2021 is the year to visit Niagara wineries
Professional oenophile Dick Snyder has travelled the world sipping wine—yet it’s the Niagara region that keeps drawing him in year after year
ON MY FIRST EVER visit to Niagara—some 20 years ago, as a budding wine writer—I didn’t expect to be led into the vineyards by Henry of Pelham’s cofounder Daniel Speck for a one-on-one immersion in the art of growing wine grapes.
The journey to making a spectacular wine seems like magic, but is, in fact, a lot of work. It’s a craft, a science and a heck of a gamble. Winemakers are grape growers. They are farmers. They are at the mercy of Mother Nature, who is not always benevolent.
Talk to a winemaker, and they talk weather. It’s always about the weather. I’ve visited wine regions around the world—Napa, Rioja, Burgundy, Loire and beyond—and it’s always about this year’s harvest versus last year’s. Which vintage was better, or different, and why, and how this is reflected in the wine. Why are the wines from last year’s vintage so much brighter, fruiter and complex? Maybe because the summer was warm and dry, and the fall was cooler but the sun was generous and warm. Importantly, the rain held off until harvest so the grapes reached full ripeness and concentration. And, bonus: the bugs left them alone because it was so dry and windy.
That sums up the 2020 vintage in Niagara, considered to be one of the best vintages in more than 10 years. These light whites rosés, the fresh reds are being released right now, and now is the time to get to Niagara and taste them.
I visit Niagara several times a year, not only because of work. But because I love catching up with the folks behind the wine, as well as the farmers and chefs who make the food to go with that wine.
When I spent a day there last fall, Daniel took me into the vineyards once again to check out the baco noir. The vines were spectacular: vibrant, lush, brimming with pristine fruit. Daniel and his two brothers planted much of the estate’s vines by hand—or by shovel, more correctly—when they were just young lads, at the behest of their father. “I call it indentured servitude,” he said with a laugh. Today, his father’s vision has come to fruition, and Henry of Pelham’s Family Estate Winery is one of Niagara region’s best.
Niagara is home to so many incredible wineries. One of my favourites is The Good Earth Wine and
Food Co., where I’ll enjoy a farm-fresh salad and beef tartare on the patio at the edge of the gardens. Then, I’ll stop at Flat Rock to enjoy rich pinot noirs from the panoramic views of its elevated glassed-in tasting room. Queenston Mile is mandatory for sparkling wines, and I’ll visit Ravine for a snack, say a pizza from their outdoor wood-fired oven. And I always try to visit a new place. Last year, it was Domaine Quey
lus, where Kelly Mason crafts some of the most complex chardonnays I’ve had this side of Burgundy.
Winemaking is so mysterious to us wine drinkers. You think: grapes turn into wine. Big deal? But there’s so much more to it. There’s people, passion, science, art, humour—and that shared experience of enjoying what nature provides. You can only get the whole package when you get up close with the people who make it happen—which makes me thankful that Niagara is so close by, so I can do it as often as possible.