Finding Riesling and Gamay in the Niagara Escarpment & Back 10 Cellars

The Canadian Province of Ontario consists of four major wine regions: Lake Erie North Shore, Prince Edward County, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Niagara Escarpment & Twenty Valley. Whereas Niagara-on-the-Lake (40 wineries) was the birthplace of Ontario’s modern wine industry, the largest and most populous region is the Niagara Escarpment & Twenty Valley (47 wineries).  "The Niagara Escarpment (a ridge carved by ancient glaciers) is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve" for not only the  hundreds of plant and animal species, but also includes  Niagara Falls and the distinctive micro-climate that supports Ontario’s most active wine region.

While driving from Buffalo to Toronto to catch the Nationals-Blue Jays series our craft beer-centric group stopped at one of these active wineries Back 10 Cellars just outside Beamsville. We only had a few minutes at the tasting room but we learned that the name refers to the 10 acre estate and that it took the owners 10 years to produce their first bottle of wine. The wines are mostly produced from this estate which is farmed utilizing some organic and biodynamic practices and hand harvested. Since there was no time for a formal tasting we grabbed bottles of three wines I thought would be interesting and representative of the region. Cheers to UncorkOntario for the tip and as always you can explore Wine Country Ontario using theCompass Craft Beverage Finder.

The Big Reach 2017 (CA$22.95) This Riesling was crafted from whole pressed free run” juice. It is off dry but the sugar isn't noticeable as the wine's acidity compensates. It shows a delicious combination of citrus, ripe apples, and petrol.

Smitten Sparkling 2017 (CA$24.95) This Riesling sparkling wine is produced using the Charmat process where the secondary fermentation occurs in sealed pressurized tanks. Like the still version, the Smitten's acidity blows by any hint of sweetness and shares common characteristics sans the petrol.

Everything At Stake Gamay 2017 (CA$24.95) The Gamay for this wine was sourced from the Bonamo Vineyard in the same Lincoln Lakeshore DVA. After fermentation the wine is aged four months in neutral American Oak and helps provide a lighter bodied fruit forward wine with soft but chewy tannins and powerful acids. An acid hound's dream and popular among this beer drinking crowd.

Highlights of the 2018 SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience

The 2018 SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience hosted by the Brewer's Association and held at D.C.'s National Building Museum presented consumers with over 180 craft beers in a multitude of styles. The breweries represented the entire
American industry from two Hawaiian breweries to the continent from New Mexico and Arizona, through Oklahoma to Vermont and Maine. Despite being heavy in IPA's, sours, and barrel aged beers, some of these breweries  poured palate cleansing lagers such as Hawaii's Kohola Brewery and their mineral driven Lokahi Pilsner. Likewise, cheers to more German Pilseners from Maine's Boothbay Craft Brewery Block of Time and Seattle's Cloudburst Brewing Happy Little Clouds. There were also a plethora of pale ales like Maryland's RAR Brewing's Slip Ons, Tampa Bay Brewing's Reef Donkey, and Night Shift Brewing's Whirlpool. Fifteen years ago these pales ales were the heaviest beers around but are  and now competing with IPAs for attention.

Sour beers were once again SAVOR's rising trend, (I'd estimate that at least a quarter of the offerings) with traditional Gose joined by experimental brews, fruited beers, and wood aged sours. Brewery Ommegang's Faith & Fortitude was mentioned in a previous post as well as the SAVOR collaboration beer Brett de Vinum. However, my favorite of the evening
 were the Arizona Wilderness Brewing Sonoran Prince (Fruited wood-aged sour) and Lexington Kentucky's West Sixth Brewing Sixfold X: Flanders Red (wood-aged sour). The former is an extraordinarily delicious sour ale fermented in French oak with local Florida Prince peaches and inoculated with various cultures. Evidently the native yeast on the peach skins add more layers. The West Sixth Flanders is a red sour ale that packs tremendous flavors (think tart cherry and back in the barnyard) using just malted barley, hops, water, yeast and 18 months aging in oak barrels. Honorable mentions go to Vermont's Four Quarters Brewing Fleur de Lis American Sour, The Lost Abbey's Veritas, Denver's Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project Sour Rosé, Dogfish Head's Mixed Media (ale brewed with grape must). I see a wine theme there.

Barrels were also prevalent through aging darker beers in used spirits vessels. I use spirits since bourbon wasn't the only option. Colorado's Cheluna Brewing Company ages their Benito's Imperial Stout in Mezcal barrels from Oaxaca, Mexico. Hints of agave envelope the sweet and toasty toffee malt. Long lines lead to another unique pour with Vermont's Lawson's Finest Liquids Fayston Maple Imperial Stout aged in Canadian Whiskey barrels. This powerful beer is
 brewed with organic pale malt and nearly two gallons of local  maple syrup in each barrel. In addition Central Waters Brewing, from Wisconsin poured an excellent Bourbon Barrel Stout as did Colorado's Joyride Brewing with their Bourbon Barrel Aged Dr. Friese's Breakfast Stout. Yet the highlight came from Oklahoma City and COOP Ale Works. The Sooner State may be behind the national beer trend, but COOP poured two remarkable strong beers: 2017 Territorial Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Wild Wheat Wine Honey Ale and 2017 Cask-It Series Rye Barrel Aged DNR. The later is made from both malted and unmalted wheat, local alfalfa honey, and fermented wild yeast before resting in old bourbon barrels. The former has even more flavor as the rye imparts spicy characters into the Belgium Dark Strong Ale. Sadly, you have to get to Oklahoma City to enjoy these two.


There were obviously many other quality beers not reviewed and which I didn't even get a chance to imbibe. Fortunately the Brewer's Association provides this opportunity to sample such a wide range of styles from such a divers geographic region. Cheers.

SAVOR 2018: Blended Beer From Blenderie Ommegang

If you are a fan of Brewery Ommegang's Three Philosophers blended beer then you would be interested to know that the Cooperstown New York brewery has launched Blenderie Ommegang, a project focused entirely on very small-batch blended beers. Since the 2002 release of Three Philosophers, the brewery has released other blended beers using combinations of barrel-aged dubbels or two very different saisons or even a mix of stainless steel-aged lactic sours such as in the Pale Sour. According to Ommegang Brewmaster Phil Leinhart, “with blending, we can create flavors and layers of complexity that are otherwise impossible to achieve".

Using this philosophy, Blenderie Ommegang will release blended beers in a more timely fashion with the first two releases in the series blended with beers from two of Ommegang’s sister breweries in the Duvel Moortgat family: Liefmans Craft Blenders in Belgium and Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Barrelworks in Buellton, California. “With access to a range of beers from world-class breweries, we can multiply the possibilities and take full advantage of the amazing talents within the family,” explained Ommegang President Doug Campbell.

The initial blend Faith & Fortitude debuted at the annual SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience and is a combination of aged sour ales and farmhouse saisons. It weights in at a moderate 6.5% ABV and hit several fruit notes from tropical to citrus to stone fruits enveloped with a saison funk. The beer finishes dry and savory.

Look out for the upcoming second release, Zen & Zymurgy, a mixed fermentation sour with a delicate saison base and four distinct yeast cultures. In the meanwhile I'll be headed to Norms to bring home a few 750s of Faith & Fortitude. Cheers.