I visited this winery on July 17, 2015 while doing some wine tasting in the County. It was one of the highlights of my day!
Why, you may ask? Several reasons. The wine was excellent. I tried the 2012 Riesling, with grapes from the Lincoln Lakeshore area of the Niagara - definitely worth trying, if you stop into the winery.
I also want to give the 2013 Pinot Gris Cuivré, which, despite having all country grapes, is not VQA, a special comment. This is one of the most interesting examples of a pinot gris that I've tried in a very long time - the grapes were left unpressed for a day or two, so there's a lot of really interesting fruit character with peach, grapefruit and even rhubarb (a fellow wine enthusiast at the tasting bar nailed the rhubarb - it was at the tip of my tongue). Why is it not VQA? Because it doesn't fit the "typicity" standard that has been imposed by the VQA. I'm not going to turn this into an anti-VQA rant, but TRY THIS WINE and then compare it to the other Pinot Gris offerings in the county. This is the only one that I bought and that I have bought of this grape in a very long time.
I enjoyed both the 2012 County Pinot Noir and the 2011 4 Mile Creek Pinot Noir. Try them both, and good luck walking out with just one - they're both the same price ($30), which makes choosing nearly impossible. Why choose? Just buy both.
Their other red, the 2012 Cabernet Franc, was bright with lots of cherry and a bit of pepper. Great finish, also worthy of your tasting time!
Mary, the wife of the winemaker, was our hostess during this visit. She is witty, fun and knowledgeable. She very kindly offered to bring the wine I purchased to me in Toronto, where Stanners sells at the Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market (also the Junction Market, I believe), free of charge - seeing as how i was taking the train home, it made things much easier! Mary also offered to bring a full case up if I bought too much while visiting the other wineries in the county - I didn't take her up on the offer, but it was much appreciated and a sign of the excellent customer service.
All in all, a great visit and a highly recommended stop for anyone in the County. read more