Last weekend I had a trip to the wineries of Niagara-of-the-Lake. We heard a story of wine-making, we admired the barrels and, of course, we tasted the wines. It turned out to be such a delicate pleasure that I couldn’t resist sharing it with you. Tonight, I’m going to recommend you some of the wineries we have explored, and give some tips on how to organize such a trip. May be one weekend you’ll try it too!
First, let’s talk about the wineries themselves. We visited four of them, and two of them were really wonderful. The first one was ‘The Inniskillin Wines’. This winery is one of the most famous and the oldest wineries in town. We liked this winery, because it has a free of charge 45 minute tour! The tour starts at 2:30 pm and includes visiting the premises and the cellars, tasting the grapes – hmmm!- and, of course, tasting the wines! You will be shown how to taste the wine properly to enjoy the process the most. Tasting within the tour is free, tasting other wines is $1. In this winery, I, for the first time in my life, tasted ice wine. I fell in love instantly with its rich taste, aromatic bouquet and natural sweetness. Tasting ice-wines costs $4-$7 in the Inniskillin Wines.
The second winery I liked was the ‘Lailey Vineyard Winery’. For this winery, I have a separate booklet, please, pass it around. It’s a small winery, and the tasting is cheaper – only $2-3 for ice-wines. However, the quality of the wines is the same, or even higher, as in the Inniskillin Wines. This winery doesn’t export much, some wines you can buy only in the winery itself. I tasted the Riesling Ice Wine there… and I just couldn’t let go. I bought a bottle. Such wine goes only for special occasions. I’m going to drink my precious bottle with my dearest friend when we meet in Ukraine.
Now we’re moving to the second part of our story. I’m going to give you 7 tips that will make the wine trip easier to enjoy.
Tip #1
Plan beforehand.
Compile the list of the wineries you’d like to visit. You can find information in the Internet or in the guide on Ontario wineries. The guide is available in any Toronto winery, for example at 'Magnotta' (
5823 Yonge street, Finch Subway station).Also, decide how you’re going to drive back. One way is to designate a driver who will not consume wine; however I don’t think it’s fair. What we did, we started the tour in the morning, than made a pause, giving the wine time to evaporate, and left the town in the evening.
Tip #2
Do it slowly. Four or five wineries per day are enough.
Tip #3
Savour. Drink only the wines you like. If you don’t like the wine, you can empty your glass into the special vase. It’s absolutely acceptable.
Tip #4
Eat before you start and take some food with you. Food helps to metabolize alcohol.
Tip #5
Avoid wearing anything with the strong scent. Use deodorant without scent. The sense of smell is fundamental to enjoying the taste of wine. And don’t chew gum!
Tip #6
Stop the car! Take time to enjoy other places of interest that catch your eye. By the way, near the Lailey Vineyard Winery we discovered a very nice place, Kurtz Orchard Gourmet Marketplace. In this market you’re allowed to test completely free various jams, dressings, mushrooms in garlic sause, pickles… they have a plate of crackers on each table, you just plunge the cracker into the sause or dressing and enjoy!
Tip #7
Last, but not least... have fun! Make a weekend out of it. See, what an adventure it could be. Enjoy!
P.S. Some photos of the event:
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