PAINT IT BLACK
Niagara region’s Pearl Morisette relishes its label as a rebel in the wine industry — even painting some of its buildings black,
What is the most authentic expression of Ontario wine? A wee winery in Niagara called Pearl Morissette is on a quest to find out, headed by a bristly zealot named François Morissette who prefers the title vigneron to winemaker.
The winery has been making natural wines for about eight years, and its Rieslings have been repeatedly rejected by the VQA tasting panel for being atypical. But that’s the point.
“The VQA panel has rejected our Rieslings for being oxidative and reductive, and I don’t think they’re either of these things,” says Brent Rowland, the passionate and articulate Australian winemaker who joined the team about18 months ago. “The tasting panel is simply trying to articulate something they’re not familiar with and turning to their repertoire of terms.”
VQA stands for Vintners Quality Alliance, the provincial regulatory authority meant to guarantee quality and authenticity in wine. Without VQA approval, a wine can’t be widely exported. Nor is it eligible for a key rebate when sold in restaurants. In short, without it, a winery is put at a major disadvantage.
“We’re not making the Cosmopolitan magazine of wines made with genetically modified yeast then fined and filtered; we’re making natural wines with all of the wrinkles and cellulite and everything else — from beginning to end,” insists Rowland. “And the VQA panel isn’t used to tasting that, so they’re calling it a fault. I call it flavour.”
Pearl Morissette is a partnership between Quebec-born, Burgundytrained Morissette and the deeppocketed, Toronto-based developer Mel Pearl. So it would seem they have the resources to dabble and explore.
“We are seen as rebels and black sheep all the time, but we like to be leaders. Pioneers,” says Morissette, unsmiling. He never seems to smile.
“After the VQA had rejected our 2010 Riesling repeatedly, Mel told me we had been blackballed,” Morissette told me at the winery over a glass of the most recently rejected 2014 Riesling. Which by the way was pretty good juice.
It was a bit atypical, yes. Slightly more orange than lime or peach in character maybe, but with the classic seam of steely acidity for which Riesling is known. It tasted quite concentrated and clean with the potential to develop more complexity with time. Frankly, I was pretty impressed.
To be fair, typicity is fairly important with wine. When you buy a bottle of say, Riesling, you want it to taste a certain way. Riesling, you think, should probably be lime-scented and crisp, maybe a bit like stone fruit if it was grown in a warm place. But the argument from Rowland is that VQA’s idea of typicity is too narrow.
But I digress. The point is, Pearl Morissette capitalized on being blackballed. They painted their winery and on-site event space black. They launched a wine club called the Black Ball Wine Society, which is free to join and gives members access to rare wines and tastings — and will in time include larger dinner events. And they are replacing the would-be VQA seal with an image of a blackball on VQA rejected wines.
So far, the VQA has rejected Pearl Morissette’s 2010, 2012, and 2014 Ontario Rieslings, but the panel has approved its Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, which are quite delicious.
Pearl Morissette wines can be tasted by appointment at the winery only. Tastings are available weekends at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and are free but capped at10 people. Expect just a tasting with the winemaker in the winery and the chance to buy bottles; there is no fancy restaurant or vineyard tour available yet. But they’re working on that.
So book online at pearlmorissette.com, plan a trip and go. But don’t expect the winery to be easy to find; it’s not. The property has no sign and is located off the beaten path in Jordan Station, Lincoln. Like Pokemon Go for grown-ups, you’ll need to find the tiny address sign that reads 3953 Jordan Road. And maybe watch for the black buildings.
Remember, this is not the glossy Cosmo wine experience you get elsewhere, but it’s not about that. It’s about tasting Ontario wine made by a small team of mavericks on a mission to find Ontario’s truest tastes. And there’s beauty in that. Carolyn Evans Hammond is the Star’s wine critic.