Spill the Wine Episode 13: A hidden gem in the Bench wine region- a visit to King and Victoria Winery
Release Date: 03/20/2025
Spill the Wine Episode 23: Producing wines Canadians can serve with pride: a visit to Hidden Bench
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Hidden Bench is an organic winery and produces 100% estate wine using only grapes grown on the property. Andrea chats with winemaker Alex Baines about the process of becoming a certified organic winery and what that means for the taste and quality of the wines. We also get to taste a concrete fermented and aged Sauvignon Blanc (Beton) . The concrete gives the wine a great texture and weight and adds a unique salinity and brininess to the wine. It was Andrea’s first time tasting wine made this way and it was absolutely incredible. Alex also explains the fine art of working hard to...
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Spill the Wine Episode 22: The Pursuit of Balance: a visit to Organized Crime
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Judging by the name, one might think Organized Crime is an Italian Mafia winery. However, when our host Andrea Morris speaks with Owner Ania De Deluba and winemaker Greg Yemen, we discover the incredibly interesting story behind the name. It comes from a battle between two Mennonite churches, resulting in a church pipe organ being stolen and thrown into a ravine. You’ll enjoy hearing the whole story, as well as the history of the winery, and their goal to create quaffable wines. We hear the story behind the beautiful platinum award winning Sacred Series Cuve Krystyna – a wine that is a...
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Spill the Wine Episode 21: Breaking Down the Barriers to wine: a visit to Flat Rock Cellars
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If only you could see the beautiful view while listening to Andrea Morris chat with Flat Rock owner Ed Mardonich! It’s a stunning location with beautiful wines, named for the abundance of flat rocks they discovered while doing drainage for the vineyard. During our tasting, Ed challenges our preconceived notions of wine tasting and we taste red wines before whites. It really is a much better way to enjoy a tasting. Ed also sheds some light on how the number of taste buds on your tongue detect differences in taste. We also touch on how sustainability and community are very important to...
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Spill the Wine Episode 20: Wine is a time and a place. A visit to Westcott
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In this episode we travel slightly above the Niagara escarpment for a chat with Wescott’s winemaker Casey Kulczik. Wescott is a winery that is keen on nurturing the micro flora and fauna on the property to produce wines that truly represent the place of where they are. Andrea and Casey start off their tasting with the Blanc de Noir from the Brilliant series. (a brilliant idea for sure!) It led to an interesting discussion about wild fermentation – describing the yeast as minions and the winemaker as Gru. Casey’s passion for winemaking is front and center in this episode and he also...
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Spill the Wine Episode 19: 50 Shades of Red : a visit to Leaning Post Winery (Part 2)
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Andrea had so much fun chatting with Ilia and Nadia Sawchuk, owners of Leaning Post Winery, that we had to extend the interview to a second episode. In Part 2, we taste the wonderful red wines we have to offer, starting off with two Pinot Noirs. Pinot Noir is a fussy grape to grow, but it’s a beautiful fruit that produces a full bodied wine with less alcohol content. Ilia refers to it as the Emo punk brother of Chardonnay, but Nadia and Andrea referred to it as the Pedro Pascal of wine. (YUM!) We chatted about the supportive wine community in the Bench reason, and discovered the story...
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Spill the Wine Episode 18: A winery born from pillow talk. A visit to Leaning Post Winery (Part 1)
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Ilya and Nadia Senchuk – owners of Leaning Post Winery revealed to our host, Andrea Morris, that the dream of owning a winery actually started as pillow talk, then expanded to numbers on a napkin and eventually led to a search for the right property. After losing three bids for vineyards, they decided to rent a house with some vines on the property, which eventually became Leaning Post. Their passion for wine is evident in this episode when Nadia becomes emotional while speaking about showcasing their wines to a journalist. Their goal as winery owner is to be a warm and welcoming place...
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Spill the Wine Episode 17: Worthy grapes and noble wines. A visit to The Batcave – Bachelder Estates (part two)
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In part two of Andrea’s interview with Thomas Bachelder – owner/winemaker of Bachelder Estates, we taste some wonderful wines. We start off with comparing Gamay Noir wines from Niagara and Bench vineyards, comparing color, taste and the aromas. During the tasting we learn how the colour of red wine is effected by the volume in the glass. As we progress to sipping Chardonnays, Thomas shares some insights on the expense of making wines, and the factors like barrel aging, hand picking, the age of the vines and the craftsmanship that can raise the price of a bottle. And before our tasting of...
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Spill the Wine Episode 16: Making wines with a sense of place. A visit to The Batcave – Bachelder Estates (part one)
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This is the first episode of Spill the Wine that doesn’t include a wine tasting! The conversation Andrea Morris had with Thomas Bacherlder – owner/winemaker of Bachelder Estates was so interesting it needed a full episode to itself. Thomas’ journey as a winemaker began in Montreal, then led to Burgundy, Oregon and finally, Beamsville, which has the climate and terroir for making the Burgundy style wines he loves– Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (and Gamay too!) You will learn about the difference between Domaine and Chateau wineries, what “mapping” a region means, and the terroir...
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Spill the Wine Episode 15: A winery named to honor mom: a visit to Cloudsley Cellars
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If you’re a fan of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, this is a winery you MUST visit! Our host, Andrea Morris, speaks with Cloudsley owner Adam Lowy about the reasons for focusing on these two grape varietals, and the choice to outsource their grapes from outstanding growers in the Bench area. Adam talks about making wines that don’t make your mouth tired. He provided another great statement regarding wine: “Wine is a snapshot of the time and the place the grapes were grown.” They also discuss the challenges of promoting Ontario wines across Canada and around the world, the effect of winter...
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Spill the Wine Episode 14: Reach for the stars! a visit to Calamus Estate Winery combining astronomy with wine
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Calamus Estate Winery is quite unique, as it is the only winery in the Niagara Bench area that has a telescope on site. Plus, it’s also proud to be a democratic winery, where their wine club members are a part of the process of picking wines. Our host, Andrea Morris, speaks with Peter Van Helsdingen, the owner of the winery, regarding the many events they host featuring astronomy and wine, and about his approach to winemaking. They share found memories of their fathers while tasting a wonderful double barreled Cabernet Sauvignon. During the course of the episode, Peter also coined one of...
info_outlineIn this episode, Andrea visits with Rob Harold and Joe Schenck, the co-owners of King and
Victoria Winery. They have a genuine enthusiasm for making wine and look at each wine as one
of their babies. Rob and Joe share the story of how they found the property and started the
winery, and explain why their wine club is named for a group of vultures (The Committee). They
share some of their innovative ways for making wine, like wrapping a blanket around a tank to
get the wine to the correct temperature. Their passion and love of wine making shines through
in this episode and you’ll appreciate their desire to bring people tougher with wine and food. I
guarantee you’ll want to visit King and Victoria after listening to this episode!
Produced by Lukas Sluzar. Recorded October 30, 2024
Show notes: King and Victoria : www.kingandvictoria.com
Wines sampled: 2023 Reisling, Chardonnay, Gamay Nouveau, 2019 Pinot Noir, 2021 Pinot
Noir, 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon