Recommended vineyards Niagara on the lake

[Drock]

Does anyone have suggestions for good vineyards to visit in Niagara, we are doing our annual wine tasting stumble this weekend and we are just trying to finalize our stops. So far we have decided on kacaba and organized crime vineyards, but those are closer to Stoney creek and will be our first stops as we head towards Niagara on the lake for the end of the tour for dinner

 

[geek]

Interested too....

 

[Drock]

Well geek since no one responded I will give you an update on my trip, basically the closer we got to Niagara on the lake the less impressed we were with the wines. Our first stop was organized crime, which we really enjoyed their wines we bought a case of their 2012 pipedown which is a blend of cab sauv, merlot and petit Verdot. Then we went to kacaba where we splurged and bought a case of their 2012 Syrah and Sauvignon blanc and a rose (this is the first time I've ever bought rose), then we stopped at mile weir winery, didn't buy anything their but the wine wasn't bad. Then we stopped at foreign affairs winery where wee bought a case of their 2010 cab sauv and one bottle of their 2007 cab franc which were both great. After that we went to a bunch of boutique wineries where we weren't overly impressed but everyone was probably 2 bottles deep each by that point so it's a little tougher to judge by that point

 

[cpfan]

Sorry I didn't see your original post. Don't know if you will head back to that area, but here are a couple of comments.

There are SO MANY wineries, and I haven't spent much time visiting them.

If you like whites, I would suggest REIF. I have especially liked their Vidal, Gewurztraminers, and Rieslings. Sorry, but I'm not a fan of Chardonnays, so can't comment on those (ABC - Anything But Chardonnay.) At a recent tasting, I liked their Kerner. I'm sure I've had some of their reds over the years, but I generally prefer my homemade reds to commercial reds.

Everybody who is interested in good Canadian wines, should visit INNISKILLIN. The first Ontario winery license since 1929 was granted to Inniskillin in 1975. AFAIK, Inniskillin wines were the first made from vitus vinifera wines in Ontario (probably Canada too). Even if you just drive past and say "THANKS".

Steve

 

[Spikedlemon]

Little late to the thread.

Reif is nice. They're nextdoor to Iniskillin. Last year they released two Nouveau wines which I thought one did a spot-on juicy Gamay-Bojo. I'm not fond of the other reds I tasted nor the white I picked up for the missus (Koerner).

Iniskillin is certainly the most renown of. They've a restaurant & a nice outdoor sitting area. I dropped by in January and they had firepits outside selling people hot chocolate and marshmallows (to roast). The missus and I like their Pinots (gris, noir & blend). They're well known for their icewines (and have an entire tasting bar dedicated to icewines) - but that's not at all for me.

My favorite winery to visit has always been a small fruit winery on the way to Niagara on the Lake. The name of the place has always escaped me but I've always enjoyed something while I was there.

 

[cpfan]

One winery that I should have mentioned is the Niagara College Teaching Winery. Technically it is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake but it's closer to St Catherines. I was reminded because we had their 2009 Dry Riesling with dinner (bought a couple or more years ago). As my wife said "nice wine". I haven't tried very many of their wines, so can't comment too much, and I haven't been there for a tasting session for at least 2 years.

Steve

 

[JohnT]

I like Peller Estates. Impressive grounds and facilities. The wine was even more impressive (especially their ice wines).

Hear is their link..

https://www.peller.com/

 

[Ebonheart]

It's been 10 years since we were there, but defineitly Inniskillin, Peller, Reif.

 

[GreenEnvy22]

This thread is a bit old but I'll update it with some recommendations. We're locals and get out to a handful of wineries in the area each year.

Some ones we've liked:
Calamus
Trius
Inniskillin
Konzelmann
Megalomaniac
Paletine Hills

There are many dozens of wineries in the Niagara region. You can spend days doing tours if you want to. Being a cooler climate than many other wine producing areas, Niagara does whites best, but reds are getting better all the time too. There are now lots of very good reds coming from Niagara.

Also, I'll point out two we really don't like:
Carolynn Cellars
Josephs (wine is poor and they try to sell you their magic grape flour that heals injuries and stuff like arthritis).