Niagara Tour - About Thyme Bistro

I was extremely excited to visit this restaurant. I heard about it from a lady we met a few months ago from a very prestigious producer, and I've been lusting for it ever since. This bistro specializes in local food, and reputation holds that they are very, very, religious about the provenance of their ingredients. What's even more impressive is that they have a wine list of exclusively wines from Lincoln. That's right, it's not just about having wines from Niagara, they have to be specifically from Lincoln.

We started with a spinach salad with bacon, curry melon soup, and crap cake on filo. Delicious on all counts. The salad was so fresh, with delicious dressing on feta cheese and what I think are either figs or dates. For entrées, a duck leg confit, seared trout fillet, and cured meat pizza. Very impressive. The duck was cooked perfectly. Leg very crisp on the outside, tender inside. The breast cuts were deliciously medium-rare and so flavoursome. The fish was so delicately cooked, with incredible trout flavour. The cheese on the pizza was delicious. Bouncy crust, just fantastic.

I ordered a bottle of riesling that I've never tasted before, the 2008 Kacaba Vineyards Reserve Riesling. Perfectly simple wine - what it lacks in minerality and complexity, it makes up nicely in great varietal character and balance. Lots of tangy fruit, sweetness nicely balanced by the high acid, with a long, tingly finish.

Very impressed by this restaurant. I definitely want to go back. It's in a somewhat obscure part of town, but the trip is worth it. And the wine list...fantastic!

Niagara Tour - Botanical Gardens

I haven't been to these gardens in an age. More than a decade. I wanted to take some shots - everything looked so green and in bloom. Many ethnics milling around, acting obnoxious, but what can you do. Men in dresses with strange, boxy, lace caps on their heads. In any case, let me know what you think. Of the photos, I mean.

Niagara Tour - Flat Rock Cellars

An old favourite. But a lot of new faces. I was inspired to visit this producer again, after tasting this horrendously alcoholic New Zealand pinot noir last night. I've always loved Flat Rock's pinot - it remains one of the most memorable wines I've ever tasted, because it's the wine that convinced me that Niagara was able to produce earthy, soulful wines rooted in the land.

We tasted the 2007 Estate Pinot Noir. Lacks the concentration I expected from such a blockbuster vintage. Good balance and earthy, red fruit flavours. What surprised me the most were the 2008 rieslings. The 2008 Nadja's Riesling was absolutely delicious - minerally and intense, with great complexity. The 2008 Estate Riesling was very young at this point, with high, tense acidity. Very excited to see how these will show with some age.

This time, we were given a more comprehensive tour. I'm very pleased to see that they believe in more seasoned barrels - they use a lot of 3-year old oak.

I saw the President, Ed, very busy around the winery. That's how you know quality exists. The best fertilizer for a vineyard is an owner's footsteps. This is a really stunning property, and proves that high quality wines can be made at extremely value-driven prices. Well done, well done.

Chill...just chill

Enjoyed myself in Niagara today. Weather was quite nice - too much sun burns, in more ways than one.

First stop was to Flat Rock Cellars. I drank a New Zealand pinot noir last night, and it did not measure up to what Flat Rock proposes, and I wanted to confirm it. Tasted a few wines, but I was excited the most about the 2008's. More on Flat Rock, in detail, later.

Lunch was fantastic. The first time to this establishment for me - details in a few.

Dropped into the Niagara Parks Botanical Garden for the first time in what must be at least 15 years. Took some photos - let me know how I did.

Tired after a long day. Chilling in the basement, where it's nice and cool. Enjoying (quite a few) glasses of Kacaba riesling, as well as a very, very old Rheingau riesling. Nice contrast.