Deacon and Billy in Niagara - Part 2!

Yo to all my fanz and a special Wassup? to all the dix out there, who don't have a clue what I be rappin' bout, but can't resist tunin' in anyway!

Let me say from the outset that Blogspot's kinda screwed up today. That means it won't let me upload any of the kool pictures I had in mind, namely me and Billy in the Rolls. If it fixes itself at a later time, I'll upload them then.

It was a very hot day from the get go, and your humble Deacon and his homey, Billy Munnelly, climbed into the pilot and navigator seats of the Silver Shadow with the girls drivin' from the back seat, and headed to Jackson Triggs. JT is easy to find if you've got a GPS. In fact, it sits within' small arms range of Stratus Estate Winery. (Coincidence? You decide...) As per usual, I roared into the parking lot and made a stylish entrance as befits the Deacon. (We had actually been to Inniskillin first, but the crackah's didn't recognize yours truly, what with all the construction and stuff goin' down. So we headed to JT as I previously alluded...) What a reception for the Deacon and Billy! Jenni Mudge-Winters literally rushed out the door with a huge smile and ordered a junior to park the Deacon's ride. Now that's frickin' service! Jenni's a lovely young woman, and quickly had Billy, Kato, me and the Deaconess set up in a private tasting area with Chrissy, a hot little number, who kept the good stuff flowin'. "So you're the Deacon! I've longed to meet you!" were the words I heard again and again.

Now here's the bad news:

I can't find any of my voluminous tasting notes for Jackson Triggs. I remember loving a Sauvignon Blanc which I think was a little less grassy than last years offering. The JT Gewurtztraminer is as floral and pleasing with Thai food as an Alsatian wine and deserves frequent revisitings. Now I could be a typical mofo here, and phone Billy and axe him for his notes and try to pass them off as my own. That ain't your Deacon's style though. So I will say this: I loved the bubbly we tried and was impressed enough with the other wines that I recall saying "I'll pick up a bottle of that and that and that when I get back to Toronto", the car being a little full by this time. So the bottom line is: you're going to have to check out JT yourself. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at even the general listing wines they have to offer. Let me know what you think. Your Deacon always wants feedback.

We dropped off a bundle of Billy's excellent books (if you don't have it yet, buy it now while it's still current), and said a fond but sad farewell to Jenni. We'll be back, and next time I'll hang on tighter to my tasting notes. Jackson Triggs maybe one of the big players but man, what a facility! You got's to check this winery out. They're makin' the real-deal, Jack!

From the huge to the boutique-style, we headed to one of your Deacon's other faves: Coyote's Run Estate Winery. Apart from having a totally lurch name, they actually do have coyotes on their property, but no roadrunners that I'm aware of. We were greeted warmly by President Jeff Aubry and his beautiful wife Patti who handles marketing and sales. Jeff is a very cool dude with an engineering degree in semi-conductors. As you know, the engineer drives the train and the conductor takes your ticket. I guess a semi-conductor only takes half your ticket but it's nice to know that Jeff can drive the train too, if he has to. He also has an MBA, but didn't answer when I asked "What in?". The wine was poured and as usual, your humble Deacon was very impressed with the skill of winemaker David Sheppard. I've always liked Ontario Cab Franc, and Coyote's Run makes an admirable product that reflects the essential character of this noble grape. As Jeff pointed out, Niagara Cab Franc has in a good year, a very distinctive flavour in the form of an herbaceous under-note that's reminiscent of mint or eucalyptus. Think of herb tea and you get the idea.

Tip: Coyote's Run '04 Cab Franc was very flavourful and well worth the coin. But watch out! Your humble Deacon is predicting that Coyote's Run '05 is gonna be a real bag-kicker (which is a good thing). The '04 worked out just fine, despite lousy weather. The '05 should show what this grape's really capable of doin'! I'll say it again for those homeys who are hard of hearing and for all you deff dix out there: Watch out for Coyote's Run '05 Cab Franc. You gonna thank the Deacon for this heads up. Also check out in the general listings section of your LCBO, the '05 Cabernet and also Coyote's Run '05 unoaked Chardonnay. You'll be glad you did. We also got to sample (and picked up a bottle of) Coyote's Run Bob Izumi Red. For those of you who don't know, Bob Izumi is the consummate Canadian fisherman. His signature wines reflect his committment to the environment and continuation of sport fishing in Ontario. Jeff wouldn't tell us what was in the Bob Izumi Red, but it burst with berries in both mouth and nose. We also grabbed a bottle of Coyote's Run '04 Riesling Icewine, certainly one of the best ever. Expect lots of apricot fruit flavours and warm, wild honey on the nose with a finish that goes on forever.

Here's the website:

http://www.coyotesrunwinery.com/index.html

Check out Coyote's Run Estate Winery. You won't be dissappointed. Say Wassup? to Jeff and Patti and tell them the Deacon sent you. This little winery's doin' great things. (It was Tony Aspler himself who put me on to them over a year ago, and he was right.)

We switched on Jeeves, the GPS and programmed in the coordinates for Creekside Estate Winery and our appointment with heavy effing hitter, Rob Power. We were runnin' a little late due to our extended stay visiting the Aubrys, but the welcome was warm, nonetheless.

We descended with Rob and Aussie winemaker, Craig into the depths of the Creekside cellar. The entrance is reminiscent of a bomb-shelter, which might be handy, the way the frickin' world is going! Anway...we all sat around an enormous table with dozens of glasses, and the wine pouring started, the Deaconess constantly telling me I'd had enough and had to drive. She forgot about the GPS though. The whole point of satellite navigation is you can drink all you want. All you have to do is focus on the road and do whatever it tells you. Any moron with even half a neuron can do that!

Rob was delightfully adult ADD; alternately opening and pouring bottles and climbing onto a precarious perch to syringe gorgeous sleepy reds from their barrel hibernation. (Note to Rozeen and the South Central Wine Posse: This is the only syringe you jokers need!) I greatly enjoyed the Creekside '05 Sauvignon Blanc, even though it was grassier than I'm used to. That's because the fresh-cut lawn aroma was balanced by a nice gooseberry tang and a touch of the tropics that's surprising for Niagara. We also sampled their '04 Shiraz which at first I didn't get at all. I'm a huge fan of the giant boom-box in your face, Down Under Shiraz. Creekside's didn't taste like that at all. But my Mentor Billy Munnelly straightened me out right away. He said "Who says the Australian version is the only correct one? This is what Shiraz tastes like in Niagara". He was right of course...By the way: I'll be writin' an article real soon about that wombat urine called Yellow Tail. For those of you who think the Deacon don't say nothin' bad, stay tuned...

Anyway...It was a fantastic two day extravaganza. We experienced fantastic hospitality and met some really kool people. Stay tuned for the Deacon's vist to Henry of Pelham and Penninsula Ridge...

You heard me.

Deacon Dr. Fresh

Winin' and dinin' with the Starz