The 5 Best Niagara Wineries
When people think of North American wine, they usually start with Napa, Sonoma, or even Okanagan. I highly recommend you expand your wine horizons and venture east to check out the Niagara Wineries.
Best known for Niagara Falls, this region has many often overlooked destinations, but one of the best is its collection of amazingly diverse Niagara wineries. There are some big, high-volume wineries and there are small-batch wineries; there are old, deeply rooted wineries and there are brand-new start-ups. With beautiful grape varietals from Riesling to Gewurztraminer to Merlot to Shiraz, there is literally something for everyone!
Niagara Wineries can be broken into 2 somewhat distinct regions: Niagara-on-the-Lake sports 35 wineries, while 20 Valley (comprised of Jordan, Vineland, St. Catharines, Beamsville and Grimsby) has another 47. Both regions are located along the south shore of Lake Ontario between Toronto and Niagara Falls.
Niagara-On-The-Lake Wineries
20 Valley Wineries
Angel’s Gate Winery
Angel’s Gate Winery is relatively new to the area, opening in 2002. The award-winning wines are well worth the stop, but it’s the beautiful vineyard views that keep us coming back for more!
Location:
4260 Mountainview Rd, Beamsville, ON
Phone:
905.563.3942
Hours:
Sunday to Friday – 11am to 5pm
Saturday – 10am to 5pm
Find them online at angelsgatewinery.com
Megalomaniac Winery
Megalomaniac is one of those wineries you could spend all day visiting. With wines like “Narcissist Riesling”, “Bigmouth Merlot”, and “Sonofabitch Pinot Noir”, there’s plenty to get you talking. This winery itself is perched atop a hill overlooking the valley, complete with glimpses of Lake Ontario in the background.
Location:
3930 Cherry Ave, Vineland, ON
Phone:
905.562.5155
Hours:
Daily – 11am to 6pm
Find them online at megalomaniacwine.com
Southbrook Vineyards
Southbrook is Canada’s first biodynamic winery, they are certified organic, and their buildings are LEED certified. These certifications are nice, but their beautifully complex wines serve to show what’s possible while living in harmony with the land.
Location:
581 Niagara Stone Rd, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Phone:
905.641.2548
Hours:
Daily – 11am to 5pm
Find them online at southbrook.com
Strewn Winery
Strewn produces some of our favourite wines within the Niagara Region, but they go beyond that with their Cooking School. Participants learn the principles of food and wine pairing while preparing delicious meals!
Location:
1339 Lakeshore Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Phone:
905.468.1229
Hours:
Daily – 10am to 6pm
Find them online at strewnwinery.com
Vineland Estates Winery
Vineland Estates is one of our absolute favourite wineries, not only in Niagara, but around the world! The winery itself is a beautiful setting for any tour, lunch, or even a wedding. The award-winning wines will impress your taste-buds, no matter what you are in the mood for. But where this winery really sets itself apart is its staff, with their love for and knowledge of wine. Whether you are brand new or a wine connoisseur, you will feel at ease and have an amazing experience here.
Location:
3620 Moyer Road, Vineland, ON
Phone:
1.888.846.3526
Hours:
Daily – 10am to 6pm
Find them online at vineland.com
BONUS: Jackson Triggs and Small Talk Vineyards
I would be remiss if I didn’t include Jackson Triggs and Small Talk Vineyards on my list of the best Niagara Wineries. Not only are these 2 scenic wineries with some of the best wines around, but they each hold a special place in my heart. You see, my wife and I got engaged in the vineyards of Jackson Triggs, and we chose to have Small Talk (then named Stonechurch) wine served at our wedding!
Jackson Triggs is one of the largest wineries in Niagara, actually owning some of the smaller ones as well. Their winery itself is a work of art, and I’d highly recommend doing a tour with your tasting visit. In the summer they even have an evening concert series held in their open-air amphitheatre.
Location:
2145 Niagara Stone Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Phone:
905.468.4637
Hours:
Summer: 10am-6:30pm
Winter: 10am-5:30pm
Find them online at jacksontriggswinery.com
Small Talk Vineyards is a boutique, small-production winery that has been in operation since 1950. They offer some great wine in a setting that makes you feel like you’re part of the family.
Location:
1242 Irvine Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Phone:
905.935.3535
Hours:
Summer: 10am-6pm
Winter: 10am-5pm
Find them online at smalltalkvineyards.com
Before ending this discussion about Niagara Wineries, I’d be doing you a disservice if I failed to mention Icewine. This delicious treat is what helped put Niagara on the world wine map! Created in small quantities in the sub-freezing temperatures of winter, you’ll be blown away by this dessert-wine, available at most Niagara Wineries.
If you weren’t aware that such great wines came from Niagara, I hope you’ve enjoyed this introduction enough to add a visit to your bucket list. It makes a great side-trip from the more famous Niagara Falls. There are plenty of wine festivals every season to keep you coming back for more.
Do you have some favourite Niagara Wineries that I didn’t mention? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Resources
Here is a list of the resources mentioned in this post:
Visit Niagara: Your go-to resources for upcoming festivals and events in wine country
Blogger’s Jumpstart Guide – Download my FREE guide outlining how to successfully start your own blog
Great post, Bruce!
I didn’t even know there were wineries in the Niagara areas!
We like Pinots and red blends. 😉 Will have to check some of them out the next time we’re in the area.
Thanks for sharing!
Definitely some great reds in Niagara that I’m sure you’ll enjoy Kim!
Wow…
I never thought of Niagra having great wines…
Something to add to our travel itenary!
Dr. Lisa
I have found many people don’t know about Niagara, but they have some really great wines … and they’re just a short drive away for us to visit!
If I ever find myself near there I will for sure visit one of this vine places. Thank you for sharing! Great post!
Glad you enjoyed Hrvoje, and hope to see you there soon
That’s an awesome post Bruce! Thanks for sharing these wineries! I gotta come to Niagara 🙂
You definitely need to come Jelena!
This totally reminds me of the movie Sideways! I can imagine myself touring wineries and have tipples along the way. It’s great that you added all of the opening details of the wineries – useful info!
Una-Minh recently posted…How to fly when you hate flying
So true about Sideways! Touring wineries is such a fun activity
I grew up in southern Ontario and always loved visiting the Niagra area. Every time we would visit, we’d always hear someone talking about how great the wine is in the area. I’m not a wine drinker myself but all of my friends constantly are trying to get me to try out some of Niagra’s finest.. Nice post.
I used to feel the same way Adam! I went to one of the seasonal food and wine pairing events and it totally changed how i felt about wine
I never knew there were wineries in Niagara. Indeed, I only knew about Niagara because of the Niagara falls
Yes, this tends to be one of our hidden gems, though it really is some world-class wine!
oh this is our biggest regret about our trip to Canada and the Niagara Falls … we badly wanted to visit some vineyard to try some local wine, especially the Ice Wine …. but things went all messy (our youngest broke it’s collar bone and our stay in the region was mainly determined by sitting in the ER ^^) and we had to cut off some activities 🙁 I hope we can get back there one day
Sorry to hear about your youngest! Definitely come back … the ice wine is worth the trip itself!
We have always dreamed visiting the Niagra area. We heard about how great the wine in the area. We love testing wine so this place looks perfect! Thank you for sharing it 🙂
Hang Around The World recently posted…Hannover
Oh, definitely come! The wine really is great. So many of the wineries have grapes from “the old country” that have now matured into very unique tastes.
Had no idea that there were such good wineries in the area – waterfalls and wine are a winning combo I feel! Love the idea of the cooking school combined with wine tasting, what an amazing way to spend some time in this location.
Yes, they have so many seasonal food and wine events in the region that really ad another dimension to tasting great wines.
Its a great post. Would love to visit there.
Thanks so much Sourav, hope to see you here soon!
My mom and her family are from Buffalo – spent quite a bit of time here! I also went to school in Upstate. There are some REALLY great wineries there!
So true Meg … i grew up right across the river in Fort Erie 🙂
I haven’t been to a winery before but I would love to go on a tour sometime to better appreciate wines. I’m more of a hard liquor drinker. 🙂
Ricci – wheninmyjourneys recently posted…Food Journeys: Puerto Rican Food Experience in El Jibarito Restaurante
I used to be the same way Ricci, but visiting the wineries is what made me want to start drinking those too!
This is a very interesting post 🙂 Thank you for writing it! It has opened my horizon on something I wasn’t informed about
So glad I could help expand your travel world Chiara!
I love the Niagara Region and Wineries. I have previously been on a bike tour around some of the wineries near Niagara on the Lake and it was superb! I can’t remember exactly which ones we went to but if I go back I’d love to visit some of your suggestions..
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Such an amazing place to do a bike tour, whether you’re going to the wineries or not!
I’ve never heard about wineries in Niagara area before. Great write up! Definitely going to add the wineries to our itinerary when visiting!
Great to hear! You’ll definitely not be disappointed
I love wines, but I’ve mostly had French & Italian wines! Had Napa wines a couple times but unfortunately never heard of niagara wines!!! So, thanks so much for the knowledge!!!
You definitely need to try them! Many of the grapes originally came from France, Italy and Germany many years ago
I had never thought of wine in this area, but it’s a great idea. Niagra on the Lake is such a picturesque town, so it would be great to combine that with a visit to a vineyard.
So true Gemma! This small town has so much to offer travellers
Nice! Now I have to spend more time when Im going there… Motivating tips.. just filled my glass with wine because of you… (:
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hahahaha … glad to hear Gabor, cheers!
What an amazing and comprehensive overview of the Niagara Wineries! I am definitely adding these destinations to my bucket list of places to visit. I love how you highlighted the diverse offerings of the wineries, from small-batch wineries to large-volume wineries and from old and deeply rooted wineries to new start-ups. It’s great to see that there’s truly something for everyone, from the diverse grape varietals to the unique features of each winery, like Southbrook being Canada’s first biodynamic winery, Angel’s Gate having beautiful vineyard views, Megalomaniac’s humorous wine names, Strewn’s cooking school, and Vineland Estates’ award-winning wines and knowledgeable staff.
It’s really a hidden gem that us locals love to visit, but the wine is so good we can’t keep it a secret!