Cellar Selection

Strewn is committed to producing premium wines from grapes grown in the Niagara Peninsula.

Niagara is a "cool climate" area in which many grape varieties develop fully maturity through slow ripening in our long autumns. These ripe, sweet and flavourful grapes enable us to make a variety of interesting and appealing wines.

At Strewn, we focus on a limited number of "noble" vinifera grape varieties that do particularly well here. Our red wines are made from Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Our whites are from Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Blanc. In addition, for Icewine and Select Late Harvest (its companion dessert wine) we grow Vidal, a French hybrid grape that is grown more in Niagara than any other wine region in the world.

The Strewn "style" is to emphasize the flavours that the grapes bring to the wine, supported by the aromas and tastes that develop through wine making. Our work starts in the vineyards as we strive to grow the best possible grapes as the foundation for the best possible wines. We use the Scott-Henry trellis system to provide the maximum sun exposure for leaves and grapes and we supplement this with leaf-removal in the fruiting-zone to bring more light onto the berries. And as ripening approaches, we often thin the crop to encourage the fullest flavour development.

In the cellar, we look to retain the quality of the grapes while we develop the character of each wine. We also recognize "vintage variation" - the different weather each year results in a different wine. The reds vary more than the whites. In hot dry years we make more intense, deep, tannic reds that need time in the cellar to become smooth and enjoyable. In the cooler, wetter years the wines are lighter, smoother, fruitier and ready to drink sooner.

And we make wines in different styles. Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc are made only in stainless steel tanks to retain the flavours of the grape and reflect the terroir and management of the vineyard where they were grown. We also use oak barrels for fermenting and aging some of our wines and we do so with a light touch-enough oak to add interest and complexity but not so much as to overwhelm. Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc are fermented or aged in French and American oak barrels to add subtleties of flavour that suit these varieties. The red wines are also aged in oak barrels.

The result is many different wines that appeal to many different people. To help distinguish among our wines we have created three separate Strewn labels:

Strewn Terroir - super-premium wines, made only from the highest quality grapes and not necessarily made every year.

Strewn - premium wines that represent the greatest variety available to our customers.

Strewn TwoVines - introductory wines that have a broad appeal and are very affordable.

We price our wines fairly according to their quality - as the winemaker says 'we want our wines to find good homes where they will be well appreciated'!