The White Wine Enthusiast

Vineyard Manager's Notes

ALIGOTÉ

We have been growing Aligoté since 1978 and it’s a pleasure to work within the vineyard. It is quite generous in producing fruit so we do have to keep the yield in check so each vine produces ripe, concentrated grapes. But the canopy doesn’t grow too high and the canes are not as woody as most vinifera so they are easy to tie in the spring and trellis in the summer. Aligoté’s leaves are bigger than average providing ample surface area for photosynthesis, producing ripe juicy grapes.

SAUVIGNON BLANC

The grapes for this wine were sourced exclusively from our vineyards. We hand select the fruit as it is being picked to make sure only top quality grape bunches are used. We choose fruit from several of our different vineyards; silty, mineral-rich soils from those located in the Four Mile Creek sub-appellation and some from the heavier clay-based soils from the St. David’s Bench sub-appellation to add depth and character. All the while making sure we are farming our vineyards responsibly and sustainably as we have done since 1978.

RIESLING “OFF DRY”

We have been growing Riesling since 1978. It thrives in our vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake. While it can be a bit fickle towards the end of the season, our team knows to keep a close eye on the grapes as harvest progresses. It’s generally one of the later whites to be picked and if you’re not diligent volume can be lost due to the grapes splitting their skins and losing all that goodness. The grapes for this wine were sourced exclusively from our vineyards. We hand select the fruit as it is being picked to make sure only top quality grape bunches are used. We choose fruit from several of our different vineyards; silty, mineral-rich soils from those located in the Four Mile Creek sub-appellation and some from the heavier clay-based soils from the St. David’s Bench sub-appellation to add depth and character. All the while making sure we are farming our vineyards responsibly and sustainably as we have done since the beginning.

BARREL FERMENTED CHARDONNAY

The grapes for this wine were sourced exclusively from our vineyards. We hand select the fruit as it is being picked to make sure only top quality grape bunches are used. We choose fruit from several of our different vineyards; silty, mineral-rich soils from those located in the Four Mile Creek sub-appellation and some from the heavier clay-based soils from the St. David’s Bench sub-appellation to add depth and character. All the while making sure we are farming our vineyards responsibly and sustainably as we have done since 1978.

GEWÜRZTRAMINER

Our Gewürztraminer is grown on the West side of the Château on a 1 hectare (2.5 acres) parcel. You can easily spot these vines in the late summer and fall because they have a distinctive rosy coloured skin, not the typical greenish skin found on white wine grapes. We planted these vines in 1996 and we feel they are just now hitting their peak producing fantastic hand-harvested grapes that are making very interesting wine.

CHARDONNAY, PAUL BOSC ESTATE

Chardonnay is still the most widely planted white grape variety in the world, as well as here in Niagara. It’s a workhorse in the vineyard but to coax the best out of the grapes you need to be hands-on and meticulous. We carefully limit the yield on these vines to help concentrate the vine’s work on fewer bunches. We also select the best bunches on each vine and remove the rest then we expose the bunches on the East side of the rows in late August then the Westside in September and we will remove individual berries from the hanging bunches if they are not up to par. At the same time, we are mindful of our footprint on the land. Our sustainable practices include never using herbicides; we control weeds by tilling them into the soil where they add nutrients; our cellars are geothermal environments where heating and air conditioning are not needed at any time during the year. These are just a few examples of our environmentally friendly practices both in the vineyards and in the winery.