Hidden Bench Estate Winery (Beamsville, Ontario, Canada): Viticultural environment

I have spent the last three posts framing the physical environment (bedrock, soils, climate) within which Hidden Bench Estate Winery (Beamsville, Ontario) operates. In this post I treat my actual visit to the enterprise and the facts regarding its viticultural environment.

I had sought out recommendations from Remy Charest (noted Canadian wine writer) as to wineries to visit in Ontario. Hidden Bench Estate Winery was among the first names offered so I called them up and made an appointment for a tour and tasting. When I arrived at the locale, I was pleased to find out that Harald Thiel, estate founder and proprietor, would be the one conducting the tour. Harald poured us glasses of bubbly and then headed off to the vineyards surrounding the estate.

As shown in the map below, Hidden Bench farms three vineyards , all located in the Beamsville Bench sub-appellation of the Niagara Peninsula appellation. The Locust Lane Vineyard (8.5 ha/23 acres) was purchased in 2003, co-incident with the founding of the estate, Rosomel (9.2 ha/23 acres) in 2004, and Felseck (13.8ha/34 acres) in 2007. Locust Lane and Felsek Vineyards are located adjacent to the winery while Rosomel is located 6 km to the east.

Hidden Bench Estate Winery vineyards: Locust Lane (red
rectangle), Felseck (red oval) and Rosomel (red hexagon).

Beamsville Bench is the leftmost of the four sub-appellations that occupy the benchland lying just below the Niagara Escarpment. The soil of the benchland is comprised of glacial till mixed with limestone eroded from the overhang of the escarpment.

Beamsville Bench (Source: VQA Ontario)

The appellation slopes towards the lake and this assures adequate wind and water drainage. A number of creeks from the Escarpment transit the sub-appellation on their way to the lake, providing a ready source of water for the vines. Finally, its location below the Escarpment places the bench at the endpoint of the moderating wind flow off Lake Ontario.

Harald Thiel explaining Niagara Lake climatic
zones to the author

The grape variety maps below show that the focus of the enterprise is on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling, a fact that is further chronicled in Table 1's drill-down into the Locust Lane Vineyard.

Source: hiddenbench.com

Source: hiddenbench.com

Source: hiddenbench.com

Table 1. Characteristics of the Locust Lane Vineyard

Variety	Number of Plots	Clones	Rootstock	Percent of Vineyard Vines
Viognier	3	642	3309, 102-14	6.8
Chardonnay	6	548, 76, 95, 96	Riparia, 104-14	21
Malbec	1	598	3309	1.6
Pinot Noir	9	777, 386, 114, 115, 667	Riparia, SO4, 104-14, 3309	54.6
Riesling	2	21 B	3309	11.4
Merlot	1	181	Riparia	9.6
Cabernet Franc	1	214	Riparia	6.1

As shown above, a wide variety of clones and rootstocks are used in the Pinot Noir plots. In the case of the rootstocks, Harald mentioned that they are moving to Riparia and 3309 in new plantings as a response to climate change. My research shows that both of these rootstocks are medium resistance to drought conditions but this comes along with low tolerance for limestone soils (there is limestone in the Hidden Bench soil mix from Niagara Escarpment erosion).

Hidden Bench is certified organic with biodynamic principles. The enterprise utilizes oil seed radish as a cover crop to help in breaking up the soil. According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural affairs, this is a relatively new use for oil seed radish and, while it is deeper-rooted than rye grass, "... it does not provide as much organic matter nor support for equipment." The cover crop is mowed just prior to picking.

In keeping with organic requirements, no synthetic herbicides or pesticides are used in the vineyard; pheremones are utilized in the battle against the grape berry moth and the grapes are covered to protect against marauding birds.

In my next post I will cover winemaking and the wines of Hidden Bench Estate Winery.

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