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or how The Grape King became The Lion King
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If you're a long-in-the-tooth Featherstone Follower, you will recall that in 2007 our beloved winemaker, David Johnson, was honoured as The Grape King. The title and award is bestowed annually upon a grower who exemplifies excellence in the vineyard. David was the 60th King in this honourable lineage of the Ontario grape and wine industry. He still has the crown-emblazoned purple jacket to prove it. In February of this year, our glorious David took himself off to South Africa.
We immediately dubbed him 'The Lion King'.
David spent six weeks immersed- sometimes literally- in the wines of the Stellenbosch area, the preeminent wine region of South Africa. He observed and participated in harvest there, working with grape varieties like Mourvèdre, Pinotage and Chenin Blanc. The winemaking team at Waterkloof Winery (
www.waterkloofwines.co.za) were extraordinarily knowledgeable, generous and hospitable to the visiting royalty.
(For a little taste of what David experienced, you could try the delicious Waterkloof bio-dynamic 'Seriously Cool' Chenin Blanc, currently available at Vintages/LCBO (#443382) for only $16.95.)
Once harvest was done, I joined Dave in South Africa for two weeks to explore the Western Cape. The highlight was four nights at Kariega Game Reserve (
www.kariega.co.za). Kariega is a 22,000 acre site in the Eastern Cape region where we got up-close and personal with (and did no harm to) zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, elephants, a hippo, rhinos, and even some lions. We fell in love with the warthogs.
David's experience in South Africa will add some magic to the winemaking at Featherstone this fall. Expect to be dazzled.
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but near the vineyard, the peaceful vineyard, spring will soon arrive...
wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh
And we will be celebrating the spring season with our neighbours- Flat Rock Cellars and Fielding Estate Winery. Together, we are the three f'ing wineries. This is our 10 th annual F'ing Winery Tour!
Visit us with a special passport ($12 + hst) that entitles you to taste two featured wines and enjoy a food pairing at each winery.
Don't fear my darling, passports can be purchased at all three wineries, either in advance or on the day of your f'ing visit.
May 7 & 8, 14 & 15, 2016
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Things fall apart
and need a little tending to now and then.
With this in mind, we will be cleaning, painting and hanging baskets of flowers on the Veranda as we prepare to open it for the May Long Weekend (a.k.a. Victoria Day weekend, or the Great 2-4).
Fall into our noshing plates of local meats, artisanal cheeses and fresh baguette, accompanied by a glass of Featherstone wine.
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays: 11 am-4 pm
Victoria Day to Labour Day
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Bless the rains down in Africa
but please hold off on them in Vineland the weekend of July 9 & 10, 2016 , when we will be hosting The Muddy Paws Wine Festival, contradictory as that may seem, mud-wise.
The Festival is Niagara's premier dog-friendly wine weekend (there are no others) with fine wines, great food, and live jazz all meant to be enjoyed with your best friends, especially if they are canine.
We hope that you will Come. Sit. Stay.
Details and tickets are available at: www.muddypawswine.com
Please note:
The winery will be closed to the public this weekend, April 16 & 17, for a private function.
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