Sunshine and Wine

My brother Ewan, Mum and I went wine tasting in the Niagara region yesterday.  A gorgeous sunny day made the driving about even more enjoyable.

Ontario has so many wineries now.  You can’t even begin to try and see them all in one day – try maybe every weekend for a couple of months and you might succeed.  And the Niagara region is so beautiful.  Here the small more modest homes are still intact and the beautiful countryside, especially now in the fall, with all the colours, is just spectacular.

Our winery path started at Chateau des Charmes which is one of those big wineries that is set up for the masses.  The wine that my brother wanted from here unfortunately was sold out.  And yes, they have this amazing building set in a beautiful back drop, but as is the case with the big wineries, they don’t feel as personal.

So then we headed to Coyote Run which was just great.  They had these two Pinot Noirs which were prepared in the exact same way but had different terroir (the soil and environment in which the vines grow).  Red Paw and Black Paw.  So that was interesting to see how much just the influence of the terroir alone affects the taste of the wine.  It was a fun boutique winery to visit.  I highly recommend it.

Then we went to Between The Lines which is only a year old.  The wines were very well priced and quite yummy.  Also a really friendly and fun little atmosphere and very quaint.  Again, I definitely recommend it.

Following that we went to another “newbie” – Reimer.  They had the best accoutrements on sale along with the wine.  Not as many wines to try – only four – but they are new and the wines they had were tasty.  Not to be missed.

Marynissen came next.  Followed by Caroline’s Cellar.  Maryinessen was also a quaint winery however things felt a little unorganized.  It could have been the server breaking the glass and the cash register being out of service.  But needless to say, Mum still bought wine!

I loved the building at Caroline’s Cellar but the wines didn’t do much for me.  They had so many wines and the woman at the counter was talking to us about how to taste wines as if we were idiots so I felt that to be a bit distracting.  However, if it is variety and cheap wines you want, go to Caroline’s Cellar.

Finally we ended out tour with an amazing lunch at a restaurant called Strewn, where they also hold cooking classes and have wine tasting to boot.  The duck confit was just yummy.

So as the sunny wine tasting tour came to an end,  I have to marvel at how far Ontario’s wine industry has come.  If you haven’t done it, I highly recommend it.  And if you don’t live here but plan to come for a visit, I also highly recommend it.  Yummy!