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Open Tuesday - Sunday. Visit our Tasting Room!

Fine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from
two vineyards in the heart of the Ottawa Valley.

Astonishing, original. From earth to vine to wine,
KIN Vineyards is committed to crafting brilliant wines
from our remarkable terroir.

As stewards of 100 acres of land (16 under vine), and as practitioners of truly sustainable viticulture, our pursuit of winemaking perfection begins with the soil.

KIN Vineyards tends two vineyards nestled along the Carp Ridge, adjoined by the Carp River, and resting upon the grey limestone of the Ottawa Formation. Each vineyard supports a distinct terroir, a unique personality, and a tremendous potential for remarkable wine.

CARP
BLOCK

The Carp block, sloping south and west, overlooks the Valley at its pastoral best. The vineyard is bisected by the Hazeldean Fault showing glacial till over limestone on the upper slope and clay loam over limestone on the lower slope.

KINBURN
BLOCK

The Kinburn block, resting between the Ridge and the River, shows a darker clay loam from the historical Champlain Seabed over the limestone Formation below.

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay: the Carp block is devoted to this Burgundian ideal. The diverse Kinburn block includes Dijon clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and includes plantings of Muscat Ottonel, Vidal Blanc, Marechal Foch, Marquette and Frontenac.

The KINfolk have a unique agrarian sensibility to winegrowing using sustainable farming practices. Our tender vinifera vines are gently and painstakingly buried under earth each fall. Nothing is easy about our viticultural methods.

We offer four distinct tiers of wine influenced by the varietals and by the method of winemaking.

  • The Frontenacs - NEWLY RELEASED

    In 2016, KIN Vineyards was featured by Wines of Canada as the dark horse winery to watch. We took that as a challenge and responded by creating The Frontenacs, grown on our Kinburn Block. Limited quantities: these wines will sell out fast.
    Dark Horse Light Horse

  • Understory Marechal Foch & Vidal Blanc

    Our Marechal Foch and Vidal Blanc are signature varieties of our Kinburn Block and reveal layers of personality. Foch and Vidal: Unearth the Story. VQA.
    MARECHAL FOCH (JUST RELEASED) VIDAL BLANC

  • Civil Grit Chardonnay and Gamay

    KIN Vineyards’ unoaked Chardonnay is crafted in stainless steel: it is clean yet achieves a mid-palette complexity from periodic battonage on the lees. It is Civil but it’s got Grit. We think you’ll love it. VQA.
    CHARDONNAY

    Gamay is SOLD OUT until August, 2018

  • KIN Vineyards – Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, & Rose

    KIN Vineyards’ flagship wines transcend the norm. These are beautiful wines made in the vineyard: hand-picked, hand-sorted, barrel fermented, and (for the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) aged in the finest French oak barrels. Our Pinot Noir Rose is aged in stainless and is fresh and elegant. VQA
    CHARDONNAY PINOT NOIR PINOT NOIR ROSÉ

  • Cider House Fools Dry Cider - NEW RELEASE JUNE 2018

    We took hand-picked Winesap, Honey Crisp, and McIntosh apples from Harvest Moon Orchard down the road and used our Fall Staff to make a Shakespearean New World dry cider. Rules are for fools: we know a hawk from a handsaw.
    READ MORE
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2017 Dark Horse - Frontenac Noir

  • Vintage: 2017
  • Variety: Frontenac Noir
  • Region: KIN Vineyards’ Kinburn Block
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  • Wine Style: Dry, Oak Fermentation/Ageing
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  • Ageing: < 5 Years

Winemaking

This wine is made from Frontenac Noir grapes from our Kinburn block.

Tasting Notes

notes coming soon

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2017 Light Horse - Frontenac Blanc

  • Vintage: 2017
  • Variety: Frontenac Blanc
  • Region: KIN Vineyards’ Kinburn Block
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Winemaking

This wine is made from Frontenac Blanc grapes, hand-picked from our Kinburn block.

Tasting Notes

notes coming soon

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2017 Understory - Marechal Foch (VQA) JUST RELEASED

  • Vintage: 2017
  • Variety: Marechal Foch
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Tasting Notes

notes coming soon

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2016 Understory - Vidal Blanc (VQA)

  • Vintage: 2016
  • Variety: Vidal Blanc
  • Region: Blend of KIN Vineyards’ Kinburn Block and Beamsville Bench, Niagara
  • Harvest Date: October 17, 2016 (both Kinburn and Niagara)
  • Wine Style: Off-Dry, Stainless Steel Fermentation/Ageing
  • Residual Sugar: 14 g/L
  • Alcohol: 10.2%
  • pH: 2.92
  • TA: 11 g/L
  • Ageing: Enjoy Young

Winemaking

The grapes from the Kinburn block were hand-picked, crushed and destemmed with 24 hour skin soak prior to gentle, small-basket pressing, cool settling and racking to stainless steel tanks. The Niagara grapes were picked and gently pressed, cool-settled and racked to stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Both parcels were kept separate for fermentation with the same cultured yeast. Following primary fermentation, both lots were blocked from malolactic conversion, racked off lees, blended together, bentonite fined and cold stabilized prior to a further 3 months of ageing in tank before sterile filtration and bottling.

Tasting Notes

This wine is medium lemon in colour. Off-dry, and youthful. There are delicate aromas of flowers, yellow plum, apple and wet stone. The vibrant acidity and lingering sweetness leads to a balanced and cleansing finish. A great wine for summer sipping. Enjoy young.

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2017 Civil Grit - Unoaked Chardonnay (VQA)

  • Vintage: 2017
  • Variety: Chardonnay
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Tasting Notes

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2016 KIN Vineyards – Chardonnay (VQA)

  • Vintage: 2016
  • Variety: Chardonnay
  • Region: Carp, ON & Beamsville Bench, Niagara
  • Harvest Date: September 17 (Carp) October 16 (Niagara)
  • Wine Style: Dry, Oak Fermentation/Ageing
  • Residual Sugar: 0.0 g/L
  • Alcohol: 13.8%
  • pH: 3.5
  • TA: 5.9 g/L
  • Ageing: < 10 Years

Winemaking

This wine is comprised of grapes picked from two regions...Beamsville Bench of Niagara, and KIN Vineyards in Carp, ON. The earlier picked KIN Vineyards' lot was destemmed and crushed before gentle pressing, settling and fermentation. The Beamsville Bench grapes were picked later, whole cluster pressed and settled before settling and fermentation in a combination of stainless steel and oak barrels. Cultured yeast, isolated from Burgundy, was used on both lots.
The composition of the blend is 43% fermented in stainless steel barrels to preserve a purity of fruit, 28.5% fermented in new French barriques and 28.5% fermented in older French oak barrels with weekly battonage to promote rich mouthfeel and persistence. Partial malolactic fermentation was allowed so as to maintain fresh acidity and ageworthiness.
The wine was lightly bentonite fined and sterile filtered to bottle.

Tasting Notes

A wine of elegant balance. Poached pear, subtle vanilla, and toasted hazelnut present a creamy, rich palette complimented by a backbone of acidity and freshness and an impressively long finish.

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2016 KIN Vineyards Pinot Noir (VQA)

  • Vintage: 2016
  • Variety: Pinot Noir (777,115, 667 Dijon Clones)
  • Region: Carp, Ontario & Beamsville Bench, Niagara
  • Harvest Date: Sept. 27, 2016 (Carp); Oct. 13 (Niagara)
  • Wine Style: Dry, Oak Fermentation/Ageing
  • Residual Sugar: 2.0 g/L
  • Alcohol: 12%
  • pH: 3.46
  • TA: 6.0 g/L
  • Ageing: < 5 Years

Winemaking

This wine is comprised of grapes picked from two regions...Beamsville Bench in Niagara, and our own KIN Vineyards in Carp, ON. Both the earlier picked KIN Vineyards' lot and the later picked Niagara lot were destemmed, crushed and then fermented separately in stainless steel to preserve a fruit forward profile. Following gentle pressing, settling and racking the lots were blended before barrel aging. With a mixture of clones 115, 777 and 667, along with 10 months aging in only first and second fill French oak barriques we've crafted an elegant, fragranced pinot noir. Only course filtration at bottling.

Tasting Notes

This wine is pale ruby in colour. Dry and youthful it presents red fruits of cranberry, red cherry, dried herbs and subtle spice notes. Palette is light bodied, fragranced and fruity with an elegant structure that leads to a medium finish.

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2017 KIN Vineyards - Pinot Noir Rose (VQA) JUST RELEASED

  • Vintage: 2017
  • Variety: Pinot Noir
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NOTES COMING SOON

Tasting Notes

NOTES COMING SOON

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2017 Cider House Fools - Dry Cider

  • Vintage: 2017
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  • Region: Carp, Harvest Moon Orchards, Carp, ON
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Cider Process

NOTES COMING SOON

Tasting Notes

NOTES COMING SOON

in is family.
It is community.
It is connectivity.

And, for us, it is finding our stride in the pleasure of hard work. In dirt and grapeskin we find a purposeful agency with the land. The hard, agrarian road resonates.

Brian Hamilton

Winemaker

Brian brings a wealth of international winemaking expertise to the Ottawa region. Having made his mark at high end wineries in New Zealand, California, and Niagara, Brian is now head winemaker at KIN Vineyards. Brian's approach to winemaking fits hand-in-glove with KIN Vineyards' goal to produce the finest wines in a way sympathetic to the land.

Christopher Van Barr

Proprietor

Chris is a hands-on owner and farmer who believes that the most interesting and elegant wines come from the edge where skill and hard work can create something magical.

Alan Krueger

Viticulturist

In the summer of 2014 after the planting of 12,000 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines on the Carp site, Alan made the move from full time teacher to full time vineyard manager. Alan will argue that viticultural practices are as equally important as winemaking when creating brilliant still wines. Alan is of course most happy when he has an attentive crew in the vineyard or an enthusiastic group of visitors for a tasting and tour event.

A Note About Our Winery Consultant

Peter Gamble

Winery Consultant

As the former director of Vintners Quality Alliance, and consultant to several top tier wineries across Canada, Peter offers an amazing wealth of knowledge which reveals itself throughout KIN Vineyards' strategy and presence.

We want to be Your Vineyard & Winery in the Ottawa Valley. Giving back is a critical component to our belief in community growth and sustainability.

KIN Vineyards is an Ottawa Valley experience that happens to include a vineyard.

Upcoming

Events

  • Welcome! Our 2018 Season Begins!

    Saturday, May 5, 2018 - 11:00am

    We're looking forward to seeing you again! Note that Craig's Side Road is closed until 11:00am for the Diefenbooker Race (which we are sponsoring!). Starting May 5 we're open Monday - Sunday from 11:00am - 5:00pm.

  • OTTAWA CHAMPIONS BASEBALL

    Raymond Chabot Stadium

    We're the exclusive wine supplier for the Champions 2018 season. Check out the Champions and the stadium - awesome! We think baseball pairs well with Chardonnay (and wait till we release our KINdling sparkling)

  • Lansdowne Market

    Sundays - 10:00 - 3:00 pm, Aberdeen Pavillion

    See you there

Notes

From the Vineyard

Bud Burst!

Basically, it's all urgent toil right now but light is at the end of this spring time tunnel

Interestingly, in discussions with a Niagara vineyard owner visiting our Carp Block vineyard, it seems our vineyard is at the same 1-3 leaf stage as in Niagara.

Try our wines at these excellent Ottawa restaurants: Pomeroy House, Bar Laurel, Marc Kitchen, Stofa, Cafe My House, The Two Grands, Cheshire Cat, and more.

JOIN THE KINship

Tasting Room

2225 Craig's Side Road
Carp, ON, K0A 1L0

Tasting Room Hours

Tuesday - Sunday 11:00am - 6:00pm

Contact
info@kinvineyards.com

Tasting Room: 613.519.1621 [Special Events: 613.407.6171]

© 2018 KIN Vineyards. All Rights Reserved