Cornerstone Estate at the Ottawa Wine & Food show

 

	for all the years I have attended the Ottawa Wine & Food show, I am always drawn to Cornerstone Estate Winery.  I was drawn initially to their Strawberry wine.  then I spoke with Jerry and Wanda, founders of Cornerstone Estate.  they are so passionate, warm & friendly. I make a point to visit their booth with friends in tow. as per their Facebook page ... "Cornerstone Estate Winery is located in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula, Beamsville Ontario. Family owned and operated, the winery produces premium quality wines with their own grapes. Jerry and Wanda Kopanski founded their charming, family owned winery in 2002. They consistently produce premium wines using their own fruits. The winery focuses on limited productions, resulting in small batches of VQA wines. In addition to their vineyards they also have an extensive fruit tree farm including peach, cherry, pears, apples, plum nectarine and apricot. They recently won 2 bronze awards at the Canadian Wine Awards for their 2007 Cabernet Franc-Merlot VQA and their 2008 Strawberry Festival Wine. Not to be missed is their 2005 Fine Port which won Best Value Fortified Wine at the 2008 Toronto Wine and Cheese Show. Also look for their new 2009 Chardonnay Musque, which was hand picked and sorted to perfection. When you visit Cornerstone, you are likely to meet the friendly owners, who are always pleased to discuss all things wine and guide you through an enjoyable tasting of their fine products." here is a list of their wines - white, red & fruit ... Whites: 2009 RIESLING (4) - VQA $18.00 2009 RIESLING RESERVE (2) - VQA $20.00 2009 CHENIN BLANC (0) - VQA $19.00 2009 GEWURZTRAMINER (1) - VQA $14.00 2006 RIESLING RESERVE - VQA - $12.00 2008 CHARDONNAY MUSQUE DRY (0) -VQA $14.00 2008 CHARDONNAY MUSQUE SEMI-DRY (2) -VQA $14.00 2009 CHARDONNAY MUSQUE VQA - $16.00 Reds: 2007 CAB. FRANC/MERLOT - VQA $15.00 2007 GAMAY NOIR - VQA $13.00 2005 PINOT NOIR Unfiltered VQA - $15.00 2005 CABERNET (Cab. Franc / Cab. Sov.) - VQA - $15.00 Port: 2007 FINE PORT (3) - $18.00 Icewine: 2008 VIDAL ICEWINE - VQA 375 ml - $39.00 2006 VIDAL ICEWINE VQA 200 ml - $15.00 2006 CABERNET FRANC VQA 200 ml - $30.00 Fruit Wines: 2007 ESTATE PEACH WINE 500 ml - $10.00 2005 CHERRY FESTIVAL WINE 500 ml - $10.00 2008 APRICOT WINE 500 ml- $10.00 2007 STRAWBERRY WINE 500 ml - $14.00 enjoy! sit. sip. savour. Éva Nagy - sommelier & yummy food enthusiast

Blue Gypsy at the Ottawa Wine & Food show

 

 

 

if you like fruit wines then you should check out Blue Gypsy wines at the Ottawa Wine & Food show this weekend.  I was fortunate to try them out Thursday evening at Savvy's event - Sip Swirl Savour & Selebrate.  fortunate meaning that I tried every single one ... but just a sip.

open just 6 weeks, they offer "eight varieties of handcrafted, high-quality, sulfite-free Ontario fruit wines. Our wine selection includes apple, raspberry, cherry, blueberry, cranberry, strawberry, maple, and ginger."

my personal favourite: raspberry.  like fresh berries in the glass.  I can also imagine this drizzled or poured (take your pick) over dessert or a touch added to a glass of sparkling.

here's an interesting fact offered on their website ...

"The Difference between Grape and Fruit Wines

Sugar concentrations as high as 35% or more occur naturally in grapes, but are much lower in many fruits and berries. To balance the taste of a fruit wine, we often use several varieties of a fruit, blending tart (to brings deep colour and body to a wine) with sweet (to create a pleasant finish).

Tannin also occurs naturally in the skins of grapes, acting as a  preservative and stabilizer to keep wine from fermenting in the bottle. Because not all fruits contain tannin, we add it as necessary during our handcrafted process."

enjoy!  

sit. sip. savour.

Éva Nagy - sommelier and yummy food enthusiast