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Wine Appreciation Through Education |
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4888 Ontario Street North Beamsville, Ontario L0R 1B3 (905) 563-6500 |
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| The choice of name for Beamsville's newest winery could not have been more prophetic. The winery has yet to roll out its first batch of VQA wines and still has managed to snag five awards. Of six wines that were submitted to the Ontario Wine Awards' May judging, four of them brought home medals -- an impressive showing for a winery that has most most of their first vintage still in tanks and barrels. |
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Impressive wine is nothing new for winemaker Andrezej Lipinski. Andrezej made quite a stir when, as assistant winemaker at Vineland Estates, his 1998 Chardonnay took the top prize at Vinitaly. Humble to a fault, Andrezej says that winning the award was "nice." Owner Paul Lizak is a third-generation fruit farmer. The winery produces an umber of fruit wines for 2002 and these are featured in the winery boutique. The winery is located at a the north end of Ontario Street, surrounded by orchard and vineyard. The plan is to convert most of the nearby orchard to vineyard and to build a modern facility and restaurant overlooking the lake. |
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I visited the winery on a Tuesday afternoon with the goal of documenting enough good wines to make interesting reading. I missed that goal for the best possible reason. After tasting the already-bottled white wines at the tasting bar, I was turned over to Andrezej who took me on a barrel-by-barrel tour. The wines I was treated to were of the type that cause one to forget to take notes. Let me just say that we went from superlative to superlative, finishing off with the Reserve reds, which I think could easily be sold on a subscription basis. These wines are, in a word, awesome...perhaps even the stuff of legend. |
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Pale almond gold. Novel aromas of spice, melon, and pine bough. Quite complex, crisp, with a lemony acidity. Starts off almost sweet but finishes dry, with tart orange flavours. Good body and very good length. Easy on the palate, crisp and tasty with just the right touch of sweetness up front.Should be very food friendly. Try with ocean fish, cream sauces or Oriental foods. |
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Pale yellow gold colour. Aromas of peaches, apricot and hints of honey. Crisp and clean with tart apple flavours and a firm citrusy spine. Very good body and length with a lemony finish. A new world style that easily displays its quality. Try with pork. |
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Pale almond-straw. Rich aromas of dried pear, perfume, grapefruit, and banana. Crisp, barely off-dry, with a lemony finish. Medium-plus body and length. Very well done. |
| Chardonnay Musque VQA 2002 - $12.00 | Mid lemony-gold colour. A riot of fruity aromas including grapefruit, apricot, muscat and orange zest. Spicy and welcoming. Quite sweet on the palate with a citrusy spine. Creamy and mouthfilling--full bodied, very long and spicy. A gold medal winner--no surprise. Try with BBQ chicken or perhaps turkey. |
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These wines are due to be bottled by mid-2003. I will revisit the winery and update my notes. |
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Rich tropical fruit flavours and just a hint of butter. Finesse driven. |
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Very elegant with just a touch of light oak. Andrezej used a light toast on his all French oak barrels. |
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Crisp, energetic with pure, somewhat understated Gewurz character. |
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This is Pinot, with a twist: There's tannin in here, enough to enable this wine to age for years. Quite yummy. |
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Andrezej obviously loves tannin, but it must be soft and approachable.Mouthwatering. |
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One of the best red wines I've tasted out of Niagara. Huge berries, silky smooth with a robust tannic spine. Offering price is a mere $28! |
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Much like the Reserve Merlot, but a tad softer.Yummy |
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Tasting Date: May 6, 2003 |
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