A guest blog post by Tracy
Continued from: Niagara Trip Report (Part 1: Waterfalls)
Day 3 – Exchanging Waterfalls for Wine
On Sunday, we scheduled a wine tour of Niagara-on-the-Lake and were thrilled to temporarily escape the massive crowds surrounding the Falls. We booked a private tour with Wheelz Niagara (https://www.wheelzniagara.com/packages/private-day-tour-with-niagara-region-hotel-pick-up). Bernie picked us up just before 10:30 a.m. (yay for sleeping in!) and we headed to wine country. Our particular tour did not include tasting fees, but Bernie had tasting coupons for several of the wineries (and many waived the tasting fee with a bottle purchase).
Because no trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake is complete without it, our first stop was an ice wine tasting at – aptly named – The Ice House (https://theicehousewinery.com/).
Bernie handed us each a coupon for an ice wine slushy, which was a pretty fantastic way to start a wine tour, if you ask me. We then tasted through four deliciously sweet ice wines, hugging Polaris the Polar Bear on our way out for good luck.
Our second stop was Reif Winery (https://reifwinery.com/). Coincidentally, we enjoyed one of their wines, “Magician,” at the show the previous evening (and eagerly bought yet another during our visit).
We tasted through several other delightful wines and walked out with a few to enjoy later. This was a lovely winery with outdoor seating, wines by the glass and food items for sale. We would have been perfectly content spending the day here but, alas, we had more wines to taste!
Next up was the incredibly beautiful Peller Estates (http://www.peller.com/). This was obviously a very popular winery, but we had no trouble claiming a prime spot at the bar from which to do our tasting. The staff here were exceptionally friendly, and we found some lovely wines to purchase.
Yet another stunning estate was up next – Colaneri Estate Winery (https://www.colaneriwines.com/). As we drove up the extensive driveway surrounded by picturesque vineyards, it appeared we were in a Tuscan village. Just a magnificent property. And, of course, more lovely wines!
Pondview was our next stop, and it was one of my personal favorites (https://www.pondviewwinery.com/site/home). It had a quaint little tasting room, and we had such a lovely visit with Nicole who guided us through our tasting. She was, in a stereotypically Canadian way, exceedingly friendly. We tasted, chatted, laughed, drank wine slushies (YUM!), and thoroughly enjoyed our visit!
Big Head (https://bigheadwines.ca/) was up next and we were immediately drawn to the modern, industrial feel of the place, and especially the red tanks!
We were beyond thrilled to be doing our tasting with the winemaker himself, Andrzej, who made the visit especially entertaining by conducting a sort of blind tasting of several of his wines (sadly, I failed miserably at this, although Steve fared a bit better). Despite my failures, we came away with several bottles of delicious Big Head wine!
Last but not least, we finished the day at Ravine Estate Winery (https://ravinevineyard.com/). Quite honestly, although we enjoyed this winery very much and bought several of their wines, our palates had pretty much reached their limit for any quality tasting at this point. As we were quite hungry, we were thrilled to discover the little shop connected to the tasting room where we ultimately purchased a big loaf of sourdough bread and a beautiful hunk of brie to enjoy in our room later, alongside a bottle of Niagara wine (of course), and let me tell you…that was perfection!
Day 4 – We’re Running Out of Time!
On Monday – our final full day – we had high expectations that we would finish the trip strong by doing everything on our list that we’d yet to accomplish up to that point. We got up early and headed back across the Rainbow Bridge to the U.S. and started the day at Cave of the Winds, which would turn out to be our favorite attraction of the weekend. The admission ticket included special souvenir sandals and yellow ponchos.
Sporting our new gear, we rode the elevator down 175 feet and soon found ourselves on a series of wooden walkways that ultimately lead to “Hurricane Deck,” which is within mere feet of the crashing Bridal Veil Falls. It felt almost like being in a tropical storm – incredible!
We then changed back into dry shoes and set out to experience the iconic Maid of the Mist (https://www.maidofthemist.com/), which has been operating for over 100 years!
This is yet another wet-potential attraction, despite the provided blue ponchos. We found a great spot on the upper deck of the boat and settled in for one more up-close and personal view of Horseshoe Falls. I’m not certain exactly how close the boat got to the Falls, but based on the HEAVY mist, I’d say VERY close! This was such a great way to wrap up our stay in Niagara.
We certainly didn’t have the time (or energy) to do everything on our agenda, but we nonetheless had a marvelous time in Niagara. The Falls are truly phenomenal, and I firmly believe everyone should see them at least once in their lifetime. Because of the excessive crowds, however, I would highly recommend visiting in a non-summer month, if at all possible. And if you’re into wine at all, spending a day (or longer) in Niagara-on-the-Lake is simply a must. It’s lovely! And, let’s be honest, isn’t wine just the best souvenir???
Tracy Thornton, Guest Blogger
Read a short bio on Tracy in Red Shoes. Red Wine.‘s Guest Contributor section here. Follow Tracy’s adventures in Travel, Wine, and Photography on Instagram: @texanstracy and see her featured blog posts on Red Shoes. Red Wine. here: Tracy Thornton, Guest Blogger
This post contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, Red Shoes. Red Wine. will earn a small commission for the referral at no cost to you. Read more about affiliates & disclaimers here. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Tracy is a proud owner of a VinGardeValise Petite wine suitcase (holds 8 bottles). Read all about how I pack my wine suitcase here. -Sheila
VinGardeValise – Up to 8 Bottles & All Purpose Wine Travel Suitcase (Silver)
