Here is my next story….
On our visit to the Niagara Falls we drove back via Niagara -on -the- Lake. This is a small town much like Pilgrims Rest in SA. Someone was obviously given the task of finding out the relevance of this little town and this is what he came up with:
 It was the first capital of Canada and boasts the first library in Canada, the first anti -slavery laws were drawn up there, the first newspaper in the Ontario province was produced here and it boasts the oldest golf course in North America. The bit that I never told you about is that this quaint little area produces 80% of Canada`s wine! I had also heard that this area produces very dry wine because the growing season is short, the sugars do not have time to develop. Well, this Cape girl needed no invitation, lets go and taste some!

We drove up a palatial driveway of the Peller Estate with the Chateau nestling majestically in the trees. This one was chosen from our brochure for no particular reason other than the fact that I liked the architecture of the winery and we had been given a wine tasting voucher at the St Lawrence Market on the previous day..
 Josh and David decided to stay in the car as this was definitely not their thing and David wanted to catch up on some much needed sleep as we had had him up at the crack of dawn that morning.

The Peller estate has been around for 50 years and was established by a Hungarian family. It  has received many accolades for their Chardonnay, Riesling and Ice Wine.We stepped through the maginificent wooden door into the winery and I decided there and then to clear my memory bank all the wonderful memories of wine farms in my beloved Stellenbosch. Philip and I were greeted with such grace and were taken through to the wine tasting area. It did look different from what we were used to, I could not help it! I missed the earthy aroma that always wafts through our cellars in the Cape and being at the coal face, these cellars are often right next to the actual vats.The aroma of wine permeates your whole being when you taste wines and you might even spot a spider webb en route.

Everything on the Peller estate tasting room was very clean and precise. I tell myself that this is going to be a different experience, so just go with it! .We tasted 3 of their wines a  Reserve Riesling, Reserve Meritage and an oak aged Vidal Icewine. I have never liked Riesling much but I was pleasantly surprised and the red wine was very dry  and smooth but that has never frightened me. As for the icewine, this was much like our late harvest but with the added romance  that it is picked when the grapes are frozen. At least the Canadian winters will be bearable if I can soften the harshness with some Icewine

.As we walked out to the car, I felt a sense of relief, this Bolander will be able to survive in this foreign place. Yes, it is very different but there are common threads that weave through the life here in Canada and it is up to me to find the threads and savour them.