Canada’s premier wine region is home to some of the country’s best tastemakers. Their creations are a direct result of a unique terroir, with an exceptional offering of flavours to sample. No matter your palate’s preferences, you’re guaranteed to find something delightful – and there’s a good chance your tasting will be led by the winemaker themselves. Cheers!
Your options are so rich, one visit simply won’t do. The majority of wineries in the Benchlands are Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario (SWO) Certified, meaning their operations and wines adhere to processes that responsibly interact with their environment and community. Enjoy tastings, cellar shops and winery tours at Hidden Bench Estate Winery (named 2023 Winery of the Year by the National Wine Awards of Canada), Cave Spring, Thirty Bench Wine Makers, Flat Rock Cellars, Malivoire Wine Co. and Westcott Vineyards. Pair a glass of wine with charcuterie at Creekside Estate Winery or The Foreign Affair Winery, paté or pizza at Henry of Pelham Family Estate’s Short Hills Kitchen, or an indulgent prix-fixe meal, accompanied by live music at Megalomaniac Wines. Along with a tasting, explore an extensive art collection, listen to live music, and treat yourself at the bakery on the estate of 13th Street Winery. Bring your furry friend along with you on a visit to Featherstone Estate Winery & Vineyard while you sample a glass or two, and take advantage of the all-season experiences at Vineland Estates, including fireside tastings and snowshoeing paired with mulled wine.
Other wineries to visit in the area: King’s Court Estate Winery, producing award-winning wines by seventh-generation winemakers, Rockway Vineyards, also home to a stunning 18-hole golf course; and Hernder Estate Wines, where you can sip on a flight and take in the sun on their patio. On Wednesday evenings in the summer, Hernder also hosts food trucks, musicians, and local makers at a small vendors market.
Explore more than 20 craft breweries and cideries by following the Niagara Ale Trail, a map for a self-guided route featuring new and landmark producers. Wine lovers can explore with a private guided tour hosted by Crush on Niagara Wine Tours – they offer a beer, cider and spirits tour too! Daytime, dinner, or custom tours are available depending on your taste and timing.
Sample locally brewed pale ales, IPAs, lagers, and pilsners. Each brewery has its own personality, delivering beers just as colourful. Cold Break Brewing is a gathering spot in St. Catharines with a tap room of seasonal pours and a menu of shared platters and sandwiches. Also in the city is Lock Street Brewing Co., another spot with a casual and spacious patio and all in-house brews on tap; The Merchant Ale House, serving fruit beers, light and pale ales, lagers and a nitro cold brew milk stout, at their brewpub restaurant; and Decew Falls Brewing Co., known for their famed Morningstar Cream Ale, a biscuity malt with sweet and bitter notes. Stop in Turncoat Brewing Company to take home their flagship Pillow Fort Oat Pale Ale with a crisp, refreshing, hop-forward flavour. Sample this and other brews with a flight at their restaurant. Bench Brewing Company in the Benchlands is a Certified B-corp, with sustainable practices informing all parts of their operations. They serve five core beers, from a fruit sour to a stout along with seasonal brews, at their taproom and restaurant. When in Beamsville, be sure to visit Newark Brewing Company, known for its expertise in crafting Germanic-styled beers.
Whether it’s gin, vodka or amaro that makes your favourite cocktail sing, you’ll love tasting the spirits made with grown-in-Niagara ingredients. Taste gin, vodka and rye at Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers’ sipping room or book a distillery tour. They also make mixed canned cocktails – tasty souvenirs to remember your time here. In addition to wine, the following three wineries are crafting spirits on site. Tawse Winery has perfected gin, vermouth and whisky, and provide a variety of tasting experiences, including a quick drop-in winery tour. Vieni Estates bottles their Italian heritage with amaro and grappa – don’t miss a tasting of their Dolce Piccante Graspa, a sweet and spicy grappa infused with maple syrup and hot peppers! Polonee Distillery creates spirits that are based on traditional Polish recipes and handmade with natural ingredients and no artificial flavours; choose from gins, vodka, liqueurs and spirits.
Niagara Cider Company crafts award-winning ciders using apples from across the Niagara region. From original dry apple cider to infused varieties with peach chardonnay and maple whisky aged in oak, there’s an option for all palates. Enjoy them on tap at Bench Brewing! The Old Tun is a small-batch craft cider producer, using multiple sparkling methods to make their creations. Fielding Estate Winery captures some fun and fruity flavour combinations in their ciders, from strawberry spritz to hazy and hoppy cider. Enjoy tastings at the Vineyard Lounge; Sundays during the summer they have a pop-up mimosa bar, and in winter months, sip cider flights in outdoor domes. Mead lover? Sample the honey-based drink at Rosewood Estate Winery. Using honey from its on-site apiary, the team crafts several varieties from spiced to smoky.
