Michael and André crack a bottle of Hinterland 2021 Blanc de Noirs and settle in for another round of Shooting the It — this time with plenty to say about what’s happening in Canadian wine.
First up: Fracette, the new sparkling wine category that uses icewine during production. André questions why the category exists at all, while Michael — who has actually tasted several — isn’t exactly rushing to defend it.
From there, they head east to talk Nova Scotia, including Lightfoot & Wolfville, Blomidon and Tidal Bay, before turning back to Ontario and a much tougher subject: the 2026 harvest. With ripeness becoming a serious challenge in some vineyards, they talk about which grapes consistently work here and introduce the “mighty handful” — Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Gamay.
They also get into whether VQA needs a second tier for Ontario-grown wine, why difficult vintages shouldn’t automatically be written off, the extreme 2026 harvest conditions in France, and why climate change is creating very different problems on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
Plus, an update on Ontario’s Ultimate Wine 2026 as the competition gets ready to crown a new champion.
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You can email André at andre@andrewinereview.ca and follow him on Instagram here - @andrewinerview
You can email Michael at michael@michaelpinkuswinereview.com and follow him on Instagram here - @thegrapeguy
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