We are proud to share a blog post from world-traveler Chanel Brown, who is the blogger behind the site CulturalXplorer. Chanel participated in a Niagara Vintage Wine Tour where she toured three local wineries, one large winery, and one brewery. Find out which wineries she saw and what she learned below.

You can see the original post here.

Outdoor summer wine tasting party? Now, who doesn’t love the sound of that! Delicious food, crisp wine, and a warm summer breeze! What a great opportunity to spend a gorgeous day or night making wonderful memories with family and friends. We’ve put together a guide that can help you plan an outdoor summer wine tasting party that will go off without a hitch and be remembered for years to come! Keep reading to learn more!

Add a twist to a glass of your favourite wine! Oh yes, your desired vino is perfect just on its own – but why not add a little twist for some fun? Combining your best vintage with some sparkling, or even adding your favourite fruits can really enhance the flavour and mix things up a little bit. Keep reading to see some of our favourite simple, 3-ingredient wine drink recipes!

What’s better than a beautiful summer day? Spending a day in the sunshine with a glass of wine, of course! The key to a refreshing glass of vino, is enjoying it at just the right temperature. Now, red wines are usually best served slightly cooler than room temperature. But for white wines, ice wines, and sparkling, keeping it chilled is what truly makes the difference. Let’s explore four fun and trendy ways to keep your wine chilled this summer!

You haven’t experienced fine wine at it’s best, until you’ve sipped out of high-quality stemware. Surprisingly, your wine glass can have a significant affect on its contents. The glass can affect the oxidization and alcohol evaporation, ultimately altering the flavour and aroma. Not only that, there are certain factors that can help you tell a high-quality glass apart from the ones with lesser quality. Let’s look at some of the tell-tale signs, so you can start enjoying your Niagara vintage wine from a glass that’s sure to impress. With these techniques, you’ll become a wine glass pro in no time at all!

It’s finally here – patio season! Gone are the days of being cooped up inside. Now you can enjoy your comfortable sandals, pretty floral dresses and stylish Bermuda shorts, all while sipping your favourite cocktails on the patio. Let the sun shine down on your face as you enjoy a new spin on your favourite red wine. Here are three unforgettable red wine drink recipes that you can enjoy any day of the year, but especially during patio season!

Many of us enjoy drinking wine because of the experience of wine tasting. It is often a social pass time that brings friends together. If you’re interested in learning more about wine, being guided by an expert can give you an opportunity to really explore different kinds of wine and learn new tips and tricks! Having an advanced palate can really help you to further enjoy the experience. Chances are, you will understand what your group is discussing, learn something about a new kind of wine, or teach one of your group members a thing or two! One of the best ways to become a wine expert is to train your palate. With the right technique and effort, you’ll be tasting wine like an expert in no time!

Every wine enthusiast should have the proper tools to serve and share their wines. With the right tools and accessories, you can really take your love of wine to the next level. Certain accessories can make it easier to access the wine, store it, and even help emphasize the overall quality. We have gathered the top 5 accessories that wine lovers find helpful or enjoyable. Bring one home for yourself to use, or give to a friend who enjoys a glass of vino!

Q: What’s better than a bottle of wine to yourself? A: That’s easy, wine shared between friends! So, you’re invited to a dinner party with all your friends? What fun! A chance to mingle and reconnect with great friends, and over great food and drinks! Bringing a bottle of wine for your host or hostess is always a kind gesture. Regardless if it’s intended for the party or as a gift in general, chances are they will enjoy having an extra bottle around! Now, the question is: which wine do I bring? Here are several tips to help ensure you bring a wine that everyone can enjoy.

Who doesn’t love going out to eat? It’s time to stop slaving over a hot stove or washing dirty dishes! Going out to a restaurant for dinner can provide you with an opportunity to relax, a chance to spend quality time with family and friends, and to truly enjoy your food and drinks. Speaking of drinks, it can often be a little nerve wracking to order a bottle of wine if you aren’t particularly familiar with the drink menu. Fear not! There’s no need to stress over ordering the wrong wine. Here are a few tips to help you become a master of ordering wine while fine dining!

Having your favourite wine at your fingertips doesn’t have to be a luxury. Owning a well-rounded wine collection can be convenient, especially when hosting guests for dinner or enjoying a relaxing night in. Often, people picture a fancy and expensive wine cellar when contemplating the idea of beginning a collection. Having a collection of wine doesn’t have to be a significant investment or big ordeal. Here are some guidelines that you can follow while wine collecting.

Cheese and wine? A match made in heaven! This duo is notorious for making mouths water all around the world. For hundreds of years, people have been pairing wine with cheese for an enjoyable food and drink pairing. As you might already be aware, certain wines pair best with certain foods. The best way to learn how to pair the two, is by pairing wine with cheese. Different kinds of cheese will vary in: moisture, fat content, texture and flavour, while wine can vary in sweetness, acidity, and body. By combining the two, you can bring out flavours you never thought possible! Read more to find out which wine pairings work best.

Who wouldn’t want to go on a wine tour? On a Niagara Vintage Wine Tour, you have the opportunity to learn about local wineries and their products. You can ask questions about how the wine is made, what food pairs best with certain wines, and you can even ask about the history of the winery. With Niagara Vintage Wine Tours, you can choose from a variety of tours that are offered, based on your personal preferences. Many of the tours are available seven days a week, throughout the year. Keep reading to find out which wine tour might be the best choice for you!

Like any wine enthusiast, you deserve to have a cellar that you’re proud of. The good news is that you don’t have to break the bank to create one! The perfect wine cellar can be built on a budget. With the right space, and an eye for innovation, anything is possible. A wine cellar can properly store your favourite wine for years to come. Once you’ve created a budget and a plan, it’s time to begin!

Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your favourite Niagara vintage wines. There’s a wide variety of delicious and trendy wine recipes waiting for you that are perfect for a winter evening. From sangria with a hint of cinnamon, to vanilla-inspired mimosas, you can experience the decadence of wine from the Niagara region all year long.

The wines found in Niagara Wine Country are delicious representations of the area’s vinicultural offerings. But, what is it that makes these wines different from the rest? Well, what sets certain wines apart from each other is how they are made. Winemaking is a fine art that requires highly-trained experts and years of experience. Our Wine Smart Guides and wine specialists would be happy to educate you on how certain wines are made during your Niagara-on-the-Lake wine tour.

Once you’ve found a wine you love, the only thing left to do is enjoy it. Everyone has a personal preference on how they enjoy certain foods and beverages, but with wine there are certain techniques that can help to enhance the flavour, aroma, and overall experience of the wine in hand.

A wine tour presents the perfect opportunity to explore different wines. Not only do you have a chance to try a variety of wines, but you can learn about them, too! Our wine expert guides are more than happy to answer questions and teach you all about the wines as you tour through Niagara Wine Country. It’s important that you ask questions during your wine tour. This is the best time to learn about certain wines, which can help you identify trends with your favourites. Wine shopping will be a much smoother experience in the future once you have a better idea of what factors contribute to your personal palette.

A Niagara Vintage Wine Tour is the perfect opportunity to begin planning a successful wine tasting party. A tour will introduce you to the basics of wine tasting and provide you with a useful resource guide that’s perfect for entertaining. There are many perks to hosting a wine tasting at your home. Why not invite a group of your wine-loving family and friends over to enjoy a night of fabulous wines and quality time? Now the question is, how do you host a successful wine tasting party? In four simple steps, you will be well on your way to an enjoyable night full of laughter, loved ones, and of course, wine!

A wine tasting during a Niagara-on-the-Lake wine tour can be a memorable and educational experience. You can learn about local culture, taste different wines, explore different wineries and learn from the knowledgeable experts who are devoted to their craft. Learning about the basics of wine tasting can help to improve your overall experience during the wine tour.

A Niagara-on-the-Lake wine tour can offer an enjoyable and memorable experience. Wine experts and beginners alike can bond over their love for wine, while trying the latest vintages and varietal blends. Most Niagara wineries are open all year long, which may lead some to wonder what time of year is truly best for a wine tour. Although it highly depends on your personal preference, there are some factors to take into consideration.

There’s no doubt about it – planning a wedding can be stressful! There are many different aspects that need to be taken into consideration and details accounted for.  This includes the food and drinks that are served at the reception. If you plan on having wine served at your wedding, it may be wise to explore wines that will pair best with your wedding food and suit the tastes of your guests. A Niagara Vintage Wine Tour provides a great opportunity to explore different wines that you could serve at your wedding. For more information about Niagara-on-the-Lake wine tours, contact us today.

The fact that wine needs to be stored properly to maintain peak quality is common knowledge. However, knowing how to store wines properly is not as common. Unfortunately, you cannot avoid the negative effects of improper storage on a wine’s colour, nose, or taste. For some people, the change may be too subtle to notice or may attribute it to other factors. But if you enjoy wine, storing it properly will ensure maximum quality when you are ready to open that bottle. So what constitutes proper storage? That depends on whether your bottle is unopened or opened.

It’s important to store your leftover wine properly to ensure that the flavour and aroma last longer once the bottle has been opened. Unopened wine can be stored for years, but once opened it will only last for a few days. Once you have found a new favourite wine from a Niagara-on-the-Lake winery you should be able to enjoy it until the very last drop! You can inquire about the best ways to store wine and more tips and tricks during your Niagara Vintage Wine Tour.

The wines you will taste a few months and years from now will come from this year’s harvest.  While you are enjoying vintages of past years on one of our wine tasting tours, viticulturists are busy in the vineyards that will determine the next lot. Will it be an exceptional vintage year?  September to October is typically the harvest period for Niagara On The Lake wineries.  Wineries in Niagara will base their decision on the ripeness of the grape, which is measured by the sugar, acid and tannin levels. The style of wine they wish to make will determine the sought after levels of each component.

What better way to complete a day of wine tasting than with delicious and savoury food. Paired perfectly, wine can enhance the overall dining experience. But, if the choice of food isn’t quite right for your preferred wine, you might have a recipe for disaster. To find out the best way to pair wine with various dishes, attend your Niagara-on-the-Lake wine tour prepared with great ideas for wine and food combinations.