The Rural Voice, 1982-12, Page 12Every grower is looking for that unique plant to produce more This Gamay growing
at Chateau des Charmes near Niagara -on -the -Lake. is a mutant and grew eight feet
straight up before needing some support. The buds from this plant will be grafted
onto new root stalk to produce more plants.
signifies. A label may bear the year if 85
per cent of that wine was made from that
year's excellent harvest. The quality will
depend on the grape and the body of the
wine will vary from year to year.
When the wine cannot stand on its own
it may be blended for a more consistent
quality.
A varietal wine or one that identifies
the variety of grape must contain 75 per
cent of that particular variety with the
remainder a blend from the same classifi-
cation.
Estate bottled wine is made from grapes
grown in vineyards controlled by the
winery.
PG. 12 THE RURAL VOICE/DECEMBER 1982
Chateau Des Charmes wine are avail-
able through the Liquor Control Board
and if they are not available in your
nearest outlet, ask the manager to place a
special order for you.
We were impressed to learn at how
many restaurants and hotels across the
country serve Chateau Des Charmes
wines including the CN Tower Res-
taurant, Toronto, the Chateau Laurier
Hotel in Ottawa, and now Air Canada
serves Gamay Beaujolais on their first
class flights between Toronto and London
England.
What to try first is a hard question. We
tried the Primeur Rouge which is a blend
of Gamay Villared and Pinot Noir. It is a
remarkably smooth red with a full body
and pleasant aftertaste. For this arresting
flavour we paid $4.90 for a 750 ml. bottle.
Also well received was a white Gamay
Beaujolais priced at $6.50. It has excellent
colour, light alluring scent and was crisp
and clean on the palate.
Their Reisling is hard to come by as it
generally sells out first in many locations.
Keep your eyes open for Sentinel Blanc,
Sentinel Rouge, Chardonnay, Cour
Blanc, and Cour Rouge.
Our second tour for the day was with
Brights Winery which is the second oldest
firm in Canada. We would recommend
that only one tour of wineries be
under -taken in a day as we were boggled
with all the information we took in at
both locations.
Brights markets a wide variety of wines
with their most popular being their White
House wine. Taste in wine has swung
from sweet bubbly blends to much drier
varieties and the industry has taken steps
to fill the demand.
The Brights representative said the
Canadian consumer has become more
educated when it comes to wines and is
not leaving wine drinking for special
occasions only.
Once 1300 acres were under cultivation
by the firm but are now either sold or
leased to smaller growers who sell their
crop back to Brights. The firm has
retained 50 acres for experimental pur-
poses. Brights crushes 15,000 tons of
grapes per year.
The firm has been innovative and has
repeatedly offered new wines. Their latest
edition is Baron Ludwig which is a
German style wine with 9 per cent alcohol
by volume. As a matter of convenience,
the wine is bottled with a screw cap and
comes in both 750 ml. bottles and
magnums.
For dieters, Brights have introduced a
low calorie wine this year which can be
served by itself with a twist of lemon or
over ice. Right now promoters are hoping
the wine will not be considered a summer
drink only but will be enjoyed all year
round.
After our tours we sampled both the
wineries finest and both offered their
products for sale in their own outlets.
Here is a list of other winery locations
and their times. It would be wise to phone
ahead if planning a trip to make sure
someone is on hand to show you around
the winery.
Colio Wines is on Walker Road (county
road 11) just on the outskirts of Harrow.
Just newly opened you can call 726-5317
in Windsor or 738-2241 in Harrow.
Charal is halfway between Blenheim