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Pick of the week

Quails' Gate Chenin Blanc 2006 ($18.99 at the winery). Rich and luscious, yet crisp, it displays notes of honey, flowers and vibrant citrus fruit. Impressive harmony and balance.

Last year at this time, I raved about the dynamic duo of Steve Kocsis and Jon Witkowski at Mountain Road Wine Co. in Niagara. Kocsis is a brilliant grower with great land on a slope of the Niagara escarpment. He used to sell much of his production to other winemakers but eight years ago began crushing and bottling the fruit under his own label. Witkowski was the winemaker but he recently left for another job.

Now Kocsis is doing double duty, and the busier he gets, I figure, the better - anything to keep him distracted from the bookkeeping side of the things. His wines are a steal. The 2002 barrel-fermented chardonnay in particular was one of the best white-wine values, at $15, I'd sampled all year last year.

Well, the winery I thought deserved more publicity than it was getting certainly doesn't need it now. By the time I got around to tasting the brilliant new vintage of the same wine this year - Mountain Road Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2003 ($16.15) - it was sold out. Sadly, none of his wines are sold in stores. It is all sold direct from the winery boutique at 4016 Mountain St. in Beamsville. That's the story with many great, small-production releases from boutique Canadian wineries these days. They never make it into the liquor-store system.

Which is my main reason for bothering to mention Mountain Road today. Because of the rush on the barrel-fermented chardonnay this year, Mountain Road has just launched a New Release Advance Reservation Club, a sort of American Express Front-of-the-Line program. Membership is free, and you get first shot at placing orders a week before the wines are sold the general public.

To join and get advance notice of next year's offerings, send your name, full mailing address, phone number and e-mail address to info@mountainroadwine.com or call 905-563-0745. They will ship anywhere in Ontario.

My other reason for mentioning Mountain Road today is that the place makes many other great wines, both white and red, some still in stock at the winery. One example: Mountain Road Barrel Fermented Chardonnay Reserve 2003 ($26.15). This is their bigger-bodied, flagship chardonnay. If it's not as mesmerizing from a bargain standpoint, it's still impressive and worth the money. Full-bodied and rich with flavours of butterscotch and pineapple, it's backed up by considerable time in oak barrels. This has imparted some pronounced toastiness and a rich crème brûlée quality. Give the wine a moment on your palate and you begin to appreciate the balancing richness of its fruit and the freshness coming from its formidable acidity.

Unlike a lot of flabbier, well-oaked chardonnays, this one can tango with food. It actually goes better with food than on its own.

Ontarians who can't visit the retail store in Beamsville can take advantage of a special free-shipping offer on orders of one or more cases. For two- or six-bottle packages, the shipping cost is $14.

Not far from Mountain Road, another gifted winemaker has been making progress with a grape less common to Niagara. The man is Jean-Pierre Colas, at Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery, and the grape is sauvignon blanc.

Colas, who hails from Burgundy, where he was head winemaker at the well-known Chablis house Domaine Laroche, produces several single-vineyard sauvignon blancs, which are available only at the winery and through fine restaurants.

The good news: His best-value white, simply labelled Peninsula Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2006 (with no additional vineyard designation on the label), is available across Ontario on the regular LCBO shelves ($18.95, product No. 592303). It's light-bodied and silky, showing plump tropical fruit, gooseberry, brilliant acidity and a hint of minerals on the finish.

Another excellent offering, and available at the LCBO, is Peninsula Ridge Beal Vineyard Cabernet Rosé 2006 ($13.75). It's a superb dry rosé, medium-bodied and juicy, with pronounced strawberry flavour, good concentration and a long finish. For more information, visit the winery at 5600 King St. W., Beamsville, 905-563-0900, http://www.peninsularidge.com. Among the better selections available at the winery, there's Peninsula Ridge Chardonnay Beal Vineyard Reserve 2004 ($25.15). It's ripe and rich with notes of pear, melon and citrus. Some sweetness and vanilla from the oak is followed by vibrant acidity and spice leading to a crisp finish.

If you're interested in more wines from this and other Ontario properties but are unable to visit the region in person, check out winerytohome.com, an online retailer that handles hundreds of products from dozens of estates.

Readers west of Ontario may want to move quickly to grab some of the recent releases from Tinhorn Creek Vineyards in the Okanagan Valley.

Among them is the excellent Tinhorn Creek Merlot 2004 ($17.99 in B.C.). It's full-bodied and brimming with dark berries, accented by a leather-tobacco quality, and has a spicy, firm finish. It is quite refined and a great value.

And if you like grapey, fruit-forward gewurztraminer, don't miss Tinhorn Creek Gewurztraminer 2006 ($15.49 in B.C.). It recently took home a silver medal at the Pacific Rim International Wine Competition in California. Ever so slightly off-dry, it's dense with upfront tropical fruit and a hint of rose petal.

Make a point of seeking out the superb Quails' Gate Chenin Blanc 2006 ($18.99 at the winery), also from the Okanagan. Rich and luscious, yet crisp, it displays notes of honey, flowers and vibrant citrus fruit. It boasts an impressive harmony and balance. Visit quailsgate.com or write to info@quailsgate.com or call 250-769-4451.

Just as impressive is Quails' Gate Dry Riesling 2006 ($16.99 at the winery). Light medium-bodied, it's silky and brimming with luscious peach, mango and honeydew flavours, lime-like acidity and an mineral-like edge on the finish. It's complex, balanced and refreshing.

bcrosariol@globeandmail.com