Tasting Note There is a sense of precision and purity in the winemaking by Gerry Spinosa that has captivated me from day one. This typically pale County pinot noir is now evolving well into garnet shading and it is delicious and ready to drink. The fragrance is fantastic with all kinds of wild strawberry, red cherry, pomegranate seed and pine forest floor “pinosity,” framed by generous oak spice, vanilla and burning leaves smokiness. It is light bodied, seamless and silky with well-pitched and integrated acidity, modest warmth (12.5% ABV) a sour tweak and fine sandpaper tannin. A clinic on balance while County limestone echoes on the finish. The length is excellent. Further ageing not required but it should stand to 2030, maybe longer. Tasted January 2026.

Backgrounder In 2004 Gerry and Leah Spinosa purchased 100 acres on Royal Road in the deep south of the County near Milford, less than a kilometre from Lake Ontario. With no formal grape-growing or wine-making experience, but a keen scientific mind and sheer hutzpah, Gerry single-handedly planted 10 acres and converted an abandoned 19^th-century cheese factory — now designated a historical site — into a one-family winery. They opened in 2010 and immediately began to rack up significant best-in-class awards for their chardonnays and pinots in Canadian competitions. There is little documented about the production methods, but there is obviously a sensorial sensibility in tune with technical winemaking. Nor is there a lot of marketing, making Exultet — which means “into the light” — a discovery for many. The production remains about 1,000 cases per year, and word of mouth is apparently all that is required. I purchased this wine at the Kingsway LCBO in Toronto, where product consultant Alain Laliberte carries several PEC wines.