Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
After several years' absence (I looked it up and I'm sorry to say it was the summer of 2006!!), we're headed to visit our Ontario friends this summer. Our first stop was with Brian and Jeanette, and their poodle, Suzi. The last time we visited, we stopped by their place in Mississauga. This time, we were able to spend a little more time at their "weekend place" in the quaint little town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The fact that this is HQ for one of the fastest growing wine regions in Ontario (get it, "growing"?) turned out to be a big plus.
We headed across the border yesterday morning and met them at their place. After "the tour", we were off for entertainment. Brian and Jeanette are consummate tour guides, having already worked through the stops and activities. First up, we attended a concert as part of the "Music Niagara" music series, held at Stonechurch Vineyards. After the music and a tasting there, it was off to Ravine vineyard for lunch in their bistro, followed by a driving tour of the local area, including the Niagara Escarpment and the village of NOTL (as it's locally abbreviated). We then made a quick trip back to the coach on the New York side (it's about a 25 minute drive, plus time for the border crossing) to get the puppies so they could come back with us to enjoy a nice barbeque. We ended up getting home right around midnight. No queue at the border at that hour!
Today, we headed back to NOTL for a few more wineries. We started at Southbrook (lunch followed by tasting), then Stratus (tasting at a very modern facility) and ended up at Peller, where we did our final tasting of the day.
We had a great time and enjoyed the time with Brian, Jeanette, and Suzi, and are psyched to return in the future and spend a little more time in "wine country".
When we got home last night, we were surprised to see Wayne and Eva's coach parked a few doors down; they arrived from Maine a day early. We caught up with them a little bit this morning and afternoon, as they are doing Niagara Falls today and tonight. They are headed to Michigan and Wisconsin like us, but they'll go via Cleveland and Toledo while we're going around the North side of Lake Huron via Sault Ste. Marie. We'll catch up again around August 1 at the first Monaco Rally.
 |
| Geri, Jeanette, and Brian are ready for lunch and tasting at Southbrook. |
 |
| Barrels behind glass - Mmmm... |
 |
| Ultra-modern Stratus Winery |
 |
| Had to stop for local fresh garlic on the way home! |
No comments:
Post a Comment