Canadian Wines From Pelee Island In The Middle Of Lake Erie

Canadian Wines From Pelee Island In The Middle Of Lake Erie – Episode #429

March 24, 2008

Gary Vaynerchuk still thinks that Canada is one of the hot up and coming areas in the world and puts a few wines to the test from a pretty cool area!

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Comments on this episode(264) Leave a comment ›

“Pelee makes some incredible wines – their Merlot and Pinot Noir are bo…” by Robert
“Funny enough, my wife just started a wine blog about Canadian Wines an…” by Ray Slakinski
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Wines tasted in this episode:

2006 Pelee Island Gewurztraminer Reserve
2005 Pelee Island Shiraz
2006 Pelee Island Cabernet Franc

Links mentioned in todays episode.

264 Responses

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March 26, 2008

Martin
We just had a really nice pink wine from Australia. Before that, my only experience was Grandma’s Beringer white zin.
March 26, 2008

jsuarez6
QOTD – I hate Chardonnay; at least I thought until I tried a 2005 Chablis. The wine was so good I could not believe it was made from chardonnay. The past few chardonnays I had tried were from California and all were over oaked, heavy, and even nausiating, I couldn’t even finish one glass.

I have explored more white burgundy wines and have found out that chardonnay can be made into a very good wine, at least good for my taste.
March 26, 2008

Neil
This EP was like Peleeing in the wind!
March 26, 2008

1kailuaboy
Gary I think you’re starting something again. I’m hearing some rumbling of distant thunder. What I’m hearing on Canadian wines is if you like ice wines, whites, and or red try the Okanagan region in BC. That’s IF you can get them as they are low producers and rarely make it very far.
March 26, 2008

Jake M
Actually GaryVee, the more I think about it, the more I think that Inniskillin’s International Series Sauvignon Blanc might be right up your alley.

I shared a bottle with a friend a couple months back and it had a really fun nose, and it RIPPED through your palate. Take a switchblade and *nnngnnn* (cutting motion while holding tongue with other hand). If you end up dropping by the great white north it’s one that you might consider seeking out (and I think it’s got great QPR).
March 26, 2008

Jake M
Gary Vee! I’m so sorry that you had to try Pelee Island wines, I’m from right near James H and Pelee Island Wines are a local joke. They’re the ones that you get in gift baskets and groan just a little. There are a few smaller Essex County producers that are doing good things, but for slightly easier to find decent/good wines, try Inniskillin or Jackson-Triggs. They’re both way more drinkable than the stuff you had to suffer through today.

QOTD: Red Guitar Navarra 2005. Such a heavy cinnamon component that it completely blew me away. I wouldn’t want that in every wine, but it made me really sit up and take notice of spanish wines as something that can be surprising.
March 26, 2008

SG
QOTD: A canadian wine: 2003 Baco Noir by Jost in Nova Scotia. Changed my mind about nova scotian wines… an excellent wine. I was so excited I ran out to buy another of their wines, a Marchial Foch… which was hands down one of the worst wines I’ve ever had…
Another Canadian producer I have often enjoyed is Mission Hill winery in BC
March 26, 2008

candapete
Too bad about those wines today. But like you said there are lots of others that are more representative of what Canada has going on.

QOTD. Had a crianza that shocked me, it was very light and elegant and delicious. I was expecting something very different, but loved what I found. Bottom line – there are lots of outlayers in every category to keep things interesting.
March 26, 2008

Robert
The problems with Canadian wines and Ontario in particular are numerous. Yet I agree that they are very under-appreciated and searching out the best can be very rewarding.

In Ontario the government controls the sale of wine on the large scale through the LCBO. They are the largest buyers of liquor in North America by far and the primary customer for the Ontario wineries. Which means that to sell to them you need to produce a lot of wine. The exception to this is their limited release section known as Vintages. The growing area is quite small in the Niagara region and the larger commercial wineries use up a lot of those grapes for the plonk they sell through the LCBO. The wine you drank today could consist of as much as 95% foreign grapes with the exception of the ones marked VQA. Pelee island is a small windy island that grows potatoes primarily, it is also know for pheasant hunting and serves as a junction for a Canada/US ferry. It is not ideal for grapes. For better wines you will need to go to the Niagara region.

Even the wine you can get from the liquor store in Ontario is often not the most representative of the best wine available from a specific winery. Their best tends to be from very small batches only available by going to the winery or buying from it directly. Take Lailey Winery its very small, the grapes are hand picked and sorted, producing wines in lots numbering in the hundreds of cases at best. Yet in my opinion some of the best wines available in the Niagara region. Same goes for Tawse Winery. The scale of economics prevents them from selling through the liquor store nor do they need to. Even Vinland Winery or Cave Springs which is widely sold retail reserves their best for winery only sales.

This is a two fold problem, one the number of old vines with proven quality is very limited due to youth of the industry here, they have really only been trying to make top quality fine wines on a larger scale for 10 to 15 years. With small batches you need not worry about selling to retail outlets if you have enough demand at home. Two, the LCBO takes the lions share of the profits. The wineries need the LCBO to get the people to start drinking their wine but the sales from the boutique are crucial to their survival economically.

Lastly, many of the wineries do not cellar their wines until they would be better suited for drinking but rather sell them off young. This is not true of all the wineries but is of the wine sold retail at the LCBO in the regular section.

I hope you do come up this way for a wine safari some time. Email me and I will send you a list of wineries that I feel are worthwhile visiting. BTW I donâ€™t work in the industry I just like drinking their wine.
March 26, 2008

Manuel
I’m a fan of argentinian wine, seems that you can find a lot of good wines at a good QPR, and I’m jet to find many chilenian wines that really bring the thunder for me… Have not tried 40..
QOTD: Monte Andino Carmenere, chilenian… made me give Chile a shot again…
March 26, 2008

Jane Paulus
This information really helps me. So many of my clients are into wines and I like to give wine as a gift to them. I have noticed wine racks are out in houses that was a thing of the 80’s. The hot button is the wine refrig. My clients like the built-ins or the portables. It encourage them to make an offer on the proeprty.
March 26, 2008

James H
Hey Gary! I grew up just down the road from Pelee Island wineries (btw, it’s “PEAL-E”). Their set up is kind of neat. They grow the grapes on an island in the middle of Lake Erie, ship them to the coastal town of Kingsville (where I was born), and then produce the wine.

Honestly, when I saw you were reviewing these wines my reaction was “oh, boy”. They’re not really that good, and we all know it. The surrounding area has some really good vineyards though. My favourite are these guys http://www.muscederevineyards.com/ (disclaimer: I don’t know them, I was just really blown away by their wine recently). Check ‘em out if you get the chance.
March 26, 2008

M
13 hours ago….agentorange…I agree the Cusumano Insolia from Sicily is very good
March 26, 2008

agnes
Gary, so what are the good Canadian wines you have tasted?
I’ve lived in Toronto for 2 years, and from what I’ve tasted the quality is not so great and QPR just sucks!
March 26, 2008

John Sawyer
Nice one – now I have absolute proof for my girlfriend that you don’t have a vested (commercial) interest in your WLTV blog. Can’t wait for her to see you pouring the wine away on camera!

QOTD: Magnum of Ch du Trignon, Gigondas 1997. I’ve had this since 1999 and opened it at the weekend as part of a tasting to get my friends away from the obvious New World and aware of the treats of Cotes du Rhone – what an etherial treat! I had no idea Gigondas could get so ‘blue-cheesy’ and well developed. Completely changed my previously indifferent view of Trignon, and also the style and potential of Gigondas.
March 26, 2008

stephen
Strike three on those wines I’m afraid. Seems like the problem is getting the fruit ripe to make the wines, so maybe the problem lies more in how the grapes are grown instead of the winemaking. To be honest have not tried to many Canadian wines, other than an ise wine here and there.
Must say that I was pleasantly surprised by South African Pinotage from a producer called Kanonkop.
Most of the wines that I have tried tasted like paint with hints of banana, this was fleshy and ripe, with earthy tones and I enjoyed it [surprise]

Gary – well done for advertising some different wines from deifferent regions.
March 26, 2008

Black Rolf
Gary!!…forget Pelee Island and get you and a glass tasting what’s great coming out of B.C.
I love drinking globally but have also started drinking locally(I’m in Vancouver which is about a 4 hour drive from our major wine region in the Okanagan). Great things happening. I recently had my socks blown by a wild fermented Pinot Noir by Quail’s Gate and was impressed with a Bordeaux style blend by Mission Hill called Oculus(Mission Hill won Canada’s Winery of the Year in the Canadian wine awards this year and Michel Rolland consulted on this particular wine).
March 26, 2008

terroirist
I was really surprised by the Robert Hall – Rhone de Robles.. Grenache, Syrah, Cinsaut, and Conoise…

very good for a Rhone style Cali. wine.

Mushrooms, Moss, and mineral.

Goode stuff,

Terroirist

aka mike in Nebraska
March 26, 2008

Parker R.
Gary, you promote a 2 year-old book because you “stumbled” upon it? C’mon now, admit that you’re now mentioning them only because, as you said, they wrote an article on WLTV in the Washington Post. Had the book been that spectacular, you would have promoted them back in 2006, when the book came out, or in 2007. Don’t turn into one of “those” people. Please!! I absolutely love the show when you’re not doing crap like this!!

And, I agree with a previous commenter. A sake show is in order!
March 26, 2008

Shane B.
I had a 2001 Aussie shiraz (spaced the maker) last week that makes me think the fruit bombs can settle down to acceptable levels (for my palate at least) after 6~7 years AND decanting.
March 26, 2008

Flavio
Probably the Lachini Willamette Pinot, from Oregon.

Being a stubborn old world guy, with a relatively large cellar that is 80+% Bordeaux (heavy on St. Julien and Pauillac) and Southern Rhone (mainly Chateauneuf-du-Pape but a lot of Gigondas and CDRs), I never really cared for spending too much money (or time) on new world stuff, especially from the US.

My beef was (and maybe still is) with California – I’ve tried dozens and dozens, from Napa Cabernets and Bordeaux blends to Syrah and Rhone Rangers… and never figured out why I should spend $25, $50 or $100 for the over-oaked high-alcohol fruity version if I could buy the original (i.e. French) or other elegant old world alternatives (Piedmont, Tuscany, Sardinia, Sicily, Portugal, Riojas, Riberas…) for the same amount or less. Fortunately, this show convinced me to keep trying and, luckily, in a trip to WL I picked up a few half bottles of Lachini. That first positive experience made me realize that the Northwest had a lot to offer… I think that the fact that I have never been into pinot/Burgundy helped a little, as I didn’t sit there and compared it with its old world cousins (as I did so many times with Calofirnia Cabs and Rhone Rangers). As a result, I’ve now started to look into Washington state and fully agree with Gary that WA and OR will overcome CA as this country’s high-quality regions.

In all honesty, the Pacific NW still hasn’t really moved up my priority list when it comes to buying in volume (i.e. my disposable income still seems to find its way into an expensive 2nd growth, an interesting Sardinian Cannonau or a bargain from the Languedoc) but I have come to respect and appreciate the wines that are being produced and the people who are leading the efforts in those places.
March 26, 2008

Clinton
Dude… Canada is a large country. Concentrate on a speicific viticultural area. If you want to start with the best (biased), do the Okanagan (you did one wine a few weeks back). http://www.okanaganwines.ca/wineries/

QOTD: My wife went tasting and brought home three or four Okanagan Rose from different varietals. In the past, I had panned dry and off/dry Rose, but these have yet to disappoint. 2007 Joie Rose, 2006 Greata Ranch Rose and 2006 Pink Freud Rose… best of all, we’ve learned to cook a few new dishes to pair with the Rose.
March 26, 2008

KennyMac
Good reds can be found in Canada, but most come from the Okanagan Valley in BC. Being from BC I admit to perhaps some bias, but our wineries do consistently win the top awards in Canada, and outside as well. Not that competitions are everything, but a 2005 Merlot from La Frenz Winery on the valley’s Naramata Bench won the award for top red wine at the 2007 Northwest Wine Summit, the biggest competition for BC, Washington, Idaho and Oregon wines.

As for Erik Klumpp’s request for a sake show, Gary did an episode on sake back in November 2007 (episode 355). Look it up at http://tv.winelibrary.com/2007/11/21/sake-tasting-on-wine-library-tv-episode-355.
March 26, 2008

t_moderne
First you had me chasing Walla Walla wines. Now Canadian wines. What up? Send me someplace good.
QOTD: Montes 2006 Chilean cab. Before opening it, I thought big name Chilean producers could put out a quality cab at a good price where the wine rivals Bordeaux and Napa. After drinking this, my mind has changed. Napa and Bordeaux still rule. Chilean cabs do not. I have had more than 20…perhaps as many as 30. Before I was optimistic; now, not so much.
March 25, 2008

Isaac
Awesome……..As for the QOTD, i have no clue…