Rosehall Run Vineyards, Lynn and Dan Sullivan

The Wine Ladies, Georgia and Susanne founded by entrepreneur sister team in 2003, take life one sip at a time as they share the splendour of food and wine and the wonderful lifestyle it entails. Hosts of their own TV show One Sip At A Time…. Adventures Around The Globe as well as their own weekly radio show and about wine, food and lifestyle these ladies share their passion and live life to the fullest and without hesitation. Their motto “everything in life somehow comes back to the vine” keeps their audiences entertained and informed. Here on the pages that follow The Wine Ladies detail a couple of their recent wine discoveries in two of Ontario’s wine growing regions. Featured here Prince Edward County and the most established wine region the Niagara Peninsula.

Prince Edward County, a day in the county. A promised land for elegant, seductive wines tinged with limestone and an undeniable mineralogy. “It’s due to the dirt,” the locals say. Prince Edward County, Ontario’s newest wine region established in 2007 sits on a limestone plateau made up of billions of sea-creature fossils. It’s an integral part of this region’s terroir, a composite of the land,the climate, and of its people. Located just 2.5 hours east of Toronto, this island, surrounded by Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte, is already routinely producing award-winning wines. Endearing and picturesque, the landscape remains quaint and quite rural. Albeit with a sophisticated slant, due to a plethora of celebrity chefs, artists, and poets who have come to call the county their home. We visit one of our favorites for not only their wines, but the warmth and passion of the owners as well as the winery itself. A fabulous tasting room awash in natural light and a very cool overhanging light fixture crafted from intertwining old vines.

Rosehall Run

Rosehall Run is a winery to be reckoned with! Founded in 2001, partners Dan and Lynn Sullivan, along with brother-in-law Cam Reston, bought up this particular 150-acre farm due to its proximity to Lake Ontario. The remarkable Hillier clay soil sitting atop a limestone base. It starts “in the vineyard” as many a winemaker would say. Twenty-five acres of Rosehall Run’s estate vineyards now include plantings of winemaker Dan’s award-winning Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. As early as 2006 one of Canada’s top wine writers, David Lawrason featured Rosehall Run’s 2004 debut Pinot Noir as one of “Six wines that define Canada’s future”. Since then the accolades and awards keep on coming. Lynn and Dan, passionate about the county and their wines make a dynamic duo, a force in Prince Edward County wine country, they are also the consumate ambaassadors for the county’s culinary and cultural scene as well!

We selected two Rosehall Run JCR Vineyard wines, a tribute to co-founder John Campbell Reston, made from grapes sourced exclusively from 100% Estate Grown vineyards.

Rosehall Run JCR Rosehall Run Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011

Rosehall Run JCR Rosehall Run Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011

Did you feel that? It was an explosion of vibrant red fruit wafting out of the glass, cherry and raspberry in the nose, with notes of vanilla, wood and spice to follow. The wine is aged in French oak barrels for sixteen months, two-thirds of which are new. This Pinot Noir has length, good balance and is most pleasurable with its fruit, spice, crisp acidity, subtle tannnins and county minerality.

Silver Award at the 2014 International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC)

Gold Medal at the 2014 WineAlign Wine Awards NWAC

Vintages #326504

Available on line and at the winery www.rosehallrun.com

$39.00

Rosehall Run JCR Vineyard Chardonnay 2012

Rosehall Run JCR Vineyard Chardonnay 2012

With the Chardonnay grapes sourced from Rosehall Run’s oldest vines planted in 2001 and 2002, these wines clearly define the unique and distinctive Prince Edward County terroir. The 2012 JCR Vineyard Chardonnay was fermented and matured entirely in 500 litre French oak puncheons for 16 months, alas the power of the fruit with its vibrant intensity allows the oak to play a most suitable yet stellar supporting role. The wine is rich and complex, beautifully aromatic with tropical notes and a backbone of spicy baked apple, citrus and county minerality and with great length.

Vintages #326512

Available at the winery and on-line www.rosehallrun.com

$29.95

Power Boating Canada Magazine. Best of Ontario. Rosehill Run Vineyards.

Power Boating Canada, Rosehill Run, Page 1