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Niagara
Wine tours and wine Festivals
Tips and recommendations for the best wine tours experience when visiting Niagara wineries
There are three wine regions on this southwest Ontario peninsula with over 80 wineries and many Niagara tours available:
- Grimsby and Beamsville wine region
- Jordan and Vineland wine region
- Niagara-on-the-Lake wine region
Organizing Niagara Wine Tours
If
you
are planning to visit wineries by yourself, without booking one of the
organized Niagara wine tours, there is a
pocket size wine route map available for your better navigation. The winery map is easy to follow, and you can find it throughout the Niagara County; in tourism offices, wineries and hotels.
Niagara
wine tours
The wine route is located below Niagara Escarpment, and connects more that 50 wineries from Niagara Falls to Grimsby as the most northern part of the region.
While traveling along the Niagara highways and country roads you will see many road signs with a symbol of white grapes on a deep blue background and the names of the vineyards. Follow the sign and you will be directed to the nearby wineries.
There are many Niagara wine tours available also, and the things you will do there are wine tasting, vineyard visit, touring the wine making facilities and barrel cellars, different special events including concerts, bbq and more. This is a year round attraction.
How to plan your trip and Niagara wine tours
Driving a car is, we think, the best option to see Niagara wineries. As you will probably be situated in one of the Niagara Falls hotels or motels close to the mighty Horseshoe Falls, it will be very convenient for you to drive.
It is an amazing ride along the Niagara Parkway road that connects Niagara Falls and Niagara-of-the-Lake town, especially at the end of the summer and beginning of the fall. On your way to the wineries, you can visit many of the Niagara attractions, like Spanish Aero car, Niagara Jet Boat, Fort Erie, Botanical Garden, Flower clock and more.
Another great way to visit Niagara wineries is to cycle, since the nature is beautiful and is safe.
You can see majority of the
wineries probably in a day, but we don't recommend that. The best will be if you pick four to five wineries close to each other and per day. And be open to change a schedule and route along the way.
First decide whether you would like to tour by car, traveling by bicycle or to join organized tours. If you are visiting only few wineries per day, you are giving yourself an opportunity to learn more about them.
Great info is available there; the unique story behind each winery, its history, where and how the grapes are grown, types of wines and their owners and people working there. People employed at the wineries are knowledgeable, and their effort and experience are appreciable.
For those visiting Niagara wineries by themselves, the best time is in the morning, since you are avoiding a crowd that is usually in the afternoon.
In our opinion dining in of the Niagara wineries is a must. Niagara wine region in Canada is well known for delicious cuisine in the picturesque countryside. You will create unforgettable memories while watching the sunset behind the rolling hills of the vineyards.
There are a variety of tours that you can take, and depend on the size, and what they have to offer, it can take to an hour for the visit, and for smaller ones, up to half an hour.
Niagara Wine Festivals and vineyard activities
Visiting Niagara wineries and Wine County is a four season experience, as there are activities all year round:- Bud break; spring time
- Green canopies of summer
- Harvest of the grapes in the fall
- Icewine celebration; winter time, ideal to avoid long tasting lines
- New Vintage Niagara festival is the two-week celebration of the wineries' new releases and includes wine tasting, with many interesting events.
- The Niagara Wine Festival takes place in the last two weeks of September and is the largest wine festival in Canada. It celebrates the grape harvest.
- Icewine festival, in January, is the largest in the world, and it celebrates Canada's most famous wine. It lasts for 14 days, with wine tasting, ice sculptures, street events and more.
- Days of Wine and Roses takes place in February, where some of the Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries feature special romantic events with wine and food tasting. The best of food and wine will be shown at the festival.
Niagara on the Lake wineries and its awesome wine
Larger wineries are: Chateau des Charmes, Hillebrand and Jackson-Triggs, and what makes their tours different from others is the story they tell. The tour through the Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries includes a look at estate vineyards, fermentation area and wine cellars. Usually, it takes up to an hour to visit all these small attractions.
Wineries like Inniskillin offer a self-guided Niagara wine tours, with clearly marks that explain each step along the way.
Winery like Pillitteri Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake is one of the oldest operated farms in the area offer a tour, where you can explore soils and growing conditions, by walking and using a trolley with a guide.
Many tours are for free, but some of them will charge up to $20 CAN pp, and private tours are available with an extra cost and have to be booked in advance.
Tips for the best Niagara wine tours experience
- Bring the detail map of Niagara, its wineries and routes.
- Schedule the time and places you want to visit so you can see most of them.
- Bring cash, as there are wineries that charge tasting of premium and older vintages.
- Camera should be the inevitable tool for capturing great scenery.
- Bring the appropriate shoes for walking.
- Get the basic info from this website.
Niagara wine tours - tasting wine
Niagara wine tours - tasting and buying wines
- When buying a Niagara wine, check the label for the designation VQA, meaning Vintners Quality Alliance. VQA in Ontario requires that these wines are exclusively made in of the regions: Pelee Island, Lake Erie North Shore and Niagara Peninsula. And such a wine must be made entirely in Ontario from officially approved grape varieties. VQA stands for quality product.
- "Estate bottled" means that the wine in a bottle is made from grapes grown on the winery's property.
- With a basic understanding that you will learn here with a few samplings, you will start seeing the difference among the same types of wine coming from different wineries.
- Winery's staff is trained to answer your questions, so give them a chance to teach you about the wine secrets.
- Most of the wineries will offer 2-3 complimentary tasting, but for the older and premium quality you have to pay.
- Wine boutiques and many available Niagara wine tours are also an opportunity where you can learn how to combine food and wine.
Here is the list of some Niagara wines you can try and purchase:
- Chardonnay Oaked and Unoaked
- Riesling
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Cabernet Merlot
- Cabernet blends
- Cabernet Franc
- Pinot Noir
- Cabernet Franc Icewine
- Merlot
- Late Harvest
- Gewurztraminer
- Vidal
- Sauvignion Blanc
Niagara wine route map can be downloaded from the Wine Council of Ontario here.
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