Top Wine Picks! Kacaba Vineyards

Some folks reckon Niagara producers aren’t as adept at making big red wines as, say, Okanagan producers. I beg to differ. Kacaba Vineyards (who I profiled last week) is a prime example of an Ontario winery working wonders with their big red wine varieties.

Sure, they do really well with white wines as well, but here’s a trio of robust reds that’ll make for great fall sipping.

And, good news! The free shipping deal on Kacaba Vineyards wines has been extended. That’s right – pick up six Kacaba wines (yes you can mix and match) and receive free shipping. Use the coupon code FREE15 at checkout, and you’re set!

 1) 2013 Cabernet Franc

Winner of an elusive Platinum Medal at WineAlign’s 2015 National Wine Awards of Canada, this Cabernet Franc serves up some serious aromas of brambly blueberry, raspberry, plum, cola and vanilla, with some light leafy notes in there as well that add character. It’s a plush, full-bodied red, with all sorts of wild berry notes on the palate as well as dark chocolate, mocha and vanilla flavours and some modest tannins. It’s drinkable now but could be put away for a few years. At under $20 this is one of the best-value wines on the MWC site. ($19.15, 13.5% alcohol)

2) 2012 Cabernet/Syrah

Forty per cent Syrah in this red blend works very nicely with the equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (you can figure out the math there). There’s loads of deep black fruit on the nose, as well as white pepper, anise, graphite and modest leafy notes. On the full-bodied palate, the pepper notes help provide structure to the ripe cassis, cherry and blueberry flavours, pepping up the tannins a bit to deliver texture and length. ($31.15, 14.5% alcohol)

3) 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon

Blackberry and black cherry aromas ring true on the nose of this Niagara Escarpment Cabernet Sauvignon, with eucalyptus, anise and a light herbal/leafy thing going on as well. On the medium-plus bodied palate, the cassis, blueberry, dark chocolate, blackberry and anise flavours make way for modest spice and vanilla notes thanks to 20 months in barrels. For an older vintage, there’s still plenty of life left here. ($25.15, 13.5% alcohol)

 

Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson is the wine columnist and literary editor for the Winnipeg Free Press. He’s on Twitter and Instagram at @bensigurdson.