Stratus Finds Its Sparkle

We’ve had our pulse on all things effervescent in Niagara for a while now, and it goes without saying that the region is producing some exceptional, world class sparkling wines.  Stratus’ sparkling wine project has been something that we’ve heard a lot about (through the grapevine, if you will) over the years. Perhaps, you could call it Niagara’s worst kept secret. Luckily, Stratus’ foray into traditional method sparkling wine is no longer a secret with the launch of their 2013 Blanc de Blancs and its companion, the 2013 Brut Nature. The release of the 2013 Blanc de Blancs came to …

Holiday Wine 101: 10 Tips for Selecting Wine for the Holidays

Despite all the good cheer and festivity, the holidays can be pretty stressful – especially if you’re hosting and in charge of selecting the wine! So we’ve put together some helpful tips and tricks – call it Holiday Wine 101 if you will – to help take the stress and guess work out of selecting your wine for the holidays. Whether you’re hosting, or in need of the perfect host or hostess gift, these Top 10 tips will make your holiday wine shopping and experience as easy as can be!

The New 2019/20 Wine Country Ontario Travel Guide is Here!

The Niagara Peninsula appellation contains some of the most productive wine-growing areas in Ontario, shaped by the natural wonders of the Niagara Escarpment and the majestic Niagara Falls. According to Wine Country Ontario, the Niagara Peninsula provides ideal cool-climate conditions for wine growing and its diversity has resulted in the identification of 10 sub-appellations. Pretty cool, right? Some say that Niagara-on-the-Lake and the surrounding sub-appellation is the “Napa” of Ontario. While we tend to veer away from calling any place the “X of Y” because they tend to be less than meaningful, we do think there’s a little bit of …

Ring in 2019 with 19 Sparkling Wines under $19 dollars for NYE!

That’s right, you heard it here. You can absolutely ring in 2018 with plenty of quality sparkling wines that won’t break the bank on New Years’ Eve.

Gifts That POP! Holiday Bubbles for Every Budget

The holidays are all about family, friends and getting #festive! 🎉 But in between celebrating… the whole “gift giving” thing can be stressful. 🤦‍♂️ Thankfully, we’ve got the answer: Sparkling Wine! 😍 This year, we’ve put together a list of effervescent gift ideas for the Sparkling Wino on any budget. From stocking stuffers under $10, to a Methusela (or 6000mL bottle) worth over $10,000 (Oprah, you out there girl?), the options run the gamut so you can cross everyone off your shopping list. Looking for that perfect gift for your Grinch Grab or Hostess with the Mostess? We got you! …

A Sparkling Recap of VQA Into the Bubbles

If there’s one thing we love, it’s sparkling wine. We could talk your ear off about the diversity of the category, and not to mention blog about it all day long. If you’ve seen some of our ventures with the Sparkling Winos project – like, our Sparkling Wine Map of Ontario – you’d have noticed that not only are we passionate about bubbly, but we’re totally enamoured with what’s happening in our own backyard. So, it was with immense pleasure, excitement and gratitude that we took on hosting duties for Wine Country Ontario’s VQA Into the Bubbles event on September 26, 2018!

We Sipped, We Stayed, and We Ate… at Adamo Estate!

As you may have gathered from our posts, wine is produced in a number of regions in Ontario – from Niagara to Prince Edward County – and in other parts of Canada. In our beautiful country, the embrace of cool climate viticulture has created not only wonderful wines, but a truly special wine destination. From the Pacific to the Atlantic Coast, and inland along major bodies of water, viticultural regions are thriving and we have some trailblazers and pioneers to thank; people who saw the potential in the land to produce some seriously cool wine. Mario Adamo is one individual …

When Cool Climate Sparkling Wine Meets Cool Climate Cuisine…

Did you know that sparkling wine is one of the most food friendly and versatile wine styles? That’s right! Forget “red or white?” with dinner. You should be thinking “red, white or sparkling?”! Don’t believe us? 🤔 Well, give us the benefit of the doubt and let us convince you… twelve times over! We’ll take you through an exceptional twelve course tasting menu, and give you twelve examples of how the dishes from Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Backhouse Restaurant paired perfectly with twelve

i4C 2018: Putting the “Cool” into “Cool Climate Chardonnay”

This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending the 2018 International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4C) – and what a whirlwind it was! 😍 Not only did we get the chance to attend as Sparkling Winos (where, spoiler alert, we tasted some pretty spectacular Blanc de Blancs from around the world), but we also had the opportunity to capture and share the event through Wine Country Ontario’s social media channels which helped us to focus our time on the absolutely amazing things happening right here in our beautiful province. (Note: in case you missed our social media takeover, check …

A Weekend in Wine Country: Prince Edward County

We’ve been making our way out to Prince Edward County for almost a decade now, and it has been amazing to watch this corner of our beautiful province grow, with each passing year, into the incredible wine region that it is today. Every time we visit there are new experiences that “crop” up – from new wineries, to new restaurants and funky places to kick your feet up, to quirky shops and galleries – we can safely say that since our first trip back in 2009, Prince Edward County has really come into its own and developed some deep roots in the wine world!