A post from Charles Baker…
So much to tell but don’t worry, I’ll keep it brief.
We’ve harvested our 9th crop of CB Riesling, hard to believe. The two vineyards came in healthy and abundant so I hope you like it as does your extended family. I’ll be calling on all of you to drink up, drink up, so I can fill your cup.
There is a very special place at the base of the Don Valley in Toronto call the Brick Works. It is a resurrected urban space that once produced the bricks that built most of Toronto a century ago. Long after it was abandoned, it was reclaimed by an extraordinary organization called Evergreen. Today, this once industrial zone in the heart of the valley has been brought back to life… literally. On Saturdays Toronto’s most vibrant market takes over, on weekdays, workshops, conferences, exhibitions, and more capture our imagination and strike a chord with our inner tree. There is a delicious restaurant, Belong Café, that serves up very tasty, healthy, locally sourced fare alongside VQA wines.
The reason for my post, other than to try and sell you some really good Riesling, is to tell you about a series at Evergreen Brick Works called the GE Chefs Series.
There are only a few seats available at a workshop with my friend Hemant Bhagwani on November 12th (click here to book now). He will be serving up a menu of local Indian food from his Amaya menus. I will have the honour of matching it to a nice cross section of my Rieslings. I’ll serve new wines, aged wines, sweet wines, dry wines, fun wines and serious wines. I may even serve some Stratus wines, Riesling of course, to balance it all out.
Click here to snag a seat.
There is hardly a better match for Indian food than Riesling – I plan to make that clear on November 12.
Please join us for a lively evening of wine, food, discussion, and inspiration. For info and reservations please visit Evergreen.ca.
Now, before I let you go, here’s a refresher on buying Riesling: CLICK HERE to get your hands on some tasty wines. I like them, the growers, like them, and thankfully the scribes like them. Here are two notes on the two wines I currently have on offer.
2012 Charles Baker Riesling Ivan Vineyard
91/100 Points – $27
“Baker has done a fine job with the Ivan Vineyard in 2012, the best of his releases from this site to date. He seems to have coaxed an extra dimension of minerality from the vines that was absent in previous years, while maintaining freshness, vibrancy and verve. I like the palpable astringency, from low yielding vines and genuine concentration no doubt, capturing the ripeness of 2012 without any hint of heaviness or sweetness. The finish lingers on admirably. This might just give the generally superior Picone Vineyard bottling a run for the money this year. Best now-2020+”.
Tasted October 2013.
John Szabo, Wine Align
2011 Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard
16.5/20 Points – $35
“…Light, floral, really very delicate nose. Strong notes of vegetation and distinction. Dried herbs? Something a little reminiscent of the Rieslings of Great Southern in Western Australia. Tangy in a Jurançon sort of way. Very refreshing.”
Drink 2013-2017
Jancis Robinson
Order today or we both go thirsty.
CB
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