Wine Tasting in Niagara

Many people think of the Niagara Falls region as just seeing a huge waterfall. However, this area also contains a huge wine tasting region! There are over 80 wineries in this region for visitors to try out. During our visit to the Niagara region, we managed to try out 5 different wineries. Although not quite as good as the Central Otago region in New Zealand, or Paso Robles in California, wine tasting in Niagara was a fun place to spend a day or two. Something unique to Canada is ice wine. Ice wine is made from grapes that are frozen while still on the vine. It is very sweet and therefore considered a dessert wine. 

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Where to Stay

TripAdvisor is a great place to start your hotel search. Search for the best Niagara hotels here!

We opted to stay near downtown Niagara in an Airbnb. If focusing on wine tasting in Niagara, I would opt to stay closer to Niagara on the Lake rather than Niagara Falls. There are some great Airbnb options near Niagara on the Lake. There also some hotel options, but they are a bit more expensive than Airbnb’s. 

Wineries to Visit

Hidden Bench

Hidden Bench was a unique find. It cost $11 for a table wine tasting or $15 for a reserve tasting flight of four wines. The tasting room was not huge, but it felt intimate and cozy. The employees were also very attentive. We really enjoyed the white blend. 

Inniskillin

Inniskillin is Canada’s original estate winery and has been in the region for 35 years. This winery had a ton of outdoor tables for people to enjoy a glass or bottle of wine at. There was also a large indoor tasting area where visitors can try various wine flights. There are a variety of types of wine to try. If you want to try the basic table wines, it is 4 tastes for $7.50. We opted to try the ice wine flight, which was 4 tastes for $15. Overall, we were not that impressed with the Inniskillin wine, but we enjoyed the atmosphere of the winery. 

Ravine

We had a more unique experience at Ravine. We opted to take a new tour (we were the first ones to ever go on it) they just started offering of the facility called “The Talk”. We actually got to go out into the Vineyards. Highlights of the tour included getting to feed the chickens, try fresh honey from the bees, and tasting the wine in the middle of the vineyards. It also ended up being a private tour because the other people in the group did not show up. This tour cost $19/person. Ravine also has an on-site restaurant that looks delicious. Everything used in the meals is grown on-site!

Stratus

Status is a more contemporary looking winery with a smaller indoor tasting room. Established in 2005, Status’ winemaker comes from the French wine region. Thus, many of the wines taste similar to French wines. At Status, visitors are able to taste four wines for $11. Our favorite wine was the chardonnay. 

Tawse

At Tawse winery visitors can try four wines for $6. It was a cute facility where you could see the barrel rooms from the tasting room. They also sometimes host some special events such as concerts or barrel tastings. They also have some liquors you can try as well. The wines were decent, but not anything special.  

Rankings of Wineries 

Stratus: Status had some of our favorite wines and the price for the tasting was also very reasonable. 

Hidden Bench: We liked all of the wines we tried at Hidden Bench and also felt the employees took their time with us and were very friendly. 

Ravine: We enjoyed the tour we took at Ravine, but the wines were just okay. 

Tawse: The tasting room was nice and the wines were average. There was nothing that exciting about it.

Inniskillin: Although the facility was gorgeous, we did not like the wines from Inniskillin and felt we were rushed through the tastings. 

I am excited to go back again to wine taste in Niagara to try out some more of the 88 wineries in the area! Drop a comment with your favorite wineries in the Niagara region. 

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