Tasting Note This wine opened eyes and drew breaths when poured by winemaker Adam Pearce at the Saturday night Grand Finale. Made very much in the spirit of a barrel-aged white sauvignon blanc-semillon Bordeaux blend, it is a style showing increasing presence and quality in Niagara. And this one is remarkable. I considered ranking it my first pick in the Best of Show but settled for third. It finished fourth overall when all six judges weighed in. My first encounter was at the Stone Eagle winery opening last fall. It poured fairly deep, bright lemon yellow. The nose showed huge lift and complexity with apricot/peach pit, lime, mint, evergreen set amid lush barrel spice and vanillin. It is full bodied, rich, creamy and powerful — yet it is bracing and invigorating at the same time, with exotic marmalade and herbal flavours hitting outstanding length. I expressed my pleasure to Adam during a quiet moment, and he concurred, then said, the 2023 is even better. Indeed! it took a Gold medal at the 2025 National Wine Awards, while this 2022 took Silver.
Backgrounder Stone Eagle is a new winery owned by sisters Melissa Marotta-Paolicelli and Angela Marotta, who have built an entity that aims top wrung. The Stone Eagle brand has existed within the realm of Two Sisters since 2012, but in November 2025 it flew the nest into its own home in a stately new winery and events centre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, with talented winemaker Adam Pearce at the helm of both projects. This is the only white wine they make, a grand 68% sauvignon blanc and 32% semillon from two different sites in the Niagara-on-the-Lake. Four clones are involved. Each variety was separately barrel fermented, aged on the lees for 10 months, and stirred regularly to build texture and varietal character. I don’t often quote winery statements in the course of my work, but this statement by Adam Pearce is ringing true to me: “Our vision is to showcase the best barrels from our top vineyards, allowing quality to guide the final blend. It’s not about making more wine; it’s about making exceptional wine.”
