The pursuit of good, affordable Pinot Noir
On a recent sunny morning, Ed Madronich was in the top floor event space of the winery his family opened in Jordan, Ont. 10 years ago, but his mind was with a new venture. Madronich is launching a craft brewery, Shawn & Ed Brewing Company, with a university friend, Shawn Till.
“An inspector is on-site and has some questions,” Madronich said, apologizing for his need to race off after an appointment. He’s hoping work on the former home of the Dundas Curling Club will be completed so the brewery can open this fall.
It’s clear that the brewery isn’t going to distract the winery owner from his focus on the estate winery that has been a force of innovation and consistent source of quality wine since the first vintage in 2003.
As Madronich settles in to talk about Flat Rock Cellars, his enthusiasm for the vineyard and winery are evident. He’s not starting a brewery because he’s bored with wine.
“I’ll argue that there aren’t many better vineyards than this pocket,” Madronich said, reflecting on the winery’s decade of success. “If you go up above us, it’s not quite the same. Down below us, it’s not quite the same. “We have a slope that most people would envy… It really is a special place.”
The Madronich family purchased the land in 1999. Vines were planted in 2000, 2001 and 2004, with a focus on Pinot Noir (50% of plantings), Chardonnay (30%) and Riesling (17%). Small amounts of Gewürztraminer and Syrah were also planted.
“When we planted half of the vineyard to Pinot, people thought we were frigging crazy,” he explained. “You didn’t do that at the time; you planted four acres of this, seven acres of that, 10 acres of this, six acres of that and you mixed everything up.”
The strong Pinot Noir focus yielded the design and construction of an ultra-modern, five-storey gravity flow winery, set into the side of the escarpment, with two six-sided buildings linked by a bridge. The tasting room offers a panoramic view of the 32-hectare estate.
“I’m not interested in being a great Ontario winery,” Madronich states matter-of-factly. “I’m interested in being a great winery. I don’t compare myself to my colleagues; I compare myself to the best in the world. I want to make a Pinot Noir and sell a Pinot Noir at a price point that is better than anyone else in the world. That’s the heart of what we do here, probably to my financial detriment.”
Like Chile’s Cono Sur and New Zealand’s Villa Maria, Ontario’s Flat Rock is a rare producer with consistently compelling examples of affordably priced Pinot Noir. In Ontario, Flat Rock’s estate Pinot sells for $20 and its reserve bottling, called Gravity, goes for $30. Prices and availability vary in other provinces. Visit flatrockcellars.com for more information.