FEATURED WINE OF THE 12-WINES-OF-XMAS PACKAGE = WEEK TWO VIRTUAL

BRONZE MEDAL - INTERVIN INTERNATIONAL WINE AWARDS 2017 

The Proprietor’s Block is the youngest of the plantings at Kacaba Vineyards. These young vines are situated on a plot of land with southward facing slopes and a high soil pH caused by the historical use of the land as a Christmas tree farm. In 2014 the ample levels of sunlight allowed these, then 8-year-old vines to mature slowly and reach a delicate, balanced level of ripeness.

FERMENTATION: All fruit for this wine was hand harvested before a gentle destemming. These premium berries were then transferred to an open top fermenter and inoculated with select strains of yeast. Temperatures of the fermentation were kept cool to enhance the aromatic characters of the wine. Manual punch downs were conducted twice daily to ensure optimal colour extraction and structure. The wine was left on the skins post fermentation to add to the complexity and texture of the wine. After the wine was pressed, it was transferred to 3rd and 4th fill French and American oak barrels for 13 months of aging. Once the wine was done aging it was racked into our larger variable capacity steel tanks to be filtered and bottled in the spring of 2016.

“ The Proprietor’s Block consists of some of the youngest vines planted at the estate and also sees 13 months of oak aging in French and U.S. oak. It has a smoky/meaty nose with enthralling cherry and blue­berry fruit and fresh ground pepper. It shows savoury spice notes on the palate with bright red fruits, dried herbs to go with smooth tannins and zippy acidity through the finish.” 91 POINTS – Rick Vansickle (http://winesinniagara.com)

 FOOD PAIRING: Enjoy this wine on its own or with spiced meat dishes, veal chops or roasted lamb with rosemary and garlic, Japanese beef tataki or vegetarian chili with mushrooms and smoked paprika.