; medium-bodied, dry, richly extracted pineapple and apple flavours. (91)
Nadjas’s Vineyard Rieslings
Flat Rock Cellars Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2025
Pale straw in colour; grapefruit and lime bouquet with a honeyed note; beautifully balanced and seamless. (93)
Flat Rock Cellars Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2023
Very pale straw in colour; grapefruit and lime bouquet, light to medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant; great length (92)
Flat Rock Cellars Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2017
Pale straw colour; grapefruit and lime bouquet with a petrol note; medium-bodied, lime and grapefruit flavours with lively acidity; well-balanced, great length. (92)
and finally
Flat Rock Cellars Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2004
Golden colour with a green hue; toasty, baked apple nose; richly extracted, full-bodied, dry; beautifully balanced. A seamless wine. (93)
In the afternoon, dropped into Inniskillin for the book launch of Magdalena Kaiser’s Niagara Wine + Food.
Magdalena Kaiser at her book launch
Dinner: chicken pasta with Cigar Box Old Vine Pinot Noir 2024 (Chile).
Wednesday, May 27th: Went to the Shaw Festival Theatre to see the opening matinee of a farce, One For The Pot. Very entertaining. Dinner: grilled salmon with Trius Wild Ferment Showcase Chardonnay 2020.
Pre-curtain invitation at the Shaw for the farce One for the Pot
Thursday, May 28th: Dinner: filet steak with Château Du Courneau 2020 (Margaux appellation).
Friday, May 29th: Went with our neighbours Janet and John for a tasting at King + Victoria (Twenty Mile Bench).
Then dropped into Thirteenth Street for a glass of rosé and six butter tarts.
Saturday, May 30th: Drove into Toronto with Jill Troyer very early to judge at the Ontario Wine Awards, held in the Atrium at George Brown College.
The OWA judges
Scoring
Scoring has been agreed upon with George Brown Polytechnic and Niagara College.
Double Gold 45–50
An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase, and consume.
Gold 38–44
An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, a terrific wine.
Silver 30–37
A (barely) above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavour as well as character with no noticeable flaws.
Bronze 25–30
An average wine with little distinction except that it is soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.
No Medal 0–24
A below average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavour, or possibly dirty aromas or flavours. **All No Medal wines must be accompanied by judges notes that the winery will see. Your information is not disclosed**
GO-trained home from Union Station but there was work on the line and had to get off at Bramalea and take a GO bus to Burlington, where Deborah picked me up.
Dinner: beef stir fry with noodles and a bottle of Peller Estates Cabernet Franc 2022.
