JANE’S COUPS DE COEUR

CHÂTEAU DU MOULIN NEUF, AOC MÉDOC, 2018 , LOT 2929, WEB EXCLUSIVE DOMAINE LA VOÛTE DU VERDUS, CUVÉE LE GRAND SAUT, AOP LANGUEDOC, 2018, LOT 2922, WEB EXCLUSIVE

NEW – BORGO LA CACCIA NERONE CABERNET, DOC GARDA, 2019, LOT 2854, WEB EXCLUSIVE

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EVERYDAY DRINKING CELLARING POTENTIAL

Canadian François Morissette makes wines from organically grown grapes with minimal intervention, no fining or filtration, little use of sulphur and matures them in old oak, giving many of his wines a savoury edge. The impact of vintage conditions on style can be marked with the 2018 Dix-Neuvième Chardonnay, a whole 1.5% lower in alcohol at 12% than previous vintages at 13.5%. The Prince Edward County Appellation on the north shore of Lake Ontario is Ontario’s most northern Appellation with vineyards on stony soils over limestone bedrock. In 2000, the region had no commercial wineries; today it is home to 29. One such winery is Karlo Estate at Hillier, set up by Sherry Karlo and her late husband Richard. Wines are made by Derek Barnett, previously at Lailey in Niagara and whom I met there back in 2014. Karlo Estate produces a broad range of 25 wines including some fortified wines. My particular favourites of those recently tasted are the 2018 Pinot Noir, Quintus 2018, a blend of five Bordeaux varietals, the white Three Witches 2018 made up of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Gewurztraminer, and Bubble – a sparkling wine made from Sauvignon and Semillon. Sherry Karlo is a diehard vegan, and all the wines are suitable for vegans, down to the vegetable inks used on wine labels and the glue used to stick them onto the bottles. But you certainly don’t have to be vegan to enjoy Karlo Estate's offerings! British Columbia is more diverse than Ontario and has its own set of difficulties to overcome. In particular the Okanagan Valley couldn’t be more different than conditions in Ontario. The south of the valley is arid desert due to the Coastal Mountain range to the west that acts as a rain shield. I was horrified to learn on a visit that there are rattlesnake nests in the vineyards. Lakes once again play a role with the glacial Okanagan Lake acting as a warming influence in winter to vineyards planted close by. Climate change, drought, water restrictions and wildfires are a reality as witnessed by particularly high temperatures recorded Western Canada this year. Yet British Columbia has seen a fivefold increase in its wineries from about 60 in 2000 to around 300 now, and there are some impressive wines. Canadian winemakers, like winemakers all around the world, have to contend with the issues that Mother Nature throws at them, but here, these issues are more extreme than in many other regions. There are also man-made issues. Legislation, taxes and restrictions on selling of wines across provinces are barriers to getting wines to end consumers and a report published by VQA Ontario and Deloitte in 2020 found that 36% of small wineries in Ontario were not profitable. Canadian winemakers are on a learning curve, requiring not only resilience but ingenuity, determination and pioneering spirit.

PEARL MORISSETTE NIAGARA VINEYARDS PRIMESAUTIER, VQA FOUR MILE CREEK, 2020, LOT 2897, P36 NEW – CASTELLO DI MAGIONE MORCINAIA, IGT UMBRIA, 2018, LOT 2864, WEB EXCLUSIVE