Page 62 - Grapevine May-June 2020
P. 62
International News
Thomas Bachelder & his wife Mary Delaney
Thomas Bachelder Defines
Niagara Terroir
By: Alyssa Andres
T he wine of Burgundy, France, is renowned In New World winemaking, which has only started
worldwide for a number of reasons. Their
to evolve over the past hundred years or so, terroir
vintners have centuries of winemaking
Their focus has been on the wine itself and trying
experience and have tended their vines over gen- hasn’t been as much of a focus for winemakers.
erations, but one major factor in Burgundian wine to build an international reputation. In Ontario’s
is, and always has been, terroir. In Burgundy, no Niagara Peninsula, however, Thomas Bachelder and
one refers to a wine by its grape varietal. They his wife, Mary Delaney, are breaking this trend and
talk about wine in specific parcels. They refer to a taking a more Burgundian approach to winemaking.
wine by the vineyard it comes from, and they know
what that particular vineyard tastes like compared The Niagara wine industry has taken off over the
to its neighbor down the way. That is because, in past decade. Hundreds of tourists flood to the
Burgundy, vintners have taken hundreds of years to region each day to bombard tasting rooms. Despite
map their terroir. this, Thomas Bachelder has chosen not to open
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