Sampling the Niagara Wine Trail’s Offerings

Sampling the Niagar a Wine Trail’s offer ings

NIAGARA COUNTY: Evolving trail filled with improving wineries.

BY JOE GENCO

It was part way through last summer when Jim Baker of Niagara County’s Chateau Niagara Winery began noticing a big diff erence.

He was slammed with people coming for outdoor tastings and they were 70% new visitors. Where’d they come from?

“Th ey were new customers because they couldn’t go to Niagara-on-the-Lake,” Baker said of how his world changed. “We are selling a lot more wine to a fewer number of people.”

By the time it was all over his business, located on West Creek Road in Newfane was up 30% and he realized a massive increase in his wine club. A free membership commits members to purchase 12 bottles a year but also comes with free tastings, special vintages, events and purchase discounts.

One particular customer left a lasting

Patrick Vaughn of Liten Buffel pours a glass of pet nat, naturally fermented sparking wine. Jim Baker of Chateau Niagara pours his steel-fermented chardonnay. the flavorful reflects the Lake Ontario microclimate and soil. It has substantial body and flavor but no oak. Many chardonnays produced in California mask poor grapes with oak barrel fermentation.

impression as he increased his purchases.

“This winery is too important to fail,” that customer said.

The Niagara Wine Trail has more than a dozen wineries stretching along the Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario. According to wine trail officials, the wine region has a unique micro-climate. Located at Latitude 43 degrees North, the cool climate region of Niagara enjoys long days during the growing season. This makes it suitable for the production of the types of fruit that are used to create its fine wines. The length of a growing season is important to both the fresh fruit and wine industry. The longer the growing season, the more the fruit builds a chemical called fruit esters. These fruit esters give the fruit the qualities of aroma and taste – the longer the growing season, the better the fruit.

Baker is also working hard with the help of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation on sustainability planning.

“Sustainability is having a view for a business or a life that can carry on,” he explained. While it’s not the same thing as bing “certified organic” it does mean not using herbicides even in the parking lot.

Like many of his peers, Baker is an inveterate tinkerer, whether it’s adapting vineyard equipment purchased on the cheap to fit a tractor or working with fermentation. For example, he has added Kagor to his offerings. It is a little-known Russian-style wine made in the eastern hemisphere for the Orthodox Church. It tastes rich and sweet like a port or sherry with tones of cherry and elderberry. Russian friends visiting from Toronto have told Baker it was the best they’ve ever had.

Not far from Baker, Patrick Vaughn is the proprietor at Liten Buffel on Pearson Road in Middleport, specializing in wines made with the least amount of manipulation possible. That means no sulfites, yeast or sugar, just naturally fermented grapes taking full advantage of the terroir.

Among his recent offerings is Pet Nat (petulant naturale) made from 65% riesling and 35% vidal blanc and bottled just before fermentation completes to create a light, crisp, bubbly wine.

Margo Sue Bittner of the Winery at Marjim Manor has had to adapt to doing business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Winery at Marjim Manor, in addition to many business in the area, have had to limit capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has some other fine offerings, for example, a 2017 pinot noir from grapes grown in Cambria at Quast Vineyard, which is owned and operated by Freedom Run.

At Marjim Manor on Lake Road in Appleton, Margo Sue Bittner is owner and has taken the lead for marketing for wineries on the Niagara Wine Trail. Bittner’s specialty is fruit wines. They are fantastic in their own right. Niagara as a whole, however, is only beginning to get the recognition it deserves.

If we think of drivable wine regions from upstate New York, the popular choices may be Niagara-on-the-Lake with its glitzy, million-dollar tasting rooms or the Finger Lakes with equally fancy big wineries and owners often off site while employees tend shop.

Niagara County has become akin to Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley in California. If you like to shop small, this trail is for you because the owners, in almost all cases, are onsite and care about ensuring your positive experience.

“We are enjoying the way things are going,” she said. “Customers come in, they sit down, they get their tasting and a ghost story.”

She’s still getting travelers as well. During the last week in April, she had new visitors from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maine and Connecticut. For information about visiting and upcoming events, visit www.niagarawinetrail.org

Where to go, what to expect

Here’s a list of Niagara County Wineries with a few in Orleans County, the next county to the east. Every business listed here is small. Most proprietors have retired from another enterprise or still work a second job to support their winery dreams. Expect no pretension just excellent wine at reasonable prices. Italicized comments are the opinion of Joe Genco. • 810 Meadworks — 113 West Center Street Medina, NY 14103 • (585) 542-9810 • www.810meadworks.com Great meads. Try Bee

Spit Outdoor Courtyards. Awesome food truck across the parking lot.

• A Gust of Sun Winery — 4515 Baer Road Ransomville, NY 14131 • (716) 731-GUST (4878) • www.agustofsunwinery.com Small Winery.

Try their 2018 Noiret or their 2017 dry riesling which has nice citrus undertones.

• Bella Rose Vineyard & Winery — 1243 Ridge Rd, Lewiston, NY 14092 • (716) 405-7355 • www.bellarosewinery.com Have yet to visit.

Opened as Covid hit

• Blackbird Cider Works — 8503 Lower Lake Road, Barker NY 14102 (716) 795-3580 Dry oak aged cider is the best I’ve ever had

from there. A great place to soak in the Lake Ontario breeze and chill on the back patio with.

• Black Willow Winery — 5565 W Lake Rd Burt, NY 14028 • (716) 439-1982 • www.blackwillowwinery.com Great Meads. Try Freyja’s

Nectar and enjoy the wine/chocolate or cheese pairing.

• Chateau Niagara Winery — 2466 West Creek Road Newfane, NY 14108 • (716) 778-7888 • www.chateauniagarawinery.com Enjoy the

2016 Pinot Noir, or the unoaked chardonnay reminiscent of a Pinot Grigio

• Honeymoon Trail Winery — 4120 Ridge Road Cambria, NY 14094 • (716) 438-3255 www.honeymoontrailwinery.com Try their Diamond

or Spice White. Good Sweet Wines.

• Lake Ontario Winery — 1593 Hamlin Parma Town Line Road Hilton, NY 14468 • (585) 392-5296 • www.lakeontariowinery.com I

have never visited

• Leonard Oakes Estate Winery — 10609 Ridge Road Medina, NY 14103 • (585) 318-4418 • www.oakeswinery.com Great one to hit

before 810 Meadworks. Sauvignon Blanc and the 2016 Pinot Noir both were fuller bodied and more complex then anticipated

• Liten Buffel — 8822 Pearson Rd., Middleport, NY 14105 (716) 352-0570 • www.litenbuffel.com Natural wines produced with only

grapes and the yeast from the air. Full, earthy tones with hints of berries in the pinot noir. A must visit because it is different yet sophisticated

• Long Cliff Winery & Vineyards — 3617 Lower Mountain Road Sanborn NY, 14132 • (716) 731-3316 • www.longcliffwinery.com

Small. I know we have visited but don’t remember.

• Niagara Landing Wine Cellars — 4434 Van Dusen Rd Lockport, NY 14094 • (716) 433-8405 www.NiagaraLanding.com Tend to be

sweeter, the vignoles is very interesting and drinkable. They mess around with catawba more than I like.

• Salamaca Estate Winery — 2660 Hindsburg Rd. Albion, NY 14411 Corner of Route 104 • (585) 283-4094 • www.SalamacaEstateWinery. com A bit out of the way. Try their diamond or red. • Schulze Vineyards & Winery — 2090 Coomer Road Burt, NY 14028 (716) 778-8090 • www.schulzewines.com Yet another mom-

and-pop and it’s been there a long time. Try the Cab Franc or Cuvee Brut.

• Schwenk Wine Cellars — 1456 Bills Road Kent, NY 14477 (585) 682-4629 www.schwenkwinecellars.com Dry riesling and baco noir

are forces with which to be reckoned.

• The Winery at Marjim Manor — 7171 E. Lake Road Appleton, NY 14008 • (716) 778-7001 www.marjimmanor.com Great fruit wines with a

side of storytelling.

• Victorianbourg Wine Estate — 4402 East Lake Road Wilson, NY 14172 • (716) 751-6576 • www.victorianbourg.com Try their reds, full

bodied with great mouth feel

• Vizcarra Vineyards at Becker Farms — 3724 Quaker Road Gasport, NY 14067 • (716) 772-2211 www.beckerfarms.com An agritourism

destination with a brewery best visited in the fall and a winery filled with drinkable product. Good restaurant and among the largest businesses on the trail.

EVENTS. RENTALS. PLAY.

EXPERIENCE THE KENAN CENTER. 433 Locust St, Lockport www.kenancenter.org