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Old 08-28-2019, 07:57 PM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,776 posts, read 37,717,092 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fusion2 View Post
Ah Mon Dieu - A brewing romance
Naah, he's not my type!
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Old 08-29-2019, 07:42 PM
509
 
6,311 posts, read 6,956,200 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Natnasci View Post

My guess is that, yes there must be some " good " wines from Quebec. They so far don't match the quality of BC...and Ontario....but mostly BC if you go by the press about Canadian wines. Quebecois wines are hardly mentioned...unlike some of their great cheeses.

This article sounds out some of the issues.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...esee-1.3766650


BC.

There is the problem....if you think there must be some "good" wines from Quebec, because "they so far don't match the quality of BC..."


BC wines were awful in the 1970's when I lived in BC.


Every year I buy a bottle of BC wine hoping things have changed.....
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Old 08-29-2019, 08:31 PM
 
Location: Somewhere flat in Mississippi
10,062 posts, read 12,726,267 times
Reputation: 7168
I don’t think the “noble” grape varietals typically used in winemaking can survive Canadian winters, except maybe in BC.
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Old 08-29-2019, 08:35 PM
509
 
6,311 posts, read 6,956,200 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo View Post
I don’t think the “noble” grape varietals typically used in winemaking can survive Canadian winters, except maybe in BC.

and in time.....maybe Canadians will learn how to make good wine.
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Old 08-29-2019, 09:06 PM
 
Location: SW OK (AZ Native)
24,187 posts, read 13,048,249 times
Reputation: 10547
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo View Post
You cam make wine out of things besides grapes.
Would it also be helpful to contact a Quebec winery in advance to see if they give tours in English?
I went to two wineries in Quebec five years ago while visiting Vermont, in southern Quebec near Dunham. Domaine des Cotes d'Ardoise, excellent white and red still wines but their best wines are ice wines. English is spoken by all there.

https://www.cotesdardoise.com/index.en.php


The other, Union Libre Cidre & Vin, specialized in hard apple cider, and their ice cider, made in a similar fashion to ice wine, was superlative. English not spoken well there, we walked in, and I stated "Je ne parle pas français" which is about the only French I know besides the lines in Lady Marmelade. The woman at the counter went to the back and in 30 seconds there was a fluent anglophone assisting us.

https://www.unionlibre.com/en/our-products/cider
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Old 08-29-2019, 09:09 PM
 
Location: SW OK (AZ Native)
24,187 posts, read 13,048,249 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 509 View Post
and in time.....maybe Canadians will learn how to make good wine.
I have had some excellent Chardonnay and Cab Franc from the Okanagan Valley. But in the east they're mostly Vidal and Seyval Blanc, hybrids more tolerant of cold weather and better suited to later harvest wines. As long as they stay away from the CA 29/US 290 mindset of tourism versus art they will continue to improve.

Traverse City, Michigan grows some very competitive vinifera grapes but the advantage there is Lake Michigan's microclimate.
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Old 08-29-2019, 09:32 PM
509
 
6,311 posts, read 6,956,200 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SluggoF16 View Post
I have had some excellent Chardonnay and Cab Franc from the Okanagan Valley. But in the east they're mostly Vidal and Seyval Blanc, hybrids more tolerant of cold weather and better suited to later harvest wines. As long as they stay away from the CA 29/US 290 mindset of tourism versus art they will continue to improve.

Traverse City, Michigan grows some very competitive vinifera grapes but the advantage there is Lake Michigan's microclimate.

Give me labels....I will buy them on my next trip to BC.


Could you explain your CA29/US 290 comment??


I get Napa....living in eastern Washington I hear that the Napa Valley is the Walla Walla of California and that someday they will be making reds as good as the Walla Walla Valley.....but US 290???


Even the Napa Valley likes Walla Walla.....


https://napavalleyregister.com/wine/...174f58e04.html


Typical Californian's viewing Lewis and Clark as "settlers".

Last edited by 509; 08-29-2019 at 09:46 PM..
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Old 08-30-2019, 07:00 AM
 
Location: Somewhere flat in Mississippi
10,062 posts, read 12,726,267 times
Reputation: 7168
Quote:
Originally Posted by 509 View Post
Give me labels....I will buy them on my next trip to BC.


Could you explain your CA29/US 290 comment??


I get Napa....living in eastern Washington I hear that the Napa Valley is the Walla Walla of California and that someday they will be making reds as good as the Walla Walla Valley.....but US 290???


Even the Napa Valley likes Walla Walla.....


https://napavalleyregister.com/wine/...174f58e04.html


Typical Californian's viewing Lewis and Clark as "settlers".
Does WW still grow good onions? Better than Vidalias?
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Old 08-30-2019, 08:12 AM
 
Location: SW OK (AZ Native)
24,187 posts, read 13,048,249 times
Reputation: 10547
Quote:
Originally Posted by 509 View Post
Give me labels....I will buy them on my next trip to BC.

Could you explain your CA29/US 290 comment??

I get Napa....living in eastern Washington I hear that the Napa Valley is the Walla Walla of California and that someday they will be making reds as good as the Walla Walla Valley.....but US 290???

Even the Napa Valley likes Walla Walla...

The place I enjoyed best in Okanagan was something-Owl, along with Tantalus and Quail's Gate, although the latter is better-known for its restaurant. The rest that we tried tended to be light, even thin.

Highway 29 in Napa is where the tour buses go. The old, established wineries with large parking lots, or the newer wineries which are more about the venue than the wine (also with large parking lots). Example that comes to mind: Castello di Amarosa. $30 for wine tasting in a replica castle. And the cost goes up big-time for other "experiences". My first visit to Wine Country was in the late 80s, and CA 29 was a great place to visit back then, although the big wine back then wasn't cab or pinot or chardonnay or merlot but White Zinfandel, aka Chateau Cash Flow.

US 290 is outside of Fredericksburg, TX. A large number of investors, many from outside of TX, have opened palatial estates offering Napa experiences in central Texas. Depending on the source, it is the second or third most-visited wine destination in the US. Anyone who expects Texas wine to compete bottle-for-bottle with Napa or Sonoma is smoking something illegal in all states, but there ARE some very good wines, just have to look for them and bypass the Moscatos and sweet reds, and in recent years TX wines have won Grand Champion at places like Pacific Rim, SF Chronicle and San Diego International wine events. Ten years ago I used to go down there almost every year; tastings were free or nearly so, the person pouring may have been the person who made it as well, and it was very down-home, and, well, Texan. Now with the in-flow of capital it's a major business, and on any weekend the wineries' parking lots are full of limos and tour buses disgorging people who think Moscato is the best wine ever. At $20-30 a pop, tastings are ridiculous as well. The wines along 290 have, in some cases, gotten worse, more mass-produced stuff that ignores the unique terroir of the region. Just a few miles away from the main road are some smaller boutique wineries that produce wine that is well-priced and would easily garner a 90 rating. My personal opinion: 25% of TX wines are swill, 50% are like Apothic or Cupcake or Barefoot, and 25% are worth drinking. Those are generally found off of 290.

A few years ago my wife and I stayed in Windsor and visited the Russian River Valley. Much more traditional winemaking, in one case the tasting area was a couple of cable spools turned into a pair of tables, a big drooling Pyrenees greeted us, and the guy pouring was the winemaker. The Grand Junction, CO area has similar experiences. I'm interested to see how Traverse City has changed, going there this Fall, it's been 11 years.

My sister is an assistant winemaker in CA. South Coast area, she cringes each time she sees a tour bus or bachelorette limo pull up. Her wines are world-class Italian and Spanish varietals, but invariably the most stuff she sells is a semi-sweet rose', and of course, the dreaded Moscato.


https://www.ibtimes.com/beyond-napa-...america-780089

Last edited by SluggoF16; 08-30-2019 at 08:24 AM..
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Old 08-30-2019, 09:00 AM
 
Location: Vancouver
18,494 posts, read 15,380,201 times
Reputation: 11930
Quote:
Originally Posted by SluggoF16 View Post
The place I enjoyed best in Okanagan was something-Owl, along with Tantalus and Quail's Gate, although the latter is better-known for its restaurant. The rest that we tried tended to be light, even thin.

Highway 29 in Napa is where the tour buses go. The old, established wineries with large parking lots, or the newer wineries which are more about the venue than the wine (also with large parking lots). Example that comes to mind: Castello di Amarosa. $30 for wine tasting in a replica castle. And the cost goes up big-time for other "experiences". My first visit to Wine Country was in the late 80s, and CA 29 was a great place to visit back then, although the big wine back then wasn't cab or pinot or chardonnay or merlot but White Zinfandel, aka Chateau Cash Flow.

US 290 is outside of Fredericksburg, TX. A large number of investors, many from outside of TX, have opened palatial estates offering Napa experiences in central Texas. Depending on the source, it is the second or third most-visited wine destination in the US. Anyone who expects Texas wine to compete bottle-for-bottle with Napa or Sonoma is smoking something illegal in all states, but there ARE some very good wines, just have to look for them and bypass the Moscatos and sweet reds, and in recent years TX wines have won Grand Champion at places like Pacific Rim, SF Chronicle and San Diego International wine events. Ten years ago I used to go down there almost every year; tastings were free or nearly so, the person pouring may have been the person who made it as well, and it was very down-home, and, well, Texan. Now with the in-flow of capital it's a major business, and on any weekend the wineries' parking lots are full of limos and tour buses disgorging people who think Moscato is the best wine ever. At $20-30 a pop, tastings are ridiculous as well. The wines along 290 have, in some cases, gotten worse, more mass-produced stuff that ignores the unique terroir of the region. Just a few miles away from the main road are some smaller boutique wineries that produce wine that is well-priced and would easily garner a 90 rating. My personal opinion: 25% of TX wines are swill, 50% are like Apothic or Cupcake or Barefoot, and 25% are worth drinking. Those are generally found off of 290.

A few years ago my wife and I stayed in Windsor and visited the Russian River Valley. Much more traditional winemaking, in one case the tasting area was a couple of cable spools turned into a pair of tables, a big drooling Pyrenees greeted us, and the guy pouring was the winemaker. The Grand Junction, CO area has similar experiences. I'm interested to see how Traverse City has changed, going there this Fall, it's been 11 years.

My sister is an assistant winemaker in CA. South Coast area, she cringes each time she sees a tour bus or bachelorette limo pull up. Her wines are world-class Italian and Spanish varietals, but invariably the most stuff she sells is a semi-sweet rose', and of course, the dreaded Moscato.


https://www.ibtimes.com/beyond-napa-...america-780089
Burrowing Owl

https://www.burrowingowlwine.ca
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