Same routine as the ES 6-16-30 Swenson White, Frontenac and Sabrevois, all obtained from Alain September 26.

I tried to get the juice to settle down so that I could prefilter it (which I believe cleans up white and rose wines dramatically) but the must just refused to settle enough to do this. Wild yeast took over and it was in full fermentation so I used R2 to take over the fermentation.

Primary was quick and easy and cleaner than expected given the wild start. Wine came through without any of the weird flavours I'd deserved for lack of control. The 30 ppm SO2 that I hit it with before adding the R2 must have helped. Malo went through quickly (again used two this year, did not know the name of either, both shared efforts).

Cold-stabilized one week at -4^o C, rough filtered again then added AR 2000 enzyme December 8th. As with the ES 6-16-30 I was surprised at the way it turned a neutral nose into something much more vinous and flowery. Also added polyclar before fine filtering, and bottled as above in early January. Half this will go back to Alain and I will use the other half.

Between the ES 6-16-30 and Louise I expect to find the balancing components for higher-sugar wines such as Frontenac Gris and LaCrescent (if they ever enter Canada). ES 6-16-30 & Louise Swenson are also relatively lower in acid when ripe, and may, with Prairie Star thrown in, be a complete dry white blend without either of the "forbidden" fruits that are not yet here. Given the results obtained, I think that a nice dry light white could be made as a good local varietal wine in many cold-climate areas. Blended for complexity, chaptalized and oaked they may make a good oaked table white.

Feb 18, 2006 - AVAQ Annual General Meeting - opened a bottle of this very young wine, and can't remember anyone retching on the floor. More seriously, it reminded some of Auxerrois or Pinot Blanc, certainly not "hybrid", more reminiscent of a slightly flowery, relatively neutral vinifera wine.

March 5, 2006 - AWO Growwine Club Competition judged by four judges from the Wine Judges of Canada:

From Chair of WJC Steve Gunning "Light nose, citrus, mineral, cocoa, light flavours, lemons, mineral - Gentle balance shows some bitterness in the back end." Score 74, Merit (bronze is 75)

WJC Judge Richard Karlo "very pale straw, fresh apple, a little thin on the palate, lemon, good balance." Score 77, Bronze

WJC Master Judge Bill Thornton "pale yellow clear, slight musky note with melon-like fruit, light in intensity, nicoe lemony note on entry, a bit thin, fruit persists fairly well. Well balanced, some alcohol warmth on end, clean finish." Score 77, Bronze

WJC Judge Stew Wood "deep yellow, canned veggies, asparagus note, slight musky aspect, long fruit / more complex - nice citrus/lemon profile, good flavour profile, nice body, nice balance, good length, clean finish." Score 82, Silver

After this competition, the wine was seen to be refermenting in the bottle, so I put it back in a carboy, used more polyclar, upped the free SO2 and fine filtered it, and bottled it again (seemed much cleaner). It was then entered into the Quebec Amateur Provincial Championships June 17, 2006 where two other members of the Wine Judges of Canada rated it respectively at 86 and 85, both solid Silvers. {Sorry no comments or permission to publish them yet.}

Larry Paterson June 28, 2006

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