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An anniversary worth celebrating at Leaning Post, plus our Vintages picks
By Rick VanSickle On a warm, late-summer’s day in 2011, I sat outside Ilya and Nadia Senchuk’s recently purchased home in Winona sipping the very first vintage of Leaning Post Wines. Also in this...
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UPDATED: A giant of the Canadian wine industry has passed away: Paul-Michel Bosc
By Rick VanSickle A legend in the Canadian wine industry has sadly passed away, the family of Paul-Michel Bosc announced in Instagram tonight. “Regrettably we must share the news of the peaceful...
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23 Ontario sparkling wines that will put a little pop in your holidays
By Rick VanSickle The big Christmas wine releases at the LCBO are all but over for another year, and now the attention shifts to bubbles for the New Year. The Dec. 16 Vintages selection touts a range...
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Niagara winery owners, winemaker purchase sparkling wine facility
By Rick VanSickle The largest independent facility for making sparkling wine in Ontario has been jointly purchased by two of the Niagara’s key winery owners and a veteran winemaker. Hidden Bench owner...
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Getting schooled on College bubbles, plus new Westcott Vineyards wines
By Rick VanSickle It’s been 23 years since the winery and viticulture program was established at Niagara College. What a trip it’s been for students and faculty. Also in this report, we taste five new...
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Sweeping changes for Ontario booze retailing; good news for local wineries
By Rick VanSickle The Ontario government announced today that consumers will be able to buy wine, beer, cider and RTD drinks at convenience, grocery and big box stores beginning no later than Jan. 1,...
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New winemaker, same quest for excellence at Niagara’s Malivoire winery
By Rick VanSickle The last time I sat down with Shiraz Mottiar to taste wines in person at the Malivoire Wine Company, Covid wasn’t even on the radar … and Mottiar was still the winemaker. While Covid...
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Widely applauded, but questions remain for new wine retail landscape in Ontario
By Rick VanSickle With substantial changes coming to the Ontario wine retailing landscape, announced last week by the province, there is renewed hope for an industry that has been mired in uncertainty....
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Saddle up! New wine competition in Calgary, icewine fest warms up January in...
By Rick VanSickle Calling all Ontario wineries — there’s a new wine competition in Canada and Calgary is calling on you to send those wines west. Also in this Canadian Wine Report, all the details you...
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And to all a Merry Christmas, from Wines in Niagara
By Wines in Niagara Wines in Niagara wishes all its readers and advertisers a Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays, however you celebrate and wherever you are. It’s a Christmas where wineries...
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The Most Thrilling Niagara White and Red Wines of 2023
By Rick VanSickle As we unveil our Most Thrilling Niagara Wines for 2023, it’s also a time to reflect on a year full of surprises in Niagara. The 2023 harvest looked grim with wet weather plaguing...
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Niagara’s Wending Home draws on experience to navigate roadblocks
By Rick VanSickle When veteran winemaker Ron Giesbrecht decided to retire from a successful career as a professor at Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute, he could not foresee the future...
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A wine that makes you rethink Niagara Riesling, plus a mind-blowing West Ave....
By Rick VanSickle There is only one way to make Niagara Riesling great again — we just need to drink more of it. Also in this Niagara wine report: 16 Rieslings to buy today, plus a roundup of Niagara...
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The harvest for world famous icewine grapes begins across vineyards in Niagara
With temperatures falling to -8 C and colder over the next several days, Niagara growers and wineries are planning to pick their first grapes for Canada’s famous icewine. The chilly weather just...
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A fun look backwards at Ontario wine personalities through a camera lens
By Rick VanSickle In the classic Bob Dylan song, My Back Pages, he wrote: “Ah, but I was so much younger then, I’m older than that now.” I know, I know. The words “younger” and “older” are inversed for...
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The creature comfort wines from Ontario’s Therianthropy, now in a new home
By Rick VanSickle Shapeshifting aside for a moment, the notion that natural, or low intervention wines, are merely a fad that will pass is underestimating the enthusiasm behind and for these wines....
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A wine brand collective that puts Niagara Riesling front and centre
By Rick VanSickle I get it. You walk into wine shop, and you want a nice, dry Niagara Riesling. You’re staring at row after row of bottles on the shelf and decide to roll the dice. You get home, pop it...
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Chocolate, cheese, wine for February, plus Vintages picks and Niagara wine...
By Rick VanSickle Here’s hoping you emerged unscathed from Dry January and are ready to ease back into the pleasures of wine. We have just the ticket to help with that. In this Niagara Wine Report, we...
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Cuvée weekend returns to celebrate excellence in Ontario VQA wines
After four years of sitting on the sidelines, the stage is set for the return of Cuvée, Ontario’s premiere celebration of VQA wine that brings together winemakers and wine lovers to toast all things...
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Niagara restaurant group to purchase Queenston Mile Vineyard in St. Davids
By Rick VanSickle Queenston Mile Vineyards in St. Davids is being sold to a local restaurant group, Wines in Niagara has learned. The deal between Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc., current owners...
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