I did my best to ignore any snooty atmosphere, and had a really good time. Almost all of the wine people were extremely friendly and happy to chat. All in all, I got to twelve venues. One of many new Niagara wineries. The were even supplying fresh oysters as accompaniment - a great match for their oaked Chard.
Tannin is sometimes low.
But, I think this new style will age, and do much better than the old. Italian P.Grigios can often be very light and neutral, but Firmiano's was nicely floral and had decent body. Creekside's 99 Sauvignon Blanc was good, though I preferred the 97 or 98, which had an intense grassiness. They said that the 2000 would be more like this again. Everyone I asked about 2000 was very pleased.