Category: Ontario

While researching wineries I should visit in the Niagara region, I came across Kew Vineyards Estate Winery, which is a little east of Thirty Bench Wine Makers, and specializes in sparkling wine, I had to visit. Their original 1975 plantings are among the oldest in the region.  They have a classy, Old World feel wine tasting room, and make their…

In the summer of 2017 I attended the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4c) in the Niagara region.  A celebration of Chardonnay and Ontario wines in particular (other Canadian wineries were in attendance).  After attending i4c, I visited a few wineries in the Niagara region.  One of the wineries I visited, and wines I tasted at i4c, was Thirty Bench…

You may be wondering what happened to me as i typically post 3-4 wine articles a week.  I am in the Niagara region in southern Ontario to celebrate my birthday and to visit some wineries and taste their wines.  I have copious notes on the wines and probably tasted over 60 wines covering eight different wineries.  It will take me…

Ontario has a long history of wine-making in Canada.  Here in BC we get some Ontario wines, but could get more.  In two previous quizzes, I posted questions about BC’s wine regions.  In this post, I thought we should find out how much Canadians know about the Ontario wine region.  I picked the most well-known wine region of Ontario, the…

Chinese New Year 2023 is celebrated on January 22, 2023, with this year being the Year of the Water Rabbit. The sign of the Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture, and 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope. According to Chinese astrology, Rabbits are predicted to be gentle, quiet, elegant, and alert…

In BC when we hear icewine, we think of the Okanagan, but icewine is also made in the Niagara peninsula in southern Ontario.  In fact, the Niagara wineries have an icewine festival each year, excluding during the COVID lockdown, but it is back and you can experience this festival, whether you are local in Ontario, or you fly out from…

This is my fifth year interviewing winemakers in Ontario about their latest grape harvest and wine production.  To get a more complete picture of the harvest I asked the following questions to three winemakers in three different grape-growing regions of southern Ontario, which should have some differences in climate and harvest.   The three winemakers I interviewed this year are: Dan…

It’s been a hot minute since I posted about an Ontario wine – so here I am, posting a very unique one for my comeback! This wine was a collaboration between Traynor Vineyard and @grapecrush.wine (Instagram) and it’s name is Birdie, the beautiful label created by artist, @jennkitagawa (Instagram). Now I already said this was a unique wine but what…

Depending on the season, many of us prefer different drinks.  For wine drinkers, for example, crisp white wines in the summer and big bold wines in winter.  Cocktails can also change depending on the season.  I received a few mulled cocktail recipes via email that I would like to pass along to you to enjoy over the holidays and the…

We all like to receive awards.  Knowing that we are good, or the best at something.  Fastest runner at the 100-yard dash, smartest in math, etc. when we are in school.  Then industry awards when we go to work.  There are many wine awards around the world, but for Canadian wineries, being recognized by a local agency, like WineAlign, means…