Co-owners Len Pennachetti, Angelo Pavan & Tom Pennachetti.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2010, Cave Spring
Cellars has been instrumental in defining Ontario’s
unique Riesling style. Considered specialists, they bottle
no less than seven distinct expressions of the grape.
“In Niagara, we make Riesling like no one else, so I think
that’s why the world press have had trouble getting their
heads around what we all do here with the grape,” said
Tom Pennachetti, co-owner (along with brother Len,
the Pennachetti clan and winemaker Angelo Pavan) and
Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Cave Spring.
“However, that is not to say there is uniformity to Niagara
Riesling.” On the flatter lands, where lighter loam soil is
common, the style of Riesling is softer and a touch more
fragrant than the racy and elegant versions found around
the steeper Niagara Escarpment where Cave Spring plies
its craft.
“The elevation near the Escarpment, the heavier
clay/limestone/stony soils, and the proximity to Lake
Ontario all help to create a spectacular mineral-,
peach/nectarine-scented, food-friendly type of Riesling,”
said Pennachetti. It is not all left up to the environment,
though. Strict viticultural practices and skilled winemaking
are also part of the equation. The cool 2006 vintage
was a challenging year and meant longer hang time on the
vines was necessary, whereas fruit ripened easily in the
warm and dry 2007, allowing for an earlier harvest. It’s a
testament to winemaker Pavan’s skill that he managed
in both years to create superb wines with the structure
and balance so key to quality Riesling.
VINTAGES has selected three wines from Cave Spring’s
broad Riesling portfolio that demonstrate the versatility
of both the grape and the winery: the mineral-, citrus and
peach-scented 2007 Estate; their top-of-the-line crisp
2007 CSV from their 30- to 35-year-old blocks; and
the summertime-in-a-glass 2006 Indian Summer Select
Late Harvest.
