Summertime Wine on the Beamsville Bench

by

It was a gorgeous afternoon in Niagara this past Thursday as I lunched with a friend on the patio of The RESTAURANT at Peninsula Ridge. Located on the Beamsville Bench in the Niagara Peninsula wine region, from our table there was a stunning view of vineyards, Lake Ontario and Toronto in the distance. We enjoyed a light lunch of appetizers and wine. Their gazpacho was tasty and refreshing, a blend of tomato, red bell pepper, cucumber, and white onion according to our server.

Peninsula Ridge Antipasto Platter

The antipasto platter was filled with Duck confit rillette, Serrano ham, Chorizo sausage, Montasio cheese, olives, grilled vegetable salad over spinach leaves, toasted bread slices, grainy mustard, and a wonderful cherry compote made with fruit from sour cherry trees on their property. We ordered the Peninsula Ridge Reserve Syrah 2011 wine which had earthy and peppery notes complementing the platter. After lunch we walked over to the Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery, delicious choices for our warm summer days:

Peninsula Ridge Wine

Pinot Grigio 2013, newly released on July 1st, refreshing and flavourful with good acidity, a superb summertime wine. Semi-Dry Riesling 2013, subtle pear note, well balanced and not too sweet, try this one with a spicy dish. Beal Vineyards Cabernet Rosé 2011, dry in style made from a single vineyard of Cabernet Franc grapes, bursting with red berry and cherry flavours. All of these wines are priced between $11.95 and $15.95 at Peninsula Ridge - great values!