The First and Only Winery in the Ottawa Valley

Yes – you read that headline correctly. 

There is a new winery in Carp that is opening its doors this summer.

It is far from a dream or a hobby, this winery is making impressionable wines and selling out quickly too.

Now that you are in the know, here is the back-story . . .

He is a lawyer and a farmer too.

Google Chris van Barr and the first thing you’ll learn is that he is a successful lawyer specializing in intellectual property law who also teaches in the subject at the University of Ottawa.

But, dig a little deeper, and you’ll discover that he has roots on a farm in southern Ontario and has made his home in rural Ottawa. 

Chris is a man who has a passion for the land as well as interesting, elegant wines. This passion led him to partner with Alan Krueger five years ago to establish KIN Vineyards. Alan, the KIN viticulturalist, graduated from the University of Guelph, is an avid gardener and has taught at the Ottawa Waldorf School for many years.

Chris and Alan both originally lived in Southern Ontario, and both worked on farms during high schools holidays, connecting when they coincidentally both moved to rural Ottawa. On cycling trips through the countryside, they talked about different types of environmentally friendly artisanal enterprises that they could partner in, including raising goats to produce cheese.

But the idea that really struck a chord was the concept of growing grapes and producing wine organically.

Alan said: “Given my experience with the Steiner philosophy at the Waldorf school, my ‘green thumb,’ and my availability in the summer, I was the obvious choice to lead the work in the vineyards. Chris is great with all types of farm equipment, so he deals with anything mechanical, as well as being the guiding financial and management hand of the business. Before we made any decisions, we arranged a trip to Niagara to meet with winemakers producing organic wines.”

It was during this trip that Chris and Alan met Brian Hamilton at Southbrook Vineyards. 

Brian, a graduate of Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, has a resume in winemaking including Malivoire Wine Co, Southbrook Vineyards and Tawse —w all located in Niagara. 

He also has notable winemaking experience internationally, having worked  in California, as well as in New Zealand, where he further developed experience and expertise in the creation of cool-climate wines. 

“When I met with Chris and Alan during their visit at Southbrook, we spoke at length about organic and biodynamic grape growing and winemaking,” remembered Brian.  “Our common views on these philosophies really connected us as we established the principals for KIN Vineyards.” 

A year ago, Brian took the plunge and moved to Ottawa to become KIN’s full-time winemaker as the team prepared for its first harvest on the Carp estate.

During our walk through the vineyards, Brian talked about his ‘job’ since joining KIN full time, “I’m multi-tasking, marketing with restaurants, selling at farm markets and Savvy Taste & Buy events, working in the vineyard and, oh, yes, I’ll be doing some winemaking as well!”

But you could see from his expression he’s as excited as Alan and Chris, perhaps more so now that he is onsite for the Carp site’s first harvest.

And I think you’ll agree when you taste the wines that you’ll be lined up to taste from the 2016 vintage — it has just been released.

Where is KIN Vineyards?

Part of Chris’ 50-acre property in Kinburn has been transformed into a vineyard.

The Kinburn estate lies between the Carp Ridge and the Carp River.

This property includes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines, as well as the more hardy hybrid varieties — Marechal Foch, Frontenac, Vidal and Muscat Ottonel.

There is a twin site — a 50-acre Carp vineyard — that was harvested for the first time in 2016. The grapes grown in this young vineyard are exclusively for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.

There’s great laughter as Alan described the process of planting the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with local firefighters volunteering to dig the holes, while high school students were recruited to hand-plant the vines. 

No grass grows . . .

From the get-go, these men have been going non-stop. 

They are excited to have their grand opening of their winery this summer — you have got to see this place.

While the vines took hold in the vineyards, the team constructed a modest facility for winemaking and an impressionable tasting room at the edge of the vineyards.

Local architect Richard White, known for his focus on environmentally friendly buildings, is working with Chris and his team to design the permanent facility planned for the site.

Start the car!

Take a drive out to Carp to discover this new winery and be sure to ask for their wines at restaurants in town.

You will see their wine on the list at: Atelier, Absinthe, E18ghteen, MeNa Restaurant, Cafe My House, Must Kitchen & Wine Bar, Clover, Heirloom Cafe, Wild Oat, Cheshire Cat and the Swan in Carp.

Their production is small, so you won’t find their wine at the LCBO.

kinvineyards.com

KIN Chardonnay VQA 2015 $29.95

Produced from the fruit harvested from an acre in the Lincoln Lakeshore appellation in Niagara, grown specifically for KIN, this Chardonnay is aged in very lightly toasted French oak barrels, 50 per cent of which are new.

Given the very limited production available from KIN’s own vineyards (the first harvest of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir was autumn of 2016), winemaker Brian Hamilton plans to continue to use this carefully selected fruit from Niagara.

TASTING NOTES: Lovely restrained aromas of sweet vanilla, hints of melted butter, ripe tree fruit and citrus tantalize the nose. Dry, mid-weight, the wine shows real purity of fruit – crisp apple and juicy pear mingling with flavours of lemon-lime and a touch of grapefruit pith. It’s nicely balanced, clean and fresh in texture, showing notes of spice and white pepper on fresh finish. A true cool-climate Chardonnay

FOOD PAIRING: Serve with seafood pasta, coquille St-Jacques, or roast chicken.

KIN ‘Dark Horse’ Frontenac 2016, $21.95

Frontenac is produced from hybrid developed at the University of Minnesota and introduced in 1996. The grapes are quite small, which would suggest good flavour concentration, and wines from this grape generally show flavours of red fruits and good levels of acidity. Brian gave the must extended skin contact, resulting in intensely lovely dark colour. The wine was then aged it for several months in American oak to polish off the flavours. With its unique flavour, it’s no wonder that it is one of KIN’s top selling wines.

TASTING NOTES: Deep ruby, this offers intriguing aromas, combining perfumed notes of red rose, lifted red and black cherry notes and a subtle herbaceous character. Dry, medium bodied, you’ll note a touch of oak aging underlying the wash of tasty, juicy red berry and cherry flavours. There’s a roundness to the texture with a touch of warmth and oaky toast on the tangy finish. 

FOOD PAIRING: Bright, fresh and flavourful, this will pair well with meals such as turkey with cranberry or with duck with a cherry reduction.

KIN Vineyards ‘Understory’ Marechal Foch 2016 VQA, $22.95

Marechal Foch is a French hybrid that ripens early and is a vine that is cold hardy. Foch was grown in many Canadian vineyards until the 1980s, when government incentives to plant vitis vinifera led many grape growers to remove it. Now still grown in a handful of vineyards across the country – including KIN’s vineyard in Kinburn – where winemakers excel at producing intensely flavoured wine from the grapes of old vines, as well as fortified wines of great depth and intensity.

TASTING NOTES: Deep purple, this wine offers intense aromas of sweet dark berries along with earthy notes and a whiff of graphite. Dry medium bodied, its clean, fresh flavours of blueberry and blackberry are garnished with a light kiss of spice and toast, the fruit dominating through the tangy finish.

FOOD PAIRING: Serve with roast lamb, gourmet burgers or an early autumn stew.