Pages

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

If you own a restaurant can you help out

I received a request from Brock University to post this and I am happy to oblige. Basically it is a survey. It explains itself.  Please Contact Maxim Voronov if you have any queries.



I invite you to participate in a research project, entitled “The Role of Local Wine in the Ontario Restaurant Industry: Challenges and Opportunities.” This project aims to develop a better understanding of how restaurants like yours can increase their success and reputation in the market, as well as the role that Ontario wines might play in this process.

Some of the questions we hope to answer with this study are as follows: What tools can we develop that might enable restaurants to compete more effectively in their local markets? How can more effective relationships be developed between restaurants and various stakeholders, such as wineries, restaurant critics, or government agencies? What challenges and opportunities relate to promoting VQA wines? By analyzing the insights provided by you and other restaurant owners, managers, and sommeliers across Ontario, we can achieve scientific bases for answering these questions.

Would you please take approximately 15–20 minutes to complete the questionnaire at your earliest convenience? You can fill out the survey at www.bus.brocku.ca/winesurvey.

Please rest assured that your individual responses will be kept completely confidential. Our interest lies in the average responses of all participants, so neither you nor your company will ever be identified in any way in any written reports.

To express my sincere appreciation for your willingness to share your valuable time and thoughts with us, I will be happy to send you a personalized Executive Summary of the study’s findings that compares your responses with the average responses of the sample and thus can help you understand how your organization measures up against other restaurants. Completing the survey will automatically entitle you to a $10 gift certificate, redeemable at any LCBO store. Each respondent also will be part of a drawing for one of five $200 gift certificates to LCBO stores.

If you have any questions about this study or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you so much for your assistance. Your input will be instrumental to the success of this research.

Sincerely,

Maxim Voronov
---------
Maxim Voronov, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Strategic Management
Department of Marketing, International Business and Strategy
Faculty of Business
Brock University
500 Glenridge Ave.
St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1 Canada
Tel: (905) 688-5550, Ext. 5189
Fax: (905) 378-5716
E-Mail: mvoronov@brocku.ca
http://www.bus.brocku.ca/faculty/faculty.php?id=133&d=MIBS

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Where is the V.Q.(EH) !







                                                    You see the neck




You see the label









You see the back


The point of this is to show that it is now very difficult to tell whether or not a wine is V.Q.A.
With all the talk of Cellared in Canada wines misleading consumers about the Canadian content in a Canadian produced product, the V.Q. A. is now allowing the designation to be very inconspicuously displayed on the back. In my opinion this is a mistake. The V.Q.A. designation should be prominent  on the neck and the front label of a wine . It should be very easy to identify a V.Q.A. wine. I know that it may not make much difference if the wine is in a segregated section of a LCBO or of a winery that sells nothung else but the medallion is the brand and needs to stand out in amy other situation including things as mundane as putting empty bottles in your recycling box and passers by see it or your your returning your bottles to the beer store and the people behind you see thst your returning Ontario wine.
The Wine Council of Ontario will be voting on whether or not a lobbying effort should be introduced that will conentrate on advancing the interests of V.Q.A. wines. It will be held Nov 17 2009. I hope it passes because it is a vote for innovation and value added niche products. It will not however, look very good if this push is made and consumers have to scan all sides of a bottle to find a medallion that cetifies they are getting
a quality Ontario wine.









Sunday, October 25, 2009

Cellared in Canada

I have been holding back on commenting on the Cellared in Canada controversy  because I just felt I hadn't enough of the facts to make a cogent argument.
The way I see it, the core of this issue is the labelling of these wines. The term Cellared in Canada makes people think, who are unfamiliar with wine, they are getting  a Canadian product.  This is not right and should be changed. Nothing has been done about it for over a decade even though Canadian wine writers have brought it up from time to time. It's unfortunate that it took Jancis Robinson's  "great Canadian con" comments to actually stir up enough contrvorsey to force government  to change labelling regulations. I don't agree with her that Canadian wine can't be taken seriously otherwise.

This "con' has been going on for years but that hasn't stopped Canadian wineries from producing world class
home grown wines that win international competitions. The fact that awards have been won over and over again proves that high end quality made Canadian wines can be taken seriously.
In general I am not against Cellared in Canada wines (so long as lt is clearly labelled as to what they are made from). They provide an inexpensive drinkable (for the money) product for people to have during the week nights when they come home from a long day at work and want to have a glass of wine to relax.
I had a bulk wine section on the main wine dining site a decade ago and regularly purchased it from Magnotta and Vinoteca. Only time and distance prevents me from still doing it.
What I would like to see happen at the LCBO is a section called International Blends with three level designations on the label:. International (wines with less than 30% Canadian grapes), International-Canadian
(wines with 30% to 50% Canadian grapes) and Canadian-Intenational  (51% to 99% Canadian-grapes).

As far as the wasting of Ontario grapes that are not sold is concerned, I don't think there is an easy answer for this. All I can say is that vintners and growers should try to aim for niche markets through  innovation and their production of value added products. Government policy should also reflect this goal.. If growers and vintners feel they can make a living competing strictly on price then good luck to them and let them do so but they should also be aware that they must deal with market conditions as they stand and the consequences they entail.
The real wealth will come through innovation and the making of niche, value added products.

Here is an article I a couple of years ago that is related to this topic

VQA Explained
When you enter a LCBO store and you come across the section that sells Canadian wine, you see two categories; VQA and Cellared in Canada. I just want to give a brief explanation on what these terms are so that you have a little more knowledge when you are considering a purchase from a Canadian winery. If you want more information on VQA just click on the link further along in this article.



When wines are made, the location of the grapes can play a significant role in its price, taste and quality. Old World countries such as France and Italy have a system of classifying grapes so that consumers have an idea of where the fruit that made up the wine came from. In France it is called Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC), in Italy, Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). In both cases it is a system of rating the quality of the wine produced from the area of the country it came from. This system does not provide a guarantee that a consumer will automatically like the wine they try if they purchase one based on the designation the appellation system has given it, but at least it will assure the consumer that the grapes came from the area mentioned (if it is on the label). The grapes from each area are associated with a certain level of quality. (Again, please do not confuse this with a certainty that you will like the wine.)



Canadian wines have their own appellation system known as the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA). Originally an industry-organized entity, the VQA has become enshrined in law and is now the official appellation system used to verify origin and quality of Canadian wine. It operates out of Ontario and British Columbia and is administered separately in each province. I am going to focus on the two main designations for the Ontario VQA. They are the provincial and defined viticultural area.



The Ontario designation is less stringent and allows wineries not located in a designated viticultural area to carry the VQA label. Examples would be Ocala Orchards winery in Port Perry, northeast of Toronto, and the wineries of Prince Edward County in the Picton area (for the present anyway). To qualify, the grapes must meet minimum sugar levels that are set for each grape variety at harvest and also indicate on the label the year in which 85% of the grapes used in the wine were grown and be made of 100% Ontario grown grapes which are of an approved varietal. The more stringently defined viticultural area requires meeting minimum sugar levels that are set for each varietal at harvest. Eighty-five percent of the grapes used in a wine must come from a single designated vitcultural area (100% must be Ontario grown). The grapes used must be of approved vitis vinifera varieties and indicate on the label the year in which 85% of the grapes used in the wine were grown. The defined viticulture designation allows the winery to add additional label information of either estate bottled or the name of the vineyard where the fruit came from. (It must be 100% grown from the mentioned estate or vineyard).



When an area develops (like Prince Edward County) individuals with expertise and experience from the academic and Ontario wine communities are assigned to assess the suitability of a region and to define the area it will encompass. When it is determined that an area qualifies, then government regulation formalizes the viticulture designation.



The standards for the VQA designation are among the most stringent in a world. Wineries must apply and meet standards set for record keeping productions methods and vinification procedures. Every five months regular audits are performed on member wineries on these aspects, as well as checks on wines that have made claims for VQA approval to verify that they are consistent all along. Spot checks are made on wines that have already been granted VQA approval to ensure there has not been any alteration. All wines must be blind tested by a board of independent tasters to ensure that the characteristics associated with approved varietals are present. Any winery caught during an audit of falling short of standards set, can have their VQA designation revoked. Wineries can also be prosecuted if they use terms regulated by the VQA without approval.



There is another term used in labeling wines that consumers should be aware of and that is "Cellared In Canada" which essentially means that the wine can be made from any grapes sourced from any part of the world. The wine could be mostly from Canadian vineyards or literally from elsewhere, there is no way of telling by looking at the label. I don't like to tar all these wines with one brush as plonk, but I think it is fair to say though you have a higher chance of scoring a loser than you would otherwise.



There are no guarantees when you buy a VQA wine other than you know that it has met certain standards for quality and the grapes come from a Canadian vineyard. You could be just as liable to purchase a VQA wine and a Cellared in Canada wine and windup liking the second one better. In the end, all you can really do is try different wines and find the ones you like, but if you find that you like a certain VQA wine take satisfaction in knowing of all the extra steps the winemaker took to ensure that the product he made for you was a certified Canadian wine of quality

Monday, September 28, 2009

Reif Estate Winery Niagara on the Lake

Another video is up featuring Reif Estate Winery. It can be viewed on the Wine Dining Vlog or Wine Dining Channel. Go to the links on the side

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Stonechurch Vineyards Niagara on the Lake

The latest video on Stonechurch Vineyards is available for viewing on the Wine Dining Vlog or Wine Dining Channel. The links are on the side of this entry.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Welch's Grape Juice with a Kick

In early August we took a weekend venture to London Ontario and during that visit we took a side trip to Quai Du Vin Estate Winery in Elgin County, south of St Thomas. I wanted to get some inside footage to complete a segment I had shot several summers ago.
We tasted their Chardonnay and Riesling and we ordered some but what I want to talk about is their Concord wine. I have always been told that Concord grapes are fine for grape juice but not for making wine.
This varietal is native North American and is able to withstand the very cold winters that occur here and like all labrusca grapes the wines were terrible.
Well I got a big surprise. It was absolutely delicious. It was fruity as in grapey and semi sweet and had enough acidity to make it refreshing. It had 11% alcohol but I did not detect any heat.
It is not a table wine as the label says but it really is a wine cooler product as far as I'm concerned. Your not going to find complexity on the nose or the palate but to put it in a glass full of ice and then sip it on your back yard patio during a hot humid summer day is the ideal way to drink this.
Gary Vaynerchuk has said that if you want fruit juice then buy HI C , it is a hell of lot cheaper. I don't accept that concept, because although fruit juice is a lot cheaper, it isn't nearly as much fun.
The 6 bottles I purchased are now used up. If your near the winery check it out.
I have done a video tour of Quai Du Vin Estate Winery. You can check it out at the Wine Dining Vlog or Wine Dining Channel. The links are on the side
Click the title of this entry to get the winery's website

Friday, August 28, 2009

Industry Growing Pains

Recession Hitting Ontario Craft Wineries

Well as Ontario is gaining approximately 8 new wineries in Prince Edward County and 4 in Lake Erie North Shore (and probably more that I am not aware of in Niagara) we are also seeing some cracks in the operations of some wineries that have been on the block for a little while.
Thomas and Vaughan as well as Stonechurch Vinyards have been put up for sale because of financial difficulties and Steve Kocsis of Mountain Wine Company and Daniel Pambianchi of Maleta of Maleta Estate Winery discuss the finacial tribulations they are facing because of the current recession.
We visited Stonechurch recently and found it a very family oriented winery and had a great experience there.
I would be sad to see it go under.
An LCBO rebate program that was set in place to increase the wineries return on LCBO sales ended in march of this year. This has hurt Mountain Wine Company.
The saying that goes if you want to make a million dollars in a winery then start out with 10 million applies here. I have the utmost admiration for these winery operators who basically tie their nervous systems to a business that is not really known for its profit potential at the best of times.
Click the title and the link at the top of this entry for more specifics on this topic

Monday, August 24, 2009

Low Tar & Nicotine Ontario Amarone

The St Catherines Standard published on interesting article on the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program providing funding to Reif Estate Winery on three experimental projects.
Essentially tobacco drying kilns once used to dry out tobacco leaves will be used on wine grapes to make Amarula style wines, induce botrytis (noble rot) to produce sweet wines and to speed up and improve the quality of ice wine produced.
Its great to see innnovation so that Canadian wines can compete in special niche areas and create products of added value. I tried Ridgepoint Wines 2002 Nebbiolo  (Barolo style wine) and it was excellent in my view and was surprised that Canada could grow a grape that is normally associated with a warmer climate.
Having met Klaus Reif I found him to be a very down to earth gentleman. Now I can add the trait of innovator after reading this article.
Click the title of this entry to view the article

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Two Great Winery visits

A last minute over night trip to Prince Edward County recently and as usual it turns out a great experience.
We used Yahoo maps to locate Redtail Vineyards and it turned out that we got the milk run route. After going through the village of Consecon and then through several turns in country roads we find it. Later we find out that there is a direct turn off Highway 33 a little further south from where the map says to turn.
The winery is located on 11 acres. It is a narrow rectangular shape running north-northwest to south-southeast. the center is lower than both ends. On a gentle south facing slope the vines are planted in the northern half of the property.
A hedgerow of mature deciduous and fir trees on the northern edge wrap around the eastern side and protect the vineyard from harsh winds of winter.
Owners Pauline Joicey and Gilbert Provost have realized their dream of growing vines
in their own vineyard and are doing in an organic manner. The winery itself is solar powered and off the grid. Pauline was very open and friendly when we visited and Gilbert came up and introduced himself to me. They specialize in Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. We very much liked the samples tasted and this was reflected in our purchase of their product. Pauline mentioned that they were not a member of VQA because they were small but I replied that it wasn't mandatory to join if they make good wine. As far as I am concerned they are there now.
Redtail is one of the new "garagistes wineries" (small scale and hands on) that will be opening in 2009. You can see the video of this winery on the Wine Dining Vlog or Wine Dining Channel (just use one of the links on the side)

After our visit we had lunch in Wellington. Then we headed over to the Glenora Ferry and used it to get to Adolphus Reach. Crossing was fun and was very picturesque as we saw the treelined shores of both sides of Quinte Bay. It looked exactly like being in Muskoka (except for the eye sore gravel pit you could see down bay.)
A ten minute drive along Highway 33 and we were at Bergeron Estate Winery.
The winery is in a house that was originally rented out to tenants before it's current use. The owner Dave Bergeron was attending to some very friendly visitors from Quebec. I took a look around and saw the vineyards with several homes in the distance at the waterfront.
When the Quebec visitors left we were given the grand tour of the vineyards. Dave is one of the friendliest people you will ever meet and he gave us the lowdown on how he runs his winery. It is a part time thing for him, he commutes to Kingston for his full time job during the week and attends to the winery on the weekend. The winery will be his full time occupation when he retires. He showed us how he burys his vine to protect them from frost damage. There is a vacant five acre lot next door which he owns which will eventually be used to expand his vineyard to fifteen acres.
Dave came from a agricultural background and wanted to expose his children to the same lifestyle. He lives on the shoreline of the property where he has an extra cottage he rents out. He will only grow vitas vinifera varietals in the clay soil that has limestone three to four feet down.
At harvest time he markets an event where volunteers pick grapes and they get a chili dinner and some wine as compensation for their work. They make Chardonnay, Gamay, Pinot Noir and a Vidal/Riesling Blend.
We will come by there again sometime as well as to check out the winery up the road that is located in a railway car. It's another thing Dave mentioned.
You can see the video of this winery on the Wine Dining Vlog or Wine Dining Channel (just use one of the links on the side)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Our visit to Applewood Farm Winery Markham Ontario

Several weeks ago we took a trip to Applewood winery in Markham to taste some wine and to shoot some footage.
The host was very friendly and professional and made suggestions on wines we might like to try.
The two that struck my interest were the Proprietor's Reserve as well as the Mac Meade.
The Proprietors Reserve (Price: $14.95 / 750ml) is described as the biggest of their wines "Elderberries, Wild Blueberries and Strawberries. Huge fruit nose, Huge mid palate, lingers with plenty of vanilla in the finish. Great with big beef". I would describe the wine as very Merlot like or a Cabernet that has aged and the tannins have gone. I found an elegance about it that I don't normally see in fruit wines and would agree it can go with beef but I wouldn't hesitate to try it with chicken or fish if it is properly spiced. My score 89
My wife normally doesn't like Mead and expressed that to the host but he challenged her to try the Mac Meade. When she tried it she gave the sample to me. I immediately liked it.
The Mac Meade (Price: $12.95 / 750ml) as described on their website "a sparkling wine made of Macintosh apples and honey. Crisp sweet apples and notes of honey are the perfect match to baked brie and roasted garlic." I would characterise it as a perfect fusion of honey apple and acidity perfectly balanced that gives a taste experience that exceeds the sum of it's parts. The only thing I can fault if for is that I wish that it had more bubbles but that is not a reason not to recommend this. I would try it with pork tenderloin My score 89
If you want to see the video go to the Wine Dining Vlog (the link is on the side ). The Applewood website can be reached by clicking the title of this entry

Monday, May 11, 2009

Bottle Shock Canadian Style

On a cold winter day in Montreal in January 2009, a restaurant named La Colombe was the scene of an upset rivaling the one in 1976 Paris of French wines by California's Chateau Montelena.
Le Clos Jordanne's Claystone Terrace 2005 Chardonnay beat out both French and California wines to take first place at a blind tasting nick named The Judgment of Montreal. This wine was secretly inserted into the tasting line up fooling the judges into thinking they were drinking a Burgundy.
The vines this wine came from were planted only in the year 2000. It is normaly expected vines should be around 15 years old before top quality can be achieved. The
Canaduan wine competed against wine from California which has been made for decades and against Burgundy which has been producing wine for centuries.
My closest experience to this kind of thing was purchasing Magnotta's Millenium Cabertnet Sauvignon which wound up beating first growth Bordeaux in a blind tasting.
That wine was made from grapes that came from Chile but was made in Canada (to my knowledge).
People should not be surprised that Canadian wineries are making top quality product. World class recognition for Canadian wines will happen again with absolute certainty.
Click the title of this post for the Le Clos Jordanne website

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

An Explosion in the County

I received a news release from the Ontario Viticulture Association and decided to visit their site to see who has joined since the last time I visited. Looking at their members list I was shocked to see how many new wineries in Prince Edward County that were scheduled to open in the summer of 2009. I counted 12 wineries that had opening in summer 2009 brackets beside their name. They include Bloonfield Estate Winery, Del-Gatto Estates Bella Vineyards, Exultet Estates, Fieldstone Estate Vineyards, Half Moon Bay, Hillier Creek Estates, Hinterland Wine Company, Karlo Estates, Lacey Estates Vineyard and Winery, Lift Haus Winery, Red Tail Vineyard and The Old Third Vineyard.
My experience has been that saying that you will be open does not guarantee that you will be open. Having said that, if even only three quarters of the wineries open this summer there will be 9 extra wineries to visit in the County. There is a season's worth of filming here for me. I may be hard pressed to find the time to go to Niagara this year. We will see.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Check out the Budometer

The number of taste bids on your tongue can directly affect the kind of wine you like. Generally the more taste buds you have the more sensitive a wine drinker is to astringency and bitterness If you are part of the 25% of the population that has 10 times the taste buds over the people that have the fewest, then chances are you considered a Hyper-Sensitive taster. The people with the fewest are considered Tolerant Tasters and have the least sensitivity to astringency and bitterness.
There are actually four categories Sweet, Hyper-Sensitive, Sensitive and Tolerant. Sweet tasters tend to like sweet wines like white Zinfandel or Ice Wine while Tolerant tasters tend to like red Tannic wines like Barolo or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Tim Hanni has developed a questionnaire that asks you your taste preferences for things like coffee and how you like to take it as well as how you use sweeteners and salt. It also takes into account your life experiences with wine, that can also greatly influence what you like.
There is no right or wrong with what ever you find yourself categorized as. It doesn't mean that you won't drink wines (and enjoy them) that go against your profile. What it will do, is give a starting point to find wines with attributes you will find easy to enjoy.
Click the title of this post to take the questionaire

Monday, January 26, 2009

Another Good One


Finally got around to reviewing this one.
Angels's Gate Sussreserve 2007 Riesling 14.15 at the LCBO
This wine is light gold in colour with a citrus nose and grapefruit hints coming out of the mix. It is sweetened with Riesling juice and makes it suitable by itself or with food.
The wine explodes with the fruit of citrus on the early pallette and then becomes more distinguishable with flavours of lemon and lime in the middle. You then get grapefruit on the late pallette and fininsh with sweet apple. Of course there is enough acidity to make it refreshing.
Personally I would try this with scallops shrimp or crab but I might even take a shot with steak since I am finding that sweeter wines can match with it. (the steak is very much a personal thing but you might consider the other suggestions)
The winemaker recommends it with a light lunch but I think it can match with more than that. My rating 90

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Good One Gord Stimmel

I read Gordon Stimmel's brief column for Jan 1 2009 at the Star's website.
Basically, he gets into some examples of pairing food and wines and gives the example of an oaked chardonnay working with a thick sizzling steak and herbed butter. He can't see why it works (but it does). I enjoy Chardonnay with steak (in my case it is more on the fruity side and find fruit wines that are a bit sweeter also go with it). I also like Chardonnay with lamb (without the mint sauce since that doesn't appeal to me ). Not being a chef I can't tell you the actual interaction of the flavours of Stimmel's match, but can say that the herbed butter is flavour balancing for the chardonnay.
I repeat the core premise of matching food and wine, sweet foods and umami make a wine taste stronger while sour foods make a wine taste milder. Salt and lemon juice can be usefull allies if making the wine you like, go with a food that wouldn't otherwise. Tim Hanni has a flavour balancing seasoning called Vignon (http://www.napaseasoning.com/Vignon) that is supposed to allow many foods to go with wines that "would not be acceptable" under traditional rules. (I can't find it in Canada yet so I can't comment on it)
The point is that the potential is here for a wine comsumer to enjoy wine at whatever level they feel comfortable with. They can use the principle I mentioned above or use more traditional wine pairing techniques or whatever criteria they wish. If it makes your wine experience richer who is it for anyone to say that it is wrong to use. Freedom of choice is the bottom line.
To look at Gord Stimmel's article click the title of this entry.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

An Exceptional Value


On Christmas eve we scored a windfall by picking up an in store special on crabs legs. They were large sweet and juicy and called for a special wine. I chose the Konzelmann 2006 barrel aged Chardonnay, which is a part of their Winemaster series.
This is a rich wine with hints of the tropics (banana) and vanilla on the nose. The wine comes up with a more traditional vanilla and butter sensation on the early palette but then luscious ice wine like hints of sweetness come to bear on the mid palette and finish that remind you of apple and apricot. The taste is rich throughout.
At 16.50 it's an excellent value in my opinion and a typical example of Herbert Konzelmann's craftsmanship in the wines I have tasted. It is recommended for rich cream sauces, grilled salmon, wild mushroom soup and seafood risotto but we will have it again with shell fish.
My rating 92
Click the title of this post for the limk to the winery

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Holiday Pinot Gris



A wine I enjoyed during the holiday season is Southbrook Vineyards 2006 Triomphe Pinot Gris 18.95. I detected grapefruit and other citrus overtones on the nose with the grapefruit dominating the mid and late palate. The acidity made for a crisp finish. It is recommended for complex dishes such as Thai or Chinese food, smoked fish, duck, pates, pork or quiche, but I say enjoy it with whatever you find it goes with
My rating 89
Click the title for the winery website