Nyarai and Long Dog Wine Tasting #30dowc

Thanks to a last-minute invitation from Suresh Doss (@spotlightcity on Twitter), I was able to drop in on an intimate Ontario wine tasting at a secret underground wine location (honestly!) on Tuesday.

It was a rare chance to try four wines from the inaugural year of a new winery: Nyarai Cellars, launched in June 2009, which uses grapes from both Niagara and Beamsville Bench. A "virtual winery", they only sell online, or in person through the Calamus Estate Winery in Jordan.

The four wines on offer were:

• Sauvignon Blanc 2007: Nyarai's signature wine to date, with a savour of pear and grapefruit. $18.20
• Chardonnay 2007: Almost no scent; perhaps a very faint melon aroma. The taste is also subtle; it suggests spicy green apple and cinnamon. $16.20
• Cabernet Merlot 2007: A raspberry and plum nose followed up with a slightly spicy, fruity frankincense flavour. $18.20
• Syrah 2007: A dark berry scent matches an equally dark, white pepper-tinged taste. $20.20

Also present was Long Dog Winery from Prince Edward County, with four of their wines, made, they boast, entirely from grapes grown in their own vineyards. Their offerings:

• Pinot Gris 2007 "Francesca": A pleasantly peachy colour with a black cherry taste; possibly a hint of green olive about the nose. Its sweetness and acidity recommend it to Indian and Thai food. $22
• Riserva Chardonnay 2007 "Bella": Very pale in colour, very minerally and not sweet in the least; an olive oil scent gives way to a natural gas taste. A grownup's Chardonnay. $34
• Gamay / Pinot 2007 "Tumbling Stone": Half-and-half Gamay (2007) and Pinot (2006) with a violet hue, a sweet cherry or raspberry scent and a black pepper taste. $22
• Pinot Noir 2007 "Otto": A scent of raspberry and black pepper with a juicy, really fruity rich cherry taste and a gentle licorice or blackberry finish. That's a lot of flavour for $50