Hi all,
More notes from my Niagara trip. Please see the reply from MBosc and the further posts on my notes from the Mike Weir/Chateau Des Charmes visit, it was a very fair and gracious reply to some of my more unrealistic expectations and soapbox comments. I will temper my tasting notes to be more fair to those involved without totally censoring my thoughts.
THE WINERY
Reif Estates is another beautifully designed winery and retail boutique with the appearance of a French chateau. The giant logo on the building’s front just below the roof is beautiful. The entire boutique is done in wood and soft light everywhere. It just exudes warmth from the second you step inside of it. You also have to get a picture of Archie and his handlebar moustache at the tasting bar when you go.
Steven and Chris are Steven Sabads and Chris Hyndman, a pair of flamboyant interior designers with their own CBC show that is syndicated outside of Canada. They are well known in the Toronto area. The Trend wines are their first wine venture. To my knowledge, these wines are not a charitable foundation venture (as the Mike Weir/Wayne Gretzky wines) nor are they investors in Reif Estates (as Dan Akroyd is in Diamond Estates). Feel free to correct my facts if I’m wrong, I don’t claim to be a journalist and I’ve already taken my lumps from none other than a Bosc family member themselves on my Mike Weir/Chateau des Charmes TN’s.
THE WINES
S & C TREND CHARDONNAY PINOT GRIGIO $13.95 – A light citrus and melon nose. Light body. A citrus taste with a bitterness in the ending. Unoaked wine, so it’s not from wood, it’s from the wine itself. No vintage was given but the server told me it was a 2009 wine.
S & C TREND MERLOT CABERNET $14.95 – Berry nose, light body, clean fruit taste of black cherry with a little cocoa and a bit of tannin on the end. Not bitter at all like their white was. It was not very strong, though, and faded out in my mouth.
ICEWINES:
REIF ESTATE 2008 VIDAL ICEWINE – Oh man, this was so good. As good as the 2002 Daniel Lenko Vidal icewine I gave my Best Dessert Wine Sticky to. Nose of passion fruit, apricot and mango, full bodied, tropical fruit tastes and great acidity to balance the sweetness. Highly recommended. ![[winner.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/07ec25c9fd71159fe15d7f1ba5fad64e91238d0e.gif "winner"){kind=small}
OVERALL: Because I feel a little bad about having possibly offended the Bosc family (owners and winemakers at Chateau des Charmes) as they felt the need to reply in my Mike Weir/Chateau des Charmes TN thread, I am going to spare you all any further soapboxy comments and leave you with a single fact which should make things clear.
Out of the 25 tour attendees, 5 happily purchased Reif Estate wine tastings and then bought some Reif Estate Late Harvest Vidal dessert wine tubes and a bottle or two of different Reif Estate branded table wines. Nothing else. To requote our lovely Mike Weir/C des C tour host Melodie’s own words: the consumer votes with their wallet.