winefind.ca
If you want to buy a wine, just click on the wine name below and you will instantaneously connected with the LCBO database. The wine name will appear in blue and all you have to do is click on the name again and then the next screen will provide details along with the store search. Just click on the search. The number of bottles in each store is updated nightly. You should call the store first to see if stock still remains (each store phone number is provided).

I am sitting under an enormous tent on a high plateau overlooking Lake with Fox Run winemaker Peter Bell. It is their annual garlic festival dinner and the new releases are flowing freely. The view of the lake is as gorgeous as their whites. The aperitif Fox Run 2001 Gewurztraminer is loaded with honeyed, spicy, lychee flavours and yet maintains its freshness with just the right amount of acidity. It’s a great pre-prandial and stands up well to the assault of garlic-laden appetizers. Only 150 cases were produced and it retails for $14.99.

Owners Scott Osborn and Brooks Hale are on hand to meet and greet. They are also justifiably proud of their just off-dry Fox Run 2002 Riesling, which sings with honeyed, spicy, fresh ripe red apple-citrus flavours. It sells for $12.99 and good quantities are available.

“It’s almost impossible to sell these wines in Ontario,” Bell states. “We simply don’t have the funds to compete with your homegrown products,” referring to the millions of dollars provided by Ontario taxpayers to support our local industry. Of the wines tasted on this recent foray, these two would be my best buys and certainly the Riesling deserves to be listed by the LCBO.

It is ironic that New York’s Finger Lakes is still very much a best-kept secret. Certainly the soaring US dollar and massive traffic back ups at the Queenston-Lewiston bridge (Niagara Falls is much faster) hasn’t helped wine tourism. Worse is the provincial government’s continued stance of demanding full taxes and LCBO mark-ups on all NAFTA-made wines. Ironically, massive quantities of Ontario-made wines are sold to visiting Americans who are able to bring back cases with only minimal duties. Meanwhile, if we buy more than two bottles of Finger Lake wines, Canada Customs will hit you with additional charges adding more than 100% to the original cost. While New York state wineries are crying foul, nobody’s listening.

All of this wouldn’t matter if the LCBO stocked New York state wines, but it doesn’t. Given the recent explosion of wineries (now in excess of 165), it’s a shame that reciprocal wine tourism has been virtually shut down by the protectionist policies of the Ontario government. It means that many finger lickin’ good wines are waiting to be discovered. Certainly the natural beauty of the region, especially the numerous gorge walks, continue to draw; along with my favourite destination - the fabulous weekend Ithica farmer’s market, which offers terrific, well priced edibles along with the wares of a some tiny wineries. It is, however, the ability to buy wines you discover that makes the trip especially worthwhile.

One way to find out the best wines to buy is to visit the New York Wine & Grape Foundation’s website which posts the gold medal award-winners from the recent 2003 New York Wine & Food Classic, a competition featuring 524 entries. The extensive list of 413 winners is available on my website (press here) along with details on how to the new 47-page 2003 NY Wine Country Guide. Unfortunately, the absence of submissions by key players, such as Glenora, means that some excellent wines will not found among the winners.   

While visiting the region, a glowing review in Food & Wine Magazine 2003 Wine Guide prompted me to order a bottle of Hermann J. Wiemer 2001 Dry Johannisberg Riesling. One sip and I am shocked to discover that this usually reliable effort is tainted by bitter, ladybug pyrazines making it taste more like an herbal Sauvignon Blanc than a Riesling. While this was a serious problem in Ontario in 2001, fortunately it is much less evident in the Finger Lakes where most of the wines are problem free.

When I visited the winery, Wiemer was very apologetic about the way his 2001 was showing, which he attributes to the 15% of the blend which didn’t come from his own vineyards. “Luckily it’s all gone,” he says with a sigh of relief, forgetting about the money I just wasted the night before. Despite my visit, Wiemer is happy because he has just received two double gold, two gold, one silver and two bronze medals along with “Winery of the Year” at the weekend’s judging. I taste the top two: the Governor’s Cup and “Best White Wine” winner Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard 2002 Reserve Riesling, as well as his double gold 2002 Gewurztraminer. They are both stellar, especially the Riesling.

One of the few producers to actually penetrate the Ontario market is Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars, a pioneer in launching vitis vinifera wines in North America. Today, Konstantin’s son Willy Frank and his son Fred continue this path breaking work with various award-winning wines. They are especially proud of their winter hearty Russian white 2002 Rkatsiteli (pronounced "ar-kat-si-tel-lee"), as well as their fine méthode Champenoise bubblies.

They even have a wine here in Ontario under the Salmon Run label, or so I thought. I checked out the Summer 2003 LCBO Price Book, which just arrived this week. I spot that the prices were in effect on June 11, more than two months ago. Long lead-time, I muse, without finding any sign of my Finger Lake friend.

Checking the LCBO website, I find only a few bottles Salmon Run 2000 Riesling (540369) at $17.05 in a handful of stores. The Franks have decided to discontinue selling it in Ontario, as the original FOB price per case of $53.28 US is now almost twenty dollars below the current US selling price. It is a sad loss. This tasty white, which was only available at 20 LCBO destination stores, scored a respectable silver medal at the 2003 Toronto Wine & Cheese Show competition.

Even fishier, is the emergence of what appears to be a Salmon Run knock-off called Salmon River Cellars, which is produced in the Niagara Peninsula by Birchwood Estates. The label features a similar salmon swimming in the opposite direction. The label colour, font (typeface) and reversed jagged border are almost identical. In fact, it was designed and is being sold by the same agent who represents Salmon Run! “I can’t control the name,” says Fred Frank, “but its unethical to copy our label.” With Ontario friends like this, who needs enemies?

Getting down to brass tacks, there is one last remaining white in Ontario. Like others, the recent “soft” release was kept invisible by the LCBO. In the Vintages section you will find Lamoreaux Landing 2000 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (721381) at $19.95. The buttered toast and ripe pear nose is followed up by harmonious, rounded but still bright, honeyed, creamy ripe pear flavours. This faintly tropical scented, ready-to-drink, crowd pleaser has captured an array of medals. Perfect for a warm summer day.

Last but not least, you will be surprised to discover that the two bottles I brought home were purchased in the Ithica farmer’s market. At one of the stalls I discovered Bellwether Hard Cider, who was sampling their wares. It is here where I tasted Cherry Street the mother of all ciders, which had just been flavoured with freshly squeezed cherry juice and was to die for. Now I know that $10.50 US might seem a bit of splurge – that is until you have had the joy of tasting it – divine! For further details click here

Check out our winefind.ca tasting notes database

Our tasting note database goes back to January 1, 2001 and covers every Vintages release product for the past 31 months. There are approximately 5,000 notes in the database data. Just enter the name of the product, supplier name or CSPC number. Or you can search by type of wine, country of origin, even wine agent! Nothing could be easier. When you get your search results (starting with the most recent release), click on the item name and you will instantaneously connected to the FBTI Vintage Assessments database. You will see our tasting note along with the name of the agent. You can get information on the agent by clicking on the agent’s name. Also, you can check LCBO store inventory by clicking on Check LCBO Availability. It will automatically take you to the item you want to search.

To use our winefind.ca Tasting Notes Database: click here

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Check out the
September 2003 InStore Discovery

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
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Contact Michael Vaughan at
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