Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope you’re having a great week – and a great start to October! This year truly is just flying by…
If you’ve been following along with me for a while, you know that I love wineries! Over the years, I’ve probably been to 50-100 wineries within Ontario, so at this point, I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I like. I’ve learned that my favourite wineries are those that offer visitors a full and comprehensive experience; true destinations in themselves, with lots of activities and experiences; wineries where you could spend an entire day and never get bored. And this gem of a winery I’m writing about today offers visitors the works: behind-the-scenes vineyard and cellar tours, guided tasting and pairing experiences, a fine dining restaurant, and a fabulous gift shop… all this amid stunning views, historic architecture and some of the nicest staff you’ll ever meet. They even have on-site accommodations! Recently, Tania and I spent the day exploring the wonderful Vineland Estates Winery, and I can’t wait to share our experience with you.
Located in (spoiler alert) Vineland, on the slope of the Niagara Escarpment, Vineland Estates Winery is one of the most celebrated and esteemed wineries in the Niagara Region. Like many of the best wineries, the property has a long history: back in the early 19th century, the Moyer family – Mennonite immigrants from Europe – were given a land grant from the King of England, the same parcel of land where Vineland Estates sits today. They started farming the land and built a homestead, carriage house and log barn. The carriage house and log barn still stand on the property and serve as the restaurant and wine shop/tasting room, respectively. The carriage house burned in a fire in 1992 but was rebuilt using the original beams, and now serves as a wedding and event hall.
In 1979, Hermann Weis purchased the farm from the Moyer family, and it became a licensed winery in 1980. Today, the winery is owned by Fred DeGasperis, with Allan Schmidt – its original winemaker – serving as president. Vineland Estates is renowned for its award-winning wines, farm-to-table restaurant (named one of the Top Twenty Winery Restaurants In The World!) and spectacular scenery.
When we arrived at Vineland Estates, we were warmly greeted by Bennett Collins. Bennett is Vineland’s social media manager, and he also hosts tours and tasting experiences there. He’s incredibly knowledgeable about wine, and his passion for his work really shines through… plus he’s just an awesome person all around! If you’re lucky enough to embark on a tour or tasting hosted by Bennett, I promise you’ll be in excellent hands.
The first item on our itinerary was a vineyard tour! Vineland Estates owns a whopping 180 acres of vineyards. The property has two main vineyards: the St. Urban Vineyard (home to their famous Riesling grapes) and the Bo-Teek Vineyard (which grows Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and more.) We enjoyed a private tour of the gorgeous Bo-Teek Vineyard, and got to sample some grapes right off the vine (I personally prefer them in liquid form… but they’re delicious either way!)
We were the only ones in the vineyard, and it was so peaceful and serene… we were also blessed with perfect weather. It was the perfect way to start our adventure at Vineland!
After the vineyard tour, we headed into the original log barn (built in 1877), a stunning “wooden cathedral” structure that now serves as Vineland’s wine shop and tasting room. The wine shop is where you can buy (spoiler alert) wine, but there’s so much more: local cheeses, meats, honeys, jams and jellies are all on offer, along with cute homewares and decorative accents. The perfect spot to pick up a thoughtful host/hostess gift, a little “thank you” for a friend, or a treat for yourself!
We headed upstairs to the tasting loft, which is stunning and provides a neat bird’s-eye view of the shop below.
Vineland Estates offers a plethora of unique tasting experiences that go above and beyond your standard wine tasting. You can get a mini-masterclass at the educational Wine 101 seminar, lounge outdoors on a chic picnic setup at the Pillow Flight experience, or even bring your four-legged friend to join in the fun with the dog-friendly K-Wine Dog Tour (a portion of ticket sales are donated to the local SPCA.) We did the Perfect Pairing experience, which focuses on the art of pairing food with wine. This 40-minute tasting experiences includes samples of 4-5 of Vineland’s best wines, paired with a delicious array of bite-sized snacks.
We sampled the 2021 Sparkling Pinot Meunier, 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, 2021 Elevation Chardonnay, 2020 Cabernet Reserve and 2017 Vidal Icewine. The food pairings were carefully chosen to complement the unique flavours of each wine. They included cheeses, chutneys, dark chocolate and even asparagus – an unexpected but surprisingly perfect pairing! Bennett is so knowledgeable and taught us so much about wine, from how to properly hold and swirl your wine glass (I was definitely doing it wrong before!) to the exact temperature specific wines should be served at, to the importance of choosing the correct glassware, and how different shapes and sizes of wine glasses direct wine to different parts of the palate.
After our tasting, Bennett took us downstairs for a peek into the underground barrel room and wine cellar, which is so beautiful!
We still had some icewine to finish, so we headed back up to the wine shop and took a seat at this little table overlooking the vineyard… you can’t beat these views! (On another note: I’m a big icewine fan, and the 2017 Vineland Vidal has to be one of the best I’ve ever tried. It’s sweet and fruity, yet complex and well-balanced – not overly sweet or cloying as many icewines tend to be.)
After finishing our wine, we headed to the restaurant for lunch – I’d been wanting to try the restaurant at Vineland Estates forever, and I was so excited! Ranked in the Top 20 Winery Restaurants In The World, the farm-to-table restaurant is renowned for their innovative dishes, prepared using the finest local ingredients by a team of internationally trained chefs, led by executive chef George Ward. The restaurant is located in the estate’s restored 1845 farmhouse; guests can sit indoors or outdoors on their lush vineyard patio. Either way, you’ll have a stunning view of the vineyards! The restaurant has large windows that open right up to the outside.
Because it was a lovely day, we decided to sit on the patio. We had the perfect table with an unobstructed, panoramic view of the sprawling vineyards.
The Vineland Estates restaurant serves a three-course prix fixe menu, which is excellent value at just $65 per person. You can also add wine pairings for an additional $30 – and they are generous pours! We started with a glass of Vineland’s 2022 Semi-Dry Riesling and a basket of sourdough (bread is not included in the prix fixe menu, but you can order it – or another appetizer of your choice – as an add-on.) The sourdough was delicious – you could tell it’d been freshly baked – and came served with ricotta cheese, olive tapenade, and olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.
For our starters, I chose the beef carpaccio and Tania ordered the heirloom beet salad. This was easily the prettiest beef carpaccio I’ve ever seen! I’m a sucker for a beautiful presentation – I believe one eats with the eyes first – and whoever plated our food definitely understood the assignment. The beef carpaccio came topped with brussels sprouts tossed in a creamy Caesar dressing, bacon, shaved Toscano cheese, green peppercorn, and black bread croutons. A delightfully creative – and oh so delicious – take on a Caesar salad!
The heirloom beet salad was just as pretty. In addition to a variety of different beets, the salad included compressed strawberries, blue cheese, pistachio pralines, and a green goddess dressing. I love beets (must be my Lithuanian heritage!) so of course I had to steal a couple of bites. The rich, creamy cheese and sweet candied nuts were the perfect complement to the crisp, fresh beets.
For our main course, Tania ordered the marinated flank steak and I got the Cumbrae Farms pork tenderloin, per our server’s recommendation – which was definitely a good one! Tania’s steak was served with grilled corn relish, broccolini, tallow roasted potatoes, bone jus and a rich Romesco sauce.
My pork was accompanied by Niagara mushrooms, fried polenta, rapini, goat cheese, smoked mustard jus and soubise (a French onion sauce). Both entrees were garnished with edible flowers.
Both Tania and I agreed that this was one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten: the steak and pork were juicy and tender, and the sides complemented the meats perfectly. I mean, is there anything better than fresh Niagara corn or mushrooms?! The mains were paired with Vineland’s 2023 Rosé, a crisp, refreshing and fruity wine.
You all know I can’t forget about my favourite course! For dessert, we shared the lime cheesecake and the raspberry clafoutis, paired with the same Vidal icewine we enjoyed during our tasting.
The lime cheesecake was unique: unlike your traditional cheesecake, the graham cracker crust wasn’t the base, but rather, was chopped up and served on top of the cheesecake – along with Chantilly cream and dollops of lime curd. The sweetness of the vanilla cream paired perfectly with the refreshing tartness of the lime.
My clafoutis (a silky, custard-like French tart) was bursting with fresh raspberries and topped with a delicious raspberry sauce. It was served with whipped caramel (something I’ve never seen before!) and a scoop of burnt honey gelato. The clafoutis was light as air, fruity and decadent all at the same time. I loved it!
All in all, we had an incredible day at Vineland Estates, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone! Whether you’re looking for an insightful and educational tasting, an immersive behind-the-scenes tour, an exquisite farm-to-table meal, or simply a fabulous glass of vino ( or perhaps all of the above) then Vineland has got you covered! To book your own tour or tasting, or to make a reservation at the restaurant, visit their website or email [email protected].
Which Niagara Region winery should I visit next?? If you have a suggestion for me, please drop it in the comments or send me an email… I’d love to hear your recommendations!
Our experience at Vineland Estates was generously hosted by the winery. As always, all opinions and thoughts are entirely my own.
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