We owe Beppi Crosariol a debt of gratitude for resurrecting our blown down sign and ultimately introducing our winery to a great group of new people.
His kind words can be read here.
Beckta
Our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon took a road trip recently, and ended up finding a new home in our nation’s capital. Beckta Dining & Wine, on Nepean Street in Ottawa, is the latest member of our extended Five Rows family. I haven’t had the opportunity to dine there yet, but countless “foodie” acquaintances have assured me that our wine is in good hands. The refreshing philosophy at Beckta is to “change involved and sometimes intimidating culinary experiences into the comfortable and remarkable”. Sounds like my kind of place!
Closer to home, Five Rows was recently featured in an article by wine writer Rick VanSickle of the St. Catharines Standard. You can read it here.
A New Place to Taste
We are thrilled to announce that two of our wines (2004 Cabernet Sauvignon & 2007 Sauvignon Blanc) are now available at The Stone Road Grille in Niagara-on-the-Lake. “Rest” is a great supporter of local wines and consistently spoils its patrons with the finest of culinary delights to pair with them. In fact, some of my most memorable dining experiences were enjoyed at the Grille.
On a bittersweet note, we are now sold out of our 2007 Pinot Gris. A winemaker knows (hopes!) this day will come, but it always feels a little sad to know that this lot is gone for good. A business like ours doesn’t allow you to get sentimental though, as the next vintage is never too far away.
Experience our wine
A number of you have asked where you can experience our wines. The list of places to taste by the glass is now a little longer as we are pleased to announce the following establishments are selling Five Rows:
The Charles Inn – 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Treadwell’s / Snobs Wine Bar – 2007 Pinot Gris by the glass
Jamie Kennedy’s Wine Bar– 2004 Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon
Please support these friends of Five Rows and remember to write down your bottle numbers to enter into our bottle registry.
An opportunity to try our wines.
Many of you have expressed interest in trying our wines and I can now announce some exciting news to that end. We’ve decided to launch a limited, unfiltered version of our 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon in two special restaurants: Treadwell’s in Port Dalhousie and Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar in Toronto. After two great tastings with sommeliers James Treadwell (Treadwell’s) and Jamie Drummond & Krista Brodhurst (Jamie Kennedy), it became apparent that we all shared a similar passion for viticulturally-focused craft wine. I was pleased to hear that they understand the amount of work it takes to produce small lots of wine from heavily thinned crops. The sacrifice of quantity for quality is not friendly to the winery or vineyard bottom line, unless the resultant wines merit being sold in the Ultra-premium sector of the market. My meetings with these sommeliers gave me the confidence that we are proceeding in the right direction with our brand, and that all the risk and hard work will be worth it in the end.
Within the next couple of weeks, each restaurant will be allotted 12 bottles of the Unfiltered Cab featuring a limited edition label complete with detailed viticulture and winery notes. I can’t wait for your feedback.