My least favourite part of wine tasting is the spitting. First of all, it’s not as easy as it looks. Secondly, I’ve always been a bit of a priss and I think horking in public ranks pretty high vulgarity scale — perhaps the equivalent of puking from a moving taxi.
But the thing I enjoy least about spitting is that it creates awkward social moments at wine shows. I recently attended Vintages’ trade exposition for VQA Ontario wines. Each winery had its own booth, and the winemakers poured the samples. On each booth was a spit bucket. The stalls belonging to the best wineries were densely thronged with people, while the mediocre ones were barren, with the winemakers uncomfortably waiting for someone to pay them some attention.
I wanted to try the best wine I could find, but when it came time to spit, the busy booths were always too crowded, so I was continually forced toward the unpopular stalls. Each time, the winemakers face would light up as I approached — and I would smile apologetically and spit at him, before walking away to get some better wine.
The wine show featured many bottles from the superb 2007 vintage. Here are my top picks — wines to swallow, not spit:
13th Street Winery 2007 Gamay Noir Sandstone Old Vines ($26.00, [Ed.note: 2007 no longer available] from winery)
13th Street’s “regular” Gamay just appeared in Vintages to rave reviews by the Globe’s Beppi Crosariol — and consequently it vanished in just a few days. This “Old Vines” is the big brother to that excellent wine, and big brother is BIG. Although Gamay can at times be a superficial red grape, in 13th Street’s hands, it is rich and complex. It has a stupendous nose of pepper and plumbs. The palate stands out because it has a gorgeous, almost stratified texture: there are layers of dark fruit accented by smoke and liquorice. Completely satisfying — great bargain. 93/100
Jackson Triggs 2007 Delaine Vineyard Puncheon Pinot (available from winery [Ed. note: No longer available])
This wine was not actually at the trade show because Jackson Triggs only produced 150 cases. However, it was just released by JT, exclusively for sale at their winery. It justifies the trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake; I think it’s the best wine they’ve ever made. This is a dark, brooding style of Pinot, with dense (but not jammy) fruit that evolves within your mouth, exposing a lot of raw and powerful flavours, like tar, pine, rubber and bark. A few years of maturation will mellow it out. 92/100
Le Clos Jordanne 2007 Talon Ridge Chardonnay ($37.00 [Ed. note: 2007 no longer available], Vintages #143974)
Le Clos Jordanne hardly needs more press, but this bottle stood head and shoulders above all others as the best Chardonnay at the show. Le Clos has four distinct vineyards — the Talon produces the fruitiest wine of them all. As a result, this bottle has a generous hit of citrus and tropical flavours, all wrapped in Le Clos’s characteristic oakiness. It is a beautifully articulated wine: generous but also outrageously vivacious. 93/100