Dinner with “Bruce”

Monday, Apr 16th, 2012

There aren’t many days on the farm that I don’t encounter an unknown automobile meandering slowly down our driveway.  They approach very cautiously, sometimes stopping multiple times, seemingly contemplating whether this could possibly be the place they were looking for.  If I’m working in the grape rows anywhere near the driveway I try to flag down these folks and invite them in for a tasting.  Most times I end up chasing their vehicle while waving my arms wildly.  Come to think of it, perhaps that is exactly why most of them speed away in a cloud of dust.

Then there are cars that come in with a purpose.  They see me in working in the rows before I see them, and they end up scaring the crap out of me as they sneak up and snap me out of my iPod-induced trance.  For some reason these are usually the unabashed people I end up becoming fast friends with.  Steven and Jennifer Vipond fall into this category.

Last summer I watched as a red Volkswagen Beetle pulled right up to where I was doggedly defoliating some Clone 7 Shiraz vines.  I trotted out to meet them and noticed the “Bruce Wine Bar” logo on their rear window.  We exchanged pleasantries and I subsequently sent them up to our barn for a tasting with Wilma.  Two hours later, I watched from the far end of that Shiraz row as the red Beetle pulled away.  That was how our relationship with Steven and Jennifer began.

They are the proprietors of Bruce Wine Bar and Kitchen, located in Thornbury, Ontario.  The Lowreys and the Viponds hit it off right away and Jennifer even ventured all the way from Thornbury to help us hand pick our 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon.  What an enjoyable time that was, our last hand pick of the season on a gorgeous Fall day.  They have carried our wine at Bruce ever since that fortuitous first meeting.

I’m pleased to say that I finally have the chance to travel to Thornbury and dine at Bruce.   They will be hosting a Winemaker’s Dinner featuring Five Rows on Wednesday, May 9th.  The menu will feature our 2008 Shiraz, 2009 Cab Sauv Icewine and mark the debut of our 2011 Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris.  If you would like to join us and meet Steven and Jennifer, please contact them at the restaurant or flag down the next red Beetle you see.  You just might get lucky.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

Tuesday, Mar 20th, 2012

Pruning in shorts?   So much for those ultra-thermal, -70°C rated  “Tarantula”  boots my Dad got me for Christmas.  They’re still in the box.  Sap is gushing from the tips of newly pruned grapevine canes and there are pink swollen buds on my Magnolia tree – it’s only March 20th.  It was officially winter…yesterday.

Vineyard managers across the region are scratching their heads while sporting cautious grins.  They should be tremendously excited about how early this growing season  promises to be.  Three weeks early is not out of the question at this point.  But our enthusiasm is guarded.  There will no doubt be multiple frosts between now and the end of May.  The extremity of those frost events and just how advanced the buds will be when they happen are nervous variables yet to be determined.

So we sit on a precipice of possible greatness.  A vintage for the ages or an apocalyptic frost event that fries most of our delicate shoot growth.  At least I can go golfing tomorrow to calm my nerves.

Shifting gears, it’s very exciting to have our 2011 Sauvignon Blanc featured in the April/May issue of Vines magazine.  To be included in the article alongside notable Sauv Blanc producers like Hidden Bench and Creekside is a thrill for us.  The photo shoot at the Botanical Gardens was a fun change of pace and really symbolizes the vibrancy of Niagara Sauvignon Blanc.  I don’t know how they talked me into a few of those poses, but you know what they say,  “When life gives you lemons…”

I’ve received numerous inquiries about the barrel sample of 2011 Sauv Blanc that was reviewed in the article, some expressing horror that they had missed a release notice.  Not to worry – all 100 cases will be bottled on April 2nd and hopefully ready for release by May 1st.  Please let me know if you’d like to reserve a six bottle case (wes@fiverows.com).

Winemaker’s Dinner

Thursday, Jan 12th, 2012

We are currently finalizing plans for our second annual Winemaker’s Dinner to be held once again at Treadwell Farm to Table Cuisine in Port Dalhousie.  For those interested in attending, it will take place on Saturday, January 28.  I’m told that most of the seats are spoken for by returnees from last year, but there may be a few spots still up for grabs.  Best to contact James ASAP (905-934-9797).

The menu and wine pairings are still being conceptualized.  You’d be amazed at the amount of thought and debate involved in this process!  I don’t want to give too much away, but I may have convinced my mother to part with our final few bottles of 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, 2010 Pinot Gris and 2007 Pinot Noir to pour for the occasion.  I can’t think of a better curtain call for these wines.

Over the next couple of weekends (Jan. 14-15th and the 22nd) our barn will be open for tastings from 11-5.  We welcome anyone planning to attend the Icewine Festival to stop in for a complimentary sample of our 2009 Single Press Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine.

I’m proud to say that my little sister will be getting married on January 21, so we’ve elected to close Five Rows for the day and use the barn for pictures and festivities.  Congratulations Catherine and Steve!

The Weight

Sunday, Oct 09th, 2011

Defining a personal “style” of winemaking has always been a difficult proposition for me.  I still consider myself an unexperienced rookie, then I glance at the calendar and realize I’ve been at this gig for quite a while.  As visions of past vintages scan by quickly in my mind, I recall my early days in Nova Scotia through my time as Viticultualist at Creekside Estate Winery.  I’m suddenly astounded when it hits me that I’ve been making wine for Five Rows since way back in 2004!  Has it really been that long?

Questioning my personal style is standard practice around this time of year, as I debate what tweaks to make in each of our of 2011 wines.  The quandary is whether to mess with the formula that has produced a certain style of wines people have come to expect and enjoy.  The safe move is to keep thing status quo, but that’s not why I got into this.  I want to push envelopes and ultimately change perceptions of St. David’s Bench Terroir.  But what if I screw it up?

I present the case for my 2011 Sauvignon Blanc.  Previous successful vintages (2007-2010) could be chalked up to equal parts fruit quality, terroir, and winemaking technique.  Beautiful late-summer weather assured the success of this year’s crop, with ideal acid and sugar parameters, ripe seeds and classic Lowrey Sauv Blanc flavours.

Do I treat this fruit the exact same way as I did in previous vintages or do I make a few subtle changes to the winemaking protocol in an effort to improve?  “Fence-sitter” Wes says, “Don’t rock the boat, people like it as is.  There is no need to alter the oak to stainless steel ratio, yeast type, fermentation temperature, and residual sugar content if you don’t have to.”

“Devil May Care” Wes says, “Deep down you know there was some room for improvement in the 2010 Sauv Blanc (and I don’t care if it sold out already!).  Trust your instincts and do what it takes to make the wine you envision.  When you first started making wine you didn’t care about defining a style, you just wanted to achieve the best possible representation of your terroir.  Ultimately, if you like the wine, so will everyone else.”

I chuckle at the irony when I read this over and tend to agree with “Fence-sitter” Wes, but all kidding aside, I feel it important to proceed without the boundaries of a defined style in all my wines.  The success or failure of a wine should not be judged by public perception or sales figures, but on whether the winemaker achieved their goal.

2009 Whites

Sunday, Nov 07th, 2010

2009 Five Rows Sauvignon Blanc:

Roughly one tonne of fruit was harvested on a beautiful day in early October of 2009.  Half the fruit was sourced from our younger, more clay-based block of  Sauvignon Blanc, while the other half came from the older vines located in predominantly clay-loam soil.  Each block contributes distinct characters to the final blend.

The younger “clay” block tends to be less vigorous, leading to increased fruit exposure and consequently lends the riper, more tropical notes to the blend.  The older “clay-loam” block vines are extremely vigorous and require more intense hand labour.  Generally they are slightly more shaded, leading to the fresh citrus aromatics and crisp flavours that are classic characteristics of cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc.

As I mentioned last season, the key to achieving the full complement of flavours and aromas is a long, cool ferment carried out in a combination of older French oak barrels and stainless steel tanks.  For this wine I opted to go with a two-thirds barrel (2003 Jacques Garnier) and one-third tank fermentation regimen. The tank-fermented portion was allowed to age in oak for a few months prior to final blending.  All fermentations were carried out at around 13 degrees Celsius with X5 yeast.  68 cases were bottled on August 31, 2010.

Aromas:  vanilla, pineapple, lemon, lime

Flavours:  melon, lime, balanced finish

Technical data:  13.1% alcohol, 5.8 g/L residual sugar, pH 3.2

Price: $25/bottle

Production:  68 cases

2009 Five Rows Pinot Gris:

Pinot Gris is quickly becoming a standout varietal in the Niagara Peninsula.   Rick VanSickle recently wrote about this trend and chronicled a tasting of 17 different Pinot Gris.  Rick was kind enough to purchase a bottle of our Five Rows Pinot Gris to include in the tasting and you can read the exciting review here.

My view is that Pinot Gris is such a labour intensive variety to grow, it better damn well turn out to be a good wine!  It would not be worth the extra hand work and stressful pre-harvest nail biting to produce a mediocre, uninteresting wine.  “Good” Pinot Gris is without a doubt the most sought-after grape variety by premium Niagara wine producers at the moment.  It even has enough clout to be used as a bargaining tool by many growers to help them unload their lesser in demand, easier to grow varieties like Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc.

As is evident in Rick’s article, getting good fruit is only part of the equation.  Each winemaker seems to have their own method of coaxing out the best in their Gris.  A few years back, a couple of wise Creekside winemakers introduced me to the benefits of fermenting a portion of Pinot Gris in older French oak barrels.  I’ve experimented with different oak/stainless blends ever since.  The barrel-fermented wine always seems to have weightier mouthfeel and more complex aromatics, so in 2009 I decided to go with a 2/3 barrel, 1/3 tank final blend.  I’ve always had good luck with a yeast called R2, so I stuck with it and fermented at the coldest temperature the yeast could tolerate.  This led to a slow and beautiful month-long ferment.  70 cases were bottled on August 31, 2010.

Aromas:  honey, apple, pear

Flavours:  vanilla, melon, spice, left slightly off-dry (1)

Technical Data:  13.0% alcohol, 8.5 g/L residual sugar, pH 3.46

Price:  $25/bottle

Production:  70 cases

Both of these wines are now available for purchase at our winery, on our website or can be enjoyed at select licensees.  We are happy to announce the addition of two new members to the Five Rows extended family:  Ruby Watchco in Toronto and Brookstreet in Ottawa!  Ruby Watchco will be carrying our 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 Pinot Gris while Brookstreet will be pouring our 2007 Pinot Noir and 2009 Pinot Gris.

Sold Out

Friday, Jul 16th, 2010

 

Due to an unanticipated boon in sales, I regret to inform that our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2008 Sauvignon Blanc are now sold out.  Maybe all this hot weather is making people really thirsty.

To build a library of past vintages I’ve decided to hold back a few cases of each red wine that we produce.  I intend to personally monitor the aging process of these wines to determine when they are drinking best.  A relatively new wine region like ours has little knowledge of the long term aging potential of our reds.  Wines are generally drunk young, and perhaps ahead of their best days.  I hope to shed some light on this age-old conundrum.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to crack a bottle of our 2004 Cab Sauv at a dinner with family and friends. Upon nosing and tasting, I cooly expressed my pleasant surprise to the group (privately I was downright giddy) at the immense progress this wine had made since the last time I tried it 6 months ago.  I would encourage those who still have a bottle of the ’04 in their cellar to give it a try sometime soon with a nice red meat dish.  It’s also a goal of mine to keep our regular customers abreast of the development of these wines through invite-only vertical tastings.  I’ve also held back some unfiltered versions of each vintage, which would be fun to try at these events as well.  Stay tuned to the blog for details.

For a limited time it’s still possible to purchase the 2008 Sauv Blanc and 2005 Cab Sauv at our great stable of Licensees, which now includes Spencer’s at the Waterfront in Burlington, About Thyme Bistro in Vineland, and Langdon Hall in Cambridge.

Zoltan Szabo Reviews

Friday, Jan 15th, 2010

 

Sommelier Zoltan Szabo is a jack of all trades on the Toronto wine scene.  A wine consultant, writer and educator, his vast enological knowledge has been proven time and again through consistently high finishes at International Sommelier competitions.  His dashing personality and skill with the pen make him a personal favourite of mine.  For that reason, I was slightly starstruck to receive an email from Zoltan wishing to try our wines. Casting jitters aside, I had him try our current Five Rows portfolio.  Here are his thoughts:

“The wines are clean, varietally really accurate, honestly-made, not ambitious nor over-blown stylistically speaking, all natural with unmistakable signs of the love of land and winemaking passion.”

2008 Pinot Gris Five Rows, Lowrey Vineyards, St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula VQA

Tastefully done package, some label descriptors are hand-written, also indicating the exact count of the bottle you are tasting, in this case the 112th. The colour has a tiny tint of cooper, characteristic of the grape. Aromas of white peach and pear, white blossoms and spice. Medium bodied with slight oily texture, sweet white summer fruit and orange toffee-nutty flavours, and a pretty long star anise, mineral-accented finish. 57 cases produced. $25.

4 stars out of 5.

2008 Sauvignon Blanc Five Rows, Lowrey Vineyards, St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula VQA

Lime, kiwi, lemon tree blossom bouquet. Light and fresh over the palate with savoury fruit and mineral flavors and the finish brings along very pleasant honeydew melon nuances. A delicate Sauv Blanc here, perfect with pure, Willapa Bay Kumamoto oysters. 64 cases produced.

4 stars out of 5.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Five Rows, Lowrey Vineyards, St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula VQA

Classic, old world-style Cab Sauv with aromas and flavours of blueberries, plums, currants, white pepper, tobacco and underlying scorched earth and gamey notes that I seem to find in many of St. David’s Bench reds. Medium plus bodied and dry with soft, melted-in tannins and with neat accents of boysenberries, tar-bitter chocolate and herbaceous finish. Drinking very well right now. 45 cases produced.

4 + stars out of 5.

You can read Zoltan’s blog and find more of his reviews at zoltanszabo.org.

2008 Sauvignon Blanc

Thursday, Nov 12th, 2009

2008 Sauvignon Blanc:

Crafting aromatic white wines requires good fruit, patience and above all temperature control!  In small wineries like ours we aren’t afforded the luxury of temperature-controlled tanks to aid in maintaining the ideal fermentation conditions.   Instead, my barrels of 2008 Sauv Blanc went on a merry-go-round tour of our barn for about a month until ferment was over.  First outside to settle after pressing, then inside to warm for yeast inoculation, quickly into the cold room as the the ferment really starts to rock, back out of the cold room to finish-up as yeast start to become stressed, finally back into cold room at 4 Celsius to stop ferment at the desired sugar-acid balance.

I decided to use a yeast called X5 for this wine because it boasts to “help reveal varietal aromas rich in citrus, boxtree and tropical fruit while contributing light fresh floral notes”.  In the early stages it was apparent that X5 was the right choice.   I was impressed with the  lychee and pineapple aromatics that got stronger with each successive day.  There was still some classic cool-climate Sauv Blanc citrus (lime zest) detectable as well, with hints of vanilla, fig and flint.  The use of older French oak barrels was most evident on the palate, softening the edges of this zesty wine. Bottled on September 14th, 2009.

Cases: 64                   Alcohol:  12.0%              Price: $25/bottle

The Joys of Hand Labour

Tuesday, Jul 07th, 2009

 

To me, a day spent grunting your way through hard, manual labour offers the ultimate in satisfaction.  Granted, there is the physical pain, the mental fatigue and the dragging hours – but at the end of that day you can look back and be proud of what you’ve accomplished, however big or small.

I am truly at peace when working in the vineyard.  It’s a time of introspection and reflection blended with intense focus on the job at hand.  This is where the “feel” aspect of viticulture comes into play.  I don’t know if I actually think about what I’m doing anymore, it just sort of comes naturally.   Years of suckering, thinning, shoot positioning and leaf removal have transformed me into a grape-trellising robot of sorts.

There are many levels of satisfaction involved with vineyard hand labour.  First is the feeling that you are helping the vine by removing excess growth.  There is also the visual appeal of a clean and vertically positioned vine versus a chaotic canopy.  As a neat freak I have an extremely low tolerance for chaos, so bringing order to the vineyard gives me a special joy.  Finding a proper spot for each shoot and grape bunch within the canopy is an important job that I am currently undertaking.   Large amounts of rain have made that canopy extremely crowded, and the job gets exponentially  harder each day as the vine starts growing laterally at a rapid pace.  I tend to perceive each vine as a puzzle that needs to be solved, which really gets my creative juices flowing.  The pictures below give you a good “before and after” look at our Sauvignon Blanc.

The advent of the iPod has added yet another enjoyment level to this work.  I find that the right song at the right time can elicit crazy emotions ranging from pride to the depths of sadness.  Ultimately, it helps break the monotony and makes the job go by quicker.  Working alone allows me to sing as loud as I want and even throw in the odd dance move if the mood strikes.

Finally, there is a weird spiritual vibe you get while working on a farm that dates back many generations.  You can’t help but feel many indelible ties to the past.  I must admit that there are days when I feel a definite presence alongside me while working among the vines.  It can be in the damp chill of an early morning fog, the flight of a majestic hawk and sometimes in the faint smell of pipe tobacco.  Hard to explain, but usually very vivid and strangely calming.

I feel lucky to be able to spend my summer days in the vineyard.  Being able to positively effect our 2009 vintage on a daily basis via my method of choice is a luxury that few winemakers are afforded.  It’s one of the things that makes Five Rows unique among wineries.

chaos

 

David Lawrason Review

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

 

We are very humbled to have David Lawrason review our wines.  He is a very prominent Canadian wine writer whose opinions are held in the highest regard within our industry.  Here is what David had to say about our wines:

Five Rows Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
89 points
Only two barrels were produced of this inaugural wine – 45 cases, which sold
out quickly. Lowrey Vineyards has been farmed for five generations, but this
is the first wine; and a dandy.  It is a light cabernet sauvignon but very
tasty and savoury with lifted, well integrated aromas of red currant,
raspberry, tea, mocha and spice. It’s very supple, smooth and juicy on the
palate with very soft tannin and excellent length.

Five Rows Sauvignon Blanc 2007
91 points
Only 47 cases were produced from a vineyard but this is very much worth
mentioning for the quality that has been rendered by grower Wes Lowrey’s
first vintage. These grapes have also supplied Creekside’s successful
sauvignons. Fermented in old French oak this  has an almost impeccably
smooth, creamy yet not the least fat texture. The nose is ripe, fresh, light
spicy and semi-tropical (I thought immediately of Cloudy Bay) with
lemon-lime, green melon and vaguely minty notes. Very focused on the finish
with excellent length. Very classy wine.

Five Rows Pinot Gris 2007
88 points
From fully ripened grapes this a mellow, mild, richly textured pinot gris
with fruit aromas in the realm of green fig, green banana and ripe pear.
It’s full bodied, very smooth and satiny on the palate with a warm, slightly
sweet ambiance. Very good length.

www.davidlawrason.com