Whenever I travel I usually stop in to the duty free to pick up a bottle of something to bring home. In a foreign country I am always curious to see how Canada is represented in the world of wine and spirits. Canada seems to be best known for two types of booze: Canadian whiskey, and ice wine. Canadian whiskey is often referred to as "rye" whiskey due to rye comprising a primary ingredient. However, Canadian whiskey is not always purely made from rye. Lower rye content prevents Canadian whiskey from being labeled as "rye whiskey" in the United States. When it comes to brands, the two that I often find in any duty free store are Canadian Club and Crown Royal. The other type of liquor I often find is ice wine. Canadian ice wine wins many international awards and is popular domestically and internationally. Whenever ice wine is available at a duty free store I will often find the brand
Inniskillin. Often credited with producing the world's first ice wine,
Inniskillin has built an international reputation. The harsh, cold winters of Niagara-on-the-Lake provide the right conditions for producing high quality ice wine.
Inniskillin also produces table wine, both red and white. Julia and I were given a bottle of
Inniskillin Chardonnay 2006 at a recent party we threw. Last night we opened it to accompany a chicken
curry and a few games of
Wii. The nose and taste was dominated by one single note: strawberry! It was all I could think of. Julia was able to detect some cranberry, however I found that there was very little else I could get from this wine. Overall the lack of depth and complexity was very disappointing. I think
Inniskillin should focus on what it does best and stick to
ice wine.
Yet another bottle I picked up during a tour of the Niagara Peninsula. I had been very impressed by the Flat Rock Cellars winery itself. Perched atop a lookout, the tasting room ajoined a deck from which I could view the vineyards. The Rusty Shed Chardonnay is made in small batches, and each one is marked with the bin number (mine was number 05007). At $30, I had high expectations for this wine and I have to admit I was a little disappointed. The nose had apples, toast, and a slight fishiness. It wasn't offensive, but it was there. On the palate I had expected the rounded, honey-and-vanilla character of other Niagara chardonnays, but the Rusty Shed was quite different. Very dry, with a sharp citrusy finish, I could detect granny smith apples and minerals, much like a Chablis. Julia detected a creamy smoothness before the sharp finish, which was quite short. Again, rather than the golden straw I had expected, this wine had a very pale almond colour. Overall, the Flat Rock Rusty Shed Chardonnay had very distinctive and unique characteristics, and would pair well with a light garlic seafood dish.
