Featherstone Estate Winery has 23 acres, fully planted, on the prestigious VQA Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellation. The husband and wife team of David Johnson and Louise Engel purchased their vineyard in 1999, building their winery over succeeding years selling off less and less of their crop. They now crush and bottle all the fruit under their own Featherstone label.

There are 2.5 acres planted to Riesling that are of particular interest—to David, Louise and all Riesling lovers. Bottled separately under the Featherstone banner and labeled ‘Old Vines’ Riesling, the story of those special vines—21-B Weis clone—is rooted in Germany, slate and shale. The soil at Featherstone, and the Twenty Mile Bench in general, is characterized by deep clay generously interspersed with slate and shale—the latter two having an affinity with great Rieslings. Add to that the unique circumstances of prolonged sunshine and warming breezes, and the terroir is pretty special.

The Hermann Weis family owned ‘Weingut St. Urbans-Hof’ in Mosel, Germany as well as a thriving nursery business. In the early 1970s Hermann was convinced the regions of Niagara and the Okanagan would be ideal places for him to market his vines and he successfully exported vines to Canada accomplishing his goal. Disappointed that growers sold the resultant fruit to large conglomerates that simply blended the grapes, he bought land in Niagara, planted his now-famous 21-B Weis clone Riesling on what was to become ‘Twenty Mile Bench’ and in 1979 founded Vineland Estate Winery to showcase his particular clone. He sold Vineland Estates in 1992 and returned to Germany and St. Urbans-Hof.

However, his marvelous legacy lives on in the vines at Featherstone, where he paid a visit, and around the region. It’s still one of the most-planted Riesling clones in Canada; Vineland Estate continues to market a St. Urbans-Hoff Vineyard Riesling from vines that Hermann planted; the Speck brothers at Henry of Pelham on the Short Hills Bench planted 11 acres of Hermann’s vines back in 1984 and still produce excellent wine from them; and, Hermann’s daughter, Anne, came to Niagara in the 80s to work with her father and married Tom Pennachetti of Cave Spring Cellars.

Featherstone’s 21-B Weis clone vines were planted on this small 2.5 acre plot in 1978, making them among the oldest Riesling vines in Niagara. The first bottling of Featherstone’s ‘Old Vines’ Riesling was 2007, there still a very few bottles around the LCBO. The 2008—it’s available in March, 2010—is not expected to be around long; it’s a single vineyard bottling with a meagre 441 cases produced and hails from a vintage hopeful of producing some exceptional white wines. You can order it now directly via the link below. Winemaker David Johnson commented, “This has more minerality than our Black Sheep Riesling, which is a Geisenheim clone, and it’s less floral on the nose. I love the bracing acidity and grapefruit pith/rind zestiness.”


Featherstone Estate Winery ‘Old Vines’ Riesling 2008
VQA Twenty Mile Bench $18.95 10.2% alcohol
With its breeding shining through—20+ year-old German Weis-clone vines planted on the lime- and shale-rich ‘Bench’—it delivers a racy focused mouth-watering rendition of cool-climate Riesling. Expressive aromas—key lime and steely mineral notes—segue lime-drenched mineral and lemon rind flavour. It’s medium bodied and nicely textured with a lip-smacking bone dry finish of grapefruit tang. Only 441 cases made from this single-vineyard, 2.5 acre, estate-grown fruit—a ‘must buy’ for lovers of fine Riesling. Purchase by the case now directly from Featherstone. (Vic Harradine)