This is a time of the year when farmers like ourselves pause work for a moment to take stock and look ahead. Swollen streams racing through our fields remind us that winter has passed. Any day now, the opening of the first buds on our vines will signal that a new growing cycle has begun.

Our vineyard keepers have stored their snowsuits. Finished winter pruning, they've begun tying the canes that will bear this year's fruit. Soon it will be time for shoot thinning.

Vineyard Manager Dave Crowe has reason for optimism. Each winter brings challenges but this one has passed without leaving in its wake the vine damage that sometimes results from extended severe cold spells or too-early warm spells.

The wind drifting from the bunkhouse carries the telltale scents of fried chicken, peas and rice. That can mean only one thing; our Jamaican vineyard-keepers have returned. Veterans Emanuel, Mahlon and Adam arrived last month from "MoBay" for another season at Malivoire, along with newcomer David.

From a southern hemisphere perspective (as David is no doubt learning), springtime in Canada can be a chilly proposition. It has its redeeming features though. Dave's coworkers have developed a yearning for wild Niagara leeks and asparagus, and will be keeping an eager eye to the ground for the first shoots.

The Gamay block in our Estate Vineyard will be the first to undergo trial with a new trellising method. Newly installed moveable catchwires will enable our vineyard staff to tuck shoots more rapidly, freeing valuable time during the labour-intensive summer. This will also allow a more open canopy, taking optimum advantage of sun exposure and air circulation.

A three-quarter acre section of Pinot Noir in our Moira Vineyard is the subject of an experiment in high-density planting. Currently 1400 vines per acre, the test area's average density will rise to 8000 vines per acre. By increasing the competition among the vines here we expect to reduce their vigour and fruit production, resulting in fewer but higher quality grapes with more concentrated flavours.

A new "satellite mower" will go to work on vineyard weed control this year. By substituting mowing for tilling between vines and rows, we can use a more lightweight model of tractor. This furthers our efforts to reduce vineyard soil compaction.

In February, Martin Malivoire led most of his staff on a mission to Burgundy. This is an ancient and accomplished region where winegrowing is two thousand years deep. We were eager to observe what this rich experience has produced in terms of growing and winemaking methods. We returned home impressed by many of the methods we saw in practice there such as high-density planting, pruning and biodynamic farming, and we resolved to try some of them here. This year, spur pruning will be tested and evaluated in our Gamay block. Spur pruning is a technique in which buds for a new year's growth are left on multiple short spurs, rather than fewer, longer canes. To learn what other adventures befell our intrepid team, please watch our website for future revelations.

Speaking of Which...

The Malivoire website, www.malivoire.com, is undergoing a complete overhaul. Under the guidance of our internet specialist, Cathy Disbrow, we're adding colour, information and user-friendliness, as you will soon discover.

The new barrel cellar adjacent to the winery is going under cover; green cover. Last year our horticulturalist, Jim Berry, planted fast-growing vines around the cellar's foundation. Soon his work should pay off, as we anticipate the growth of a dense green canopy over the roof. By sheltering the cellar from the heat of the sun, this living latticework will protect the wine inside without the constant need for energy-burning air conditioning.

When visiting the wine region, add About Thyme Bistro to your where-to-eat list. A stylish, intimate, 40 seat bistro just west of Vineland's main intersection at 3457 King Street, is the first of its kind in the Vineland-Beamsville area. For more, consult the website at www.aboutthymebistro.com, or call 905-562-3457.

Malivoire is among four Niagara Peninsula wineries (Flat Rock Cellars, Stratus Vineyards and Tawse Winery) joining Prince Edward County's Norman Hardie Winery for a collaborative event in Toronto. Somewhereness: Old Soils, New Wines takes place the evening of Monday April 30th at MaRS Discovery District, 101 College Street in Toronto.

Tastings from the five wineries will be offered with samples from Cheese Culture, Niagara Food Specialists, and Whole Foods Market. Our ambassadors will be Winemaker Shiraz Mottiar, General Manager Ernie Kerst and GTA Sales Representative Michelle Martin.

Admission is $68 + GST per person and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the MaRS Discovery District; a not-for-profit corporation created to ensure made-in-Canada discoveries make a positive difference to the health and quality of life of Canadians and others around the world.

Tickets are available through the event's website www.somewhereness.com. For more information, email Tania at tania@savourflavour.com.

In June, look for us at the Niagara Wine Auction being staged Saturday the 23rd from 12 to 4 p.m. on The Commons in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Proceeds from the auction will support the SickKids and Saint Catharines General Hospital Foundations. You can bid on an invitation to join the Malivoire staff next year on a visit to the Oregon wine region.

See www.niagarawineauction.com for details.

A new vintage takes the baton for one of our Main Five wines. The Main Five consists of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gamay and Ladybug Rose. These wines are made from the varietals that we feel most reliably achieve our goals in terms of quality, quantity and ripeness. We look for consistent high quality and sufficient yields to ensure that our customers can count on finding these wines at most times of the year. If Malivoire had to survive on only five wines, these would be the ones.

	2006 Pinot Gris $18 per 750 ml bottle $216 per case of 12 Delicate pink in colour, this vintage is strikingly fresh, lean and dry. Aromas include green apple, grapefruit rind and biscuit. Flavours suggest lemon and lime with a chalky minerality. Food finds this an approachable wine. Can we suggest a few ideas? Spaghetti lemone with seared zucchini, mussels with pernod and shallots, roasted sea bream with braised endive and puree of yellow beet, or roasted cauliflower soup. For more technical details, click here to view our winemaker's notes and other information.

The following new releases are from our Limited Edition bottlings. These are made in very low volume, usually two hundred cases at most. Some of these wines may not be shown on our website or our tasting room wine list, and will be announced only by e-mail bulletins like this one. Some Limited Edition wines may be made from varietals not traditionally associated with Malivoire. These are made when we have been able to purchase exceptional grapes, grown when conditions on the Niagara Peninsula favoured those varietals.

2005 Eastman Gewürztraminer $22 per 750 ml bottle $264 per case of 12 Its soft turquoise hue makes this one of the prettiest looking wines we've produced. This release marks a rare occasion in which a dry table wine was made from Eastman Vineyard Gewurztraminer vines usually reserved for icewine. Lively aromatics of rosewater, apricot and lilac. A dry, pert spiciness on the palate with lime, ginger and mineral notes. This wine likes spicier matches. Keep an eye on our website for Lloyd the Tractor Driver's Jerk Chicken. In the meantime try spicy pulled pork with caramelized onions on toast, shrimp curry- either creamy or Creole style, Alsatian pork pate with onions, black pepper and allspice, thin crust white pizza with muenster cheese and caramelized onions, nut-crusted salmon with fiddleheads, wild leeks, spicy lemon zest and cocoanut emulsion, or salad with sliced radish, peach wedges, balsamic caramelized onions and yellow plums, sprinkled with fresh black pepper and tossed in a peach vinagrette. For more technical details, click here to view our winemaker's notes and other information.

	2005 Courtney Gamay $29 per 750 ml bottle $348 per case of 12 This is a wine that truly lives up to the high expectations set for 2005 Ontario VQA reds. This is a bulked-up Gamay with uncommon depth and concentration. A multi-layered nose offers blackberry, strawberry, damson plum, banana, pineapple, vanilla and caramel. Rich and supple in the mouth with flavours of black cherry, cola, mocha and chocolate. At the table Martin savours Courtney Gamay with lightly grilled and seasoned lamb chop "lollipops", or barbecued quail with mushroom risotto. For more technical details, click here to view our winemaker's notes and other information.

Orders can be placed for pick-up, or delivery anywhere in Ontario. Shipping is $14.00 plus GST & PST for up to 12 bottles and $20.00 plus GST & PST for 13 bottles or more. We will ship a mixed case.

To place an order, click here to use our email order form or call us Monday to Friday toll-free at 1-866-644-2244. If you have any questions, please call or email us at info@malivoire.com.

A year has passed since we last invited you "upstairs" at the winery. Those of you on our mailing list for more than a year will know what we're talking about.

To explain to our newer Friends, while we do not conduct regular public tours of our winery, we do, once or twice a year, hold what might loosely be called an "open house". We say loosely, because it is a by-invitation-only event with admission available only to our Friends, people like you who have joined our mailing list.

This will be an opportunity to see the inner workings of Malivoire, meet more of its people, learn about our wine and its origins, see what changes we've been working on and simply enjoy a memorable visit.

We are working on something for the first weekend in June. Plans at this time are incomplete, so please watch your e-mail for our next bulletin...

...and thanks for reading this one!

Your Friends at Malivoire