The Globe & Mail
Saturday March 25, 2000
Marty Klinkenburg
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Photo:
Stephen Becta, sommelier at New York's Cafe Bould, samples
the bouquet of a Canadian wine during an evening of wine
tasting hosted by VQA.
(Stephen Chernin/The Globe and Mail)
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A glass in one hand and a grading sheet
in the other, T.J. Foderaro made his way from vintage to vintage
at a wine tasting Monday hosted by the Vintner's Quality Alliance
of Canada.
A wine columnist for The Star-Ledger, a
major newspaper in New Jersey, Foderaro had never sniffed,
tasted or spat a Canadian wine until Monday night's event
in mid-town Manhattan, which was attended by 16 vintners or
winery principals from Canada.
Now, he knows what he has been missing.
"These are
the first Canadian wines I have ever had, and I have been
consistently impressed with both the whites and the reds,"
Forderaro said, citing Sauvignon Blancs, Rieslings, and Chardonnays
among his favourites. "I'd say
I found most to be very good, and some to be truly fantastic.
They are equal to or better than many wines that I try all
the time from California, and from all over the world. I can't
wait."
More than 70 vintages were available at
the tasting, which was held in conjunction with Canadian Cuisine
Week in New York. The event was promoted by the Canadian Consulate
General and hosted by Milos, a restaurant owned Costas Spiliadis,
who for 21 years has run the Greek taverna in Montreal that
carries the same name as it's Manhattan cousin.
"In terms
of quality, Canadian wines are nothing short of California's,"
Spiliadis said. "I predict that
within the next five years, something that totally shocks
people now -'Canadian wines?' - will be featured on every
import wine list."
That is music to the ears of Canadian
wine vintners, who until now have found it difficult to generate
much interest south of the border. That was the entire point
of the invitation-only exercise.
"I've been
beating on the doors down here for 10 years trying to sell
wine," said Don Ziraldo, president and co-founder of
Inniskillin Wines of Niagara-on-the-Lake. "It's
such a very, very difficult market to crack. You've got to
hit the street, and you have to keep coming back."
"I spent a couple hours today trying
to sell a half-dozen cases to somebody here. In the same time,
I could sell 1,000 cases in Toronto. But this is New York,
and it's important to get noticed here."
Paul Speck, who presides over the Henry
of Pelham Winery in St. Catharines hopes vintages from the
Niagara region are soon rolling off of New Yorker's tongues
and swishing around in their mouths.
"Our vineyards
have aged to the point where we are producing wines that are
ready for a city like New York," he said.
"There is no question that it is more than a regional flair".
The response in New York was overwhelmingly
favourable. One of Manhattan's most popular restaurants, Gramercy
Tavern, regularly features Canadian wines. Paul Grieco of
Toronto is the sommelier at the restaurant, rated as New York
City's second favourite in this year's Zagat Survey.
"Canadian wines
are very well received here," said Matthew MacCartney,
a manager at Gramercy Tavern. "We
are happy to have it on the list. People are very shocked,
though, the first time we bring it to their attention."
The most common lament was that Canadian
wines are only available here on limited basis.
"Until today,
I had never heard of Canadian wines, but I liked them,"
said Cristina DeSousa of Greenwich, Conn., whose boyfriend
Brad Barnes, is an executive chef participating in Canadian
Cuisine Week. "I was very surprised
with their whites, and especially liked their Chardonnay."
"I'm just disappointed I can't find
them where I live."
Vintners brought a variety to New York,
everything from top-of-the-line vintages to bottles priced
at less than $10 (U.S.) The latter impressed New Yorkers,
who in some restaurants pay that much by the glass. Even sophisticates
like a bargain, if it tastes good.
"I don't think
the people here had low expectations, whereas a few years
ago, they would have," said Paul-Andre Bosc, vice president
of marketing administration for Château des Charmes of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
"This is a sophisticated audience,
and our wines aren't as obscure here as they are in other
places. But what that does is cause expectations to be higher,
too. That said, I think we exceeded or met them."
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