HAPPENING IN THE LCBO

	August 15th – September 11th, 2005 Recipe Neck Tag Feature Bench Riesling 04, Bench Cab/Merlot 03
	September 12th – October 9th, 2005 Recipe Neck Tag Feature Bench Chardonnay 04, Bench Cabernet Franc 04 Bench Pinot Noir
	October 10th – November 6th, 2005 Ontario Superstar Programme Bench Pinot Noir 2004 Display & In-store tasting on this product. Pairs well with Turkey at Thanksgiving & Christmas.
	November, 2004 New listing for Christmas Barrel Fermented Gewurztraminer Icewine 1999 Pick up a bottle for that Special Someone.

STONEY RIDGE NEW RELEASES FALL 2005

The wines have been aging nicely in barrels under the watchful eye of our creative and skilled winemaker Liubomir Popovici and will be bottled over the summer on our newly arrived bottling line (after 20 years the old one has been “retired”). All wines will be pre-tasted in the fall months. They include:

2004 Founder's Series Meritage, Pinot Noir, and Charlotte's Chardonnay (tasting notes: the Meritage is very elegant, the Pinot just stunning and the Charlotte's simply delicious with great fruit and aromatics)

Reserve Chardonnay: selected from our best barrels, a melange of oak, toast, butter and tasty fruit

Reserve Reds: Baco Noir, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Pinot Noir. Available only at the winery while they last. Reserve for us means a selection of the best barrels, often from specific vineyards, and showing a quality level above our regularly well-priced wines.

Please call the retail store at 905-562-1324 ext 25 to inquire about prices or place an order.

MAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT
With Our Holiday Gift Packages

We know that summer is only just ending and here we are telling you about our great gift ideas for the upcoming holidays, which are still several months away. However, we know that many of our corporate customers are planning their gift giving now. So for all of those people who are not the least bit interested in thinking right now of the coming festive season, we apologize. But since you’ve read this far, why not check out some of the really wonderful gift package ideas we have in store.

NEW PACKAGING Stoney Ridge has been developing a new look to their two and four bottle gift packs that is very exciting. Photos of these new packages can be seen on our website. We will continue to offer our very popular custom wooden crates that hold 12 bottles. Attractive icewine gift boxes are also a holiday favourite.

CHEESE SHOP PACKAGES Not too long ago, Stoney Ridge added a gourmet cheese shop in the lower level of the wine store. The Cheese Board carries a terrific selection of cheeses and fine food items from around the world. Stoney Ridge is offering wine & cheese combination gift packs. You can also customize packages with your own wine & cheese choices.

CUSTOM LABELING Every year we get so many requests for wine orders that have custom artwork or corporate logos put onto labels. This always adds such a nice touch to a gift package. We offer a number of design and custom label services to achieve the special effect you desire. Gift package info is available through our website or a brochure that can be picked up at the Winery Store or mailed to you by calling us at 905-562-1324 ext.25.

WINE SEMINAR: “Perfectly Pinot”
November 12, 2005

No matter which way you look at Pinot Noir, even “Sideways”, this is one classy grape and it has the potential to produce truly classic wines. At the same time it is the most challenging red grape from a winemaking perspective where quality is an issue, ie. it has long been referred to as the “Heartbreak Grape” and virtually every winemaker wants to attempt the ultimate, if not perfect Pinot! While Burgundy takes the prize for the most expensive wines, and places like Oregon, California and New Zealand are attracting attention for their stylish and flavourful efforts, Niagara Peninsula Pinots, like the late Rodney Dangerfield, just don't seem to garner any real respect. And yet some of our wineries have made truly world class Pinot Noir wines. Find out for yourself by joining our seminar and special tasting (with suitable ringers) of what could prove to be our star red grape.

SPACE IS LIMITED
$35.00 fee includes lunch with wine (our new Founders Signature Series Pinot Noir 2004) but you must you reserve your place by contacting the Retail Store at 905-562-1324 ext 25.

VINTAGE 2005

As I write this note the rains are at last falling in mid-July after what seems like months of drought! This welcome news comes after the winter of 2004-2005, a very difficult one in Niagara with reports of severe winter injury to vines and buds. Some of this originated with a very cold winter back in 2003 but low temperatures this past winter also played a major role. Temperatures in Niagara dropped to as low as -28 C in Niagara on the Lake and to -24 C west of the Welland Canal and on the Benchlands. Grapes like Merlot, Gewurztraminer, and Sauvignon Blanc have been very severely damaged while for the Peninsula as a whole the vinifera crop is expected to be between 40% and 50% of normal. Even the French Hybrids have suffered this year! Undoubtedly this will be a serious “short crop” situation, our second in three years, and there will be a severe cost to the industry as a result. Is our weather changing? Consider in France that the harvest has arrived one week earlier every decade since the 1970's (i.e. almost one month earlier now!) and that Global warming appears to be a reality with the exception of extremely cold winter nights in Niagara!

However, grapes appear to have survived remarkably well on our 3 vineyards, Kew, Cuesta and McGrade and we are looking forward to the benefits of what has been so far a very warm, sun-filled summer. It could be a stunning vintage what there is of it in Niagara as a whole!