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International News
been evolving and growing their practices over the over for two weeks before being destemmed. After
past decade in the Niagara-on-the-Lake sub-region. being destemmed, the skins are added back into
As a family that dedicates the majority of their time the wine and aged in clay for five months before
to their winery, they started experimenting with being bottled unfiltered. The result is a wine with
different winemaking styles and techniques as a much more depth and complexity than the typical
way to keep interested in wine. Jakub says he was big, overly oaked Cabernets that have become so
initially hesitant to try different techniques for the common in the liquor stores.
general public but would play around for friends
and family to see what kind of results he could The Lipinskis believe the market is changing, and
yield with various out-of-the-box methods. After more and more of their audience is interested in
several years of experimentation, the Lipinskis something new and different. Some people are
learned that these methods created wines with interested in a Chardonnay with notes of gunpow-
more character and interest than the average bot- der and matchstick or a Pinot Gris that drinks more
tle. like a Pinot Noir. Wine lovers are becoming more
open to alternative notes and more interested in
Big Head Wines started out producing big the process behind the winemaking.
Bordeaux style blends but has since introduced
the Big Head Raw Series to their line of wines. The Unbound
Raw series uses minimal intervention techniques,
wild fermentation, whole cluster carbonic mac- Head winemaker, Ryan Corrigan, of Rosewood
eration, and is bottled completely unfiltered. The Estates Winery, also believes that people want
Raw White series was the first to be released in to hear the story behind the wine and that North
2016 and featured three single varietal offerings: Americans are no longer as brand loyal as they
Pinot Gris, Savagnin and Chenin Blanc. They could used to be. Many wine lovers are constantly look-
not keep the bottles on the shelves. A year later, ing for the newest, coolest thing. That is why he’s
the Big Head Raw Red series was released and decided to turn his winery into a full-out research
featured Syrah, Petit Verdot and Pinot Noir in the and development lab where he can develop new
same style. Again these wines were met with rave styles, flavors and textures in Ontario wine that no
reviews. The Raw Series has serious weight and one has ever tasted before.
depth but also the potential to develop beautifully
over time. The flavors in each bottle are complex Winemaker at Rosewood since 2016, Corrigan
and often unexpected, and these nuances will takes a traditional approach in his winemaking with
come out even more as they age. the intention of getting to the root, or “the heart,”
of each varietal. He is transparent in his methods
Today, the father and son are using carbonic and as mindful as possible in his practices. While
maceration on just about everything in the winery, his craft approach to winemaking is not new, it is
from Gewurtztraminer to Malbec. They believe this something that has been neglected by many mod-
technique unlocks the full potential of the grapes, ern-day winemakers, who instead opt for high vol-
specifically when it comes to aromatics. Jakub ume and quick production. For Corrigan, patience is
Lipinski says he has not had a bad experience using a virtue. He will literally take years to create some
carbonic on any grape varietal – red or white – and of his wines, playing around with and combining
will continue to explore the possibilities within that different techniques to see how they affect the
style of winemaking. Their latest Big Head Raw final product’s flavor and aroma.
release is a Cabernet Sauvignon using a variation
of this technique. While the wine is low interven- Unbound by any rules or traditions, Corrigan cre-
tion, the process of producing it is still incredibly ates everything from skin contact white wines to
labor-intensive. The Cabernet grapes are sun-dried meads using honey from the winery’s extensive
appassimento-style before undergoing carbonic apiary program. The winemaker-meets-mad-sci-
maceration for ten days. They are then pumped entist is also concocting a Vermouth and Amaro
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