Adam, Deborah, Mak, Nora, me and Zeena
Sunday, August 30th: Lunch at Stonewall Winery with our Toronto friends Adam and Zeena and local friends Nora and Mark (who have made it a mission to visit every winery in Ontario!). Started with a glass of Stonewall Cabernet Franc Rosé 2023 followed by a dish called “Chinese Street Corn.”
Monday, August 31st: Tasted a range of Monte Creek wines from the Okanagan.
Monte Creek Sparkling 2025
Pale straw in colour with a gentle mousse; smoky, citrus zest nose; light to medium-bodied, just off-dry, floral, peach-apple flavour. Good length. (89)
Monte Creek Frontenac Gris 2022 (Frontenac Gris is a winter-hardy hybrid)
Pale straw colour; earthy, green melon bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, spicy, tangerine flavour; lively acidity, lovely mouth-feel. (90)
Monte Creek Riesling 2022
Very pale straw with a greenish hue; minerally, lime bouquet; light-bodied, elegant, lime and grapefruit flavours with just a suggestion of honey to balance the rush of acidity. (90)
Monte Creek Chardonnay 2025
Pale straw in colour; green apple bouquet; medium to full-bodied, dry, richly extracted apple and pear flavours with mouth-watering acidity. Well-integrated oak. Lovely mouth-feel. (89)
Monte Creek Rose 2025
Produced from a variety named Marquette, a hybrid grape developed at the University of Minnesota. Salmon pink in colour; candied raspberry nose; medium-bodied, just off-dry; fruity raspberry and strawberry flavours with lively acidity and good length. (89)
Monte Creek Gamay Noir 2024
Ruby colour; cherry pit nose; medium-bodied, dry, richly extracted black cherry flavour with a firm tannic structure and good length. Chillable. (89)
Monte Creek Foch 2023
Deep purple-ruby in colour; toasty, blackberry bouquet with a smoky note; medium to full-bodied, dry, savoury, herbal blackberry flavour finishing on a note of dry tannins. Hold 1–2 years to allow the tannins to soften. (87)
Monte Creek Hands Up Red 2023
A blend of Frontenac Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Deep ruby-purple in colour; spicy, blackberry and vanilla bouquet; full-bodied, dry, juicy black fruit flavours carried on lively acidity to a firm finish. Hold for 1 year to allow the tannins to meld. (88)
Monte Creek Pinot Noir 2023
Ruby colour; lifted (slightly volatile) nose of black raspberry with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, earthy, tannic, black cherry flavour. (88)
Monte Creek Cabernet Franc 2023
Deep purple in colour; spicy, vanilla and black cherry nose; medium to full-bodied, dry, well extracted black cherry and black plum flavours with a firm finish of ripe tannins. Well-integrated oak. Hold 1–2 years, (90)
Monte Creek Cabernet-Merlot 2022
Deep ruby in colour; cedary, blackcurrant bouquet; medium to full-bodied, dry, juicy blackcurrant and plum flavours carried on lively acidity to a firm finish of ripe tannins. Hold 1–2 years. (90)
Dinner: BBQ pork ribs with a bottle of Niagara College Teaching Winery Balance Syrah 2023.
Tuesday, September 1st: Dinner: baked salmon with King + Victoria Sauvignon Blanc 2025.
Wednesday, September 2nd: My choir rehearsal evening. No wine (just a glass with cheese on my return).
Thursday, September 3rd: Deborah and I dined with our neighbourhood friends at Teatro on Welland Avenue. Deb and I ordered Pasta alla Vodka with a bottle of Domaine Le Clos Jordanne Jordan Village Pinot Noir 2021.
Friday, September 4th: Dinner: chicken pasta with a bottle of The Shortcut Chardonnay & Pinot Noir 2025 (like a traditional sparkling wine sans bubbles!).
Saturday, September 5th: Dropped in on Kelly Mason Vineyard for a glass of rose – and to pick up a couple of bottles. In the evening, to Chocolates Etc. on Welland Avenue to hear my chorus director, Melissa Shriner, sing an outdoor concert with pianist Louis Molina and electric bass-player Marcela Lagunas.
Outdoors at Mason Vineyard
