Pinot Noir

Aahh, Pinot, that seductive little mynx of a grape. So many different personalities, each one a little different, each one a little more seductive. Pinot is described as "sex in a glass" by Master Sommelier Madelaine Triffon. This is the reason that people become so passionate about Pinot. It gets under your skin, into your blood, and when you smell its heady aromas in the glass it stimulates something in your mind, you know right away that its Pinot.
When I say Pinot, I am of course talking about Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir over the centuries has mutated into hundreds of different clones, and varietals such as Pinot Gris/Grigio, Pinot Blanc/Blanco, and Pinot Meunier.

At Three Dog we have currently three different Pinot Noir clones planted, 115, 667, and 777. All are planted, for that matter all of our Vinifera are planted on Riperia rootstock. We will get into rootstocks at some other date. We hope to get some Pommard clone from our friends over at Lailey this spring, depending on the damage from the cold. http://www.laileyvineyard.com/ This is the clone that is used their Old Vines Pinot, a great Pinot. This clone will be custom grafted by Grapevale Nursery http://www.grapevale.ca/. We have be been attempting  to hunt down other clones to plant this spring, 828 and/or 943 both on Riperia, but no luck yet.

Why all this concern over different clones? Does it really matter when its all Pinot anyway? Here is some details on the clones that we have in the ground now, I will chat about a few others in the very near future.

Clone 115: Bud burst, flowering, and ripening are all fairly early. Clusters are small like little hand grenades, not that I have ever held one. Makes wine with a good strong purple colour, people have said to mean when made as a stand alone wine that it is to much colour for a Pinot. Great nose, elegent, soft cherry notes.

Clone 667: Bud burst, flowering, and ripening are a little later than 115. Clusters are larger than 115. Makes wine with a brilliant bright colour. Always an interesting nose, with different layers and less fruit than 115. Wine seems to also be more tannic than 115.

Clone 777: Bud burst, flowering, are later than both 115 and 667, but ripening are in line with them. Clusters are smaller than 667, more like 115 but looser. Wines with a intensley coloured. Nose matches the colour, strong cherry and berry notes. By itself I find it a stronger Pinot, more intense than the softer feminine style that I love.

Blending the different clones is an attempt to tease the best out of each clone. Also it is fun, believe it or not, tasting the different clones and  figuring out what the best blend is.


In case you need another reason to drink Pinot Noir, it seems to be three to four times higher in resveratrol than other varietals, especially when grown in cooler climates like Prince Edward County. So raise a glass to our health.
Cheers

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http://www.threedogwine.com/

Winter has come to the County

With this latest temperature drop I thought that I would take a walk through the vineyards to check for coverage of the canes. The good thing, if there is any good at all from cold weather, we had some snowfall accompanying the cold snap. What I was looking for other than some exercise, was exposed fruiting canes that had some soil washed off with the rains we received a few weeks back. Grapes produce fruit on 1 year old wood or canes and deep cold snaps can cause damage to these canes. So here in beautiful Prince Edward County, besides having great soils for growing grapes, and long dry summers, we have colder winters than Niagara which can cause damage.

The killing temperature of Vinifera, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay etc...is -23 degrees Celsius. Hybrids such as Baco Noir are hardier than Vinifera. Although the killing temperature is -23 for Pinot Noir, damage starts to occur at -12 or even warmer if there is damage from mildew or other diseases. This damage can limit next years crop, by killing or injuring the Primary buds on the cane. Baco Noir and Vidal are hardy to about minus 27. While Marechel Foch is hardy to -30, Minnesota hybrids, such as Frontenac and Frontenac Gris, which were bred by the University of Minnesota are hardy, to about -40.

To avoid the damage caused by the winter cold, here in the County we bury some of the canes. Essentially with Vinifera we bury or lay down 1 or 2 canes each way from the vine. These canes are then "hilled up". Hilling up is completed after harvest, obviously, and before the ground freezes. Basically the same you do to roses to protect them from the cold, but on a much larger scale. This is done with a grape hoe on the side of the tractor and a vplow off the back of the tractor. The higher the hill, the more dirt on the canes, therefore the more protection on the canes. This dirt then needs to come off in the spring which we will cover when its warmer.

So now lets sit back by the fire and enjoy a glass of County Pinot.

Welcome to the Three Dog Whine

Welcome to the first Three Dog Whine Blog. We will attempt to keep you up to date on the growth, development, and eventual opening of Three Dog Wines. Three Dog Wines, is located in beautiful Prince Edward County, the newest and fastest growing wine region in Canada. We hope to soon join the ranks of the other 30 plus wineries in the "County".
Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Baco Noir, and Vidal, plus some exciting blends will becoming your way as soon as we can wean the wines.
You can visit our website http://www.threedogwine.com/.

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