This is my eighth year interviewing winemakers or winery principals in Ontario about their latest grape harvest and wine production. Now that it is late November and the wines are all in tanks or barrels, how did the Ontario grape growing season and harvest fare? I interviewed three winemakers/winery principals this year:
- Ryan Oldridge, Winemaker at Colchester Ridge Estate Winery in Colchester
- Amy Baldwin, Winemaker at Waupoos Estates Winery in Picton
- Mitchell McCurdy, Winemaker at Marynissen Winery in the Four Mile Creek sub-Appellation, which is in Niagara-On-The-Lake
Where Are These Wineries?
Here is a Google map showing the location of the wineries, colour-coded to the winemaker names above.
My Interview with the Ontario Winemakers
Thank you to these winemakers for taking the time to answer my interview questions and let my readers find out more about their wineries and the progress of their 2024 grape harvest.
1. Where are your vineyards and winery located?
Ryan: Colchester Ridge Estate Winery, also referred to as CREW, is located in the little hamlet of Colchester in Southwestern Ontario along the North shore of Lake Erie.
Amy: Waupoos Estates Winery is located at 3016 County Road 8, Picton ON, K0K 2T0, on our 100 acre property we have 7 different vineyard plots with a total of 20 acres under vine.
Mitchell: Marynissen Winery is located in Four Mile Creek sub-Appellation, which is in Niagara-On-The-Lake. The Marynissen vineyard, which yields Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Noir is onsite. We also source fruit from amazing growers located around the Niagara Peninsula such as Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Lakeshore, and St. David’s Bench.
2. How would you summarize your 2025 harvest in terms of timing, yield and fruit quality compared to 2024 and your longer term average?
Ryan: A lingering chill from early spring had me questioning how this harvest was going to turn out. With the later than average start holding back bud break there were definite anxious moments. The prolonged dry and warm summer days not only caught us up but put us on track for a remarkable growing season. The berry size may have been smaller and yield slightly less than the past year but the flavours, quality and overall ripeness is exceptional.
Amy: 2024 was our best harvest ever! I have been the head winemaker at Waupoos since 2011. We brought in 99 tonnes of grapes off our estate – The most ever!! Quality was fantastic and super clean. 2025 was shaping up to be a really stellar year as well despite the dry hot season. We brought in about 67 tonnes (some still left out for icewine). All season it was looking really promising, but close to harvest we had a few days of rain followed by some intense heat. That heat spell attracted lots of wasps and we did suffer some damage and loss due to that.
Mitchell: We had quite the dry summer so our yield was a bit lower than usual by about 25%. The hot, dry summer also influenced late ripening reds to be picked a few weeks earlier. Some things like Pinot Noir seemed to be two weeks later than normal, this was both due to the low disease pressure allowing us to push for ripeness and quality as well as some drought stress that may have delayed ripening.
3. Given the reports for 2025 of a hot dry summer with timely rain in Niagara, did that pattern hold in your blocks and what effect did it have on canopy management, cluster size, berry size and flavour development?
Ryan: If Niagara had timely rains, they didn’t share with us down in the Lake Erie North Shore. At one stretch we went a full 8 weeks without rain. The berries were definitely smaller and average cluster size down but they packed a punch with flavour.
Amy: We are located right on the water which is beneficial for irrigation purposes. However we did not have to aggressively irrigate our vineyards. They are pretty established for this area and planted on proper rootstocks for their vineyard soil compositions. The majority of varieties came in like any other year, there wasn’t too much that stood out as an abnormality. Varieties like Muscat and Geisenheim held really nicely and came in very clean. It was nearing the end of harvest that we started to see some more breakdown due to wasps.
Mitchell: I think the timely rain very much depended on location and we saw some drought stress in some places, and others parts of the peninsula seemed to be more balanced. Our canopy management was a bit easier to handle this year as green growth was not as vigorous compared to previous years. Cluster and berry size were smaller than average which greatly improved concentration. As I had mentioned in the previous question, some blocks and varietals had flavour development delayed but given the extremely low disease pressure and great weather we were able to reach excellent ripeness in flavour and tannins by extending hang-time.
4. Were there any varietals or blocks that surprised you, either positively (better than expected) or negatively (lagging, disease, flavour issues), and how did you respond in your harvest strategy?
Ryan: At CREW we grow Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer along with Bordeaux red varietals Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and a small half acre of Petit Verdot. The Petit always has me on edge as we need all the help we can get to ripen it fully to our suit our style as a single varietal expression. Dropping fruit that is lagging behind at veraison is a strategy we always employ to assist in achieving that goal. We then do some hand-harvesting in early November, soaking up as much sun as possible. This year we harvested it on November 6th, the last sun filled day before the snow started.
Amy: Often when harvest is upon us, we have to work with Mother Nature. Sometimes despite your best planning rain can halt production. After a very promising growing season we did bring in less then last year (but again 2024 was just spectacular) so compared to previous years we did quite well. Lots of our vinifera varietals came in with decent brix and yields so no complaints. Even the wasp damage wasn’t so bad that it affected the end product – just some grape breakdown so that was also positive.
Mitchell: Pinot Noir definitely surprised me at the Marynissen vineyard as we are usually picking mid to late September. This year we picked for Rosé in mid September and ended up pushing the red pick into the middle of October. As for quality we had a pretty incredible harvest across all varieties and the response was just to play the waiting game as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling, seemed later than normal. Our Cabernet Sauvignon was surprising as we picked before the end of October without a hint of green. Full fruit flavour and potential alcohol of 13-14% before Halloween was definitely a nice surprise.
5. Have you observed any shifts in site performance (specific blocks, soils, microclimates) this year compared to previous years (e.g. blocks that now ripen earlier/later, produce different cluster morphology, or show new disease/heat stress behaviour)?
Ryan: This year in particular, we had very even growing across the vineyard. We have an East and West block of Merlot on the estate and historically I’ve reserved the West for ourselves while selling some of the East fruit to other local wineries. The West has always been a half brix higher on average. This year the East side ended up in our cellar and we sold the West, I’m looking forward to the end result. Stay tuned!
Amy: There wasn’t anything that jumped out this year on performance or issues.
Mitchell: I covered this briefly in previous answers but yes. I think Four Mile Creek, our site and some others definitely showed some heat stress in the vines response. Other than small berry size, cluster morphology seemed quite average. On the other side of the peninsula I think there was a bit less drought stress but still the low disease pressure due to the lack of rain and humidity. I believe the sandier soil sites closer to the lake did the best out of all areas from a drought stress point of view. I think the biggest shift I noticed was that late ripening reds were not late this year! Having Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot come off the vines before November with such quality was impressive.
6. Given the fruit you harvested in 2025, did you make any changes in the winery (fermentation vessels, maceration time, maturation regime) to reflect the crop and style you wish to express?
Ryan: We didn’t really change or do anything out of the ordinary at CREW this year. Cooler harvesting hours allowed for longer maceration times on our reds which should translate to colour stability. Hoping for some vibrant and deep red hues for this vintage.
Amy: No major changes on the wine side, we tried a few different yeast strains to see what the outcome would be. Back to the old saying ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ There are some varieties that year to year we use the same production method/style and yeast to keep some consistency. Our records of what strain we use on each variety give us a good look at what’s worked in the past – what the anticipated profile will be and some years we stay the course, and others we try something new. It all starts with the desired outcome for the wine, so we’ve done skin fermented white wines, appassimento wines, and even fruit wines (with all ON fruit).
Mitchell: Our maceration times and amount of wine going to barrel has increased this year. Given the quality of fruit, specifically ripe tannins in the skins, is a sign of great aging potential so we have pushed time on skins to increase the amount of extraction we get. We have also then increased the amount of red wine going to barrel to age and soften.
7. From your vantage point, what do you believe the 2025 vintage will mean for Ontario’s wine industry (particularly Niagara) in terms of reputation, export opportunities, premium pricing or future vineyard decisions?
Ryan: Another high quality vintage full of promise and potentially full of an abundance of high quality wines. In growing years like we just had, I expect “Reserve” wines will be commonplace and showcasing exactly what it is that grape growing and winemaking are capable of in Ontario.
Amy: There are challenges every year, any farmer, grower, gardener – there is always something: temperature, precipitation – it’s’ unpredictable. 2025 gave us an intensely hot, dry growing season, which for the most part was great for the grapes. Areas that are hard to irrigate unfortunately would have suffered. We aren’t used to weather like that, but if it’s any indicator then we are going to have to try and adapt for future years. I think the wines will still shine beautifully from this season, I’m very excited to see what the wines will be like from the 2025 vintage. Development is still moving forward with new vineyards and wineries opening up (in our area too).
Mitchell: I think we have seen a trend towards premium pricing especially with the opening of some high end wineries in the area. This vintage will only bolster the high end reputation that I believe Niagara has been achieving for many years now. Export opportunities are an interesting question as we are such a small industry that we don’t send a lot of our wine around the world, however I think with the quality this year combined with some talk about people wanting to bring Niagara to the rest of the world we have the potential to impress and succeed with that. I think our lower yield will reduce the quantity that can leave. I also think the future might see an increase in vineyard planting with a focus on Chardonnay, Rhone Whites, Late ripening reds as we have not only seen demand in these varietals but also incredible quality from grape to wine.
8. Are you experimenting with anything new with this harvest, like making a sparkling wine, using amphora or skin-fermented white wines?
Ryan: CREW is focused on trying to solidify it’s brand at this time. I was able to get my hands on some exceptionally ripe, LENS Sauvignon Blanc that I’ll be using to create another vintage of our Fume Blanc.
Amy: Based on our yield (being lower then initially expected) we didn’t have too much extra to play around with. We typically do some appassimento wines using our greenhouse, but we still have some in barrel from 2024 and couldn’t justify making more this year, as you do lose volume in that production style. We did our fruit wines again, which are really fun – using fresh ON fruit with our grapes delivers some really fun, aromatic wines.
Mitchell: We like to experiment constantly at Marynissen. We also are the home for Collab Wine and Beverage which sees a ton of new exciting wines and styles. This harvest we did a barrel fermented Pinot Gris as with low disease pressure and a great year we were able to harvest it at 23.5 Brix with delicious ripe flavours. On the Collab side we have seen Divergence and Sempre Mio harvest some wonderful Rhone whites (Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne) that are quite spectacular.
9. What are you going to do to celebrate the completion of the Harvest?
Ryan: Sleep….
Amy: Harvest is a really exciting, busy time of year, once things are stable in the cellar there are some end of harvest celebrations hosted by neighbouring wineries. Just sort of breathing a sigh of relief once everything is in and finished fermentation.
Mitchell: Sparkling wine and fried chicken with the team. Generally we buy some top Champagne to taste with Top Niagara and BC to see how we compare in quality. And nothing goes with sparkling wine quite like fried chicken.
Summary of the Season Based on Winemaker Responses
2025 Harvest Overview
All three winemakers describe 2025 as a season shaped by heat and dryness, though its impact varied by region. Ryan’s harvest began with anxiety after a cool spring but rebounded into a season of small berries, slightly lower yields and exceptional flavour concentration. Amy brought in less fruit than her record-setting 2024 crop, with promising quality disrupted late in the season by rain, heat and wasp pressure. Mitchell saw yields fall about twenty-five percent due to drought, with some early picks for late-ripening reds, though Pinot Noir and Chardonnay benefited from the ability to extend hang time thanks to low disease pressure.
Site-Specific
Local conditions strongly influenced vine behaviour this year. Ryan’s blocks went up to eight weeks without rain, shrinking cluster size but intensifying flavour. Amy’s established, well-rooted vines required little irrigation and performed typically until wasps caused breakdown late in the season. Mitchell observed clear differences between sub-regions, with Four Mile Creek showing drought stress and smaller berries, while lake-adjacent, sandier sites fared better. Some of his usually late-ripening reds matured earlier than expected, producing impressive ripeness before November. Across all sites, low disease pressure proved a major advantage for quality.
Challenges
Each winemaker navigated their own set of obstacles. Ryan focused on coaxing maturity from Petit Verdot, dropping lagging fruit at veraison and hand-harvesting in early November to catch the last warmth before snow. Amy balanced promising yields with sudden harvest-time setbacks from rain, heat spikes and wasp damage, though quality remained stable. Mitchell responded to delayed ripening in several varieties by simply waiting, allowing reds and whites alike to develop full flavour. Drought stress, small berries and shifting ripeness patterns shaped decision-making across the board, contributing to concentrated wines and a vintage that has each winemaker optimistic for what Ontario will show from 2025.
Thank you to all these winemakers for taking the time to tell me, and you, about their grape growing and winemaking season.
