Wine of the Week: Thirty Bench 2010 Pinot Noir

My fiancé and I decided to spend a Saturday wandering through St. Lawrence market. As self proclaimed lovers of cheese, wine and meat (well- food, essentially), we couldn’t have picked a better weekend activity. We sampled sausage, cheese and mustard (I tried a fabulous curry mustard) and finally, wandered into one of my favourite shops which happened to be featuring an Ontario wine that I had never seen before… AND it is NOT available at the LCBO. My sense of adventure and love of discovery peaked and I purchased my first bottle of Thirty Bench 2010 Pinot Noir.

Thirty Bench is a vineyard in Beamsville, Onatrio, best known for it’s growth of Riesling grapes and classic red varietals. They are located in the Beamsville Bench, a micro climate on a tiny appellation in the Niagara peninsula. It is quickly becoming recognized as one of the province’s best wine regions. Given this region’s rising fame, I was both excited and intrigued when pouring this red.

Needless to say, I was very happy with this wine. This wine has a medium body with the ripe fruit flavours of red berry, cherry and plum. There is a hint of oak but don’t let that scare you. This wine’s finish is dry and one can taste a distinct mix of plum, spice and a hint of minerality. As is typical of this varietal, this is a very food friendly wine and can be enjoyed with almost anything. We enjoyed it with cedar planked salmon and herbed potatoes and I promise you, this pairing definitely works. This wine can also be sipped on it’s own or with some Brie or Camembert cheese. Let is breathe for 30 minutes before drinking to make the most of this red.

Although not everyone lucks out when trying a new wine, my experience with Thirty Bench’s 2010 Pinot Noir was definitely positive. I highly recommend giving this wine a try next time you have the girls around for a drink and a chat or even better, as a hostess gift next time your group of friends has a dinner. Discovering the group’s new favourite wine will definitely give you some street cred.

Head to St. Lawrence Market or ask at your local Wine Store to pick up this ‘under the radar’ luscious red.

Natalie Preddie

Natalie Preddie recently emigrated back to Toronto after spending eight years in London, England - and she is making her presence known. She LOVES her job in Public Relations, working with clients such as Pepsi, E&J Gallo and Tropicana. Natalie is part of the Scala Network Committee, writes for a number of lifestyle publications, as well as hosting a web series featuring Toronto's influential up & comers. In her spare time, Natalie is also working toward her sommelier qualification. Work (and some pleasure) has taken her around the globe, spending a great deal of time in Asia, Africa and Europe sampling the delicious food each region has to offer. Most of all, Natalie loves wine, cheese and creating new recipes at home with her fiancé Mark. Natalie is excited to be a Girl of TO!

by Natalie Preddie

2 COMMENTS

Victoria

28 February

I always look forward to your Wine of the Week. Thank you for this week’s wine. I will have to check it out when I am at the Market this weekend.

girlsofto

1 March

Thanks Victoria! We love posting our Wine of the Week 🙂

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