12.5% alc./vol. VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario - $12.95 in Ontario (662478) (375mL); $24.95 in Ontario (542522) (750mL)

9 Grapes

Niagara’s 08 Gewurztraminers sing a fine tune — no further proof necessary than this aromatic phenom.  Excellent bitterly-driven essence of dried spice and orange zest, while an opulent palate proffers lavender bath wash, nectarine core, and a bit of wildflower on the back end.  Decisively exotic.  Worth the plunge with pork rillettes. (JW)

% alc./vol. not noted - VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario, Canada - $39.95 at Winery

9 Grapes

I see this wine like Pierre Thomas of the New Orleans Saints: a bruising, well-rounded running back (c)hard on nay-sayers. Dominant, between-the-tackles alcohol, but with commensurate aromatic vision and finishes [palate] runs very well.  Awesome sweet apple blossom, white peach and nectarine-pit fruit and some gritty, sponge toffee on the back-end.  A solid pick for your keeper league, a.k.a. cellar.  (JW)

13.5% alc./vol. - VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario, Canada - $29.95 at Winery

8.5 Grapes

You know when you taste a wine and you can’t get a firm grip on it because it’s closed, ironically, like a tight fist?  Example C, right here.  And yet, despite the primary fruit restraint, the vanilla/char bouquet is powerfully telling.  Give it a few months to get humming, then drink over the next few years with coconut-curried chicken.  Limited to 60 lovely cases. (JW)

9% alc./vol. - VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario, Canada - $11.95 (375mL) in Ontario (129759); $18.95 (750mL) at Winery

8 Grapes

Also known as “spritz,” the Chardonnay Musqué hits some key style marks in the guilty-indulgence category.  Lightly effervescent, sweet, yet with some quality balancing acid too.  Pretty good varietal-perfume play off the nose with an underlying tangerine zing.  Tangy zip better than Miracle Whip.  Could be wicked cool with a dessert like baked Alaska. (JW)

13% alc./vol. - VQA Ontario, Canada - $24.95 (To Be Released)

8 Grapes

An honourable hybrid.  Where most fall into the realm of short and pithy, there’s admirable depth here.  Barrel-spice leads the charge on the nose, augmented by a little leather and a tart, juicy dark-fruit combo (prune? blackberry?).  Cap it off with a whiff of drying leaves in the autumn breeze.  Not a worldbreaker, but a fighter punching above its weight. (JW)