Wineries We Would Like to Know Better

Bench Trial

Bench Trial l Wines is a virtual winery dedicated to expressive limited production wines. A partnership between two longtime friends and winemaker contemporaries

Chris Fornasier and Adam Kern are the co-owners. The wines are made from grapes grown on the Twenty Mile Bench. Produces only Cabernet Franc.

 

Blue Gypsy Winery

Located in Oxford Mills, Ontario, about 45 minutes south of Ottawa. The winery is owned by husband-and-wife team Louis Gaal and Claire Faguy.

It is a fruit winery situated on 62 acres of fertile, pesticide-free farmland, formerly part of an 1800s apple orchard.

They decided on a core group of eight wines: apple, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, maple, ginger and cranberry, with two blends, Blue Gypsy Sangria and Apple-maple. 

 

 

Boreal Berry Farm and Winery

The winery is located on 160 acres at the edge of the boreal forest; it sits on a rich silt loam, the land was originally a floodplain for the Nepawassi River, the main waterway joining Lake Nipissing and Georgian Bay. The owners are Greg and Mira Melien.

They are the only traditional ice cidery in Ontario, making ice ciders in the French cidre de glace method of pressing naturally frozen apples.

They are certified organic and bee friendly. In 2013 we were awarded The Premier's Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence, an award that recognizes innovations that improve existing products, create jobs and drive economic growth.

 

 

Broken Stone Winery

Micheline and Tim Kuepfer fell in love with the bucolic Prince Edward County after only one visit. An urban family with four children they had a dream to live in the country In 2009 they purchased a 34 acre farm that had a forest, three hayfields, helpful neighbours, and a thousand newly planted grapevines.

Hard work and care for the land creates a vineyard whose beauty is captured in the bottle. 

 

By Chadsey's Cairns Winery and Vineyard

One of the original Prince Edward County wineries with a tasting room located, in a historic apple house from the 1850s.

With 14 acres under vine on exclusive Brighton Gravel ancient beach soil, and another nine adjacent acres leased, the winery produces between 1,800 and 2,000 cases annually of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Muscat, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Gamay Noir and St. Laurent.

The winery is for sale!

Caroline Cellars

Rick and Frieda Lakeit purchased the 50 acres farm back in 1978. In time they turned the farm in a vineyard and opened the winery in 2002.

Rick's mother Caroline aided and supported them when they purchased the land the winery is named after her.

Their four children all work at the winery at one time.

The farmhouse cafe is open all year.

 

 

Colchester Ridge Estate

Know as CREW. The winery is located in Essex County, Ontario, and is part of Ontario’s Lake Erie North Shore appellation.

The winery  is owned by the husband and wife team of Bernard and Nancy Gorski. 

A customer writes "The atmosphere  at CREW was cozy and relaxing, and the staff was fantastic!  Add great wine and it was easily one of our favourite stops of the weekend! "

 

Cold Creek Vineyards

Located in the rolling green hills of Prince Edward County with its rich limestone soil perfect for Burgundian such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Viticulturist Chris Braney is the owner.

Chris has a passion with a strong belief in Prince Edward County Pinot Noir

Philosophy: Farming is as much as an art as a science.  Knowing our hillsides and understanding the needs of the vines to produce great fruit are behind every decision we make. 
The elements come together in just the right way: lake effect, slope, sun exposure, soil and climate.  Our vineyard practices are quality driven: with low yields and extensive handwork, we get fruit with intense flavour

 

Cornerstone Estate Winery

Jerry and Wanda Kopanski founded their charming, family owned winery in Beamsville 2002. They consistently produce premium wines using their own fruits. The winery focuses on limited productions, resulting in small batches of VQA wines. 

In addition to their vineyards they also have an extensive fruit tree farm including peaches, cherries, apples, plums, nectarines and apricots.

They recently won 10 medals at the International Wine Competition in Finger Lakes, New York, and 2 bronze medals at the Canadian Wine Awards for their 2007 Cabernet Franc-Merlot VQA and their 2008 Strawberry Festival Wine.

Dark Horse Estate Winery Inc

A major project that has opened in Grand Bend Huron County off the beaten path. The winery features impressive one-of-a-kind architecture.

John and Sue Ann Rasenberg are the co-founders of the winery. Marc Pistor is the winemaker Fred Di Profio is the consultant.

 

 

 

De Moura Winery Way

Fernando De Moura was born in Madeira, Portugal he is the founder of the De Moura Winery Way and head of the De Moura family. 

The winery is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Fernando and his wife run the entire operation.

On their bottles it states "Winery Way” because, just like Frank Sinatra, “we did it our way. We do everything our way.”

De Sousa Wines

One of Beamsville older wineries. John De Sousa (Sr.) purchased the vineyard in 1979. Today the winery is owned by The LakeView Wine Co. (Diamond Estate)

A Portuguese style winery is in beautiful surroundings, serving it's red wine in clay cups.

 De Sousa Port-style wine is very popular.

 

 

Devil's Wishbone Winery

Located in Picton near Lake On The Mountain  the  Fifteen acres of rolling vineyards overlook the Bay of Quinte. Our century barn houses the winery and tasting room where handcrafted wines are made.

Paul Gallagher is the owner and winemaker. His philosophy is to go slow and develop

Domaine Perrault

In 1999, Denis Perrault, a local dairy farmer started a grape growing operation on the family farm in Navan, Ontario. He originally planted 1 acre consisting of 1,000 vines of approximately 10 varieties of hybrids in consultation with a vine expert from the University of Guelph.

In the spring of 2005, an additional 5 acres (5,000 vines) were planted which will provide the Domaine Perrault with a production capacity of more than 11,000 bottles.

From that day, the dream of a vineyard in the city of Ottawa was realized!

Domaine Perrault was incorporated in 2005 and is owned and operated by Denis, his wife Lyse and their two daughters Anne and Dominique.

 

Downey's Estate Winery

The Downey farm / market (215 acre) has been owned and operated by the Downey family since 1920. The farm is located on Heart Lake Road,North of Brampton, Ontario.

The farm is a family operation,headed by John and Ruth Downey and their youngest daughter, Darlene and her husband Nathan. Their oldest son Greg, grows crops for the farm, and operates Downey's Strawberry & Apple Farm a sister farm to Downey's.  Their other children,Ian, David, and Donna continue to help out during busy seasons and festivals when not working at their full time careers.

The Downey's Estate Winerywas established in 2001, and in their first year, captured 11 top awardsat the Canadian International Wine Challenge (CIWC) at the Toronto Wine & Cheese Show.