Grapes have been grown and wine has been made on CanadaÂ’s Niagara Peninsula since the 19th century.  However, the modern success of the Canadian wine industry can be traced to the 1970s when a few forward thinking wine producers made the commitment to Vitis vinifera over French hybrids and native grapes. These pioneers took the risk and made the effort to solve the problems required to produce wine from the traditional European wine grape on a consistent basis in spite of the harsh Canadian winters.

Inniskillin tasting room near Niagara-on-the-Lake

The Canadian wine industry surely owes a debt of gratitude to Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser, who planted Chardonnay in what was called the Seeger Vineyard in 1974 and founded Inniskillin in 1975. They have been pioneers in bringing international attention to CanadaÂ’s new, high quality, wine production. The focus at Inniskillin today is on Icewine made from Vidal, Cabernet Franc, and Riesling.

Outdoor basket presses for Icewine at Inniskillin

The German Connection

One clear mark of success on the Niagara Peninsula has been the production of high quality Riesling (both table wine and Icewine). In fact, some clever wine writer, much sharper than I, has tagged the region, “Niagara Pfalz.”

The Canadian success with Riesling has Old World roots. First, there are several Germans who came to Canada and began making wine on the Niagara Peninsula in the late 70s and early 80s. Perhaps the German who put his mark most indelibly on the region is one who came to Canada and has since returned to Germany, Hermann Weis of the Mosel estate Weingut St. Urbans-hof. In addition to his vineyards and winery in Germany, Weis was in the nursery business, specifically propagating Riesling vines. In the 1970s, seeing the potential to grow good quality Riesling in Canada, Weis began to export vines from Germany to sell to growers in the Okanangan Valley and the Niagara Peninsula. Many who purchased the Weis vines sold their grapes to larger wine producers, who often simply blended the new Riesling with the native varieties and hybrids, which then dominated production. The result was, of course, more inferior wine, with no real value added by the new Riesling. This of course diminished the incentive to plant the new grape, and it did little for the Weis nursery business. By 1980, Weis decided to plant Riesling in Canada himself to demonstrate how it could be grown commercially and made into high quality wine in its own right. He purchased the Moyer farm in 1979 in Vineland, Ontario, (in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula on what is now the sub appellation called the Twenty Mile Bench) where he planted 40 hectares of Riesling in three separate locations, at the time the largest single planting of Riesling in North America and the first large scale commitment to Riesling in Canada. He sold the grapes to nearby wineries, but the resulting wine was more in line with Liebfraumilch (the mass produced, low quality, dominant German wine influence at the time in North America) than with high quality German Riesling. Disappointed with the results, in 1984, Weis began making wine from his own grapes at the Moyer farm, which he named Vineland Estates.

The Weis venture had a dual effect: it confirmed the suitability of Riesling on the Niagara Peninsula on a commercial scale, and it served as a model for other commercial growers and winemakers who soon followed his lead. By 1988 attention came to the Niagara Peninsula for good quality Riesling.

Although Riesling doesnÂ’t dominate the production at all wineries, it seems to be the grape variety, along with Chardonnay, that is woven into the lists of a majority of wineries on the Niagara Peninsula.

Herman Weis sold Vineland Estates in 1992, but the vineyards and winery continue today making good wines, many still from the original Riesling planted by Weis. Today Vineland Estates has grown from its rather humble beginnings. It has a fine restaurant attached to it, and it makes an array of good wines including Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and Gamay. I tasted at the winery a 1989 Vineland Estate Riesling (from the Weis years) during my visit that displayed the fine aged Riesling character with complex, petrol flavors and sharp acidity.  

Allan Schmidt, C.E.O. of Vineland Estates, next to a plaque honoring Hermann Weis

The charming small town of Jordan, Ontario on the Twenty Mile Creek seems to be built around Cave Spring Cellars. The winery is located in the converted buildings of a winery from an earlier time two generations back. (The buildings originally belonged to the Jordan and Ste. Michelle Winery and date to 1871.) They now house Cave Spring Cellars, a tasting room/wine shop, a restaurant, Inn on the Twenty and a gallery. The vineyards are located a few kilometers away on some of the best parts of the Beamsville Bench, a sub appellation of the Niagara Peninsula. The idea for Cave Spring Cellars began with John T. Pennachetti, who died before the first vintage was harvested. His sons, Len and Tom, enthusiastically continued the project and, along with winemaker Angelo Pavan, run it today. The focus at Cave Spring Cellars is on high quality Riesling, which they make at two levels, VQA Niagara Peninsula, and VQA Estate Bottled. The Weis influence has rendered its presence at Cave Spring Cellars also. Anne Weis, Herman WeisÂ’s daughter came from Germany to work at her fatherÂ’s estate in the late 1980s. In 1996, she married Tom Pennachetti, vice president of Cave Springs Cellars.

The Cave Spring Cellars Estate Riesling is among the finest Rieslings of North America. The winery also produces fine examples of Chardonnay, Gamay and Pinot Noir.

From Cave Spring Cellars in Jordan, Ontario, (from left) Tom Pennachetti, winemaker Angelo Pavan, Len Pennachetti

Martin Malivoire comes from a background in the movie industry doing special effects. He began purchasing vineyard land on the Niagara Peninsula in 1995. Today Malivoire Wine Company is set up in a new, nicely designed, small, gravity fed winery in Beamsville that produces about 10,000 cases a year with a potential capacity of 20,000 cases. The direction of the winery seems to be oriented more toward influences from the Alsace with organically grown varieties from the Beamsville Bench like Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir. Some Riesling is grown, but when I asked about it, I was told, “There’s enough Riesling here.” Mr. Malivoire’s Gewürztraminer is clearly the strength of this winery and I’d strongly recommend it. The Malivoire Wine Company 2004 Gewürztraminer has fine varietal character with luscious aromas of lichee, good depth of flavor, and complex structure.

Malivoire Wine Company, Beamsville, Ontario

The French Connection

Le Clos Jordanne is a winery in a category by itself. The operation is so completely French that during my visit the staff had difficulty finding me any written information in English. I’m told that some English-speaking locals refer to the winery jokingly as “Close to Jordan.” Jordan is the charming town near which the winery is located.

Thomas Bachelder, winemaker at Les Clos Jordanne, Jordan, Ontario

Le Clos Jordanne is a high-end experiment, with the purpose of making the finest quality Burgundy styled Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the Niagara Peninsula, the equivalent of grand cru burgundies in Canada. Their strategy appears to be to attract attention to their wines by raising the standard of quality so high that the wines simply canÂ’t be ignored. This type of operation is not something IÂ’ve often seen. It is, of course, a big undertaking requiring big resources, which are apparently available from the owners, a joint venture composed of Boisset, La Famille des Grands Vins et Spirtueux from Burgundy and Vincor Corporation, a subsidiary of Constellation Brands (the largest wine company in the world, owners of Inniskillin and Robert Mondavi Winery, to mention just a couple of their holdings.) In 2000, the partnership purchased and planted 52 hectares of land (four vineyards) on the Jordan Bench. The vines are standard Burgundian clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically with very low yields, 4 tons per hectare.

Winemaker Thomas Bachelder is from Quebec and has experience working in Burgundy.

I tasted the 2004 vintage from barrels at the winery with him. The Chardonnays were very good. The Pinot Noirs, each produced from designated vineyards, were on the level of fine premier cru and in some cases grand cru burgundies. They were the finest examples of Pinot Noir that IÂ’ve tasted in North America.

Canadian Eclecticism

Paul Bosc is perhaps lesser known outside of Canada than the founders of Inniskillin and Herman Weis, but he had an early and profound influence in the establishment of what is today a modern wine industry on the Niagara Peninsula.

Grapes awaiting Icewine harvest at Château des Charmes

Paul Bosc arrived in Canada in 1963, where he got a job at the Quebec Liquor Board decanting defective wines for $1.25 per hour. A Frenchman, trained in winemaking in Burgundy, Bosc managed a wine cooperative in Algeria prior to that country’s independence from France. In 1964 he was offered a job at the Canadian wine company, Chateau Gai, which made wine from predominantly French hybrids. He eventually became chief winemaker and director of research and development. Bosc’s enduring opinion, however, was that the best wine was made from the European grape varieties. In 1978, he left Château Gai and planted 24 hectares of Vitis vinifera near St. David’s only a few miles from Niagara Falls. Bosc took the risk despite the commonly held belief that the European wine grape could not survive the often intensely cold Canadian winters. He called his new winery Château des Charmes, and he began a program of testing and relentless experimentation in viticulture, which led him to success with old and new grape varieties. He developed his own clone of Gamay (which he calls Gamay Droit), as well as success with a classic blend not often seen in cool climate regions of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc called Equuleus. He has experimented with trellis systems and canopy management suitable for the region, and, more recently, the use of fifteen-meter tall gas-powered wind machines to circulate warm air downward to protect vines from winter cold. At 72, Bosc seems to have a foot in both worlds. I spent a day with him tasting wines, talking about viticulture and driving through his vineyards.

Paul-André Bosc (left) and Paul Bosc Sr., founder of Château des Charmes, St. David’s, Ontario

Paul Bosc is unique; in spite of his long career in the wine business, he still has a focused vision combined with imagination and passion for growing grapes and making wine. His son Paul Bosc, Jr. summarizes his father’s prudent insight, which may well apply to many of those who grow grapes and make wine on the Niagara Peninsula: “This is the kind of place [Canada] that punishes those who aren’t finicky. It rewards those who give attention to detail and are willing to work hard.