LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2017

BEER  WINEMAKERS’ CHOICE

“In a very roundabout way,” muses NormHardie, “it was beer that made me a winemaker. I kept missing one of my Friday afternoon classes at the University of Western Ontario because I’d be off drinking beer with the other freshmen, and I found myself a half credit short. They let me go to the University of Dijon to fulfill the requirement and I ended up in the sommelier program there. The rest is history.”     “These days, during harvest and vintage, I love to get the whole team together at the end of the day and discuss how things are going. Having a great array of beers available encour- ages everyone to sit down and stay. It makes for better teamwork and communication. Beer’s so refreshing after a long hot day in the vineyard or cellar and it’s also useful, especially here in Prince Edward County, where our wines have very high acidity and low pH. You might have to taste 30 or 40 very young, acidic wines in a morning to see how they’re coming along, so beer, with its low acidity and high pH, restores your palate. I guess you could argue that milk would work just as well, but…” N orm Hardie Norman Hardie Winery and Vineyard, Prince Edward County, normanhardie.com

FAVOURITE BEERS

Given their decades-long mission to drum up enthusiasm for local Ontario wine, it’s hardly surprising that all four of our winemakers see the value of supporting their local breweries. Norm is a big fan of the “laser-sharp” beers brewed at three-year-old Stone City Ales in Kingston. He donated some old Pinot Noir barrels to the brewery when it was just starting out and a sturdy friendship ensued. Norm also loves the focus and precision of the Farmhouse Saison ( LCBO 486464, 650mL, $6.50) from County Road Beer Co. in Hillier, Prince Edward County. “I like beers that are similar in style to my wines,” he explains, “fresh, vibrant and energetic.” Made in the tradition- al Belgian style, Farmhouse Saison is bottle-conditioned and improves with age, offering yeasty aromas with upfront clove and citrus flavours and a powerful hoppy finish.

IT TAKES A LOT OF BEER TO MAKE… Norman Hardie Chardonnay Unfiltered VQA ( VINTAGES 184432, $39.20). The ter- rible frost of May 23, 2015, took out almost all the Chardonnay in Norm Hardie’s Prince Edward County vineyard. For this vintage, therefore, he used Niagara fruit, leaving the young wine on the lees for six months and giving it a minimum of sulphur. Naturally fresh and vibrant, it shows an almost salty minerality with racy acidity and lingering impressions of firm peach and citrus. This is elegant, sophisticated cool-climate Chardonnay at its best.

PORTRAIT BY JOHNNY C Y LAM

132  FOOD & DRI NK AUTUMN 2017