2019 Henry of Pelham Old Vines Baco Noir (Ontario VQA)

Henry of Pelham has been called the "King of Baco", and rightly so: they planted their first Baco vines in 1984 and have been putting out quality iterations of this varietal wine for decades. Henry of Pelham isn't just another producer of Baco Noir in Ontario: they're really dedicated to this grape variety.

I enjoy the regular bottling, finding it to be well made, well balanced, and stylistically elegant. The Old Vines version is sold in a tall, heavier bottle, and is closed with a natural (albeit particle) cork enclosure. The regular bottling, by contrast, has been closed with a screw cap for the past few years—a sensible, functional choice.

The 2019 Old Vines Baco is 13.5% alc./vol. and sells for about $20 at the LCBO. It pours with a gorgeous, saturated, deep-beet-red/purple colour that turns into a neon magenta at the meniscus—a common feature of the V. riparia hybrid reds. The nose is very oaky right off the bat, showing plummy/blackcurrant fruit and juicy acidity that is eager to carry that same fruit along the palate. On the palate, it is invigoratingly tart, zingy, and refreshing—with good mid-palate heft coming from both the tart berries and the oak overlay. Excellent quality. Following this fruit-and-oak crescendo, the aft-palate character of the wine accentuates the oak, which leaves a pleasant spicy finish.

2013 Magnotta Dry Vidal Equus Series (Ontario VQA)

I remember enjoying this wine tremendously many years ago. I'm happy to say that Magnotta's dry Vidal, while having undergone a name and label change since the early days, is as fine a wine as I remember it.

In fact, I love dry Vidal table wine so much that the background on my blog is a photo of Vidal grapes growing in Niagara wine country. Vidal is one of Ontario's most versatile wine grapes.

12.8% alc./vol. Clear, medium-straw/yellow hue in the glass. Wonderful aromas of lemon candy, pineapple, pine needles and guava. Crisp and focused on the entry, with that lively and lovely varietal acidity; a warm but balanced texture; and a palate-cleansing, fully dry finish that I appreciate.

Magnotta's retail outlet is a fine place to visit and the prices are right. I have long believed that Magnotta makes Ontario's best dry Vidal table wine... I still believe it, having tasted this version.

$7.45 for a 750 ml bottle, and worth every penny.

2013 Peller Estates Baco Noir (Ontario VQA)

The 2013 Peller Estates Baco Noir pours with a deep, dark garnet core that turns bright ruby at the meniscus.

The bouquet shows fantastic aromas of plums, prunes and brackish, wild, Vitis riparia. The texture has a bright, clean, crisp, invigorating and tart entry with tart blue plum flavours that fan across the palate. There's excellent fruitiness.

The texture is warm, balanced, clean and cleansing, with acidity leading and tannin playing back-up.

The finish is crisp all the way across the palate, with a clean and bright personality. There's prune jam and tartness on the finish.

This Baco has 12.5% alc./vol. It costs $10.95 and can be found on regular list at the LCBO. It's bottled with a screwcap closure.

An excellent, clean Baco...at an exemplary price!!

2012 Villa Nova Estate Aenigma

I recently visited Villa Nova Estate Winery, located in Ontario's Norfolk County. I had read about their wines online and wanted to try them - especially the Aenigma, which is a blend of Regent, Frontenac, and Cab Sauvignon.

Previous to this, I don't ever recall seeing a wine for sale in Ontario made using the Regent variety. Regent was created in Germany in 1967 by crossing Diana (Silvaner x Müller Thurgau) and Chambourcin (see here for more information). This is a very welcome addition to the wine scene in Ontario.

The 2012 Aenigma is interesting not just for the blend of grapes it consists of, but also for the fact that it is finished with Ontario white oak - something that is still a rarity here. I heartily applaud this decision to use locally sourced oak, both for the unique flavour profile and for the regional authenticity.

Aenigma pours with a beautiful, dense garnet colour that turns to deep magenta at the rim of the glass. Obviously, Regent has inherited the amazing pigmentation of other V. riparia-based hybrids. Fruity, spicy oak hints mingle with pepper-infused black cherry notes to create a very elegant bouquet. Moderate acidity leads the way, with a beautifully dry mid-palate on which superb puckery tannins flesh out broadly. Subtle oak-spice replays fan out at this point and linger prominently into the dry, tasty finish. The wine is 14% alc./vol. but everything is so well balanced that the finish displays just a gentle warmth.

This is a most excellent wine - one that I will be proud to serve on my dinner table in the future. An excellent blend with character, quality and structure. Once again - if you need a vinifera equivalent to gauge the style, think of the Chianti Classico style.

I would also add that this wine has clearly convinced me that Regent deserves a prominent place in Ontario's winescape: it produces an excellent red wine.

$14.50 per 750 ml bottle. Available at the winery only.

A Desire For Quality Is Not Snobbery!

It irks me whenever I hear people equate the drive for quality in any product - be it food, wine, or other products - with snobbery. I can't adequately explain the motivation for this false connection, but will say that pursuing excellence by no means equals being a snob. There may be snobs who like quality items - but that is another thing entirely.

If you love the products of the good earth and the talent behind creative minds and hands, it seems to follow that you should be able to appreciate the drive for quality. If you care about nutrition and what you put into your body, and what you feed your family, then quality should be something that you support and promote.

Indifference is fertile ground for mediocrity. It's when you don't care what you're eating, how it tastes - or, by extension, how well a product does its job - that you'll not make a case for excellence. By not making a case for the pursuit of excellence, you're not so much promoting mediocrity, as validating the lowest common denominator. Now, why do that? Indifference can hardly be something to aspire to.

In wine, quality is not simply a function of the grape variety in question. For example, Pinot Noir is very highly regarded - and often regarded so in unqualified terms. However, it is also possible to produce thin, uninteresting wines from it; just as, by contrast, it is possible to produce well pigmented, deeply flavourful, balanced and interesting wines from Marechal Foch. Obviously, the inverse also holds true if a winery overcrops its Foch, but coddles its Pinot. 

Therefore, it's not entirely accurate to label some grape varieties as "quality wine grapes" and leave it there. Wine quality is determined not only by climate, soil and grape variety, but also by viticultural practices, stylistic choices and the overall philosophy that a producer pursues. And these things affect all grape varieties.

If a producer has a passion for quality, it will result in a drive for excellence that will likely be reflected across their product line: this is because the "bar" has been set high. Their dry Vidal is very likely to be excellent, just as their Cab Franc or Chardonnay will be excellent. If the bar is set low, then "good enough" becomes the goal. What if better can result from even just a few strategic tweaks? Why not go for better?

The purported relationship between quality and elitism is a false one. One does not have to have elitist pretensions to desire quality goods, or to desire that goods look wholesome, taste good, or in the case of products and services, that they function well. To desire these things means that one spends some time thinking about them, and seeks increased knowledge about them in order to optimize outcome. 

If anything, desiring something better is the result of caring.