A Provincial Review: Taste Ontario! 2023
62 wineries gathered with wine trade and media at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto on April 12th to celebrate Taste Ontario! From start to finish the energy in all corners of the room was at a consistent high as Ontario’s wine industry from all sectors were buzzing with passion and excitement.
This year’s event centered around Wine Country Ontario’s theme of Secrets from the Cellar, where wineries had the chance to showcase not only a few wines from their currant repertoire, but also an aged bottle from the winery’s library. This theme proved to be a significant portrayal of how our province’s high-quality wines can develop such elegance, freshness, and complexities with bottle age. From Tawse Robyn’s Block Chardonnay 2013, to Southbrook’s 1998 Poetica Cabernet/Merlot blend, to Stratus’ 2006 White, the aged bottles being poured were a clear declaration of age worthiness for Ontario wines. Even 2016 Courtney Gamay from Malivoire had stood the test of the time to evolve into a delicious manifestation of Shiraz Mottiar’s winemaking ability.
Much to my delight, there was a blind-tasting component for attendees to partake in at their leisure that consisted of four VQA wines. Participants were asked to identify not only the grape, but the winery, winemaker, sub-appellation, residual sugar level, and alcohol. This was such a fun addition to the event!
From my overall tasting experience of Taste Ontario! it’s clear to see that winemaker’s are continuing to take more original and unique stylistic approaches with their wines, where their character coupled with the terroir are becoming focal points of interest. Wines are more focused, winemakers are tapping into their creativity, and showing an extensive reach of well-crafted, quality wines.
Winemaker Mackenzie Brisbois of Trail Estate is a prime example. She excels in her winemaking style through expertise for off-beat wine, such as Pet Nat and Orange Wine, by elevating those styles into a high-quality bracket that are distinct to her winemaking touch. Therianthopy winemaker David Eiberg is another example. David focuses on site-specific, organically farmed, low intervention wines. This includes his low to zero sulphite additions, and no fining/filtering methods that leaves his raw wines with a charismatic defined signature.
The classic winemaking styles and techniques are becoming much more centered and precise, leaving no room for doubt that we make some of the best examples in the world of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Riesling (just to name a core four). Winemakers working with these grapes are truly honing their craft as it’s reflected among so many Ontario producers across all appellations. Bachelder, Westcott, Closson Chase, Leaning Post, Flat Rock - I can’t boast enough about how immaculate Ontario cool climate Pinot Noir is!
Modern and classic wines alike, I fully appreciate winemakers that are doing commendable jobs of showcasing the best on both ends of this spectrum. The Media Tasting Room this year truly shed light on Ontario’s cool climate Chardonnay. Through Traditional Method sparkling, and still wine, Chardonnay is being showcased at an all-time high from each appellation. There also seemed to be a more significant showing of full-bodied red blends that provide a revamped, elegant new take on an old style.
This year’s event was packed with standout wines! One new-to-me wine that stuck with me was a Wingfield Gamay from winemaker Jeff Moote under his new label Divergence Wines. This was a serious example of how excellent Ontario Gamay can be from our cru vineyards and has me very hopeful about the future of this grape in our province.
Stay tuned for more on my favourite Ontario VQA wines as I work on bringing reviews for all the incredible wines of the day. As always, I’m eager to share them and tell their stories.
A huge thank you to Wine Country Ontario for an amazing day!
