LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2022

Riesling and Cabernet Franc are standouts. Close to Lake Ontario and beside the breezy Niagara River Gorge, the water cools sum mer’s heat and helps mitigate severe cold in winter. Farther inland, summer tem peratures sometimes soar dramatically, while potentially catastrophic April frosts can only be thwarted by the use of wind machines or even helicopters. None of which bothers most of the 3.5 million tourists who come to this area every year. Wineries used to benefit as add-on attractions for visitors to Niagara Falls and the Shaw Festival. Now, they’re destinations in their own right, some of them sleek, modern architectural state ments, others as grand as French châteaux. Many incorporate exceptional restaurants or more casual places to eat.

WHILE YOU’RE THERE

Willow Cakes & Pastries Niagara-on-the-Lake

Never mind wine or theatre; fans drive for hours just to taste the irresistible cakes and pastries at Catherine O’Donnell’s enticing little store. She is a true artist, and her butter tarts are the best in the world. willowcakes.ca

2 NIAGARA ESCARPMENT & AREA

The Gate House Bistro Niagara-on-the-Lake

Chef Stephen Treadwell opened the Bistro as a more casual option to his eponymous restaurant, but the farm-to-table ingredient quality is equally stellar. Relax with a pizza, burger, pasta dish or a fabulous salad on the prettiest patio in town. thegatehouse.ca

Spend some quality time with a wickedly runny butter tart from Willow Cakes & Pastries.

T here should be a statue to Adhémar de Chaunac in Niagara’s Benchlands. From 1944 to 1961, he was Director of Research for Brights Wines at their experimental vineyards at Vineland, passionately studying the viability of European vinifera varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, grapes that no one believed could survive a Canadian winter. While proving they could, he also introduced Vidal, Baco Noir and other hybrids to Canada, laying the groundwork for future generations. Backed by the towering Escarp ment, the folded slopes of the Benchlands descend to Lake Ontario, refreshed by reliable air currents and basking in light. Other wine growers saw the potential. In 1979, Hermann Weis, a viticulturist fromGermany’s Mosel region, planted 100 acres of Riesling, creating vineyards that would become the heart of Vineland Estates. A year earlier, the Pennachetti family had planted Riesling and Chardon nay in their Cave Spring vineyard on the Beamsville Bench—the origin of Cave Spring Cellars.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LINDSAY LAUCKNER-GUNDLOCK

112 FOOD & DRINK AUTUMN 2022