This past week marked the end of the Niagara Wine Festival in the Niagara region. With abounding events all over the region including tasting the nectar at Montebello Park in St Catherine’s from different wineries around the area including culinary delights to satisfy your pallet while listening to the performers playing on the stage. However, the celebrations do not stop after the festival is over. Year round wineries in the region invite you to tour their facility to give an idea of how wines are made and how you can enjoy various varieties, they offer. When traveling The Niagara Peninsula you will find endless fields of vineyards standing steady waiting for harvest season typically from September to November depending on the variety of grape or in January during winter season to embark on the annual picking of frozen grapes for that delicious icewine that has made the Niagara region famous throughout the world.

Approximately 80% of the world’s ice wine emerges from this region because of Ontario’s suitable climate. Harvesting of the frozen grapes takes place in January when the temperature reaches approximately minus ten degrees Celsius.  Each year three festivals take place in the Niagara Peninsula. The first being the Niagara New Vintage Festival in June then in September marks the largest Wine Festival in Canada attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to the region each year and finally in January is the celebration of the Niagara Icewine Festival.

One of the wineries we visited was Château des Charmes, founded by Paul Bosc (a fifth generation of wine makers) in 1978 of French decent who brought his talent and expertise here in the early 1960’s. Paul Bosc and the dedication of every family member and employee have given this winery hundreds of awards from around the globe for their fine wines. This magnificent winery operated by the Bosc family is one of the largest in the Niagara Peninsula and rightfully so with all their wisdom and devotion dedicated to making wine an experience and not just a living. 

 Driving to this enchanting place takes you on a tour as if you were in the famous French Vineyards. Acres of grape vines of different varieties surround this magnificent 35000 square foot Château that serves as both a production facility and a place for enthusiasts to admire what they came for. Walking inside the front door you would not think this is your typical winery. Two wine boutiques are on either side of the main foyer and each one catering to either white or red wine varieties including their famous award winning Icewines. A tasting bar nestled in between for those who wish to sample the different varieties offered by the winery. There are also three hospitality rooms for private events. When looking out the back window from the tasting bar a large courtyard surrounds a beautiful rose garden for hosting your own private wedding or event. A short walk out from the courtyard leads you to the vines that grow that delicious fruit for wine making.

As a new resident and business to the area and particularly to wine country, we decided to explore this magnificent vineyard to get a first hand glimpse of the art of wine making. As we found out it is not just about wine making but an experience of how to enjoy wine at its finest. Tours are available at the Chateau des Charmes as public or private at a very reasonable cost.

The public tour takes approximately an hour to complete which includes a taste of three different vintages at the end. Our tour began in the courtyard with Bob as our cicerone who will guide you through the entire process of winemaking and why his passion for wine has become his love of life. From the courtyard to the vineyard Bob explains in detail about the different types of grape under the best conditions and how each variety is unique to a particular vintage. From there the entourage headed for the wine cellar where the grapes then transferred in side to be crushed and held for fermentation to achieve the right alcohol content and taste. Bob explained in detail how reds and whites made are different from each other. In addition, the ice wines produced are in the cold of winter. These frozen marbles are hand picked at no less than minus 10 degrees Celsius to achieve a world class Icewine.

From pressing of the fruit to filtering the juice in different stages of the process all the way to the bottling of the wine was as interesting and entertaining experience. Bob was not with out humour and wit telling stories of his own wine experiences and tastings. Even to the extent of teaching newcomers like ourselves the true way to taste wine. From how to hold the glass by the stem, sniffing the aromatic aroma that permeates from the glass to swishing it around in your mouth to extrapolate every flavour the wine has to offer. As we found out wine does taste better handled and consumed properly including culinary delights that fit with each vintage.

Touring is not the only activity they offer. You can also enjoy your own private picnic for two catered by Château des Charmes or plan your wedding. Château des Charmes winery is more than growing grapes and producing world-class wines but serves as an opportunity for everyone to experience a tradition in the art of winemaking the Bosc family has perfected over years of hard work and dedication. This tour works well for both the newcomer and to the connoisseur.

Upon leaving this informative tour has left a taste in my appetite to fully understand and appreciate the complexity and diverse nature of winemaking. Now when I have a glass of wine I can enjoy its beauty as well as its flavour that only one can appreciate why wine has become as much as a social activity as well as a passion to those who enjoy a glass of world class wine with family and friends.  

Bon Appétit

Upcoming post about the Niagara Wine Festival

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