Pinot Gris 2023, 13th Street Winery

Description from the Producer

TASTING NOTES Of all our wines, Pinot Gris might just be the one wine that most clearly demonstrates through its style, the specific weather conditions of the vintage in which it was grown. In cooler or damp years like 2009 it tends to be drier, crisper and more vibrant and energetic. In the warmer, drier years such as 2012 it tends to be richer, more exotic and sometimes even slightly off-dry. This version is a wonderful blend of the two offering a bright lemon hue, sweet dairy, pear, golden apple and light spice notes with soft but balanced acidity, light mineral salts and fruit flavours.
Enjoy over the next 3 years with white fish poached or baked with lemon butter, simple chicken dishes, creamy fresh cheeses, green vegetable or herb risotto or sweet garlic pork sausages. Serve lightly chilled rather than cold.
VQA Creek Shores
Residual Sugar: 3 g/L
WINEMAKING NOTES This Pinot Gris was sourced exclusively from our own vineyard beside the market on Fourth Avenue in the Creek Shores appellation. We chose to harvest two blocks of the Market vineyard at different times. The first, western block which had the greatest risk from humidity was picked first in mid-September and the eastern block was picked almost two weeks later. Hand-picked, the grapes were crushed and destemmed before spending a couple of hours on the skins to extract added complexity and aromatic intensity. The grapes were then pressed and fermented and aged in stainless steel with fine lees to provide added richeness and creamy mouthfeel.
VINTAGE NOTES 2023 in Niagara provided average sunshine and precipitation. With rain falling quite regularly during the early fall, growers were forced to choose early picking to avoid damage from humidity and rot or gamble and hope the sun returned later in the autumn so the grapes would be dry, riper and sweeter. As it turned out, those hardy varieties that could tolerate damp conditions fared very well if they were allowed to hang later into October and November. The range of wines is excellent, but due diligence is required in order to select the truly great Niagara wines from the simple, average ones.