Niagara Wine Country...
... a place to wine, dine, shop and spend time with friends
Colaneri Winery, Niagara on the Lake
A short trip to Niagara on the Lake and Twenty Valley was the perfect remedy for a cancelled trip to South Carolina. After recovering from surgery, a long drive was the last thing I wanted to do so my husband and I traded a 10 day trip to Hilton Head for a 3 day local trip to the Niagara area. I took a look on TravelZoo and Groupon and bought a couple of vouchers for hotel and meal deals. These packages are often a great value and include such additions as drinks, meals or discounts for meals and wine tasting vouchers. The holidays also provide an opportunity to take advantage of the Sunday to Thursday restrictions. We were able to book TravelZoo deals for December 26th at Shaw Club and Queens Landing on the 28th. We decided to spend the middle night at Inn on the Twenty in Jordan.
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December 26, after cleaning up Christmas mess and dropping off the youngest back in Toronto, we finally headed 2 hours South West to Niagara on the Lake. The town was fairly quiet as we pulled in early evening. We were received warmly at Shaw Club by Jennifer. No problems checking in on our TravelZoo voucher and we loved our King suite. A bottle of wine awaited us (bonus of the voucher) and a welcome back Rachel note with a chocolate brownie. Both wine and brownie were very welcome as we relaxed in the sitting area and spent a very pleasant hour reading, drinking and snacking. At 7 we headed down to Zees for our dinner reservation. The service was exceptional all evening. The TravelZoo menu is very limited but included a chicken, beef and fish dish along with soup or salad and a dessert. My fish was perfect and my husband enjoyed his short rib. The following morning we went back to Zees for breakfast. We have eaten here many times and really enjoy the breakfast and this was no exception. We were lucky to get the table by the fireplace which rounded out a great stay.
Shaw Club Hotel & Zees Restaurant
December 27th we took a walk through Niagara-On-The-Lake. You can find mens and womens clothing stores at all price points, the year-round Christmas store, Scottish and Irish stores, Kurtz specialty foods, restaurants, bakeries and of course, Starbucks!
Hiding behind the main street, right beside the parking lot on Market Street is a great little cheese shop, Cheese Secrets. In the summer, we like to stop in here and grab some cheese and bread, stop in at the LCBO for a small bottle of wine and head down to the lake for a little picnic. In the winter, we just get some to take home.
Before heading to the Outlet Mall for some serious shopping, we stopped at Reif Winery and Chateau des Charmes for our free wine tasting. Reif is smaller and more intimate and have a great wine club. I am partial to their riesling. Chateau Des Charmes is always busy and a little impersonal but it is beautiful there and would be a lovely wedding venue.
The weather was fantastic for a walk around the outlet mall. It was busy and the designer stores, Kate Spade, Coach, Michael Kors and Pandora, all had the outside lineup. The mall has a pretty decent food court but it is always busy. If you are in the mood for more wine tasting, there is a Peller wine store that carries the Peller, Trius, Gretzky and Thirty Bench brands (all owned by Peller).
After supporting the local economy, I was ready to call it a day and head to Jordan for a relaxing night.
Downtown Niagara-On-The-Lake
A Day in Jordan
This was our first time staying in Jordan and what a lovely place Inn On the Twenty is. We had a beautiful King suite with a good size sitting area with fireplace, King size bed, a large bathroom with a tiny shower. It was a beautiful night and even though I was exhausted, we walked the kilometre up to the Jordan Tavern (they have rooms too) for some burgers and fish and chips. It was very noisy but the service was great. We enjoyed the quiet walk back to the Inn and spent a lovely quiet hour by the fireplace.
Another beautiful day greeted us the next morning and we headed out to explore the village. They have some fabulous boutique stores with a real emphasis on Canadian brands. We spent a lovely couple of hours supporting the local economy. There were a few favourites, continue reading below.
Tintern Road is a fabulous store with men and women’s clothing and shoes. It was here that I finally got my husband into jeans that do not start with Levi! She has some great Canadian designers and with the fabulous boxing day sale, I was able to pick up a beautiful Melissa Nepton jacket. Melissa is a Canadian designer from Montreal.
Shopping is hungry work so we stopped in at de la terre bakery for some breakfast. A quaint place with scrumptious breakfast and lunch items. I thoroughly enjoyed my Avocado toast with poached egg while my husband enjoyed his soup and grilled cheese. The organic artisan breads all looked great and the in-store made pastries looked decadent. Enjoy it all with a fresh cappuccino or herbal tea.
After breakfast, we had a wonderful visit with Mary at Pamela’s clothing store. You can find more Canadian designers here and I picked up a great Sympli top and a pair of Liverpool jeans! Would have loved to stay longer and have a cup of tea and continue our chat but I think my husband was getting restless. No, they don’t actually serve tea.
If clothing is not your thing, stop in at Cave Springs for a wine tasting and then check out the unique items in Beauty Safari where you can find items for the Bath, Body and Home. The store carries beautiful, one of a kind jewelry from Canadian artists. They are also one of the very few Canadian stores to carry the British line of Penhaligans perfumes and body products, specifically, my favourite, Quercus. The last store I will mention is up at the far end as you leave Jordan and lives up to it’s name of Avant-guarde Emporium, a collection of everything: Antiques, art, clothing, gifts, lots of stuff.
If all this shopping just seems too exhausting, simply walk along Main Street and admire the beautiful buildings and enjoy the nature around you.
Sharing with friends
Our final day was spent back in Niagara on The Lake at the stunning Queens Landing. Our TravelZoo deal treated us to a pre-dnner drink in the Bacchus lounge, followed by a credit in the Tiara lounge. It was a lovely surf and turf dinner. The following day we met up with our best friends and spent a wonderful day having lunch at the Irish Harp Pub on King Street, followed by some wine tastings at Gretkys, Q, Colaneri and Coyote’s run.
Colaneri Estates Winery has to be one of my favourites in the area. The building is reminiscent of an Italian villa. The winery is family owned and operated and every label has a story. Drop by and learn more about their history.
Gretky Winery is a great stop for families. Partake in some whisky tasting, wine tasting, a bite to eat at the outdoor cafe or spend some time on the ice. A fun way to spend a couple of hours.
Q, or Queenston Mile, winery is a very new winery with a limited selection of wines. The vineyards are located in St David’s bench area and have been around for 20 years. They have a couple of unique products such as the Pet-nat pinot noir rose. This wine is left unfiltered but don’t be fooled by the cloudy look, the taste is clear and refined.
Coyote’s Run Winery is a small boutique winery with very informative hosts. The winery is unique in that they have 2 soil types which each produce a different tasting wine. We really enjoyed our time here and left with several bottles of wine.
A very busy 4 days enjoying the offerings of Niagara On the Lake and Twenty Valley. I love this area in any season and every time we come down we see and do different things. Plan you visit ahead of time or do as we did, head down and see where the days take you.
Our trip ended with a quiet coffee with our great friends.
