(In response to Rick VanSickle’s article on the VQA’s rejection of Pearl Morissette’s ‘Black Ball’ Riesling – original here. Also posted in-part as a comment.)
Kudos to Mr. VanSickle, as his piece is the most well-researched commentary that I have seen about the ‘Black Ball’ – a subject that is undoubtedly (and justifiably) being followed closely by the Ontario wine community and has now garnered international attention.
There are however a couple of critical discussion points that are aptly raised in the article but demand elaboration:
1) The role of the VQA and its legal Act as an Appellation System needs to be put into the appropriate historical context;
2) The importance of producers like François Morissette and his role as an industry innovator. Continue reading “Behind the ‘Black Ball’”
somm on the run 