Palatine Hills Estate Winery

The Neufelds family has owned property on Lakeshore drive in Niagra on the Lake for generations.

John Neufeld was raised in the area and and familiar with its history. Palatine is a name chosen from a historic map of Niagara on the Lake. It is an area that was given to British Generals in Canada, in lieu, of payment for services rendered. Originating in Rome, the name was transferred to Germany, then to England, and then to Canada. Palatine Hills displays a collection of artifacts from the War of 1812 which were found within their acres of vineyards.

Although originators in their own right when John Sr. was the Chair of the Grape Growers of Ontario in the early years, they had not yet begun to shift their focus to the art of wine production. Little did they know that their concentrated effort to master their grape growing capabilities would later become their winery’s founding principle: Winemaking begins in the vineyard

Having successfully sold their grapes to other wineries for more than 30 years, owners John and Barbara Neufeld found themselves with a surplus in 1998, and decided to collaborate with winemaker David Hojnoski to produce a small batch of icewine. They have succeed in producing some great "juices and Ice wines. They now produce Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, as well as their award-winning Vidal Icewine.

The winery has teamed up with the Heritage Trail Committee to raise funds to support the Rehabilitation of the Upper Canada Heritage Trail. With every dollar raised by the purchase of wine, 25% (before HST) will go directly to the Heritage Trail Committee efforts. For the past 3 years the Heritage Trail Committee, which is a committee of the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, has been working to restore an old rail line that runs from St. Davids into NOTL and turn it into a multi-use trail for cyclists, runners, walkers and the like. The old rail line has a deep history in Niagara.

Palatine Hills Estate participates in the many Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake events throughout the season.

We want our wines to be an elevating experience; a reason to feel good about what’s close to the land and the people who make the wine at Palatine Hills. - John Neufeld, Sr., Proprietor