What kind of a word, a notion, is Somewhereness®? To 12
makers of wine in Ontario, Somewhereness is revealed in
the mysterious time capsules we know as bottles of wine.
As ethereal gifts of a carefully tended location and a moment
in time, each is imprinted with a vineyard’s sense of place,
its soil, climate, seasons, vintage variations — and its
maker’s methods.
Lake Ontario’s great depth and immense mass of water
moderate the year-round air temperatures along its
perimeter. Wines produced between 41˚ and 44˚north
are more aromatic, lighter in body and higher in acidity
than their warm-climate cousins. Translation: deeper
refreshment, exquisite harmony with food, and great ageing
potential. Welcome to the coolest fine wine region on Earth.
Our wineries sit on a fortuitous composition of earthly
constituents: some 12 meters of glacial clay and silt capped
by a few feet of clay- and limestone-laced topsoil. Clay limits a
vine’s ability to produce large crops. Instead we get tiny berries
in small yields, giving us high concentrations of sugars, acids,
minerals and wantonly exotic flavour compounds.
How is premium achieved? Our grapevines’ roots reach
down into history, tapping layers of site-specific terroir, itself
created by millions of centuries of upheaval, deposit, decay,
fossilization and, more recently, glaciation. You taste our
sun, the flavours so perfectly concentrated by meticulous
bunch thinning, and the painstaking decisions taken in each
final assemblage.
Our soil, together with our particular climate, moisture,
sun and wind qualities, provides all we need to create
that intensity of Somewhereness in our wines. The
land we count on to be fruitful year after year also
counts on us to be gentle, to give back, to understand
its complex needs. We are the stewards
of this delicate land. Preserving it forever is forever
in our interests. And yours.
“You can’t fake ‘Somewhereness’. You can’t manufacture it. Indeed, you can’t
even figure out its source. But when you taste a wine that has it, you know.”
Author and Wine Spectator columnist Matt Kramer has
used the term Somewhereness to describe the blend of
terroir, climate, vine and vintner that lets a wine stand
apart. As a group of 12 wineries growing small lots
of site-specific vines in Ontario’s ancient glacial soils,
we’ve invoked Somewhereness as a word enabling us to
articulate in one collective voice. It speaks of small plots,
sustainable practices, responsible stewardship and the
way our approach to winemaking contributes to the elusive
characteristics that flow through to your soul with every
sip of our wine.
