A Large Delegation of 32 Ontario Winery Owners and Winemakers Head to the UK to Debut Their Top VQA Chardonnays at a Media Tasting at Canada House, London on May 17th

Cool climate VQA Chardonnays from Ontario will be showcased in London, England when British wine writers and the wine trade gather at Canada House in Trafalgar Square on May 17th to sample a select group of wines. The tasting will showcase the best of Ontario’s Chardonnay featuring 40 wines from 22 wineries – from sparkling Chardonnay to Chardonnay Icewine – chosen by a panel of Ontario wine critics.

“Britain is a huge market for wine,” notes Bill Redelmeier, owner of Southbrook Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake, who initiated the tasting. “The opportunity to showcase Ontario wines in London can provide a real boost for our product. A generation ago, the New Zealand wine industry launched Sauvignon Blanc in Britain, and it put New Zealand wines on the map.”

The London wine event has attracted a prestigious group of over 40 UK wine critics who plan to attend including Jancis Robinson, Oz Clarke, Steven Spurrier, Rosemary George, Charles Metcalfe, Malcolm Gluck and Stephen Brook. In addition, there will be 32 winery owners and winemakers attending the event – the largest Ontario industry delegation ever to travel outside the country to present their wines. For the list of wines to be showcased and for more information about Ontario VQA Chardonnay, visit http://coolchardonnay.ca. Wine media and professionals interested in attending the London event can register at: http://coolchardonnay.ca/registration.

 The VQA Chardonnays chosen to travel across the ocean were selected at a blind tasting by a judging panel led by noted wine writer Tony Aspler, author of The Wine Atlas of Canada. “Most people think Icewine is Ontario’s signature wine, but actually it’s Chardonnay,” says Aspler, who will be at the tasting along with several other Canadian wine media travelling to London to report on the event. “The London tasting will give the British press the opportunity to discover wines that are food-friendly and reminiscent of fine white Burgundies.”
 
Chardonnay is the most widely produced VQA wine in Ontario, according to VQA Ontario (Ontario’s Wine Authority). The province’s expanding wine industry now boasts 113 VQA wineries; it’s estimated more than 90 produce Chardonnay. Like Tony Aspler, Bill Redelmeier is convinced Ontario VQA Chardonnay will impress the Brits. “We see a lot of people who say they don’t like Chardonnay, but when you pour a cool climate Chardonnay, they change their minds,” Redelmeier says. “Cool climates make for a much different and much superior Chardonnay.”

Redelmeier conceived the idea for the British media tasting after Niagara’s Le Clos Jordanne won a prestigious competition last year in Montreal pitting French wines against wines from the United States. Le Clos Jordanne’s Chardonnay served as the “ringer” in the contest and emerged victorious in the category.
 
Hearing Le Clos winemaker Thomas Bachelder say in a radio interview that any number of wineries in Ontario could have won the contest, Redelmeier came up with the idea of promoting Ontario Chardonnays as a group effort.

“A rising tide lifts all boats,” he says, describing his personal philosophy. “It’s wrong to be very competitive with each other. The guy down the road is not the competition. The guy in Chile is the competition.”

To that end, the London event at Canada House will be a collegial tasting, not a competition, with sampling tables spread from Ontario east to west – from Prince Edward County, Niagara to Lake Erie North Shore – to mimic the geographical distribution of the participating wineries. “We’re all in this together,” says Redelmeier. “The event is as much about producing fellowship as promoting our wines. What we’re trying to do is build the Canadian brand internationally.”

The 40 Ontario VQA Chardonnays from 22 wineries to be poured at Canada House in London on May 17, 2010 include:

Cave Spring Cellars CSV 2003
Cave Spring Cellars CSV 2005
Cave Spring Cellars Dolomite Brut Sparkling 2006
Chateau des Charmes Barrel-Fermented 2007
Chateau des Charmes Musqué 2008
Closson Chase Kocsis Vineyard 2007
Closson Chase South Clos Vineyard 2007 
Colio Estates Musqué 2007
Coyote’s Run Black Paw Vineyard 2008
Creekside Estate Queenston Road Vineyard 2008 
Flat Rock Cellars Reserve 2007
Flat Rock Cellars The Rusty Shed 2008
Henry of Pelham Barrel-Fermented 2007
Henry of Pelham Speck Family Reserve 2007
Hidden Bench Tête de Cuvée 2006 
Hidden Bench 2007 
Hillebrand Showcase Wild Ferment 2008 
Huff Estates South Bay Vineyard 2007
Huff Estates Cuvée Peter Huff Blanc de Blanc Sparkling 2006
Lailey Brickyard Vineyard 2008
Lailey Old Vines 2008
Le Clos Jordanne LCJ Vineyard 2006
Le Clos Jordanne Talon Ridge 2007
Malivoire Moira Vineyard 2004 
Malivoire Moira Vineyard 2005 
Malivoire Mottiar Vineyard 2007
Norman Hardie Unfiltered 2008 
Peller Estates Signature Series Sur Lie 2007
Peller Estates Signature Series Sur Lie 2008
Peninsula Ridge Reserve 2007 
Peninsula Ridge Beal Vineyard Inox Reserve 2005
Pillitteri Estates Chardonnay Icewine 2007
Ravine Rowan Vineyard 2008
Ravine Rowan Vineyard Reserve 2008
Rosehall Run Rosehall Vineyard 2008 
Rosehall Run Cuvée County 2008
Southbrook Poetica 1998
Southbrook Poetica 2005
Southbrook Triomphe Certified Organic 2008
Tawse Quarry Rd Vineyard 2007

UK Media Contact:

Gemma Duncan
Westbury Communications
Tel: 020 8682 9020
gemma.duncan@westburycom.co.uk

Canadian Media Contact:

Johanna Burkhard
Burkhard Communications
Tel: 905 642 2029
jburkhard@sympatico.ca