 |
 |
||
News from the Ontario Vines
Fred Couch, Ontario Wine Society – Niagara Chapter
Calamus Estate Winery
Calamus Estate Winery is described as “very rustic, very scenic and very good wines”. The winery is indeed “rustic”. The winery operations are in a restored 1800's heritage barn. The tasting room and retail shop are in an adjoining renovated barn.
The setting is very “scenic”. The property is located adjacent to the picturesque Balls Falls Conservation area in Jordan, Ontario .
  |
The wines are very good. Calamus is producing award-winning wines: the 2007 Gewurztraminer was a First Place Winner at Cuvee 2009 and the 2007 barrel-aged Chardonnay won a gold medal at the 2009 All Canadian Wine Championship. |
Owners, Derek Sauders and Pat Latin, started Calamus Estate Winery in 1999 with the purchase of a 14-acre property in Beamsville. In 2000 the first 10-acre vineyard was planted. In 2002 a second farm and a 19 th century barn was purchased and a further 20-acre vineyard was planted. The name “Calamus”, which is Latin for arrow, came about because fragments of rock were found as the property was being prepared for planting. It is believed that First Nation inhabitants used the local rock to make stone tools, implements and arrowheads. In 2007 the barn was renovated and now includes a new tasting room and event facility.
One of the interesting features of the winery is the Chronos observatory, which is often mistaken as a silo on the side of the renovated barn. The observatory houses a deep space telescope capable of viewing stars and planets in great detail.
The winery is located at 3100 Glen Road, Jordan , Ontario . The tasting room and retail shop is open Thursday to Sunday from 11:00 to 5:00. For more information go to their website at www.calamuswines.com .
Photograph by © F.G. Couch
Previous Articles
~ Aug 15th 2009
