Chic and Original Whites

Wineries to visit: Joseph’s Estate Wines, Palatine Hills Estate Winery, Peller Estates Winery,
Sunnybrook Farm Estate Winery

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This is the tour to broaden your white wine horizons and get you out of the familiar,
same-old bottle of wine rut. Take another look at sparkling wine. It’s so often overlooked as a meal companion because we associate the pop of the cork with celebration, yet it’s a workhorse at the table. If you’re serving lighter fare, you’ll discover sparkling wine seems to go with everything. Plus, it adds a certain cachet to the everyday. And there’s Pinot Gris (also known as Pinot Grigio), a gently perfumed and delectable mutation of Pinot Noir: an excellent choice for lovers of white wine who desire the complexity of a red. Gewürztraminer is an aromatic varietal that is a deliciously quaffable wine and the companion you want for spicy Asian cuisine. If you’ve never tried fruit wine, you're in for a glorious taste experience. This is the fruit belt after all, and winemakers have the pick of the crop to create exceptional wines.

Joseph’s Estate Wines’ 2006 VQA Pinot Grigio is one of its flagship wines. First produced in 1995, it has sold out every year. Look for its wonderful citrus and pineapple notes.

In 2005 at the Gala Cuvée competition, Palatine Hills Estate Winery won Gold for its 2003 Gewürztraminer table wine. Vinified exclusively from grapes grown in the Neufeld Vineyards, this wine was praised for its intense fragrances of grapefruit, honeysuckle, and apricots. If you enjoy the style of Gewürztraminer, you will fall in love this one. And uniquely, all of the vintages since have found this cultivar to consistently produce premium varietal quality with its fresh organic style. (A noteworthy fact:  John Neufeld started some of the very earliest grape plantings of Gewurz back in the early 1980's.).

Ice Cuvée is a wine of unique style and finesse and a favourite of visitors to Peller Estates Winery. It is a traditional ‘méthode’ sparkling wine made with hand-picked Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes and enhanced by a burst of flavour from Vidal Icewine. It is also the winner of a Gold Medal from the American Wine Society in 2006 and a Gold Medal from the All Canadian Wine Championships in 2007.

Niagara has the perfect soil and climate to grow luscious, delicious peaches. Sunnybrook Farm Estate Winery’s Peach Wine is a beautiful example of fruit winemaking at its best. This full-bodied wine makes a great spritzer with sparkling wine.

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