Partnership between The Crush and Newark bottling a ‘game changer’
By Rick VanSickle A new wine bottling partnership between Niagara’s Newark Bottling Inc. and Niagara Custom Crush Studio is a “game changer” for wineries in Ontario. The partnership brings...
View ArticleHarvest Report 2024: Ontario winemakers excited about new wine vintage
By Rick VanSickle The hopes and dreams of that perfect vintage for winemakers and growers took shape with the first grapes harvested on August 26, 2024, which is exceptionally early in Niagara. Perfect...
View ArticleOntario rushes to fill empty LCBO shelves with local VQA wine, plus Vintage...
By Rick VanSickle As the LCBO acted swiftly to remove all U.S. booze from its store shelves last week, Ontario wineries scrambled to fill the suddenly vast empty spaces. Note, also in this Niagara Wine...
View ArticleOntario wine vintage charts all the way back to 1998 (with 2024 just added)
By Rick VanSickle To understand the aging potential of your wine purchases, you must know where they started before you tuck them in the cellar for the long haul. Trial and error have spoiled many a...
View ArticleHow a social media star inspired a new vibe at Niagara’s Palatine Hills
By Rick VanSickle A chance encounter online led to the wildest exposure ever for a Niagara winery with 2.5 million views of a quirky video that helped shape the “vibe” at Palatine Hills Estate Winery....
View ArticleThe Mavericks: ‘Visionary’ Trenholm brings Canadian wines and events to the...
By Lidija Biro A visionary, a maverick, a savvy businesswoman … all apt descriptors for Debbie Trenholm, sommelier and founder of Savvy Company. Savvy Company is an online marketplace for wines, craft...
View ArticleMissing your Cali reds? Niagara’s Bella Terra has the answer you’re looking for
By Rick VanSickle In these days of disruptive tariffs and boycotts of American wines, more and more wine lovers are (finally!) reaching for wines made in their own country. Many have been weaned on the...
View ArticleOntario VQA wines starting to centre stage at LCBO stores at long last
By Rick VanSickle LCBO stores in Ontario are starting look more and more like a retail wine operation that stands firmly behind the wines of its own province. Also in this Ontario Wine Report:...
View ArticleBlack Bank Hill: A Niagara winery with a little west coast swagger
By Rick VanSickle Black Bank Hill winemaker Jonathan McLean approaches his wines “like a chef makes a tasting menu — each one has been uniquely created to tell a different story and give tasters an...
View Article12 Niagara Cabernet Francs to drink now (from someone who knows her stuff)
By Allison Slute For those that haven’t been following the news in recent weeks, there is a “dumb” trade war on going between the United States and Canada (and sadly, many other countries around the...
View Article