• Laura and her husband, Alejandro Hartwig, lived for many years in Montreal and Toronto before embarking on what was first thought of as a retirement project for Alejandro. They started planting the estate in 1978 with Bordeaux varietals and sold the high quality fruit to large wineries. In 1994 the winery was built and in 1995 the first Laura Hartwig wine was launched. The rest, as they say, is history.

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Laura Hartwig ‘Single Vineyard’ Carménère 2018
DO Colchagua, Chile $15.95 (213512) 13.5% alcohol
This punches well over the price and is worthy of a multiple purchase. Aromas of bell pepper, dark berry fruit and wisps of mocha provide segue to a medium-plus bodied river of palate flavours with dark black cherry and Damson plum robed in excellent tang, good mouthfeel and plenty of smooth ripe tannin for an underpinning. There’s good length on the finish and aftertaste with replays of palate flavours joined by notions of espresso roast and dark chocolate. Pour with flank steak and caramelized onions. (Vic Harradine)

• The following Cave Spring Vineyard ‘Blanc de Blancs – Estate Grown’ Brut Sparkling Wine Non-Vintage was sourced from estate-grown vineyards along the benchlands of the Niagara Escarpment. It was vinified Méthode Traditionelle—fermented and aged sur lie in the bottle for its 2nd fermentation a minimum of 30 months prior to disgorging.

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Cave Spring ‘Blanc de Blancs – Estate Grown’ Brut Sparkling Wine Non-Vintage
VQA Beamsville Bench $29.95 (213983) 12.0% alcohol
Lifted aromas of leesy notes, saline minerality and brioche mingle with apple. orange blossom and pear. A frothy mousse—aka bubbles—when poured, reveal a light-gold hue in the wine while fine-bead bubbles work their way from the bottom and sides of the glass to the top of your wine. This is delicious with palate-flavours of poached pear and baked apple intertwined with wet stone minerality and excellent tang delivered in the flavour of freshly squeezed lemon and lime. Versatile at the table, give one or more of these a try: prawn ceviche, scallops pan-seared in butter, freshly-shucked oysters, breaded and grilled calamari, tempura sushi. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2019 Cave Spring Vineyard Dry Rosé was sourced from an eclectic blend of 76% cabernet franc from estate-grown fruit on the VQA Beamsville Bench while the remaining 24% was made up by 14% pinot gris and 10% riesling both from the VQA Lincoln Lakeshore. Partially crushed cabernet franc, pinot gris and riesling spent six to twelve hours with skin contact before pressing and a slow cool ferment in stainless steel over three weeks using selected yeasts. It was then barrel aged in neutral French oak a brief four months. This is also available online or curbside pick-up at the winery. The price-quality proposition is certainly in your favour.

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Cave Spring Vineyard Dry Rosé 2019
VQA Niagara Peninsula $14.95 (295006) 12.5% alcohol
With a couple of vigorous swirls you will uncover aromas of red cherry/berry fruit and some mineral notes. It’s dry on the palate with plenty of flavours of racy passionfruit and tang-infused cranberry with both riding a laser-like seam of acidity persisting through the lip-smackingly good finish and aftertaste. This is wonderful when sipped on a warm summer day and pairs well with tuna salad or baby arugula tossed in olive oil and decorated with crumbled chèvre. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2019 Cave Spring Vineyard ‘Estate Grown’ Pinot Gris was sourced 10% from estate grown fruit from varying sub-appellations—75% Lincoln Lakeshore, 15% Niagara Lakeshore and 10% Beamsville Bench—from which is found on a gently sloping terrace of the Niagara Escarpment overlooking Lake Ontario. Moderating on-shore breezes coalesce with shale and limestone-rich soils providing almost ideal conditions for pinot gris vines and fruit.

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Cave Spring Vineyard ‘Estate Grown’ Pinot Gris 2019
VQA Niagara Peninsula $15.95 (522979) 12.5% alcohol
Aromas of Catawba melon, floral notes and nuances of citrus provide segue to a dazzling surge of bracing acidity and tang riding a wave of palate flavours with blood orange, lemon zest and Key lime pie to the fore. This is medium weight with good mouthfeel and an extended length on the lip-smacking finish and aftertaste. Sip on its own or pour alongside appetizers like prawns sautéed in butter or pan-seared scallops. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2019 Cave Spring Vineyard ‘Estate Grown’ Gamay was sourced from hillside terroir showcasing soils with a combination of clay/limestone, elevation and moderating on-shore breezes delivering a singular expression of Gamay. The price-quality balance tips wildly in your favour.

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Cave Spring Vineyard ‘Estate Grown’ Gamay 2019
VQA Beamsville Bench $16.95 (228569) 12.5% alcohol
This exhibits piquant peppery spice, fruit-forward aromas and flavours and persistent purity of red and dark fruit flavours from cork pop to last drop. Aromas of peppery piquant spice and whiffs of baking spice intertwine with dark bramble berry and black plum on the nose. It rolls over the palate with crunchy red fruit—pie cherry and cranberry—interlaced with ripe black currant preserve. It’s medium weight with good texture and structure throughout. It finishes with a blaze of black cherry/berry fruit adorned with a cloak of mouth-watering acidity and tang coupled with black pepper and sprigs of savoury herbs. Give this a go with osso buco or grilled-rare flank steak. (Vic Harradine)

• The following Featherstone Estate Winery ‘Joy – Premium Cuvée’ Sparkling Wine 2014 was made Méthode Traditionelle and sourced from the estate ‘Featherstone Vineyard’ on the premium Twenty Mile Bench with 100% Clone 78 chardonnay planted 26 years before the fruit for this vintage-dated gem was harvested. The chardonnay fruit was hand-picked into small 25 Kg picking bins arriving at the sorting table with fruit intact to be hand-sorted and whole-bunch pressed. Juice yield was less than 500 L/tonne and was transferred to stainless tank for 36 hours of natural cold settling then racked off its gross lees. It was fermented dry with select yeast strain DV10 with fermentation temperature controlled to 16 °C. The 2nd fermentation took place in bottle starting January 28, 2015 and was kept on lees until disgorged in June, 2020.

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Featherstone Estate Winery ‘Joy – Premium Cuvée’ Sparkling Wine 2014

VQA Niagara Peninsula $34.95 (310334) 12.0% alcohol
Slightly leesy and mineral on the nose at first swirl then nutty notes and wisps of green apple appear. There’s frothy mousse—aka bubbles—when poured and a light-yellow hued wine in the glass. There are endless über fine-bead bubbles that wend their way from the bottom of the glass to the top of the wine. It’s exceedingly fresh and lively on the palate with flavours of lemon pie filling and lime cordial decorated with blood orange, ripe pear and plenty of pizzazz from the excellent tang throughout. It’s crisp and refreshing, classy and memorable. The perfect wine with which to greet guests and to serve again with the appetizer if they’re dinner guests. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2019 Featherstone Estate Winery ‘Canadian Oak’ Chardonnay was sourced from 100% chardonnay that was crushed, destemmed and pressed into Canadian oak barrels and fermented by autochthonous yeast indigenous to the vineyard and surrounding areas. The wine was matured for ten months—stirred on lees monthly—in 100% Canadian oak barrels with 90% one to 5-year-old barrels and 10% new. Malolactic fermentation was taken to 50% completion.

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Featherstone Estate Winery ‘Canadian Oak’ Chardonnay 2019
VQA Niagara Peninsula $22.95 (149302) 13.0% alcohol
Aromas of green apple and ripe pear interwoven with floral notes and caramel precede a palate-bathing wash of tangy lemon-lime acidity and baked apple and notions of baking spice—nutmeg and cinnamon. This is medium bodied with good mouthfeel and persistent purity of fruit, good balance and plenty of pizzazz. Palate replays persist through the finish and aftertaste crisp, clean and refreshing. Remove from the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before serving. It sips well on its own and also pours well with roast chicken or pork roast. (Vic Harradine)

• The following Non-Vintage Vineland Estates ‘Frienzy’ Sparkling Rosé is a blend of 64% riesling, 36% cabernet franc fashioned in the Charmat method by having the second fermentation occur in a pressurized stainless steel tank. This also free shipping from the winery when you order online, six bottles or more.

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Vineland Estates ‘Frienzy’ Sparkling Rosé Non-Vintage

VQA Ontario $19.95 (20162) 12.0% alcohol

Alluring aromas of piquant spice and red berry fruit adorned with floral notes waft easily on the nose of this delightful spritzy Rosé. It impresses the palate with a rush of tang- and bubble-infused flavour—strawberry, rhubarb and cherry cordial along with wisps of blood orange and citrus-peel marmalade. It’s medium-weight with oodles of mouthfeel and is a major treat and simply mouth-watering ambrosia on the balanced, lengthy finish and aftertaste. Pour on its own or with sushi, traditional paella, pan-seared salmon under a squeeze of fresh lemon or prawn ceviche. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2019 Vineland Estates Cabernet Franc is a blend of 95% cabernet franc and 5% cabernet sauvignon that spent eight months in oak before bottling.

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Vineland Estates Cabernet Franc 2019
VQA Ontario $14.95 (594127) 12.0% alcohol
The price-quality balance tips wildly in your favour. Aromas of red cherry/berry fruit adorned with savoury herbs, graphite and espresso roast precede a medium-bodied, well-paced stream of tang-infused crunchy pie cherry and pomegranate mingling with ripe mulberry, dark bittersweet chocolate and hints of sweet vanilla. It’s balanced on the palate and through the medium-length finish and aftertaste. This is extremely versatile at the table, try burgers or red sauce pizza or chicken fajitas. (Vic Harradine)