News & Reviews - DECEMBER 2006

Friday, December 15, 2006

Quality vintages at an affordable price the mission at Calamus Estate Winery

Even though they make a great living in Toronto, people still ask Pat Latin and Derek Saunders why they want to move to Niagara. The beautiful countryside, friendly people and good wine were reason enough to pursue the dream of living in the depths of this region's wine country.

As the story goes, Derek and Pat purchased a farm on Greenlane Road in Beamsville in the late ‘90's. The first thing the amateur winemaker did was plant 10 acres to Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Merlot and the Cabernet twins of Sauvignon and Franc. A few years later came a second piece of property on the edge of Balls Falls. They couldn't resist, so they bought it and the 22-acre Falls Vineyard was planted to the same varieties with Pinot Noir added to the mix.

The first Calamus Estate Winery vintage was 2004 and you can find it in the smallest and most unorthodox winery tasting room in Niagara. A large, neglected barn on the Falls Vineyard (a former dairy barn) property is undergoing a lengthy process of renovations, much of it with the blood and sweat of Pat and Derek themselves. The mix of stone and beam restoration in the long neglected broken building and the modern, little tasting kiosk added on to the front look more like a scene from a Shaw play that a winery open for business.

As Derek explains it, his goal is to produce good quality wines at prices people can afford to drink time and time again. Winemaker Arthur Harder supported by assistant Steve Byfield definitely have to exercise restraint with wines that are showing regional and vineyard characteristics. It would be easy to make these into higher priced wines, but instead they concentrate on making the best wine for the moderate price points. Calamus wines range from $10 to $15 with only the Meritage reaching $22.

All of their wines are bottled in screw cap closures and two bottle styles. Regardless of the wines character, they're only using a Burgundy and Bordeaux bottle assuming consumers will know more about their products than they should from a new winery.

The Calamus Estate 2004 Chardonnay, VQA, $14, was poured into my glass. It showed a light straw colour with a creamy vanilla nose. The elegant body unfolded its youth with green apple and vanilla flavours that laced through a core of crispness. It was light, yet had had a good weight; it showed good character in spite of the dance of youth. The most beautiful food wine I've tasted in a long time.

The Calamus Estate 2005 Riesling, VQA, $12 was light and tangy with a mouthwatering crispness and mineral-scented green apple and lime flavours that echo nicely on the finish. Very delicious.

The Calamus Estate 2005 Meritage, VQA, $22 showed a rich ruby colour and plenty of licorice, berry and mineral character. The mid to full body has super tannins and a long finish. Right now it's giving a fraction of what it has to offer. Lay this one down and wait for the tannins to settle into an integrated package.

Lynn Ogryzlo is a sommelier as well as a food and wine writer for Niagara this Week and Niagara Life Magazine. Reach Lynn at ogryzlo@lynnogryzlo.com. Visit www.justasip.com for previous wine articles.

December 7, 2006

Calamus Estate Winery 2005 Riesling - $12.00

One of Niagara's newest wineries, Calamus, is actually a shed at the end of one of the regions prettiest drives.

Located near Ball's Falls, Calamus is a winery in its infancy. A reasonably priced wine list (nothing over $22 - most wines under $15) and some tasty offerings could also make them Niagara's best value winery.

If you remember, a few newsletters ago I nominated Featherstone as Niagara's smallest tasting room, but Calamus has wrestled the mantle away with a tasting room a quarter of the size Featherstone's.

But enough about that, let's look at their $12.00 Riesling, which is a steal for a wine of this caliber. A wine with a very subtle nose of citrus, not much to go on, but still quite inviting. Then we get to the taste and that's when you realize the bargain you've just acquired. A sweet beginning, a creamy peach-like middle and a tart lemon finish, with the barest hint of cinnamon. A very pleasant first go around for this young winery, at a very attractive price.

Monday, December 4, 2006

The Top Ten Smart Buys (See full reviews below by country)

10. Boutinot 2004 Chat-en-Oeuf, France, $12.95 86 points
9. Puklus 2005 Tokaji Furmint, Hungary $12.95, 86 pts
8. Calamus 2005 Riesling, Ontario $12.00, 88 pts
7. S. Anderson 2000 Blanc de Noirs Sparkling, California, $36.95, 90 pts
6. Joseph Drouhin 2004 Puligny-Montrachet, France, $52.95, 93 pts
5. Kilikanoon 2005 Mort's Block Watervale Riesling, Australia, $21.95, 90 pts
4. De Bortoli 2003 Noble One, Australia $29.95/375ml, 93 pts
3. Sonoma-Cutrer 2003 Chardonnay Les Pierres, California $54.95, 94 pts
2. Frescobaldi 2003 Lamaione Merlot, Italy, $59.95, 94 pts
1. Penfolds 2003 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, Australia, $35.95, 94pts

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Canada - White

88. Calamus 2005 Riesling ***
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario - $12.00
This is a classic bench riesling in a ripe vintage, with good depth given the young vines. Shows generous mineral, petrol, peach-pineapple, mint and citrus with fine depth and structure - among the best in Niagara at this price. Dry, grippy finish with very good length. Best 2008 to 2011. (DL)

87. Calamus 2005 Pinot Gris **1/2
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario - $13.00
This is one the best Niagara pinot gris that I have encountered nicely capturing the ripe and nicely peachy and bready notes I look for in pinot gris from B.C. and central Europe. It's mid-weight, soft, slightly plump but nicely dry and balanced on the finish. No wacky flavours that Ontario gris can often have. Good to very good length. Now through 2008. (DL)

...

Monday, December 4, 2006

Many of us have, at one time or another, made our own wine and Derek Saunders is no exception. But unlike many of us, Saunders enjoyed the winemaking process so much he, along with his wife Pat Latin, bought the vineyard. Today, the two Beach residents own and manage Calamus Estate Winery located in the Niagara wine region.

Saunders, who works in television news, originally caught the winemaking bug while at the University of Guelph.

"I started making my own beer, which evolved into making my own wine," he said. "It's something I've always wanted to do."

He followed up with diplomas from the International Wine Education Guild as well as experimentation, reading and hands on experience working at various Niagara wineries. Latin's background includes senior management and sales. As a result, in 1999, the two put their combined expertise into action and purchased their first vineyard, a 14 acre property in Beamsville where they grow 10 acres of grapes. In 2001 they bought a second vineyard, this one a 42 acre site in Jordan, adjacent to the picturesque Ball's Falls Conservation Area, where they harvest Riesling, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Vidal grapes.

The Falls vineyard is a former dairy farm, and Saunders and Latin are in the process of renovating the circa 1820 barn with its beamed rafters and stone foundation into a retail outlet and tasting room. Saunders hopes to have the renovations completed sometime next year. In the meantime, visitors are welcomed into a small room in the barn which serves as a combination tasting room and store where all the varieties of Calamus Estate Wines are available for purchase.

There is not a cork to be found at Calamus Estate Winery. Saunders is a firm believer in screw tops and says that he has yet to see a faulty one.

"I don't want anyone to taste any of my wine that's gone bad because of the cork," he said. "A screw top does not effect the wine in any way."

Calamus is slowly but surely making a name for itself in the industry. Since beginning sales operations this past summer, its wines have already found their way into the cellars of several area restaurants, including the Toronto Hunt Club, Crush Wine Bar, Jamie Kennedy's Wine Bar and Jamie Kennedy's Gardiner.

Incidentally, the word 'calamus' is Latin for arrow. During planting of the Fall's vineyard Saunders andLatin unearthed arrowheads and other bits of tools and artifacts made of chert, a flint type material from the Niagara Escarpment. They also found a 1776 English halfpenny which prompted the creation of a Halfpenny Rose wine.

"I like the historical aspects and that we have the ability to keep that history," said Saunders. "It's a mix of the modern and the old."

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