A long journey first starts at home and this marks the first entry into my Vintourism column:

If you are from Toronto, as I am, and don’t want to travel too far to taste some great wine and food, you are in luck. Niagara-on-the-Lake is just a short 90-minute drive from Hogtown, down the QEW. At the gateway of this quaint winemaking, and historical town is the Niagara College Glendale Campus. This is the home of their culinary arts and winemaking & viticulture program. December is a great time to go to Niagara as things are relatively more quiet compared to the bustling summer season.

I had never been to the College but had to try something new. So after the long ride, I arrived at the restaurant for lunch. Culinary and hospitality management students run the establishment, from decoration, assembling the menu, creating the dishes, and serving the tables. In addition, the wine list is comprised of the top examples from the winemaking program.

Strangely enough, I entered an empty restaurant and thought they were closed. I soon learned that this particular saturday lunchtime was dead for business. I was the second table of the day to be seated – and also the last table for the lunch service. Luckily for me, I had an all-you-can-eat buffet spread of gourmet food! No lineups, great service (of course) and no rushing to finish.

To just breeze over the top of the list of items, there was a mixed greens start to the meal, followed by the charcuterie assortment (the prosciutto and bresaola was delicious) and artisinal cheeses. The carvery station featured moist turkey and ham with a hearty gravy and stuffing. Usually I expect these to be too salty, but the dressings of stuffing and gravy were balanced very well. And then there was the roundabout dessert table that encircled the Christmas tree and decorations at the centre of the room. If you have anything remotely resembling a sweet tooth, you’ll find something tasty. I liked the rice pudding best as it had a balance of sweet and spice.

Of course, I can’t forget the wine list. There’s a small assortment but a good selection. The wine is exclusively Canadian with most of the offerings from the Niagara-on-the-lake and Vineland-Beamsville bench area, which is near St. Catherines. The ‘house list’ is comprised of a dozen wines. Most range in price from $28-42, while the finest examples of the College on the list are the Dean’s List Chardonnay ($59) and Dean’s List Pinot Noir ($72). The nice part about winery restaurants is that there is no ‘middle-man’. You buy direct from the winemaker and therefore pay less for the bottle of wine. However, the wine was still marked up a bit compared to the prices in the store (and more than just a simple corkage fee mark-up).

Being a fan of peppery reds, I enjoyed a glass of the Cabernet Franc 2006. Medium-bodied, white pepper and bell pepper on the nose, a firm dry taste of cinnamon spice, earth and cocoa. The finish was enjoyable. Try breathing out slowly after ingesting the wine and take note of what you taste. I sensed dried fruits and plum. It’s a nice all-rounder that stood up to all the dishes I tried at the buffet. However, it’s probably not the wine to pick for desserts as the sweetness of the treats overpowered the wine. So move on to a sweeter dessert wine instead.

Overall, the lunch was a great prelude to the Christmas season. The price of the meal, $30 plus $8 for a glass of wine (excluding tax and gratuity) is slightly on the high side, but will be well worth it if you have time to enjoy the atmosphere and plenty of great tasting food.

The Teaching Winery store was about a two minute walk from the restaurant, in a separate building. Practically brand new, it had a ‘Royal grand opening visit’ by Prince Charles in November, 2009. The place was very pretty indeed. The tasting bar was at the centre, and all around the circular room were windows that showcased the vineyards in their post-harvest slumber – peaceful beauty.

Some of the white wines of note were the Gewürtztraminer 2007 (noticeable lychee and tropical fruit; the perceived sweetness would be a nice pair for mildly spicy dishes), the Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, 2006 (very bold butter and vanilla; a heavyweight wine suitable for oily fish such as salmon and definitely pairs well with chicken), the Dean’s List Chardonnay (for comparison, it is more delicate in nature than the barrel fermented and one would argue it is more balanced), and the very zesty, herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc (think herb garden and fresh cut grass; a real palate cleanser for the start of a meal).

The one red wine I did try was the Baco Noir, purely for interest sake. This hybrid grape, grown in France and now a main hybrid variety in Ontario, is known for being very dark and inky purple. It has very high acidity for red wines and this example from the College was no exception. It could have been the most acidic I’ve tried. It was one I didn’t really like too much (If I had to criticise). Definitely something to have with food as it is not too palatable on its own as a sipper.

The service was very friendly and the staff (also partly run by the students of the College) were knowledgeable, but don’t expect to be served by sommeliers as they are still learning. I know I’ll still be returning the next time I’m in town.

Featured soon, will be the next leg of the trip, to the Historic District. Stay tuned!

Over the course of this article, I’ll show you the ropes of getting the juice fermenting, the mandatory stage for making wine, of course. In addition, I’ll mainly talk about making wine from the standard home winemaking “pasteurized” format (referred to here at http://kevindonato.blogspot.com/2009/12/buying-juice-and-kits-to-make-wine.html), which is generally 23 L (6 US gal) in volume.

1. You will need

A food grade plastic bucket (at least 30 L capacity) and lid

A long plastic spoon or paddle, to stir with

5 gram yeast sachet (provided in most kits but most can be bought for a dollar if not provided)

Sanitizer (potassium metabisulfite powder, or food-grade sanitizing powder product such as chloroclean)

Hydrometer and test jar (see Fig. 1)

A wine thief

Measuring cups

Optional items

Pectic enzyme

Yeast nutrient broth powder
Plastic or glass gallon jug

2. “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. That’s right, sanitize everything! Organisms of all kinds, including bacteria, moulds, and wild yeast are everywhere and like to coat your equipment in their mucky essence. They would just love to have a bite of your expensive, sugary juice. They will eat their fair share and give you nothing back but stinky odours and most likely turn your batch into vinegar or worse. Get rid of them by washing and soaking your equipment with the sulfite powder (a tablespoon per liter of cool water will be strong enough, a teaspoon of citric acid helps too – try not to inhale the vapours) or alternative product (follow the manufacturer’s directions for dissolving in water).

From a microbiologist’s perspective, like my own, sulfites greatly inhibit the growth of these critters so that they won’t be a harm. Rinse everything in copious amounts of clean water and do not let your clean equipment touch uncleanly surfaces. Wash your hands as well, with hand soap.

NOTE: It is best not to use dish soap as it leaves a filmy residue that will make your wine taste just like the detergent you use (“Hey there, care to try my “Sapon Sauvignon 2006?” – yuck!). Do not use liquid bleach (e.g. Javex) as it too can leave a film and impart off flavours (or even poison your guests!). I often use a product called Chloroclean for big washes. It is a chlorinated product that is safe for food processing. It rinses clean from plastic and glass surfaces. Again, rinse everything well.

3. Pour the juice into the large plastic bucket (easy enough). If you bought a kit that is a concentrate, reconstitute the mix by stirring in the rest of the volume using lukewarm water. Example, if you have a kit that has a concentrate volume of 15 L and the kit makes 23 L, add 8 L of water).

4. Rehydrate the yeast culture: In 50 mL (1/4 cup) of warm water (Ideally, 40°C/104°F. I don’t think you would like to wake up from your slumber to an ice cold shower, would you?). Let the yeast sit for 15 minutes and then gently stir.

OPTIONAL: The yeast nutrients mentioned in the list refer to a mixture of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that supplement yeast growth. Dissolve in warm water according to the manufacturer’s instructions and then add the yeast for rehydration.

5. Wait until the juice is approximately the same temperature, as the yeast solution (i.e. within 10-15 degrees of each other; the juice will warm up in the room while the yeast solution will begin to cool down).6. Pitch the yeast into the juice and stir very well.

*ProStar Tips*:

Remember your gallon jug? Place the rehydrated yeast slurry into the jug and then stir in 2 cups of juice every 30 minutes until the jug is full (or until you get bored) and then stir the mix into the rest of the juice. What this does is help the yeast to “acclimatize” to the new “juicy” environment. They will get used to the temperature changes, acidity, and begin to digest the juices ingredients (especially sugars). Acclimatization gives the yeast population a head-start and gives excellent, no-hassle, results until the fermentation ends. Picture it like you are ‘training’ the yeast cells to do their job exceptionally well before you give them a large task. Would your boss give you responsibility over the company’s biggest jobs right away? Not likely, but they would be glad to have you ‘work your way up’ first. This mixture is called the “yeast starter” and is a technique used by even the most famous winemakers.

Pectic enzyme? This enzyme breaks down pectin (a complex of sugars that are found in jams and jellies). Pectin causes juices (and newly made wines) to haze up and prevent clearing.

7. Remove some juice with your wine thief and place into your hydrometer and test jar. Float the hydrometer in the jar and read off the point at which the surface of the juice meets the meter. Record this value because we’ll use it later! Generally it should read between 1.100 and 1.070.

Believe it or not, you have just started your first ‘primary fermentation’. It is best practice to keep monitoring the specific gravity of your fermenting juice daily. In about 5-7 days the S.G. should reach close to 1.010.

Fig. 1 A hydrometer. See the gradations and numbers along the stem. Simply drop the hydrometer in the juice and it will float or sink depending on how dense the juice is. More sugar causes the meter to rise higher. As the juice ferments, it will sink into the red zone shown here which corresponds to a specific gravity of 1.000.