Niagara Wine Route

Late last summer I visited about 20 Niagara wineries in two and a half days, tasting most of what they had on offer. It was a crazy thing to do – the equivalent perhaps of playing 60 hours of non-stop speed golf except the tracks were through vineyards and instead of unerring hand-eye coordination, I needed my head and tongue to stay on the ball. Only professionals should attempt this.

The Niagara Wine Route starts about an hour’s drive from downtown Toronto and meanders along 40 kilometers of rural roads from Grimsby to Niagara-on-the-Lake. The Niagara Escarpment on one side and glittering Lake Ontario on the other, handsomely bracket the route.

We took exit 68 off the QEW highway and began our tour at Peninsula Ridge. Winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas was hired away from Domaine Laroche in Chablis France to come to Niagara and he makes inspired unoaked chardonnay, zingy sauvignon blanc and a winner of a syrah red. The wine tasting room is large and stocked with goodies and not to be missed is the charming restaurant in a restored Victorian home on the property.

After a quick tasting with Jean-Pierre we headed to Thirty Bench a short hop away on Mountain Road. The tasting room has been recently renovated and Lindsay Marcaccio greeted us with a “wine consultant experience” in the back room overlooking the vineyards. For ten bucks any visitor can get (as I did) a tasting of a personal choice of four wines including back vintages and icewine lead by one of the winery’s staff. It’s a real deal.

We continued further down the road to Mountain Road Vineyard where the tasting room is in the lower level of the house of winemaker/owner Steve Kocsis. Kocsis explained that he was in an area slated for housing development so couldn’t expand his winery or farm. Portable steel storage containers and trailers that held wine paraphernalia dotted the property. It was a sight and a testament to the small farmer’s tenacity. Best of all, Mountain Road had a vertical of icewines available from vintages 1999 to 2004.

Angel’s Gate on the same road was dramatically upscale in comparison. Picturesque grounds with flowers and fountains led to the large tasting room overlooking Lake Ontario. The lunch patio menu featured seasonally inspired tapa style dishes. We had a cheese plate of wonderful artisanal cheeses and breads to go with our wines as winemaker Philip Dowell lead a tasting of some fine wine.

Time for lunch next at the spectacular Vineland Estate also up the escarpment overlooking vineyards and Lake Ontario. Chef Jan-Willem Stulp outlined his thematic in-season approach to cooking using as many local ingredients as possible. His “Local Food Plus” menu names the farms where he sources his produce. I recommend the Cro farm quail dish.

No visit to this part of Niagara (now called Twenty Valley) would be complete without visiting Flat Rock Cellars, home to great pinot noir and just as good pinot noir vinegar. The vinegar was, not surprisingly, sold out but President Ed Madronich was there to crack open some great Nadja’s vineyard wines and tell us about his “In the Winemaker’s Boots” program. Madronich hosts this educational wine series that’s like realty TV in the vineyards except without the cameras. The full day hands-on sessions take place four times a year at the winery and during harvest season, has the participants picking grapes.

The next stop, Rockway Glen, features an 18-hole golf course as well as a winery and was a must on my tour. What I didn’t know about but was delighted to discover, was their unique 19th Century Antique Wine Museum just created about a year and a half ago.

Further down the back roads at Short Hills Bench is the historic Henry of Pelham winery with its wine tasting room housed in what was the cellar of an 1842 former inn, carriage house and horse shed. The three Speck brothers, who own and run Pelham, were busy with the building of a new 7,000 square foot underground wine cellar.

We were late getting to Cave Springs in tiny historic Jordan Village but I did manage to snag a tasting with VP and co-owner Tom Pennachetti. As I sipped the minerally delicious Riesling Dolomite, toasty rich CSV Chardonnay and other wines Tom told me about the golf packages that Cave Springs offers with nearby golf courses such as Peninsula Lakes and Lookout Point. We were able to continue sampling Cave Spring wines at their On the Twenty restaurant overlooking Twenty Mile Creek. Following an exhausting but thrilling day, we overnighted across the street at the Inn on the Twenty, a charming property owned by Cave Springs that has the best accommodation in the area.

In the morning we headed to Chateau des Charmes near the teensy town of St. Davids. The winery’s grand French chateau inspired building is a local landmark and home to many excellent wines. Founder and oenologist Paul Bosc senior is a viticultural pioneer and has isolated new clones of grapes such as Gamay Droit. His 47 year old son Paul Bosc Junior led us through an impressive tasting.

Coyote’s Run Estate was a picture in contrast – a small, cute little house-like winery with hand-crafted wines and a picnic place out back. On the 60 acres property there are two very distinct soil types one with a reddish colour and the other blackish. Hence wines from the particular soils are called respectively Red Paw and Black Paw. I loved the Black Paw Pinot Noir and the Red Paw Syrah.

Wineries can’t get much smaller or exclusive than family run Cattail Creek which sells their less than 2,000-case production from the winery only. The Dyck family does own a lot of vineyards but most of the grapes go to others. Third generation Roselyn whispered to me “We go grocery shopping in our own vineyards” meaning they keep the best for their own tiny production. The intensity and great length of the Riesling Reserve tells me she may be telling the truth.

We went next for lunch in the fancy dining room of Peller Estates where Chef Jason Parsons does magic with local produce. Peller is the largest of the 18 wineries in the town district of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The restaurant at Peller and sister winery Hillebrand under Chef Frank Dodd offer haute cuisine of the best kind and I always try to visit one or the other or both. Wines such as Peller’s Gamay 2006 Private Reserve also give much satisfaction.

No time to linger though as it was on to Reif Estate. Reif has recently expanded and has a wine sensory garden where I saw and rubbed herbs invocative of the scents of wines. At the sensory wine bar Reif offered several wine tasting experiences such as “Through the Cellar Door” to showcase differences in oak and Wine and Cheese which pairs the two. I chose to do the “Terroir” and taste the differences of grapes grown in different soils.

Nearby Konzelmann had also expanded recently and had a spanking new tasting room. Assistant winemaker Eric Pearson took me through a tasting that included the great value Pinot Blanc 2007 and Merlot 2007 as well as the consumer friendly White and Red Moose labels.

The stunning contemporary visuals of Stratus Winery take the breath away and we were already a bit breathless from our schedule on the run. However we did manage to settle down enough to hear about their innovative gravity flow and environmentally sustainable winery. Winemaker J-L Groux believes in “assembling” wines from a blend of grapes and his very best wines mix a host of varietals to get great complexities. Stratus offers tasting flights and small seminars about wine but even if you don’t want to learn it’s worth a visit to see the place.

Finally we called it a day and headed to Riverbend Inn, a stately 1860’s Georgian Mansion that’s been converted into 21 unique guest rooms. For dinner at the inn, I picked locally grown Dave’s greens and the cast iron roast squab, a hearty flavourful dish and matched it with a Riverbend wine made for the inn by Reif.

The final day in Niagara was an easy half day with golf in the afternoon. First to Inniskillin, the winery which heralded in the new era of Ontario winemaking in 1975 when it was granted the first winery licence in Ontario since 1929. Founding partners Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser have sold their interests but the winery continues to expand and bloom. The tour options here are varied. In the Riedel Tasting Room you can sample wines served in specific crystal glasses designed and shaped for each type of wine. Should you decide to buy the glasses the cost of the tasting goes toward the price. Their outdoor piazza offers picnic tables and in the large demo kitchen there are monthly wine and food pairings. I went for the dedicated icewine bar as Inniskillin is also famous for their much awarded riesling icewine.

Southbrook was the last but not least stop. This new winery built to environmentally positive LEED standards and designed by Jack Diamond is an architectural marvel. “Nothing leaves this property that you can’t drink,” says their talented and experienced winemaker Anne Sperling. A patio with wood burning pizza oven adds to the charming and tasty experience.

We weren’t hungry but had to stop at Stone Road Grill because it’s such a fantastic place for a meal. In a tiny strip mall with a funny sign that says “REST” on it (ask for the story at the restaurant), it’s the go to place for local winemakers and residents. Chef Ryan Crawford does wonderful things with charcuterie, local lamb (from the fields at Featherstone Winery), house made preserves and much more. The wine list is extensive and includes a few labels at least from most all of the Niagara region’s wineries. I even got to make my own spun maple sugar cotton candy in the kitchen.

Finally it was time to golf at the country’s oldest golf course built in 1894. The facilities were recently bought from the membership by John Wiens, who’s also owner of the Riverbend Inn and he’s polished things up. Fort Niagara, Fort Mississauga and Fort George can be seen from the course. Sitting on the patio by the Lake after a fun nine holes was the perfect end to a wild wine tour.

Margaret Swaine has toured the globe many times over as a journalist, wine and restaurant critic and feature writer. An avid golfer, her features often combine food, wine and spirits with golf and travel.