If you’re a fan of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, this is a winery you MUST visit! Our host, Andrea Morris, speaks with Cloudsley owner Adam Lowy about the reasons for focusing on these two grape varietals, and the choice to outsource their grapes from outstanding growers in the Bench area. Adam talks about making wines that don’t make your mouth tired.

He provided another great statement regarding wine: “Wine is a snapshot of the time and the place the grapes were grown.” They also discuss the challenges of promoting Ontario wines across Canada and around the world, the effect of winter weather on grapes and the reason for different styles of glasses when drinking wine. You’ll definitely enjoy this episode!

Produced by Lukas Sluzar. Recorded January 29, 2025

Show notes: www.cloudsleycellars.com

Wines sampled: 2022 Chardonnay 20 Mile Bench, 2022 Chardonnay Wingfield, 2022
Chardonnay Foxcroft, 2021 Pinot Noir 20 Mile Bench, 2021 Pinot Noir Hanck, 2021 Pinot Noir
Parke

Andrea Morris sits down for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tasting with Adam Lowy of Cloudsley Cellars—at a time when the doors are usually closed to the public! Adam shares the fascinating story behind the Cloudsley name (a touching family tribute) and reveals the passion and precision that guides every barrel of their signature Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

What’s Inside This Sip:

• Niagara’s Cool-Climate Charm: Learn what makes the 20 Mile Bench’s terroir perfect for world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
• Family Roots, Modern Wines: Adam tells us how he brought his love for fine wine home to Ontario, and why honoring his heritage was central to the Cloudsley story.
• From Vine to Glass: Get the inside scoop on their hands-off, thoughtful approach—from hand-picked grapes to wild yeast fermentation and carefully curated French oak barrels.
• Single Vineyard Magic: Experience how subtle differences in neighboring vineyards can create drastically different wines.
• Wine Tasting Notes & Food Pairings: Discover tasting impressions that go from crisp apple and minerality in Chardonnay to vibrant, silky Pinot Noir—and get Adam’s go-to food pairings!

Podcast Highlights:

• Why Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the stars of Niagara—and Cloudsley’s lineup
• The impact of Canada’s challenging winters on grape growing and vintage variation
• The importance of long-term relationships with local growers and specific vineyards
• The thrill (and challenge!) of getting Ontario wines into glasses across Canada, the U.S., and even the UK

Don’t Miss:

• Andrea and Adam’s tasting of 2022 20 Mile Bench Chardonnay, plus single-vineyard Foxcroft and Wingfield Chardonnays—and how each tells its own unique story.
• The lineup of lush, elegant Pinot Noirs—from blends to prized single-vineyard bottles—you’ll want to add to your cellar (or enjoy tonight!).
• Tips on how glass shape and temperature can transform your tasting experience.

Andrea Morris [00:00:00]:
Hello, friends. I’m Andrea Morris, and welcome to another edition of Spill the Wine, our podcast which is, duh, about wine. And kind of my love letter at the moment to the Niagara wine region because I think it’s, underlooked, and it’s one of the most fantastic areas that we have for wine in the country of Canada. So we are here to discover more new wineries and more fabulous wine. And today, I am so excited to be at a winery that I think is spectacular, which is Cloudsley Cellars, and I am joined by Adam Lowey. Hello. Hi, Adam. Thank you so much for agreeing to be a part of the podcast.

Adam Lowy [00:00:33]:
It’s a pleasure.

Andrea Morris [00:00:34]:
Yay. And and, also, they’re not normally open, so we’re having a really special time with just us. We don’t have to worry about tons of crowds of people around making noise. Right?

Adam Lowy [00:00:43]:
Yeah. That’s right. It’s our quiet time of year in the in the winter where we’re we closed up for winemaking, and we have yet to open up for our, our private tastings, which will run until, till spring when we open up entirely.

Andrea Morris [00:00:55]:
And this this podcast will air in the spring, so it’s perfect.

Adam Lowy [00:00:58]:
Wonderful.

Andrea Morris [00:00:58]:
Absolutely great timing. So, Adam, tell me a little bit about Clousley Cellars. How long have you guys been around?

Adam Lowy [00:01:03]:
Well, I started the project in 02/2015. It was, I’d been in the wine business my whole career, but on the other side, on on the import side. And and, I I’ve, you know, had a real love for Niagara and and started it sort of as a little bit of a hobby on the side and quickly realized that I wanted to jump in with both feet. So by, the first couple of vintages in 02/1516, we made, virtually at another winery. And then in 02/2017, we put this building together and, and, introduced Chardonnay. Initially, it was just Pinot, and and, we’ve been, solely focused on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and the 20 mile bench ever since.

Andrea Morris [00:01:44]:
Where’d the name Cloudsley come from?

Adam Lowy [00:01:45]:
Cloudsley is my mother’s maiden name.

Andrea Morris [00:01:48]:
Oh.

Adam Lowy [00:01:48]:
And, it was a name that, that, is has come to an end in my family. There are no more Cloudsleys around. So it was a way of honoring her side of the family, and, truth is I wanted a name that was meaningful to me, but I didn’t want my own name on the label. So this this, served a lot of purposes.

Andrea Morris [00:02:08]:
It’s a great name.

Adam Lowy [00:02:08]:
Yeah. It’s it’s wonderful. It’s an old name, but there aren’t many Cloudsleys around. So it’s, I didn’t have to fight a lot of people for the name, so it was wonderful.

Andrea Morris [00:02:17]:
And your location, kind of going up the hill on Victoria is great because you look down and it’s kind of like you see the lake and you’ve got the clouds and so it’s absolutely perfect.

Adam Lowy [00:02:28]:
We are certainly in a perfect location here.

Andrea Morris [00:02:30]:
Now how did you come about this property? Well,

Adam Lowy [00:02:35]:
it’s I knew when I started, you know, having been in the fine wine business for a long time, I knew that, you know, great wine’s only made in great with great vineyards. And so I looked at the area of Niagara that I thought, had the the best potential and and, was indeed already producing, the best, grapes. And so, I I really wanted to be on the bench and particularly in 20 mile bench. And, I had a relationship, with, some growers in the area, and I was able to, to secure this spot to make clouds leaf. So it’s been great.

Andrea Morris [00:03:14]:
Now do you grow your own grapes on the property?

Adam Lowy [00:03:16]:
There are some grapes, some, there’s there’s certainly grapes on the property. It’s kind of a an interesting thing. We’ve we’ve got some Pinot Noir planted here, but most of the, the grapes that we get are from, surrounding vineyards that are owned by other, growers, predominantly the Wismar family, that owns Foxcroft and Wingfield Vineyard. We are two Chardonnay vineyards in addition to Glenelghen Vineyard and, we and and Cuesta Vineyard. We also and Park Vineyard, which, we get Pinot Noir from. And then, we also work with, with our our friends at at at Hank Vineyard, just, just beside Park and and, end of the road vineyard, which is, the furthest one away at about, three miles.

Andrea Morris [00:04:07]:
Now do you use the same vineyards every year, or do you switch it around and go, like No.

Adam Lowy [00:04:11]:
Absolutely. It’s we’re we’re not buying grapes on the open market. What we do is we we have long term relationships with the growers where the the, vineyards are farmed to our specifications, and we get the exact same rows every year. So it’s it’s in essence as if we owned it in the sense that we are, you know, we’re the the the viticulture’s done at a very high level, but it allows us to access interesting different sites and, and importantly, sites that have some decent vine age on them. You know, when I came into, the, you know, when I started the project, I I didn’t wanna plant a vineyard and wait forever for the vines to be mature. And I also didn’t wanna commit to just one site. I wanted to see, you know, the the the whole, variance in terroir, particularly on the bench here in in 20 mile, is is, is spectacular, and I wanted to explore that. So we have multiple cases where we’ll have vineyards that are either adjacent to each other or very close to each other that taste, very, very different even though they’re farmed in the same way and produced the same way.

Adam Lowy [00:05:26]:
Well, that’s that’s what terroir is. That’s that’s an individual site telling its story. So for example, in 02/2020, we made six pinot noirs all from 20 mile bench. Five of the six are within a kilometer of each other. Well and they all taste different. And that to me as, you know, as a as as a wine geek is is really interesting. So

Andrea Morris [00:05:49]:
I I’ve noticed that when I’ve done tastings with I I did one at cassava with three different kinds of Syrah, same year, three different vineyards on the property, completely different taste to each one of them. Yeah. And I think that’s really, really, really interesting.

Adam Lowy [00:06:04]:
It is. Absolutely. And and, you know, wine with larger regional designations can be very interesting. Interesting. But as you drill down, it becomes more more interesting because you’re you’re not only seeing, what the individuality of one particular, vintage, but you’re looking at at an a a really specific place. And, when you’re drinking that wine, wine made with that with that kind of intention, you’re tasting a wine that couldn’t have come from any other time or any other place. And that’s it’s a snapshot, if you will, and that’s really interesting. And I think in a world where we have so many, homogenized and and and, you know, almost commodity like, wines, I think it’s really interesting to to, still delve into what I think, the kind of wine that that has has made people passionate about and excited about wine for for, for hundreds of years.

Andrea Morris [00:07:03]:
The kind of wine you take a sip and you’re like it’s like you can almost hear a chorus of angels. Well, that’s that’s

Adam Lowy [00:07:09]:
that’s what we aim for, certainly.

Andrea Morris [00:07:10]:
Yeah. I’ve had that experience here with your pinot, so I know yeah. I’m very excited about that. Wonderful. And now the nice thing I think too when you just that you said too is, like, because you use the same vineyards, you know that they will have grapes for you every year. Not you’re in a bidding war.

Adam Lowy [00:07:24]:
Oh, no. No. No. No. Absolutely. There we have very close relationships with them. And as I said, we’re getting the same rows every year, and, and we’re, you know, we’re constantly talking with them throughout the growing season about about how things are going and and, and, you know, discussions about whether or not to to, to pull more leaves or to, you know, reduce the crop or or whatever the case may be.

Andrea Morris [00:07:46]:
So you’re you’re pretty hands on with

Adam Lowy [00:07:48]:
the whole thing as well? We certainly are. Yeah. A lot of it’s, communicated between, Matt Smith, our great winemaker, and, and the vineyard managers.

Andrea Morris [00:07:58]:
Now is there a reason for only doing Chardonnay and Pinot?

Adam Lowy [00:08:02]:
Yeah. Absolutely. Well, a few reasons, really. One, you know, first and foremost, they’re they’re what I love, and it’s it’s where my passion was. And and it’s also, they also naturally go hand in hand. I mean, these are the two noble wines from Burgundy, and you’ll see this in in other places where people have been inspired by Burgundy. They’ve they’ve paired the two because, obviously, they grow well together. They’ve they grew up together in burgundy, these two varietals, and and and they they tend to thrive in the same kinds of places.

Adam Lowy [00:08:35]:
And, of course, you know, I’m I’m I love these two varietals when they’re made in from great vineyards and cool climate regions. So that inspired me, and and that’s the kind of area we’re in here. That’s what this area does best, and that’s the most important thing. That’s you know, it’s maybe you could look at it at chicken and egg. Why am I here? Well, because that’s why we’re pinot and chard. But also why pinot and chard? Because if I’m here, this is what, you know, that that’s what works best in my opinion here. And, and I think it’s, you know, I I think too many people around the world have have tried to make tried to fit that square peg into a round hole by saying, oh, I love this style, and so I wanna make it here. Well, you gotta listen to what the vineyard and what the what the the area tells you.

Adam Lowy [00:09:20]:
And and clearly and and, that and many of of many people in the in the who came before me have demonstrated that these are two varietals that work, really, really well on the bench in Niagara.

Andrea Morris [00:09:32]:
So if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

Adam Lowy [00:09:34]:
Well, absolutely. And I think we can, you know and and and the the recognition that we’ve, as an industry, have got for Chardonnay and Pinot in this area is clearly an indication that we’re on the right track.

Andrea Morris [00:09:44]:
Now do you enter your wines into contests for awards and things?

Adam Lowy [00:09:47]:
Some. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, I’m I, it’s it’s not something that we do, that we put too much, stock into because, you know, obviously, the most important thing is is pouring wine for someone and having them taste it and experience it for themselves. But, yeah, it never hurts to have, have your wine put out there, and we’ve been, fortunate to have some good results in tastings and had, you know, very good scores by press here in Canada and internationally. So we’re we’re excited about that. But, really, it’s about it’s about the individual tasting it and and, you know, getting turned on to the style of wine, into this this, this really cool area.

Andrea Morris [00:10:27]:
I think this is a great area, and I think it’s time to maybe start tasting some of this wine.

Adam Lowy [00:10:32]:
Wonderful. So we’re gonna start off with, some Chardonnay. And the first wine is our two thousand twenty two twenty Mile Bench Chardonnay. Now this is a blend of two vineyards, Foxcroft, which is directly across the street, and Wingfield, which is about 800 yards up the road. We, make this wine like all of our Chardonnay with hand picked grapes that come to the winery in small baskets, and we then pass the grapes along a a four meter long stainless steel sorting table that vibrates and moves the grapes along very slowly. We have a number of people around picking out any grapes that aren’t perfect, and then the wine is pressed and, and put into a tank where it settles for a day or two. We don’t settle it super clean, but we we don’t wanna get everything out, but we want the the most, the heaviest solids to to fall out. And then we put the wine in French oak barrels, where we allow it to ferment naturally, so without the addition of any commercial yeast, so what many people call a wild yeast fermentation.

Adam Lowy [00:11:38]:
And we’ll leave it in those barrels for eighteen months. So it’s in in essence, it’s it’s pretty hands off winemaking. We don’t do a lot of manipulation. We we find that the wines we like the most are the wines where we’ve done the least. Now, of course, throughout that whole process, you’re worrying and monitoring and doing all those things, and and intervening when you need to. You know, say, if there’s a barrel that’s not working out, you might transfer it to another vessel, or or if you feel that it needs some oxygenation or some some stirring or something, we may do that. But but for the most part, we try and really leave things alone because we find that that, that the wine that makes itself is often the wine we like. I don’t wanna take anything away from our winemaker.

Adam Lowy [00:12:20]:
He’s he he certainly does a lot, and it’s and it’s his judgment with all of these things that that, that allows the wines to really reach their, their their their peak. So

Andrea Morris [00:12:30]:
So lovely, like, very light color.

Adam Lowy [00:12:33]:
Yeah. It’s, it’s, you know, this is sort of classic, cool climate Chardonnay where, we pick relatively early. We’re, usually the first to pick in in, Chardonnay in in this particular spot, because we wanna retain those cooler flavors. We don’t wanna allow the the, grapes to get into that sort of more tropical, kind of, fruit zone, where which actually, can happen quite a bit, particularly in Foxcroft. The the the grapes will ripen and and, you know, get sort of what I consider overripe flavors, which appeal to some, but it’s not really what we’re after. I love those cooler flavors that, that tend to work really well with that sense of minerality we get from these limestone soils here and and that bright acidity that we’re able to retain.

Andrea Morris [00:13:26]:
Kinda like that crisp apple.

Adam Lowy [00:13:27]:
Absolutely. Yeah.

Andrea Morris [00:13:29]:
It’s a little bit of that on the nose.

Adam Lowy [00:13:31]:
Yeah. So, you know, as I as I mentioned before, this wine has, been in French oak barrels for or was in French oak barrels rather for eighteen months. Twenty percent of those barrels were new, and and the rest had been used previously, and it’s that new new oak that tends to impart flavor. But I wouldn’t describe this as an overly oaky wine. No. Not at all. Because, a, we’re we’re very, very careful about the, the the barrels we choose. We spend a tremendous amount of money on getting barrels that are that are just perfect going down to not only picking how long that the the wines have been, or the the the wood has been aged, that, you know, how tight the grain is, certainly the toast in the barrel, but even the particular forest that the wood comes from.

Adam Lowy [00:14:23]:
So all of these decisions help, us dial in a barrel that’s that’s most, appropriate for the particular, style that we’re going for here. And, and interestingly, by having the wine in barrel for eighteen months as opposed to, say, ten months that that is is common and practice, you know, it’s it it allows the, I think, the fruit to to, and the, the fruit and the oak to integrate well, so you get a sort of more elegant presentation.

Andrea Morris [00:14:56]:
Yes. It’s not like some of the wines in that are in oak tend to have that real caramel sort of flavor to them, but this is very this is still very true to, like, a crisp. It’s very succinct. A little citrusy, but a little apple. And

Adam Lowy [00:15:09]:
I appreciate that. And I think what you’re also getting is is is not only the flavors, but the the way they’re presented and and that that, underlying tension that you get there from from the acid and also that sense of minerality that we get on the mid palate from and on the finish from the from these limestone soils here allow the fruit to be a little bit more, delicately presented. And so there’s, and and the the end result is a wine that’s that’s mouthwatering and refreshing that doesn’t leave there’s no cloying element. It doesn’t leave your mouth tired after. And and that’s really what we’re going for in all our wines. Chardonnay and Pinot, we want wines that that, have some vibrancy to them, that have lift, and, and that are, that, you know, have a really nice energy to them.

Andrea Morris [00:15:57]:
Yeah. I would say that you’ve you’ve hit the nail on the head with this one. Wonderful. It’s just it’s very it’s a I could I could picture it on, like, a nice, like, fish with this. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Something just light.

Adam Lowy [00:16:09]:
Yeah. Yeah. For sure. But, you know, I mean, having, you can imagine that I’ve had these, these wines several times, with many different dishes. And so

Andrea Morris [00:16:18]:
What’s your favorite?

Adam Lowy [00:16:19]:
Well, I I I love this with, obviously, with fish. I mean, I I I I love eating fish, so this works really well with this, with, you know, anything from a light white fish to a smoke or to or sorry, to a grilled salmon. This can handle that. But it also works really, really well with roast chicken. Oh, interesting. And and sorta and so, I think, you know, the a wine like this is actually quite versatile. And so so it that’s and and I you know, people have been known to drink it without food as well.

Andrea Morris [00:16:51]:
I was just gonna say that because it’s very light. It was like I was just thinking summertime when nice and hot, chill this slightly and just sit outside on the deck and Yeah. Watch the world go by.

Adam Lowy [00:17:02]:
Yeah. The only danger is it tends to, tends to tends to evaporate really quickly. It goes goes down rather rather rather smoothly.

Andrea Morris [00:17:10]:
Two or three bottles in. That’s what

Adam Lowy [00:17:12]:
I want. So, so yeah. So that’s great. And this wine is is sort of our as I mentioned, it’s our 20 mile bench blend. It’s a blend of two vineyards. It’s kind of the core of what we do here, and this this sells at the winery for $32.50.

Andrea Morris [00:17:26]:
That’s great. Yeah. Yeah.

Adam Lowy [00:17:27]:
And, and so before making this wine, we look at all the barrels. And if, in years where we think the quality warrants it, we’ll isolate small parcels of each vineyard and make a single vineyard bottling. So next, we’re gonna actually look at the, 20, at the, 2022 Wingfield Vineyard Chardonnay followed by the Foxcroft Vineyard Chardonnay. So, essentially, what we’ll be seeing are are, individual single vineyard examples of the two, sources for the wine that we’re tasting right now.

Andrea Morris [00:18:05]:
So so this is like the marriage and the

Adam Lowy [00:18:07]:
Absolutely. Yeah. And and so that’s generally what it is. These 20 mile bench wines, are a blend of of of more than one vineyard site, and we also, make, single vineyard wines.

Andrea Morris [00:18:20]:
And it and the like, on the first sip, like I said, the first sip to me was very, very crisp. But the more it settles on the glass and the more I’m getting used to it, I’ve like, I’m seeing it warm up a little bit to me and

Adam Lowy [00:18:29]:
Yeah. Absolutely.

Andrea Morris [00:18:30]:
Becoming a little bit more more complex than it was on the initial sip, which is why it’s always important to never gulp down your first sip in wine tasting.

Adam Lowy [00:18:39]:
Sure.

Andrea Morris [00:18:39]:
Always take one sip then a second because you really the wine kind of, like, really on the third sip, I think, is when you really know what the wine’s all about. Well, absolutely.

Adam Lowy [00:18:48]:
And and, also, you know, this wine’s right out of a refrigerator. Right. We’re gonna right out, but it’s so it’s it’s come down a little bit in temperature, but it’s or or come up a little bit in temperature, but it’s still quite cold. So you’re you’re seeing that it’s also been in bottle. Right? So we’ve just popped the cork on this. So one thing that, you know, many people associate decanting wines with older red wines to remove sediment or or with young wines to introduce oxygen. But, often quality white wines, particularly Chardonnay that’s classically made like this, can really benefit from some air. So decanting a a a wine like this or at least giving it some time in the glass to to open up will really show you, you know, more dimension to the wine.

Adam Lowy [00:19:34]:
So we can go from here to Wingfield Vineyard Chardonnay. And this is the wine that I mentioned this is the sorry. The vineyard site that I mentioned that is about 800 yards up the road. It’s, as with Foxcroft, owned by the Wismer family, and this is a really interesting site. It’s quite a bit cooler than Foxcroft. In fact, so much so that we tend to pick it, two to four weeks after Foxcroft even though it’s only 800 yards away.

Andrea Morris [00:20:04]:
Wow.

Adam Lowy [00:20:05]:
So a really different site. The vines were planted in, in the nineteen nineties, and so they’re they’re, you know, older vines by by Niagara standards and, really beautiful sight, pure expression of of bench chardonnay.

Andrea Morris [00:20:24]:
Very nice nose to it. It’s not as crisp. Mhmm.

Adam Lowy [00:20:28]:
It does

Andrea Morris [00:20:28]:
I don’t get that apple Mhmm. Smell coming that that scent rather. It’s really settling in there.

Adam Lowy [00:20:33]:
Mhmm. And you still get that freshness. Yes. And, but it is it’s there you know, it’s it’s a little denser, little more complex.

Andrea Morris [00:20:42]:
It’s like you put a sweater on.

Adam Lowy [00:20:43]:
Yeah. Yeah. And the interesting thing about these, I mean, to be honest, you know, look, our our single vineyard chardonnays rather than being $32.50 are $53. So they’re they’re more expensive. But it’s not to say that they’re necessarily we’re not trying to I mean, of course, we’re choosing the best barrels for these wines, and it’s a it’s a microselection and and and that’s, and and when I say the best barrels, not the best barrels that we’ve purchased, the best, you know, not the best wood. It’s the barrels that after eighteen months or after their period of of, what what we refer to as the elevage, the raising of the bear of the wine and barrel, the wines that the barrels that speak to us and that that show the best. And so we’re we’re you know, it is the cream of the crop in essence, but, it’s not, unusual for for some people to prefer the blend of the two vineyards because they’re just different expressions, of Chardonnay. But for us, it’s extremely important to highlight these particular vineyards and to show that this is what Wingfield, was all about in 02/2022, and and it’s fun at the winery when we’re able to pour the blend and then pour pour some of the components of that blend, and people can see sort of understand where that blended wine came from.

Andrea Morris [00:22:05]:
Yeah. And importantly too, like, we all have different palates. Absolutely. What I like and what I’m tasting, you might not taste at home. No. If you come here, you might have a completely different experience.

Adam Lowy [00:22:15]:
No. We’ve often had, had, couples, in dispute as to what to take home with them because one vineyard might appeal more to one person and and another to, to their spouse. So

Andrea Morris [00:22:29]:
This becomes to me, it becomes I can taste a little bit of caramel on it on this one. Not a ton, but just a tiny little bit. I feel like I’m now I’m tasting what the yolk is bringing to me.

Adam Lowy [00:22:37]:
Well, the next wine we’re gonna try is the the, sister, if you will, the Foxcroft Vineyard from the the from the vineyard directly across the street. So, it is a really spectacular sight that I think, you know demonstrates more than more than maybe any other place what is so interesting about 20 Mile Bench for Chardonnay because you’re able to get powerful Chardonnay flavor with, that wonderful sense of of minerality that I was speaking of before and that that’s that, beautiful you know like, like the wines hung on a taut clothesline.

Andrea Morris [00:23:18]:
And this one is it it’s funny because the, the the Wismer is deeper in color

Adam Lowy [00:23:24]:
The Wingfield. Yeah.

Andrea Morris [00:23:24]:
Wingfield. Yeah. Yeah. Than,

Adam Lowy [00:23:26]:
the best one. But In essence, this is this this made up, more of the, of the first wine I

Andrea Morris [00:23:33]:
was gonna say. Yeah. Yeah.

Adam Lowy [00:23:35]:
So and this is a wine that, you know, some has has, not yet been released to the public. It’s our our wine club members have had access to it, but it will soon be released to the public. We do we don’t have a lot of either of these wines. These these are an embarrassing, embarrassingly small production this year, but in in, 2,022, we only made about 35 cases each of these single vineyard wines.

Andrea Morris [00:24:01]:
Wow.

Adam Lowy [00:24:01]:
Normally, it’s more than that, but it was it was a small vintage, and we we, were tempted to keep it all for our 20 mile bench because we we needed that volume there. But I I I the wines were too good. We wanted to make at least some of our single vineyard wines, and and these particular lots were were, or these particular barrels showed the, the best. So that It’s really lovely. No. It’s it’s great.

Andrea Morris [00:24:26]:
It almost feels like that little it it’s not, like, sparkling to me. Like like, if I was drinking a sparkling Chardonnay, it almost has that kind of flavor to it to me Yeah. It’s like Without the bubbles.

Adam Lowy [00:24:39]:
Yeah. Well, it’s a beautiful Absolutely stunning. Yeah. It’s a it’s a really interesting and and it’s been a wine that was, that was slow to, evolve, which is why actually we released the Wingfield first.

Andrea Morris [00:24:52]:
Mhmm.

Adam Lowy [00:24:53]:
It’s and which indicates to me that it’s probably going to be quite long lived.

Andrea Morris [00:24:58]:
Yes. I can see that because, like, again, third sip, it’s just there’s a little bit of sweetness that’s coming a little bit, and it’s just, like, it’s it’s really presenting itself to be so complex.

Adam Lowy [00:25:08]:
Yeah. Well, I I’m tasting this for the first time in a little while, and I am happy to see that it’s starting to open up a little bit because I’ve always known the quality was there, but, it it hasn’t you know, this was bottled in in May, of last year. And so, and and, you know, we’re we have the luxury of of being small and and not having sort of supermarket orders to fill and all that sort of thing. So with this kind of thing, we we tend to wanna release it when it’s when it’s ready. And so now I’m comfortable with where this is sitting.

Andrea Morris [00:25:39]:
Oh, it’s

Adam Lowy [00:25:39]:
And, it’s beautiful. Although I I have to say that I will be putting some of this away for years to come because I, I I can see that the that this is gonna improve a lot over the next few years.

Andrea Morris [00:25:51]:
How many years do you think it would be at it where it’s evolved to the point that you think that this is it?

Adam Lowy [00:25:56]:
Well, I kinda think these top Chardonnays I mean, I love them at about five years old. So, but they can certainly last much longer than that. But I think they certainly continue to improve over the the the first few years after after release. The, but, again, you know, like anything with wine, it depends on how you like it. I mean, some people really like the the, more overt fruit that comes in a younger wine, and other people prefer that sort of, more of the tertiary notes and the more delicate presentation of fruit that comes, as, as a wine matures. So

Andrea Morris [00:26:32]:
The minerality definitely is that you can taste that. Yeah. It’s that you can taste that it it does have that to it, but it’s it’s just it’s so complimentary to the rest of the flavors. This is a completely wonderful wine that I can see if you don’t come here listening to her and get this, you’re gonna be sorry.

Adam Lowy [00:26:52]:
And if you’re from, elsewhere, you can we’ll we’ll send it to you.

Andrea Morris [00:26:56]:
Do you ship outside of the province? Or you’re

Adam Lowy [00:26:58]:
to some places where we’re permitted to. Yeah. Yeah. And we also sell, you know, we have an agent in in Quebec that, we work with. And, in addition, we have an importer in in The United Kingdom, so we’re selling in London and and, and working on a few other export markets. So

Andrea Morris [00:27:14]:
Is it frustrating to not be able to, like, sell to more places?

Adam Lowy [00:27:19]:
It is. It is. I I I, you know, I I find it, I’ve always found it frustrating that, you know, in Canada that that each province treats wine from another province as an imported product, and I it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. And, you know, at the time of recording this, there are some, you know, some some, external trade threats that we’re facing in Canada, and it seems to me that that now is a perfect time to revisit some of these archaic institutions that we’ve got to keep us from from sharing, what’s best here.

Andrea Morris [00:27:53]:
Yeah. You

Adam Lowy [00:27:54]:
know? We shouldn’t we shouldn’t be, you know, we should find a way to be able to buy, food and wine province to province in a in an easier way, and and, not rely so much on, on imports from other countries.

Andrea Morris [00:28:09]:
Agree wholeheartedly. Although, if as we’re as we’re speaking, if the tariffs from The United States do take effect and they pull all the California wines off the shelves, then, hey. It’s an opportunity for people to explore more Ontario wine.

Adam Lowy [00:28:22]:
Yeah. Well, they should do that anyways.

Andrea Morris [00:28:25]:
I am always saying that. Yeah. Because

Adam Lowy [00:28:28]:
certainly should. And which is why I really appreciate, the focus of your podcast because, you know, I I it’s interesting. I I was speaking just yesterday with a restaurateur who had been around for quite some time, and we were reflecting on the change. You know? I I started selling wine to restaurants in the mid nineteen nineties, and, getting people to list on Ontario wine at the time was, was was quite difficult. I mean, you could, you you know, you could maybe convince them to put one on the list in case they had some tourist who wanted to try it. Well, now, I mean, there are there are entire restaurants that have nothing but VQA wine, and customers are demanding it because, and it’s not only out of some sense of loyalty to shop locally or or some environmental reason or or or whatnot. It’s because we make some of the best wine in the world. Exactly.

Adam Lowy [00:29:16]:
And and, and and the the beauty is that we’re turning people on. The the the the only frustrating thing is it takes one person at a time, and and there are still lots of people out there that don’t realize that right on their doorstep are some of the most fantastic Pinots and Shards and and other varietals.

Andrea Morris [00:29:35]:
I think that, you know, what would be really great if there was someone if if there was someone that would go to, like, other places. Like, say, go into New York. Go into like, I’m originally from Ohio. Mhmm. And when I was in Ohio in November, I was at a a wine bar. And I said to the woman I looked at her wine list, and I’m like, why don’t you have any Ontario wines? And she was like, I didn’t realize. I said, no. You need to make a trip.

Andrea Morris [00:29:59]:
I’m like, here’s my card. You can stay at my house. I will take you to wineries. I’m like, because you’re missing out. Yeah. And I was really I gave her a really hard time about the fact that she didn’t have any Ontario wines on her list. I’m like, you’re telling me that you’re one of the top sommeliers in the area, but you have never explored a region that’s literally three hours away from

Adam Lowy [00:30:16]:
Yeah. Well, it’s tough because they they’ve got us, you know, an interesting system there where they’re you know, it’s not it’s it’s complicated to get wine into The United States too. You need an importer, and that importer needs to deal with distributors. And and it’s a state by state thing there as well. So, it’s and and, of course, you can imagine that they that in The US, they, of course, they bring in wine from all over the place, but they have such a massive domestic industry as well that that, you know, they’re not they’re not screaming for for, this for our wine in many places. But I think it’s But

Andrea Morris [00:30:51]:
they should

Adam Lowy [00:30:52]:
be And they will be.

Andrea Morris [00:30:53]:
Yeah.

Adam Lowy [00:30:53]:
And and, certainly, you know, you can go to some top restaurants in New York City and and and some other key markets and find, find excellent, Niagara wine. But, they, we have yet to we you know, funny enough, we’ve had more of an impact in London and some other European cities, than we have in The United States. That’s weird. Yeah. Well, it’s a part of it’s the the the the valiant effort of my colleagues in the business of year after year going and doing these trade tastings and and and, and exposing the wine. And and I think part of it is also the style we make here, is is, I think, more easily understood by someone who drinks European wine because, it’s a cool climate region that has, you know, a a wonderful, vibrant acidity like French and Italian wines often do. So I think the The UK market, which is, you know, historically the most, you know, the broadest minded, market in the world. They have wines from everywhere, and they’ve they’ve really been tastemakers in a lot of ways over throughout the centuries with regards to to shaping the the the wine trade.

Adam Lowy [00:32:08]:
And I think that they, you know, they’re used to drinking these wines from Burgundy, so they understand what we’re doing here. And and I think so that that might be part of it. But, and, maybe they also, you know, have a soft spot for their Commonwealth cousins. Who knows?

Andrea Morris [00:32:24]:
Could be. Yeah. I think that we need to, like, get more people to listen to this podcast and come out here to Ontario and see what they’re missing.

Adam Lowy [00:32:32]:
I agree.

Andrea Morris [00:32:33]:
Because that is an absolutely spectacular Chardonnay.

Adam Lowy [00:32:37]:
Thank you. So, can I interest you in tasting some Pinot now?

Andrea Morris [00:32:41]:
Oh, yes. Pinot Noir is one of my favorite wines. So and I know for a fact that yours are spectacular, so I’m very excited about this.

Adam Lowy [00:32:49]:
Wonderful. So what we’ll do now is we’ll taste our like the like with with Chardonnay, we’re gonna start off with our 20 mile bench Pinot Noir, which is a blend of vineyards. And then we’ll try a couple single vineyard bottlings.

Andrea Morris [00:33:01]:
Before we do that, can we just address like, listener, you can’t see this, but I’m gonna actually take photos of the two different glasses. Because the white wine glass as opposed to the Pinot glass is completely different. And is there a reason for the difference in drinking glasses in those

Adam Lowy [00:33:17]:
Yeah. I mean, I’m not particularly, you know, I don’t think, you know, I’m not not too dogmatic about it, but certainly, some glasses, I think, are more suited to some wines. And, Pinot, many people believe, and I I also that having a little bit more volume in the in the bowl, so a little bit wider, glass that also tapers, gets smaller at the top is has enough room in it, to, by the size to, to, gather all that beautiful aroma, but then it narrows at the top to focus it on your on your nose. So classic Pinot Noir glass like we have here, I think, is is really perfect for it for these wines. And and and with Chardonnay, I mean, the glass we’re using here, it’s it’s not quite as big and, and maybe tapers a little bit. We have another glass that we sometimes use for Chardonnay as well, but there’s no real wrong answer with it. I think I have, you know, I have a few thing. I I I don’t personally like a glass that has a a a, like, a cheaper glass with a rolled rim.

Adam Lowy [00:34:30]:
I like a nice fine glass. I think it’s a it’s a it delivers the, the the wine to your lips more, you know, more comfortably. And I think, it’s, it’s a, you know, when you’re drinking a nice wine, it’s nice to have a good glass. But there’s no one answer to that question. But I certainly you know, here, we we certainly like these Pinot glasses for our for our Pinots.

Andrea Morris [00:34:55]:
I just wondered because well, I I know the answer, but I wanted to share it with people because it’s really interesting to see the difference in the glasses.

Adam Lowy [00:35:04]:
Yeah. Absolutely. And if you wanna, if you wanna sort of, have a look at what we mean, go to the the Riedel website, and they have different wine glasses for for different varietals. And, they were sort of, maybe the first to popularize that idea.

Andrea Morris [00:35:20]:
You could go broke on glasses alone.

Adam Lowy [00:35:22]:
You absolutely can. And, that’s that’s quite a rabbit hole to jump.

Andrea Morris [00:35:26]:
So this is our blend?

Adam Lowy [00:35:27]:
Yeah. This is the 2,021 Pinot Noir. So, the 02/2022 vintage that we had before in Chardonnay was a vintage that where it was a smaller production of a lot of intensity. 02/2021 was a little different. It was a it was a quite a nice year, but we experienced, a lot of rain as we moved into harvest. So there was a little bit of a battle to get the grapes off, before too much rain fell. But what we found was that, particularly after the wine had been barrel in barrel for a while that they came together beautifully. And what we have is a is a really bright, elegant, expression of Pinot Noir that, that is, is, I think, quite a classic classic vintage coming off of 02/2020.

Adam Lowy [00:36:19]:
We’re actually gonna taste the 02/2020 a little later, and ’20 was a really bigger, riper year. And and many people said, oh, it’s the greatest vintage we’ve ever had here. And I think for some people, that may be true. But for me, I’ll see the value in in in the warmer vintages and the cooler vintages because, I like that sort of medium bodied, slightly lighter expression of Pinot Noir, where you have, you’ve got tons of flavor but maybe it’s not quite as as maybe less alcohol and a little less, a little less immediate, power, but but tons of flavor still. And I think that’s this 21 Pinots certainly provide that.

Andrea Morris [00:37:05]:
It’s a very pretty color. It’s like a light plum almost, not too light.

Adam Lowy [00:37:09]:
And you see it’s it’s not, it’s by no means a big wine, but there’s no it’s not missing any flavor. And and it’s it’s a really nice wine to drink on its own, but as I said, it it, you know, these wines work, really well with food.

Andrea Morris [00:37:25]:
Yeah. What’s nice about Pinot, it’s like it is for a it’s like a thinner wine, but it’s Yeah. It does have such a a beautiful flavor. Yeah.

Adam Lowy [00:37:32]:
And the nose is, you know, is I mean, I always find that almost more than other any other, red wines that they they you know, so much of the enjoyment of Pinot comes from the nose. I just find myself going back to it constantly. I can’t put my glass down usually. So it’s, and it changes throughout the the, you know, as you’re as you sit with it. So you’re always aerated. Always looking at it and and finding some other different little nuance. So it’s,

Andrea Morris [00:38:01]:
What would you pair this with?

Adam Lowy [00:38:03]:
I well, actually, I mean, it’s interesting. We were talking about fish before because this works really well with, you know, salmon, as well if you wanna go on that side, but, could work really well with poultry. But I I like this kind of wine with with, duck or or or, you know, other other Turkey. Turkey, certainly. I mean, classic sort of Thanksgiving wines, these things. And, but I I I and, again, you know, I’ve been known to drink them on their own. And and part of the reason why this style of wine works so well is that it is refreshing, and it is a wine that’s not overpowering. It doesn’t doesn’t neither wears you out in the head or in the in the, because it’s not very high alcohol.

Adam Lowy [00:38:49]:
It’s only about twelve, twelve and a half percent. And So

Andrea Morris [00:38:52]:
you could easily open a couple of bottles of that and have breakdown. The No. This is, it gets softer. Again, like, it’s just, like, it keeps opening up more and more, and it’s just becomes much more inviting on every taste. So It’s really, really lovely.

Adam Lowy [00:39:09]:
Yeah. And and so this is I I mentioned, you know, in the case of the 20 mile bend Chardonnay, it was a blend of two vineyards. Well, in this case, this is a blend of four vineyards. Oh. So we’ve got the Park And Hank vineyards, which are immediately, to the north of the winery. And then we’ve got Glenelgene, which is, up on, on the next level above us on the escarpment. So, all but all of these are within, you know, within a kilometre of the winery. And then, we’ve got a little bit of end of the road vineyard, which is the the vineyard that’s furthest east that we, that we deal with, which is, really not far away.

Adam Lowy [00:39:47]:
It’s it’s it’s just on the other side of the Jordan Valley. So, about, you know, maybe five kilometers away.

Andrea Morris [00:39:55]:
Have you ever done a wine that’s just from that vineyard?

Adam Lowy [00:39:58]:
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. And, we have actually done a single vineyard wine from every vineyard we work with save the, the small block of Pinot we have right on our home property here, which, has never isn’t a very old vineyard, so it’s only now six years old. Maybe, I gotta my math might be wrong in that, but it’s not it hasn’t yet, produced something that we felt was was quite there, as far as a single vineyard wine. So, but you know what? We have yet to blend the twenty threes, so maybe this is the year.

Andrea Morris [00:40:33]:
You never know. Yeah. Could be. This is this is a wonderful wine.

Adam Lowy [00:40:37]:
Yeah. It’s beautiful, and and I think a really nice example of, of what we can do here. And I I think that, you know, this vintage variation that I spoke about here I mean, anyone that lives in Southern Ontario knows that year to year, the the the the, weather varies a lot. We have sort of cooler summers. We have really hot summers. We have dry summers and rainy summers. And, and I think, you know, while if we were making a a commercial, you you know, large scale commercial product where there was real demand to have uniformity v vintage to vintage, maybe that would be viewed out as a negative. But I look at it as a positive because we’re able to provide our our customers with with a brand new experience, every vintage.

Adam Lowy [00:41:26]:
So we get the same the same, wine making philosophy, the same techniques every year, the same intent every year, but with, a different expression, a different story to tell, from from these vineyards. You know? The the the, and and and I think that while there might be, depending on your taste, some vintages might appeal to you more and maybe some if you’re thinking, well, I wanna lay down a wine for ten years. Maybe some vintages are better than than others for that, but, but they all provide enjoyment or we wouldn’t release them. And in fact, there have been times where we haven’t released particular wines in a particular year because they didn’t meet my standards, and and, and we have the luxury of being able to do that. So, but but I I embrace that vintage variability that we have here, and I find that, and and I actually have come to when I was when I was first into fine wines, I would only buy or I would, you know, sort of really look for the best vintages in Bordeaux and Burgundy and other regions. And and now I realize that I’m you know, I find a producer that I really like, and I buy their wine every year because I like seeing those lighter vintages and the heavier vintages. And I find that that if you’re if you’re with the the right producer, the right winemakers, then, then you’re gonna get a a really rewarding experience regardless of vintage.

Andrea Morris [00:42:52]:
I think that’s what’s great about wine is that you never know what you’re getting.

Adam Lowy [00:42:56]:
Yeah.

Andrea Morris [00:42:56]:
You know, you I know that the reason one of the reasons I started this podcast was because I would when I moved to this area, I would invite people out for wine tastings, and they would say, well, I don’t know anything about wine. But you don’t have to.

Adam Lowy [00:43:09]:
No. You shouldn’t.

Andrea Morris [00:43:09]:
Because wine is your it’s like a discovery path to, like, find out what what it is that you like, and it’s basically an open invitation to go like like we said. I might like like this. You might not, but you might love it. We all have a difference of opinion, and our palates tell us what it is that we like.

Adam Lowy [00:43:26]:
Yeah. And, you know, look. It’s possible that, by nature of the fact that you’re you have a wine podcast that or a wine focused podcast that that everyone listening is gonna be really into wine. I don’t know. But, I can tell you that if you are, you know, the beauty of wine, if you enjoy it, that’s enough. You don’t have to become you don’t have to read books about it. You don’t have to remember what varietals are what. You don’t have to know anything about the the regions.

Adam Lowy [00:43:55]:
That’s all there for you if you want. And and certainly for me, that’s enhanced my enjoyment of wine. The more I’ve learned the more I’ve learned about wine throughout the the world and its history and and the various producers and the regions and the vintages, all of that has has added to my enjoyment of wine. But if someone tells me they just want a glass of wine and and as long as they’re able to find a wine that they enjoy, hopefully, that they can afford, then then that’s fine, and everything beyond that is a bonus.

Andrea Morris [00:44:28]:
Well, my next door neighbor doesn’t drink at all, and she loves the podcast.

Adam Lowy [00:44:31]:
Oh, well, that’s great. Because she

Andrea Morris [00:44:33]:
says she’s learning so much about the craft of winemaking. Ah. So I think that’s spectacular. Question for you, though. You know, we talk a lot about, the effects that the summer weather and then and the growing season Mhmm. Has on the grapes. What about winter weather? How much does, like, a snowy year or a super cold year affect the grapes?

Adam Lowy [00:44:52]:
Well, it certainly can. And, you know, we, if you look at the, at the chardonnays that we had before, that’s a prime example of that year, the 02/2022 vintage. The reason why we had a smaller crop that year was because, at the end of 02/2021 into the very beginning of 02/2022, it was really mild. We had a stretch that was, you know, I can’t remember, plus seven, plus 10 degrees. Well, within a week, it was down into the into, you know, minus 27 in some parts of of the Niagara Peninsula. Well, that kind of, radical shift in temperature, was too much for the vines. You know, these vinifera varietals, are are really, you know, we’re we’re growing them at the limit of the area of the you know, where geographically, you can you can grow them. The the, when you get into the mid, you know, much below minus 22 and they’re really the the actual survival of the of the plants is at issue.

Adam Lowy [00:46:01]:
And depending on how, how much well, depending on the varietal, but but also how much, these plants have been able to acclimatize. So if it’s been a slow a slow, decline in temperature so that it it’s gone, you know, in a in a sort of typical way from, you know, cooler through, November and then colder and colder and colder, and then it gets to those temperatures in January, the vines can handle it generally up to about minus 22 or so. But when you get, a really serious shift like that, there’s still a lot of moisture in the in the vines, and they haven’t they haven’t, heart become hardy enough. And and so in that, in 02/2022, there were whole vineyards wiped out in Niagara. We were fortunate where we are here. It didn’t get quite as cold. And, and the vineyards were maybe, the the airflow was such that, that we lost, volume and, you know, lost, a little bit of production, but but there wasn’t as much fine death in the area. So we certainly got off easy.

Adam Lowy [00:47:10]:
Fortunately, we still made tremendous winds in ’22, but that’s a kind of extreme example of how winters can can really damage, things. Likewise, if it’s a very mild, spring and, and, we can also have problems. We we can have problems because if if the spring starts too early and the buds break and, and, you know, we get that sort of early start to spring. Everything the plant thinks it’s go time, but we can still have a frost. And when you get a, a a frost in the late in the, you know, in the springtime before, you know, really up that can happen up until, the the, you know, May 2 for weekend kind of is is sort of when the farmers start to breathe a little easier. And certainly that full moon in in May can can bring some frost. So that can be a that can be, you know, mild winter can have its problems as well. So

Andrea Morris [00:48:08]:
That’s a thanks for answering that because I always I often wonder about that because everybody seems to focus on the growing season.

Adam Lowy [00:48:14]:
Yeah. Yeah. But Well, let me tell you what’s in your glass now. So we just Beautiful wine. Yeah. Well, we just tried prior. We tried it to 02/2021. Our blend of of, different vineyards.

Adam Lowy [00:48:24]:
Well, this is the Hank Vineyard, single vineyard from 02/2021. So our neighbors just, just to the north of us here. And, and this is a really, it’s a beautiful site. It has, you know, in some ways, maybe it’s the most, the the silkiest of the of the, the wines that we produce usually from from Hank Vineyard. Really lovely sight. And, and I think this is a a a really good example. We have, that maybe, you know, a slightly lighter year like I like I mentioned before with 02/2021, but this has really powerful aroma and and, and tons of flavor. It dances, you know, with the with the, a real vibrancy, and, I’m I’m in love with this wine.

Andrea Morris [00:49:13]:
The color is stunning. It’s so much darker. It’s kind of like the second Chardonnay we had. Yeah. A a much deeper color, and the the nose on it is stunning.

Adam Lowy [00:49:24]:
It really is. It really is. I’m I’m actually I’m I’m thrilled with this wine, and it’s just you know, I don’t even though I I, you know, I certainly get to taste these wines, I I don’t always taste every wine often enough. And and particularly in this first year after bottling, they change so month so much month to month that it’s, it’s, you know, I tasting this this week I actually, this is the second time this week I’ve been able to try this, and, I’m just loving where it’s at right now.

Andrea Morris [00:49:56]:
It’s really beautiful. It’s it’s it’s such a delicate delicate wine, but so full of body and flavor.

Adam Lowy [00:50:03]:
And and and the, the the flavor doesn’t drop off quickly at the end. It tapers really nicely for a long time and, and leaves you with a really, really clean and persistent finish.

Andrea Morris [00:50:16]:
It’s like you go, I have to have another sip Yeah. Just so that it tells me more.

Adam Lowy [00:50:20]:
Yeah. That’s exactly right.

Andrea Morris [00:50:21]:
But it’s a

Adam Lowy [00:50:22]:
And then and then soon enough, your glass is empty.

Andrea Morris [00:50:25]:
Mhmm. Yeah. And then you’re like, what?

Adam Lowy [00:50:27]:
And then you pour another one. So

Andrea Morris [00:50:30]:
That Hank Vineyard is known for some of the most amazing pinots in the ceremony.

Adam Lowy [00:50:34]:
They they, it really is a it’s a it’s a wonderful sight, and it’s interesting. I mean, we’re not gonna get a direct comparison because the vintage is different, but the next one we’ll try is the vintage the there’s a vineyard rather that’s right beside it. Mhmm. So and I’m talking about, you know, maybe, twenty, thirty yards away. Just enough room to to get the tractors through.

Andrea Morris [00:50:58]:
It’s just

Adam Lowy [00:50:59]:
Yeah. And and, but you’ll see it’s quite a difference, different site, park. The one we’ll try next, is is, from 02/2020. So you’ll see a vineyard difference and a vintage difference.

Andrea Morris [00:51:13]:
I’ve never been disappointed by a pinot noir from the Hank Vineyards.

Adam Lowy [00:51:17]:
No. It’s true. It’s true.

Andrea Morris [00:51:19]:
It’s really it’s really interesting how that one area of land can create such amazing wines.

Adam Lowy [00:51:26]:
Yeah. It’s it’s amazing. And and, you know, it’s it’s interesting because, as I said, we’ve we create, Pinot from a number of different vineyards in the area, and they’re all different. But we’ll have, we’ll have people taste them, and and different people go to different things. But I I think more often than not, people agree that the that Hank is, is a special site.

Andrea Morris [00:51:48]:
It really is. Mhmm.

Adam Lowy [00:51:49]:
Yeah. So next, we have the Park Vineyard, which is also owned by the Wismer family, like like the, Wingfield and Foxcroft. And this is the 02/2020 vintage. It’s a bigger wine certainly than than, the wines we just, visited from 02/2021. And, Parc, that’s Parc with an e on the end, is, is a really, really cool sight. It tends to be, the most powerful vineyard that we draw from. It it it and often one that requires a little bit more time, so it’s nice to have, something from the library here, our our, our 02/2020 vintage park. It’s it’s a little bit broader.

Adam Lowy [00:52:39]:
I think it’s gonna live a long time.

Andrea Morris [00:52:43]:
It’s got that very earthy

Adam Lowy [00:52:46]:
Yeah.

Andrea Morris [00:52:47]:
That really earthy smell to it.

Adam Lowy [00:52:49]:
Yeah. And and you’ll see. And that’s part of it. It’s the age. It’s starting to hit middle age where you’ve got, that combination of of of, primary fruit, but now being complemented by some of those earthy tertiary notes.

Andrea Morris [00:53:04]:
So fruit forward on the first sip.

Adam Lowy [00:53:06]:
Yeah.

Andrea Morris [00:53:06]:
Beautiful deep color. It’s almost like the color of, like, a Cabernet.

Adam Lowy [00:53:10]:
And, again, that’s that’s entirely down to the the vintage that we had in 02/2020. It was you know, 02/2020 will be remembered by everyone as being such a dreadful year. Of course, it was a year of COVID, and, and, you know, everyone’s lives got turned upside down. Well, I say the only good thing that happened that year was the fact that we had this, you know, absolutely stunning vintage here.

Andrea Morris [00:53:34]:
This is this is spectacular.

Adam Lowy [00:53:37]:
Oh, well, that’s nice to hear.

Andrea Morris [00:53:39]:
It’s almost like I can taste cherries and plums and cranberries and a little maybe a little bit strawberry in there.

Adam Lowy [00:53:45]:
And then a lot of spice as

Andrea Morris [00:53:47]:
well. Definitely spice. It’s like yeah.

Adam Lowy [00:53:49]:
Yeah. A

Andrea Morris [00:53:50]:
little bit of pepper around the

Adam Lowy [00:53:51]:
edge. Yeah.

Andrea Morris [00:53:52]:
This is it literally it’s like a meal on a glass.

Adam Lowy [00:53:54]:
Yeah. And really complex. And Yeah. And as I said, it’s just getting better and better this this, wine. I think it’s gonna have quite a future ahead of it.

Andrea Morris [00:54:01]:
Like, I don’t even know what food I would wanna pair that with because I think I just wanna drink it on its own.

Adam Lowy [00:54:06]:
Well, you could certainly, but I think, like, I I think of, like, a, you know, a a duck breast with a rich sauce would be ideal with this. And and,

Andrea Morris [00:54:16]:
Absolutely fantastic. It’s twenty twenty.

Adam Lowy [00:54:18]:
Yeah. Twenty twenty Park Vineyard. So right from, a vineyard that you we can, you know, if, we can look out the window here and and and see the vineyard. It’s it’s right beside the winery and and, really a tremendous sight.

Andrea Morris [00:54:32]:
You know, I think when I was here I was here in the summer with a friend of mine from Montreal, and, we were doing a tasting. And she said to the woman that was that was serving it, she’s like, I’d really wanna try that. She’s like, well, my manager’s not here, and I can’t open it. She’s like, I guarantee you I will buy it if you open it. So she did. Good. And there was a table next to us, which with two gentlemen that were also from Quebec, and they were like, yeah. We wanna try that as well.

Andrea Morris [00:54:55]:
And she ended up buying four bottles.

Adam Lowy [00:54:57]:
Oh, wow.

Andrea Morris [00:54:57]:
And I think they bought they bought six. So it was, like, it was well worth her opening your bottle because we were all blown away by how amazing this wine was. Yeah. So yeah.

Adam Lowy [00:55:07]:
No. It’s it’s really it’s it’s a great sight. And and as I said, with the 2020 vintage, it allowed us, to to have a lot of fun making wine. And so we we ended up and it was really interesting. There’s a few times where we’ve been able to open all six single vineyards beside each other, and you really get an incredible tour through 20 Mile Bench and and see the different, the different expressions of Pinot that are possible here.

Andrea Morris [00:55:33]:
But it’s so cool as well that it’s like what you said. It’s, like, just a few feet away from Yeah. From the Hank Vineyard, and it’s just a completely different taste.

Adam Lowy [00:55:40]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Andrea Morris [00:55:41]:
It’s just it’s literally I can’t even like, if I was gonna write a love letter, it’d be to this wine.

Adam Lowy [00:55:48]:
Very good.

Andrea Morris [00:55:50]:
Absolutely spectacular. Adam That sounds great. I just wanna say that this has been an a stunningly wonderful afternoon.

Adam Lowy [00:55:57]:
Well, I’m I’m really glad you came, and and and thank you for, your, tremendous support for for what we’re doing here in in Niagara because, you know, we we love it here. We, you know, we have so many great fans of the wine here, and and the more people we can get to come and experience it, the better. So

Andrea Morris [00:56:16]:
Well, I hope that listeners, you will actually come out here to Cloudsley Cellars because it’s fantastic.

Adam Lowy [00:56:23]:
Well, we welcome everyone here. So And

Andrea Morris [00:56:25]:
I just wanna say that I hope that you’ve enjoyed this podcast, and thank you so much, Adam, for taking the time. It is absolutely fantastic. Be sure to visit our show notes because that will have information about the winery. You’ll have the link to the website. I’ll have a list of all the wines that we’ve sampled. And be sure to also like and follow Spill the Wine because we need more listeners so that we can keep talking about wines in the area. If there’s any other wineries that you think we should be visiting, be sure to tell us that as well. And you could also look for us on, Instagram at spill the wine underscore podcast and follow us on there because then you’ll see all of the pictures of you’ll see pictures of the glasses, you’ll see pictures of the wine, pictures of the winery, and you’ll actually really want to keep following us and keep coming out here to wine country because we have the most spectacular wines in the world, and I’m not gonna stop saying that.

Andrea Morris [00:57:13]:
Thank you again, Adam.

Adam Lowy [00:57:14]:
Cheers.

Andrea Morris [00:57:14]:
And cheers.