Yesterday, I spent a fantastic 8 or 9 hours in the company of Home Winemaking expert Daniel Pambianchi at his Niagara-On-The-Lake vineyard. For readers still not familiar, Daniel wrote the book, “Techniques in Home Winemaking,” a book that I recommend to any home winemaker that wants to improve their skills and learn more about the art and science of winemaking. My review of the book is here.

Daniel operates a 14 acre vineyard just off the QEW in a very pretty part of Ontario. When I arrived (about a two hour drive), I was met by Daniel and his friendly staff. We had fun discussing wine while sampling some of the delicious bottled wines that Maleta has produced. And then on to some Grappa! I’d never had Grappa before, but Daniel had several styles ready for me to try including one that had been aged in Oak, one that had been aged with a hot pepper in the bottle, and a delicious espresso version.

After the introductions were all made, it was time to learn more about Maleta Winery and the services they can offer those who make their own wine. I had brought down a small sample of my “Mystery Wine.” I was curious about the specific gravity being below 0.900 and wondered what the alcohol content was. Daniel “fired” up the DuJardin-Salleron ebulliometer, calibrated it, and we discovered that my fruit wine was 16% alcohol by volume. Yes, it does taste a bit hot, and I’ll experiment with it. I was then shown some of the other interesting tools and testing equipment in the lab and felt like a kid in a candy store.

It was soon dinner time, and we watched the sun setting while enjoying a barbecued dinner on the deck while discussing a variety of home winemaking subjects. Daniel was very helpful and gracious in sharing some of his knowledge with me and I’ve come away with some ideas on improving my own wines. Shortly after dinner, we explored some of the wines he has aging in French and American oak barrels – and all I can say is that you’ll definitely be wanting to keep Maleta Winery’s wines in mind! We sampled several different varieties (unfortunately, I was unable to fully enjoy it all as I was driving home later) it various stages.

All in all, it was a super day! I learned much, enjoyed very good company and was introduced to some very good wine! Thank you Daniel!

Related Posts

• New Drinking And Driving Regulations – Home Winemakers Beware
• Home Winemaking Operation Suspected Of Being A Meth Lab
• Home Winemaking Time Again
• Home Winemaking And Carbon Dioxide Emissions
• Maple Wine Progress

10 Responses to “A Day At Maleta Winery”