October 17, 2010 Wine Tour

Event Details

A glass of wine was a good start to the day!

James and his wife Jenny-Lyn enjoyed hosting the tour.



The trip down started to get a bit rowdy at the back of the bus....



It was all smiles at the front of the bus as well.

Calamus Winery

CALAMUS ESTATE WINERY started with Calamus Vineyards. Derek Saunders and his wife, Pat Latin, purchased a 14 acre property in 1999 near Beamsville and planted their first 10 acre vineyard in 2000. With the goal of supporting and 8500 case winery, a second farm and 19th century barn was purchased in 2002. The second property, located adjacent to Ball's Falls Conservation Area, is now the home of CALAMUS ESTATE WINERY. Our vineyards produce only the highest quality Niagara vinifera and hybrid grapes. We welcome you to experience the historic charm of our 1800's era heritage barns, the setting for the production area and retail outlet.

Beginning with its early vintages, CALAMUS wines have been very well received by customers, wine critics and restaurants. Each vintage has produced award winning wines. With a total of 32 acres of planted vineyards CALAMUS ESTATE WINERY grows Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Vidal, Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir.

We were personally greeted by Derek the owner when we arrived.



We were given a tour of the wine making area in the barn and Derek walked us through their wine making process.

The wine tasting was held on the second floor of the winery. The Pinot Gris is Amazing!



Of course there were those that really began to smile when the red wine was served.

Tawse Winery

Tawse Winery, established in 2001, is a family owned and operated estate winery comprised of four distinct vineyards. The four vineyards, Cherry Avenue, Quarry Road, Hillside and Tintern are located on the Niagara Escarpment in the sub appellations of Twenty Mile Bench and Vinemount Ridge.

Tawse Winery is a model of quality-focused production enhanced by innovative, eco-friendly processing techniques. Under the supervision of winemaker, Paul Pender, our estate wines are produced using organic and biodynamic viticultural practices. We use diligence, patience and time-honored traditions to craft extraordinary wines that are a true expression of the complex Niagara terrior that surrounds our winery.

We invite you to visit our winery and discover our award-winning portfolio of wines. Meet the people involved in management and viticulture that have helped us earn the reputation as one of Canada's most acclaimed wineries.

At Tawse we tried several wines including their award winning Chardonnay.

The view of the vineyard was breath taking.

Foreign Affair Winery

In the early 1990's, my wife Marisa, our daughter Stefanie and I had the privilege to lead the lives of expats in Italy. It was a richly cultural experience for us. So much so, that Italy has become a major reference point when considering our lives retrospectively.

Italy introduced us to a whole new world of fine food, wine, and the simple joys of everyday life. We discovered the wonders of Amarone styled wines in the northern part of the country. The more we learned about them, the more excited we became at the prospect of bringing this incredible craftsmanship back with us to Ontario.

And so we did. In 2000, with the kind encouragement of a dear friend, John Howard, we acquired some prime farmland in the Vineland area of the Niagara Peninsula. We then sourced and planted 40 acres of Amarone-inspired vines. After three years of carefully nurturing the vines, our first crop was harvested in 2004. In the time-held tradition of Amarone, we then proceeded to delicately dry our grape stock in a barn until each of the varietals were perfect for winemaking.

We are very proud of the fact the our wines are Canadian and home grown. But make no mistake, we were greatly influenced by the rich Italian (Veneto Region) history of appassimento (drying process). It was in Veneto where it all started and reference to amarone or recioto belong only to those winemaking visionaries. They were and still are the legendary pioneers for whom we have huge respect and admiration. Our Canadian stylistic interpretation with locally grown vinifera varietals are referred to as appassimento (grape drying or Reductio Method) rather than the uniquely owned names found in Veneto.

Foreign Affairs uses the traditional method of aging wine in oak barrels to provide their wines with a rich oaky flavour.



The Cabernet Sauvignon was an excellent wine and well worth $40 a bottle.



We were luck enough to see the wine making process in action. They are punching the grape skins down into the juice to get as much of the flavour out of the skins as possible.



A close up of the creation of the 2010 vintage!