Tag Archives: Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara-on-the-Lake: Taste the Season Wineries

Our first stop, Chateau des Charmes.

Our first stop, Chateau des Charmes.

In November, with winter in the air, my husband Steve and I ventured to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a little wine and food pairing. We had bought the Taste the Season touring pass for around $45 and were determined to visit as many wineries as possible. The pass was good for weekends throughout the month and this was the last weekend. It was like a circuit cocktail party. Steve kept his wine tasting to a minimum, since he was driving, and I did a little more imbibing so I’d know which bottles to buy. Suffice to say we came home well stocked!

1) Chateau des Charmes: The Earth & Sky Pinot Noir was matched with beet cured rainbow trout served with three onion crème fraiche. Delicious! The wine was light and a great enhancement for the amazing ruby-coloured trout.
2) Colaneri: The winery exterior had a Napa-meets-Disney feel about it, sort of aged but newly built. The wine was an easy-going 2011 Isieme Red Blend but the pairing was exquisite – a braciole, or strip of flank steak topped with prosciuitto, covered in tomato sauce and rolled into a pinwheel. Very authentic.
3) Cattail Creek Estate Winery: 2009 Estate Merlot was paired with a sirloin chili. Very stick- to-the-ribs. Perfect after skiing.
4) Konzelman Estate Winery: One of my favourites! A 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon served with a pulled beef and Quebec Brie slider. Rich and luscious and perfect for the chilly weather.
5) Marynissen Estates: A 2011 Primary red matched with a shaved beef slider with horseradish aioli and baby arugula. Not my favorite. Slider was light on the meat and Marynissen makes much finer reds.

Strewn also has an excellent restaurant and cooking school.

Strewn also has an excellent restaurant and cooking school.


6) Strewn Winery: Love this place, in an old jam plant. We sipped 2007 Strewn Three, a white blend, and munched three appetizers – mushroom with Muskoka cranberry sauce, creamy French onion and goat cheese spread on a cracker, and house spiced beef with Horseradish jelly. Yum!
7) Riverview Cellars Estate Winery: A fragrant 2012 Gewurztraminer matched with an herbed goat cheese and roasted vegetable tart. I would have preferred it if the tart had been warmed, but otherwise very tasty.
At Reif, the chocolate brownies were to die for!

At Reif, the chocolate brownies were to die for!


8) Reif Estate Winery: My favorite of all! We had the 2012 Cabernet Franc with a dark chocolate brownie infused with blackberries and covered in cassis ganache. A sweet way to end our tour!
I plan to go again next year, and hopefully get in two weekends instead of one. In the meantime, there’s the Icewine Festival, January 1-31, 2014 and the Days of Wine and Chocolate, on weekends in February 2014. A nice way to keep warm in winter!