Favourite Winery to Visit

Some of the flashy new wineries are a real treat to check out, but for me no visit to wine country is complete without stopping in at Creekside. They’re always knowledgeable and friendly and have that personal touch you just don’t get with the big boys. Doesn’t hurt that their wines are great too!

I always find it hard to narrow down to just one … so I’ll have to pick from each of the regions. In Niagara, ya gotta stop at Daniel Lenko. Wines are tasted and bought in the kitchen of Lenko’s own house (once hosted by his fabulous mother, Helen, who will be greatly missed). Sit at the big table, snarf on some kielbasa and crackers and maybe even have the man himself pour you some of his great wines. Viognier and the Unoaked Chardonnay are my faves. Make sure to go early in the year; his wines sell out FAST and then the tasting room shuts down for the season.

For Prince Edward County, you can’t beat Norman Hardie. Big bear of a guy with a hearty laugh, and a deep passion for his wines. Tiny winery, with the tasting room upstairs and the machinery down, very laid-back and welcoming. Do yourself a favour and sign up to help with the harvest – an unforgettable experience.

A great stop in Niagara is the family runned winery of Legends Estates Winery. Great Unique wines like Ontario’s ONLY 100% Semillon and Malbec. They still re-released the amazing vintage of 2002, there 2007 Sauvignon Blanc is wonderful. I enjoy buying there wines in the LCBO like there 2006 Merlot and Chardonnay. Fabulous property right on Lake Ontario. A must see!

I had a pleasant experience discovering “A Foreign Affair” Winery on the south side of the QEW from Jordan. The Amarone/part Amarone style wines being produced by Len Crispino and his wife are going to attract a major following. He was gracious enough to let me and my wife taste his full Amarone style reds which are beyond my budget, but wonderfully for a little sipping. The Reisling and Sauvignon Blanc are winners, and Len promises that his 2008 is actually better than the 2007 that will be showing up at a few LCBOs in September.

Marynissen Winery in the Niagara region has wonderful wines. I just ran out and will have to take the trip down to get some more.

Norm Hardie’s winery’s entrance has a tiny sign leading into a long winding driveway..
When I went last year , the tasting bar was in the winery and Norm was very patient in explaining his wines and winery..
The pinot was very lite and tasty but the surprise was the minerals in
the melon de bourgogne ..
This is an interesing winery to visit

Fielding Estate Winery in Beamsville. This, in my opinion, is how a winery should be run. Courteous, friendly and knowledgable staff, pleasant surroundings and very good wines. The employees in the tasting room/retail shop always greet the customers and will open the door for you if they’re not occupied with other customers. Fielding has a wine club and if you join you will have 2 bottles delivered every two months. Membership gives you a lot of additonal benefits such as free tastings for you and your guest, special events throughout the year and notes, with matching recipes with your shipment.

I would suggest that management from other wineries have their staff visit Fielding to learn something about customer relations!

With over 80 wineries in the Niagara Peninsula it’s hard to choose one favourite winery. Calamus Estate Winery in Jordan is on the top of my list. It’s a friendly, picturesque winery in a restored 1800’s barn. Owners Derek Saunders and Pat Latin can usually be found in the retail shop/tasting bar greeting and serving customers. All the wines are great with my particular favourites being the 2007 Calamus Red and Meritage in the reds – Pinot Gris and Riesling in the whites. There’s an outside deck to enjoy a picnic with a glass of wine and you’ll be able to see the Chronos Observatory on the upper deck. A popular event in September is “Fallstock”. You can enjoy a glass of wine, a sausage on a bun and listen to some great music for a very reasonable price!

We found the Riedel tasting offered at Inniskillen to be a unique experience. We sat at a pinic table in the middle of the icewine Vidal vines and played with wine glasses. (It’s incredible the difference the shape of the glass can make to the wine!) Plus we got to sample some of the best of Inniskillen’s recent releases. Normally I’d say Inniskillen is a big corporate experience, but this was very personalised and Chris (Customer Service Manager) was great. Reasonably priced and the tasting pays for itself if you buy Riedel from their shop.

Marynissen has always had excellent reds. Their vines are some of the oldest in Niagara region. Maybe that is why.
I enjoy visiting the Lake Erie North Shore area, beautiful scenery and very friendly wineries. They have a great festival each summer under a huge tent with wonderful food and wine samples. My very favourite place is Musedere. They have a great Cab-Franc Rose. For the scenery, you can’t beat Sprucewood and Viewpointe. I also can’t go to that region without stopping at Sanson Winery as well.

We have visited many Ontario wineries over the years but our visit to The Foreign Affairs Winery this past weekend was an eye opener. We visited the winery on a cold sunday afternoon to see how Ontario wines made by the appassimento method (the method involves drying the grapes for 90 days or more before fermenting as in Amarone) would turn out. The staff at the winery were very friendly and helpful and part owner Leo was an entertaining and enthusiastic host.
From the tastings we had, we came away believing this method of producing wines adds a lot of flavour and compexity to Ontario grown grapes. We tasted several whites made partially by the appassimento method and they were both complex and lovely. its unussual to find whites made this way. The star was the cabernet franc made totally by the appassimento method and cabernet franc has never tasted this good. You will have to taste it for yourself. The winery was visited by many return customers who were restocking their supply of wine and I know we will be returning often as well in future.