Winemaker's Notes

Named after one of its early stewards, "Courtney", this 0.7 ha sustainably farmed block of the Estate Vineyard sits on the northern edge of the Beamsville Bench. Courtney was planted to gamay clones 509 and 565 in 1998 and 1999 at a vine density of 3625 vines per hectare.

The year began with a tough winter for the vines. Temperatures dropped to -22°C, low enough to reduce yield by almost half. The rest of the season was hot and sunny. Combined with our manual crop thinning to 15 clusters per vine, Courtney produced an exceptionally low yield of 30 hl/ha.

Outstanding ripe fruit was hand-harvested on September 24th averaging 23.0° brix. The grapes were further hand sorted and divided into two lots for fermentation, one in stainless steel, the other in oak. After 28 days on the skins, the wine was drained to new and one year old French (Berthomieu, Radoux) and American (Canton) oak barrels for 12 months of ageing. Only five barrels were selected for bottling. This wine, at 13.0% alcohol, was bottled on December 20, 2006 with a natural cork closure. Drink now until 2012.

Food Pairings

At the table Martin savours Courtney Gamay with lightly grilled and seasoned lamb chop "lollipops", or barbecued quail with mushroom risotto.