iYellow Wine Club – Flat Roof Manor
Who doesn't love wine? Especially when it involves tasting, learning and meeting new people? Discover iYellow Wine Club, a wine club that was born out of the idea to taste, learn and meet with friends. It sounds awesome, right?
History
iYellow Wine Club was founded by Angela Aiello (who is also the creative director) in 2006. The club has 10,000+ members who love to taste, learn and meet together. It’s really a place for all who drink and love wine to gather and connect. Their theory: wine is magic that can make you rich, that can make you confident, and can be one of the main stays of your life (if you believe there are 5 main things in life: eating, drinking, sleeping, working, playing). But what’s the best part? Membership is free, you only have to pay if you decide to attend different events or classes. As a member you will get invited to an exclusive VIP experience in the iYellow Wine Cave, get wine bottles signed by talented Winemakers, and taste 100’s of wines from all over the world! What’s the even “more” best part? Along the way you’ll build your wine confidence, meet new friends and over time become a real wine expert.
Since November 2013,members can meet and greet at the iYellow Wine Cave which acts as the iYellow Club House. Currently it is the place where they teach all of the iYellow Wine School Classes and also host visiting Winemakers from all around the world (!). For your information, the iYellow Wine Cave is located steps away from Osgoode subway station on sexy Queen Street West in Toronto. It has the a back alley way entrance, reminding you of something you might find in Brooklyn New York, the trendiness of downtown Toronto’s Queen West, with the charm of a rustic European wine bar. I really love the door, there’s a graffiti with the name of the club. Also, this underground wine cave venue is an incredible and inviting space, it will help you make you feel like you’re at home with friends. You won’t find that anywhere else in Toronto.
The event
Last week, I enjoyed a complete iYellow Wine Club experience for the first time on a Wednesday night. It was a great night! For this event, I had the chance to discover the Flat Roof Manor wines from South Africa.
About Flat Roof Manor
Flat Roof Manor is an exciting new label to emerge from the premier wine-growing region of Stellenbosch, featuring easy drinking but sophisticated wines made by Estelle Lourens. The screwcap range is named after the 18th century townhouse at the winery, where Lourens is based. The label depicts the detailing of the flat-topped roof and, of course, also shows the cat that started it all: winemaker Estelle was intrigued by this cat that wouldn’t leave when the previous owners did, and decided to create wines that reflected its spirit: laid back, unpretentious, exuberant, confident and playful – wines that once discovered, will also make you want to stay. And no need to say that Estelle Lourens is such a passionate winemaker! She travelled all the way from South Africa to Toronto to talk about her passion, her living. It was so inspiring!
The Wines
During the event, I had the chance to taste two wines from Flat Roof Manor: the Merlot and the Pinot Grigio.
The Pinot Grigio
But first, let’s talk about the Pinot Grigio. The winemaking: The grapes were harvested by hand between 20o and 21.5o Balling. No skin contact was allowed and only the free-run juice was used. The fermentation (in stainless steel tanks) was started with a pure yeast culture and finished after 18 days. Thereafter, the wine was left on the lees for a period of 1 month to gain complexity before bottling took place in June. (Thanks to iYellow for all of this information, nothing’s better than knowing how a wine is made!)
The taste: this is a really light wine, so fun and easy to drink. On the palate the emphasis is on the fruit and what you smell is what you get: peaches and apricots.
The colour: Pale yellow with a hint of green.
Maturation potential: This wine was created with fruitfulness in mind, so enjoy it now and don’t let it waste away in the cellar.
The Merlot
The winemaking: The grapes were harvested by hand at 25° Balling during early March. Fermentation took place in a combination of rotation tanks and open fermenters at 26° to 28°C using pure yeast cultures, and was completed in 5 to 8 days. After a two week period of maceration on the skins the wine was transferred to stainless steel tanks to complete malolactic fermentation.Thereafter the wine was racked before being transferred to 300 litre barrels where it was left to mature for 12 months. (Again, thanks to iYellow for this useful information).
The taste: I loved that wine, it’s a good easy to drink red wine, in my opinion.You’ll find fresh and fruity notes with spices and slight tannins and a lingering aftertaste.
Colour: Brick red.
Maturation potential: Ready to drink now, but with further cellaring, the wine will gain in complexity and character.
iYellow Wine Club
Address
242, Queen Street West, Toronto