Maker: Pelee Island, Kingsville, Ontario, Canada.
Grapes: Cabernet Franc, Baco Noir, Chambourcin.
Place of origin: Ontario VQA, Canada
Vintage: 2010
ABV: 13%
Appearance: Dark crimson.
Nose: Blueberry jam, oak, hint of cedar, black pepper and allspice.
On the palate: Medium bodied. Wild blackberries, prunes, cherry juice, mace, toasted oak.
Finish: A little chewy and drying. Nicely balanced between fruit and wood.
Parting words: When I was at Pelee Island Winery last summer Eco Trail Red was by far the best red wine I tasted that day. They sell a bewildering number of different wines and as one would expect the whites are better on the whole than the reds. That said, some of their reds are very enjoyable and they’re not always the most expensive ones. This wine is a prime example of that.
Eco Trail is an excellent table wine in the best sense of the term, i.e. a wine to drink with a meal. The Cab Franc takes the lead and the two hybrids round it out nicely. It’s affordable and doesn’t need more than a year or two in the bottle to blossom. I have never seen it for sale in the US, or even anywhere else in Canada other than the winery shop. If you are in Ontario and happen to be driving by Kingsville on the north coast of Lake Erie, stop in and pick up a bottle. Eco Trail Red is recommended.
Sipology 