Ontario’s most important wine region, the Niagara Peninsula, is home to over 60 wineries stretched from the town of Winona just past Hamilton to the Canadian shores of the Niagara River. Pick up the Niagara Wine Route (1-800-263-2988; www.winesofontario.ca) about an hour out of Toronto by exiting the QEW. Travel the meandering rural roads chock-a-block with wineries for the 40 kilometers or so to Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Niagara Parkway. The route, starting on Regional Road 81, traverses gently rolling landscape through small towns, vineyards and orchards. Half the Niagara Peninsula is still devoted to agriculture and many of the farms are proudly preserved century properties, with roots tracing back to the days of the Empire Loyalists.
The Niagara Escarpment on one side and glittering Lake Ontario on the other handsomely bracket the route. The top ridges of the craggy cliffs of the Escarpment were once the shoreline of Lake Iroquois. This ancient lake receded with the glaciers leaving behind the Five Great Lakes as we know them today along with fossil rich land great for grape growing. The route is not a straight drive. Some of the wineries are up sideroads on the series of benches (sloping terraces) that eventually meet the limestone cliffs. Others are just off the QEW, in small towns such as Jordan, stretched along the shore of Lake Ontario, or hugging the Parkway along the Niagara River.
From Toronto the first concentration of wineries you hit is around town of Beamsville and up the slopes of the Beamsville Bench where most have wonderful vistas of Lake Ontario and the escarpment. Peninsula Ridge (905-563-0900; www.peninsularidge.com) has a lovely restaurant in an 1885 Queen Anne style manor house on the property. Angels Gate (905-563-3942; www.angelsgatewinery.com) offers patio lunches in summer that take advantage of their dramatic lake views. Eastdell Estates View restaurant (905-563-9463; www.eastdell.com) has sweeping vistas of the lake and the Toronto Skyline.
Jordan Village, home of Cave Spring Cellars Winery (905-562-3581; www.cavespring.ca) is a restored tiny hamlet with Georgian and Victorian homes lining Main Street. Antique shops, galleries, a garden shop, restaurant and inn are all bunched together on two streets. Cave Spring’s adjacent restaurant On the Twenty serves good Canadian fresh market cuisine. From the restaurant you see the steep and beautiful Twenty Mile Valley. Across the street, The Inn on the Twenty is a charming property that has some of the best accommodation in the area (www.innonthetwenty.com).
Nearby and up on the bench Vineland Estates Winery (1-888-846-3526; www.vineland.com) offers superb views and fitting meals at their 4-Diamond restaurant. If you haven’t eaten by now, it’s worth taking a detour to Port Dalhousie to Treadwell restaurant (905-934-9797; www.treadwellcuisine.com) where Chef Stephen Treadwell excels in farm-to-table cuisine. Sommelier and son James matches the refined meals with well chosen local wines. Olson Food & Bakery (905-938-8490; www.olsonfoodsandbakery.com) has a fantastic array of artisan breads, decadent desserts as well as cheese and specialty items. Market Square (905-688-5601 ext. 1503; www.stcatharines.ca) in nearby St. Catharines offers the widest selection of freshly harvested produce and locally produced foods in one convenient location in the heart of the city.
Head from here to picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake and a host of wineries. Three million tourists flock to this Regency town annually, which is home of The Shaw Festival (www.shawfest.com). Theatre dominates the town from April to mid November. About ten of the nearby wineries offer dining and theatre packages along with a winery tour. The local inns also package theatre and wine. The Shaw Club (1-800-511-7070; www.shawclub.com) is nearest the theatre, sleekly modern and hip. Charles Inn (1-800-556-8883; www.charlesinn.ca) an antique filled renovated home built in 1832 appeals to history lovers with its old world charm. Also in town at deLuca’s Cheesemarket and Deli (905-468-2555; www.delucascheesemarket.com) you can find Niagara’s best selection of artisan cheeses from around the world, as well as gourmet deli products, and specialty food items. Tony de Luca also serves up amazing tasting menus at his restaurant in the Oban Inn (1-866-394-7900; www.tonydeluca.ca).
Peller Estates Winery Restaurant (1-888-673-5537; www.peller.com) delivers some of the best wine country cuisine in an elegant atmosphere while at Strewn Winery, Terroir La Cachette Restaurant (905-468-1222; www.lacachette.com) is relaxed and homey serving Provençal style dishes. In a dowdy plaza on the edge of town you’ll find the eclectic Stone Road Grill (905-468-3474; www.stoneroadgrille.com) a favourite among local vintners for its well priced strictly Niagara VQA wine list and flavourful country cuisine. A little further down the road in Virgil the Pie Plate bakery/café (905-468-9-PIE; www.thepieplate.com) features fresh Niagara fruit in pies, muffins and tarts as well savoury tarts and unique sandwiches. There’s a cozy apartment upstairs that owner Ruth Ann Schreifer rents to visitors who likely enjoy waking up to the smell of her baking below.