Where can I get brochures on the Niagara region?
Try Niagaraparks.com for brochures on specific attractions and Tourismniagara.com where you can send online requests for tourism, hotel and wine route brochures.

What the hell is VQA and why should I care about it?
VQA ensures that (overall) you don't have to drink plonk when you buy Ontario wine with VQA on the label. It also ensures that your product is grown and produced in Ontario and not made from imported grapes. And it means we can produce and market wines for other world markets. And without VQA I would not have such a great vanity license plate for my car. VQA is only for grape wines. The fruit wine growers of Ontario have set up a similar quality assurance, Fruit Wines of Ontario.

What is the weather like in Niagara Falls?
Similar to Buffalo and Toronto. Here's a link to current weather in Niagara Falls.

Where can I get information on the falls illumination schedule and the fireworks?
The nightly falls illumination schedule is here and the weekly fireworks schedule is here.

I've seen the falls, what else is there to do besides tour wineries?
Well, (deep breath here) Journey Behind the Falls, Great Gorge Adventure, Spanish Aero Car, Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens and Greenhouses, Fort Erie, Laura Secord Homestead, Golf Courses, Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory, Shaw Festival, Skylon Tower, Minolta Tower, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours, Steve Bauer Bike Tours, Welland Canal including Lift Lock Three, Fort George, Hamilton's Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Niagara Helicopters, Niagara Falls Museum, the wax museums of Clifton Hill, shopping in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

How about a tour? Can you suggest any organized tours?
Sentineal Carriages. Explore Niagara-on-the-Lake by horse-drawn carriages. Custom rides available where the only limit is the balance on your VISA.
Niagara Airbus Winery Tours Pick up at Toronto Hotels. Custom tours available.
Skyway Helicopters Winery Tours
Seaflight 2000 Hydrofoil boat service from Queens Quay in Toronto to Niagara.

How can I find out more about Ontario Wineries?
Contact the Wine Council of Ontario, 110 Hannover Drive Suite B205, St. Catharines, Ontario L2W 1A4

What about information on customs, taxes and visitor GST rebates?
Try here for customs info and here for GST rebate info.

I know there are other wine regions in Canada. Where can I find out more information on them?
Here in Ontario, I am limited to drinking what the LCBO brings in from other provinces. Here's some resources to find out more.
Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland
Travel Envoy's Nova Scotia, Quebec and Newfoundland Page
British Columbia
B.C. Wine Council

Do you make money from this site, and do people send you free bottles of wine?
No, it's strictly a hobby site, and well, no. No journalist worth his salt would ever accept free gifts. When I say I like a wine or winery, it's because I spent my own money, liked the product and was treated decently by the staff. IF I tell winery staff about my site, I tell them after I have paid for my purchase and just before I walk out the door. The biggest problem I have is some of the smaller wineries want me to sample so many wines that I dare not swallow any of the samples.

Do you work in the wine industry?
No, I just like to enjoy the good things in life.

What is in your personal wine collection?
Total wine collection as of July 2002, about 500 bottles. About 60 percent Ontario VQA wines, averaging $13.00 per bottle, 10 percent home-made ultra premium wine bottled in the local brew-your-own shop average price $4.50 per bottle, and 20 percent foreign, average price $16.00 per bottle. I keep all of it in a climate controlled 500 bottle wine cooling cabinet in the wine cellar. Approximate price of wine cooling system $2200. I have a lot of reds that I am cellaring down for one to twelve years before I will drink them.

What is your favorite and least favorite wineries to visit and why?
All-time favorite Vineland Estates for view, wine, food service. Also love LeBlanc, Grape Tree, Quai-Du-Vin, Rush Creek, Pelee Island, Hernder, Ocala, Archibald, Southbrook Farms, DeSousa, Hillebrand, Cave Spring, Pillitteri, EastDell, Willow Heights, Malivoire, Magnotta, Willow Springs, Harbour Estates, Peninsula Ridge, Peller Estates, Lakeview Cellars - in no particular order. Least favorite - Chateau des Charmes for cold, rude service each and every time I visited. I have not visited all the wineries in Ontario, so my list is limited to the best of ones I have had first hand experience with.

Why do many Ontario VQA wines cost more than imported. Shouldn't they be cheaper?
Well, the biggest reason is Canadian taxes. The LCBO sets retail prices for Ontario wine sold to consumers from the winery, the LCBO and from a restaurant wine list. Bulk discounts are not allowed to restaurants, so what you pay in a winery for a bottle of wine is the same a restaurant pays per bottle even when buying many cases of the wine. Also, consumers are demanding more ultra premium wines. Ontario growers have responded by planting premium varieties of vines. Problem is, it takes 5 years for a grape vine to mature before it can be harvested. Add to that one to three years for bottling and you have a lot of money invested before wineries start to get a return. Not to mention the cost of those French Oak barrels.

I want to work in the wine industry. How do I get started?
The following have wine courses: Brock University in St. Catharines; Niagara College, campuses in the Niagara Falls area; Loyalist College in Belleville;

Where do I look on the internet for the latest in wine industry news, Canadian and international?
Try , Dean Tudor's World Wine Watch newsletter read the 3 Canadian wine magazines: Winetidings, Vines and Wine Access; check the Toronto Star, and National Post newspapers regularly; check Wine Today online and Wine Spectator online.

What wine television shows are on in Ontario?
A couple of years ago there were a lot more. Right now, all we have is occasional wine segments on FoodTV.ca's

I want to plant a few vines in my backyard. Can you suggest some sites for resources?
Some people have emailed me asking for resources to assist them in planting their own hobby vineyards. Besides Little Fat Wino's site you can also check out this Ontario Government article. Try also Amateur Winemakers Resource an Ontario hobby site and Viticulture Roundtable of Southwestern Ontario.

© 2002 rreichertis@rogers.com
All pages in this site Copyright 1998 - 2002 Richard Reichert