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vee queue eh
21 Jan 07
Ah, Ontario. A place to stand and a place to grow. And what do we grow here? Why grapes, of course. What, you mean when you think Ontario the first thing you think isn’t grapes? Shame.
I made an impulse buy today, leaving the grocery store. There’s some back story, though. See, I’ve been trying to drink more lately. Kind of a New Year’s resolution. What I like to drink best is red wine, and a few nights ago I opened a bottle of Pelee Island Shiraz Cabernet. I’d been avoiding this bottle for two reasons: Pelee Island is in Ontario, and Shiraz is, well, Shiraz. But you know, it wasn’t bad at all. Can the magic of Cabernet dispel the torpor of Shiraz? Apparently.
So I made an impulse buy today. There’s a little wine shop just outside my grocery store. In Ontario, you can only buy booze in three ways: Beer, wine, and spirits can be purchased through the government-owned LCBO; beer can be purchased at the heavily regulated, beer-industry owned Beer Store; and wine can be purchased in a few specially licensed locations, usually attached to but separate from grocery stores. These wine stores are limited by regulation to selling the wines of Ontario wineries. And today I got distracted by the shiny red “sale” signs. I decided to take a chance on a bottle of Inniskillin Cabernet Merlot (2003) that was marked down from $14.95 to $9.95. Why not, eh.
But the fun had only begun. I remembered I had $50 worth of LCBO gift cards lying around, and so I went out this afternoon and spent them. Here is a list of today’s wines, including the above-mentioned, just because:
- Ancient Coast Baco Noir VQA Ontario
- Colio Estates Cabernet Sauvignon VQA Ontario
- Inniskillin Cabernet Merlot
- Pelee Island Cabernet Franc VQA Ontario
- Salmon River Cabernet Merlot VQA Niagara Peninsula
- Willow Heights Baco Noir VQA Ontario
VQA is a quality designation that guarantees the wine is made entirely of grapes grown in a specific region. Only the Inniskillin lacks this designation, which is odd, because on the Inniskillin web site there are a 2004 and a 2002 Cabernet Merlot that are both VQA. 2003 must’ve been a bad year for the appropriate local grapes.
I’m also a little confused by the other wines that are designated VQA Ontario. If I read Inniskillin’s explanation of VQA correctly, they should be designated Niagara Peninsula, Pelee Island, or Lake Erie North Shore. Perhaps the Ontario designation means the grapes came from more than one Ontario region, but isn’t the whole point to distinguish among them? Wine is about nothing if not distinction.
At any rate, a glass of the Inniskillin sits beside me now, and it’s good enough. Hint of this with a finish of that. You know, drinkable. And that’s all I ask.
Glad it was on sale, though.
Posted by pzed on January 21, 2007 at 9.03pm
Categories: cyrenaics, every day
Comments on "vee queue eh"
I have been trying to get myself to drink more red wine. I dislike it greatly, in general, but every once in a while someone puts something in front of me that’s delicious. As I like it, it’s probably plonk. Nonetheless, maybe I shall just have to break down and list it all, with opinions. Maybe we need a Wino Cell Phone night.
YYYYYYYYy-Eye eye eye eye—en en en -oh! Wonderful WINO! LOL. ::wipes eyes:: Old George Carlin routine. You had to be there, and it probably helped that I was 12. ::laughs::
Posted by Merouda on January 22, 2007 at 8.48pm :: link
[...] Well, the Inniskillin I discussed previously turns out to be rot gut. It tastes ok, and smells ok, and goes down ok, but it doesn’t seem to go anywhere after that, so that each glass I’ve had (only ever one at a time, in the evening) seems to wake me up around 3am just to say “hi, remember me?” [...]
Posted by words » Blog Archive » one down, five to go on January 26, 2007 at 10.38pm :: link
Chances are that the Inniskillin wine to which you’re referring contained 30% Canadian wine (and therefore 70%). Depending on its year, it may have been 99% foreign. Deceptive? Yes. If it was not “VQA”, it was “Cellared in Canada”.
I’m searching for people to work with me on promoting authentic (and quality) Canadian wine, as well as nice wines from other parts of the world, which are properly labelled. Feel free to contact me at 905-688-5270, and we’ll chat. Thanks!
Ivan Stephen
Posted by Ivan Stephen on March 1, 2008 at 12.00am :: link
