Local Saturday -- wine edition

I've been rather lax with my weekly local food report. After a strong start with surprisingly delicious vegan cupcakes, I spluttered. However, this week I'm back on track thanks in part to a group of wine writers who are hoping to get readers to Drink Local Wine. While most of the writers are American, they graciously allowed me to join the cause.

Our mission: To discuss three noteworthy local wines. In my case, "local" means Canadian.

So, I rolled up my sleeves — and pant cuffs — and started my search for great Canadian wines by tiptoeing across the currant-splattered grounds of Niagara-on-the-Lake's Southbrook Vineyards. The photo above gives you an idea of just how messy crushing black currants can be. After sampling their wines, I wandered down the road to Sunnybrook and then headed off to Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. Too bad I didn't have time to sample the offerings of beautiful British Columbia. Oh well. Maybe next time...

Since you've likely tasted many of Ontario's better known whites and reds, I decided to talk about the lesser known fruit wines. The Rodney Dangerfield of alcoholic beverages, they just don't get no respect. But today's modern incarnations aren't the sickly sweet, verging-on-cough-syrup cordial your great-aunt Fanny sipped in a corner on Christmas Eve. They are respectable, well-crafted, balanced wines you just might like, providing you don't approach them as you would a merlot or chardonnay.

And as an added bonus, since fruit wines don't contain the same amount of tannins or histamines as their red cousins, the headache-prone can drink them with (relative) impunity — providing, of course, you don't over-indulge.

My article in Edible Toronto will give you some background on the evolution of Ontario fruit wines and the challenges they currently face. For those anxious to give fruit wine a try, my top Canadian fruit wine picks are:

• Southbrook Vineyard's Framboise: One of the few fruit wines available at the LCBO, this port-method raspberry dessert wine is bursting with flavour. Although it pairs beautifully with chocolate, I've used it in a raspberry trifle with stellar results.
• Domaine de Grand Pré's Pomme d'Or: This Nova Scotian dessert wine is like biting into a crisp fall apple. The burnt caramel finish is smooth and surprising. While it's available at Halifax's Farmers' Market (Government of Ontario take note, the world didn't end with this bold initiative), they will ship out-of-province if you email them.
• Sunnybrook Farm Estate Winery's Blackcurrant Wine: This dry dinner wine is my husband's favourite. While I find it too intense to drink with dinner, its strong cassis flavour makes it ideal for poached pears and cooking. This winery has one of the widest selections of fruit wines in Ontario. You can order from their website or join their wine club.

I haven't touched on the hard ciders and award-winning wines from other area orchards. Any fruit wine enthusiasts out there who want to hear more? If so, speak up. Otherwise, I'm heading back to the wine-free Farmers' Market and researching cheese.