Buyer’s Guide to Vintages May 24th Release

Ontario Wine is Busting Out All Over, Trends from Cuvee 2025
By David Lawrason with notes from Michael Godel, Sara d’Amato and Megha Jandhyala

Our cool spring may have delayed the flowering and fruit set in Ontario’s vineyards longer than wished, but Ontario wine is in full bloom here in late May in terms of events and promotions.

On May 24, Niagara went gala at Brock University’s annual Grand Cuvee Tasting in St. Catharines where 32 winemakers poured bottling they deemed their best and/or most interesting. Then less than 48 hours later, on May 26, more than 300 wines were poured for the Toronto trade at Taste Ontario’s annual tasting (a bit late for this deadline). And, coming up June 2, 10 wineries from Prince Edward County arrive in the GTA with Dare to Compare, an event pitting their chardonnays and pinots against foreign competition.

Before returning to Cuvee 2025, please note that there are 14 Ontario wines in the Vintages May 24 release (out of 102), with the proportion growing right along with VQA wine sales overall since all the noise erupted south of the border. Our picks (below) nicely mirror the Vintages theme of wines for outdoor dining, dominated by a selection of intriguing, varied and value-driven white wines.

Back to Cuvee 2025, I have always liked this dress-up event for its sense of quality and celebration, and the trends it reveals when winemakers show their best efforts. There were three things that struck me this time out: the quality of the sparkling wines (which is the theme of this year’s Experts Tasting), the quality of the “Bordeaux” reds from the 2020 vintage, and the promise of sauvignon blanc in Niagara.

Let’s start there, because five of the first ten whites I tasted were sauvignon blancs, a cool climate variety that Niagara has historically shied away from due to the grape’s lower winter-survival threshold. But that has not been an issue in recent years and the new crop of 2024s and 2023s is particularly promising. I really liked three elegant, mineral examples from the adjacent Wismer and Hanck Vineyards in Twenty Mile Bench: King & Victoria 2023 ($32), Icellars 2024 ($36) and Peninsula Ridge 2024, which is a steal at $19.95. Then from a lake-warmed sites in Niagara Lakeshore, Leaning Post 2024 ($29) is very expressive and complex, as is the Peller Signature 2023 ($32) that has seen barrel fermentation.

The traditional method sparklers were excellent one after another, showing great acidity, verve and especially depth of flavour. Henry of Pelham 2017 Blanc de Blancs Carte Blanche ($44.85) remains a benchmark, with Divergence 2020 Blanc de Blanc ($75) in the same league. Malivoire Bisous Rose NV ($32) is delicate, deep and 100% pinot noir-based. Thirty Bench Sparkling Riesling ($40) shocks me every time with classic aromatics and riveting structure and depth. And 13^th Street NV Blanc de Blanc is an incisive, lean yet elegant green apple edition.

The 2020 pandemic vintage may have been the year that time stood still for many, but it was one of the healthiest and ripest crops in Niagara’s history, and those big cabernet and merlot-based reds are out of hibernation. I was very impressed by Ravine Reserve Nancy’s Block Cabernet Franc 2020 ($67), Peninsula Ridge BV Cabernet Sauvignon ($35), the very age-worthy Stratus Red 2020 ($55), Riverview Basket Press Salvatore’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($60) and Magnotta’s appassimento Enotrium Gran Riserva ($60).

With a reminder that all the wines above can be purchased online direct from the wineries, and/or packed into your trunk after a weekend junket to wine country.

Just before getting to our Vintages picks, here are the three big award winners from Cuvee 2025. Viticulturalist Tom Wiley of Jordan received the Cuvee Vineyard of Excellence Award. Thomas Bachelder of Domaine Le Clos Jordanne and Bachelder Wines received the Cuvee Winemaker of Excellence. And photographer extraordinaire Stephen Elphick received The Tony Aspler Cuvee Award of Excellence for years of chronicling Niagara wine through his keen lens.

Meanwhile here are our picks from the May 24 Vintages release, assembled in ascending price order.

Buyer’s Guide May 14th: Whites and Rosé

Azevedo Loureiro Alvarinho 2024, Vinho Verde, Portugal
$13.95, Charton Hobbs
Megha Jandhyala – This very affordable Vinho Verde is fun and fresh, brimming with juicy fruit and invigorating acidity, with a crisp, cheerful finish.
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There are 15 other Vintages recommendations this week that are currently only available to our premium members. This complete article will be free and visible to all members 30 days after publication. We invite you to subscribe today to unlock our top picks and other Premium benefits

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And that’s a wrap for this edition. We return with a report on the June 7 release which features Rose, and Bachelder wines of Niagara.
– David

Use these quick links for access to all of our May 24th Top Picks in the New Release. Non-premium members can select from all release dates 30 days prior.

Lawrason’s Take – May 24th
Megha’s Picks – May 24th
John’s Top Picks – May 24th
Sara’s Selections – May 24th

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