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goals to define the best single-vineyard
plots in the region. Originally from Quebec,
Bachelder started his winemaking education
in Burgundy, where he became extreme-
ly interested in terroir and its impact on
wine. After producing wine in Burgundy and
Oregon, Bachelder settled in Niagara, where
he specializes in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
He labels his wines with the name of the sin-
gle-vineyard, and his latest release goes as
far as to define the different ends of these
single-vineyards.

In his most recent release, Bachelder pro-
duced three Chardonnays and four Pinot
Noirs from five different vineyards in the
Niagara Escarpment.

Three of these vineyards are part of the
Wismer Vineyards, a collection of eight farms
in the Twenty Mile Bench that are becom-
ing known within the region as some of the
best for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Two of
Bachelder’s 2018 Pinot Noirs are single-va-
rietals from the Wismer-Parke vineyard,
but one is made using only grapes from the
vineyard’s west side. The 2018 Wismer-Parke
“Wild West End” has a distinct iron, flesh and
game note that the other sides of the vine-
yard do not offer.

Therefore, Bachelder has taken the notion
of single-vineyard and brought it one step
further, defining the unique flavor profiles
found from one end of a vineyard to the
next.

One of Bachelder’s other favorite vineyards
in the Niagara region is the Lowrey Vineyard.
Two of his 2018 single-vineyard Pinot Noirs
are made with grapes from Lowrey, one
using only Pinot Noir from the oldest vines
on the property, planted in 1984. Located
in the St. David’s Bench sub-appellation, the
vineyard is owned by the Lowrey family,
who have farmed the land for five genera-
tions. The family turned from fruit farming to
grape growing in 1984 when Howard Wesley
Lowrey first planted five rows of Pinot Noir.

Since then, the Lowreys have been supply-
ing grapes to some of Canada’s most pres-
tigious winemakers, including Ilya Senchuk

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