Chardonnay 2023
White
VQA Creek Shores, Canada
Chardonnay
Accolades: Gold Medal – 2026 Ontario Wine Awards; Bronze Medal – 2026 WineAlign (National Wine Awards of Canada)
Sourced from the estate's largest planting in Niagara's Creek Shores sub-appellation. Following a winter freeze in 2022, the 2023 vines recovered to yield a small, highly concentrated, and high-quality crop. Crafted using traditional methods: long and cool barrel fermentation in 100% seasoned French oak (no new wood), full malolactic fermentation, and aged for 18 months on lees in barrel.
Style: Rich, multi-layered, and texturally swirled. It beautifully combines luscious Louth orchard fruit notes of pear, peach, and apple with a stony, mineral-to-the-bone backbone, leading to a lengthening trail of buttered almonds, vanilla, toast, and light florality. (Residual sugar: < 2.0 g/L).
Pairings: With premium roasted poultry, buttery seafood dishes like lobster or seared scallops, and creamy pastas. An outstanding addition to upscale bistros and food-focused wine programs showcasing the top-tier complexity of Niagara's cool-climate Chardonnays.
Wending Home
Estate Vineyards & Winery
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada
Estate wines from old Niagara vines, crafted for complexity and longevity.
Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery is located in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, farming the Creek Shores and Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellations. Winemaker Ron Giesbrecht works with old estate vines planted in the mid-1990s alongside fruit sourced from the Cuesta vineyard on the Twenty Mile Bench, farmed by the Wismer brothers. The estate's approach favours slow, purposeful ageing: the Chardonnay spends 18 months on lees in seasoned French oak; the Gamay is aged 18 to 20 months in older neutral barrels; the 'Up Above' Pinot Noir draws from 25-year-old vines. The wines have earned multiple Gold and Silver medals at the Ontario Wine Awards and WineAlign National Wine Awards.
