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Prince
Edward County's Field of Dreams
LIVE
WINE LINK Exactly
30 years ago, I wrote the very first feature on Donald Ziraldo and his path-breaking
Inniskillin wines from Niagara-on-the-Lake. To
see the 1975 Toronto Life article complete with my photo of a youthful
Donald himself click
here. As for
Ontario’s newest vinous horizons in Prince Edward County, I have been
reserving judgment. The fact that one has to bury the vines every winter due
to extreme cold did not inspire total confidence. It didn’t help that some
initial releases didn’t totally impress nor that they were being made from
grapes and/or wine imported from other parts of Ontario. It
was news that chef
Michael Potters, who delivered divine food at the Toronto’s
Accolade restaurant, had recently opened his own place called Milford Bistro that lured me to
the area. Located just south of Picton, a non-rush-hour 2.5-hour drive east
of Toronto, I recently visited his small, prix fixe Mecca of delicious
culinary delights. To see a map of the area and
information on the restaurant click
here. As a wine
guy, I realized that I couldn’t visit this new wine region without making
at least one vinous pit stop. Fortunately, Bob
Cowan, owner of nearby The
Miller's
House Bed & Breakfast, insisted that I visit Long Dog winery.
For more information click
here. Following Cowan’s simple instructions, I managed to drive past the 300-acre winery-homestead. It is located on a rural lane just 1.5 km from Lake Ontario. Backtracking, I asked a bearded gentleman: “Is this Long Dog?” He turned out to be winemaker, co-owner and 26-year veteran film editor/producer James Lahti, who is most famous for his IMAX films. Without
wasting a moment, we stormed the small barrel cellar and started tasting his
most recent vintages. Out of a large stainless steel tank, Lahti fished a
sample of his Long Dog
2004 Pinot Grigio (soon be bottled
at $20). Instead of something light and inconsequential, it’s remarkably
flavourful with juicy, tangy, rhubarb-tinged, grapefruit - yummy and
refreshing – a wonderful summer wine. Lahti
and Toronto-based partner Steven
Rapkin did a huge amount of
research before locating here. It turns out that it is the sunniest spot in
the entire province! As for the cold, all vines have to be buried, but Lahti
ads emphatically: “our terroir (soil) is absolutely unique – not only with its special
mineralization, but also with its ability to deliver water to the roots in
extreme drought conditions. Also our proximity to the lake makes it one of
the province’s longest frost-free areas - from April to November!” Moving
on to his five barrels (25 cases each) of 2004 Chardonnay, I was impressed
with its fairly rich, gently tropical flavours. He popped the cork on his Long
Dog 2003 Chardonnay Storring Block Barrel Reserve
(now available at $22) and I was in heaven. It is loaded with classic,
lemon-pear flavours with a lingering, cedary, lime-tinged finish from new
French oak. This outstanding effort will be available in very limited
quantities (two bottles per person) at the new winery tasting room, which
opens in June. At
Long Dog, every wine is made exclusively from their 20,000 estate grown
vines. James Lahti’s wife, Victoria Rose,
who grew up with dachshunds, created the name. On her 30th birthday, James
gave her Otto,
a wire-haired dachshund puppy. Sadly in 1998, when they moved to the country
from Toronto, Otto died. His ashes were buried under the first Pinot Noir
vine planted in the following spring. Then a speeding car killed Ben,
their other big, red wire-haired dachshund. “Calling
the vineyard Long Dog just made us, along with Bella and Fanny, the current
dachshunds-in-residence, smile” says Victoria Rose. Obviously much
better than “Dog Gone” winery! Which
brings me to Long Dog 2003 Rosé
($12.50), a fine, dry, refreshing blend of 40% Pinot Noir, 30% Gamay, 15%
Pinot Grigio and 15% Chardonnay with delicate berry-cherry and fraises de bois
fruit flavours. “It will be a big
hit in the tasting room,” predicts Lahti, “and
we should have enough of it to last the summer.” Last
but not least is Long Dog
2003 Pinot Noir "A" Blend,
($24), which has bright, gently juicy, black cherry-cranberry flavours.
Despite its modest 12.4% alcohol, Lahti has produced a fine, food friendly,
red with no chaptalization and minimalist intervention using classic
Burgundy clones. I believe that Lahti’s utilization of techniques
developed by Patrice Rion,
renowned Cote de Nuits producer, will result in richer Pinot Noirs in the
future. 2001-2002-2003-2004-2005
Tasting Note Database To
use our winefind.ca Tasting
Notes Database: click
here
Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada
2005 |