The cool thing about our wine region in Niagara is the sheer variety of winery experiences available to visitors and guests. In one day a person can tour a well established estate winery right through to the smallest start-up doing tastings in the barn… or their kitchen! Each winery works hard to provide really unique guest experiences from concerts, food trucks, movies after dusk, fireworks right on up to fancy cellar or harvest dinners. There is something for absolutely everyone.

That is why I believe that living locally, we are in fact, the luckiest of all. As Niagara residents, we don’t have to spend just one day exploring a few wineries.  We can do this anytime of the year, on any given day.

Well-known Niagara hospitality giant White Oaks Resort & Spa recently launched their own winery tour service.
“We had this brand new shuttle which holds 12 people with the purpose of transporting guests of the hotel into the town, to the Shaw Festival, over to the falls etc., for a nominal fee. It naturally evolved that we start taking guests to some of our key winery partners.” said Richard Reid, Executive Director of Sales and Hotel Operations. And so began, White Oaks Wine Tours.

For businesses, booking a wine tour to reward your team can be a great idea! You can customize a winery tour to include three or four unique experiences in one afternoon. There is nothing like getting out of the workplace and onto a luxury shuttle bus with your work peeps, cruising around to some excellent wineries – sampling the goods, and maybe having a little nosh – to boost the team morale. You learn some pretty important things about people when you take them out of the work environment. For example, my entire team discovered never to serve me chardonnay under any circumstances but any Niagara Riesling will be eagerly accepted. Now they know how to bribe me – just kidding. Well… sort of…

My team enjoyed seeing the inner workings of Pilliterri Wines, then jaunting off to a cheese and wine tasting at Rancourt and finished the day with a tasting and history at the amazing Between the Lines Winery. But Peller, Trius, Jackson Triggs, Ravine, Inniskillin, Reif, Coyote’s Run, are all waiting for another day, and that’s just a few that I can think of off the top of my head. That doesn’t even start on the fantastic wineries in Vineland, Beamsville, Jordan… the list goes on and on.

Anyone looking for an amazing day out, with an awesome customized experience can contact the concierge team at White Oaks Resort (905-688-2550 x5608). There are no prerequisites to book a tour, except of perhaps a passion for wine. Any local business can arrange to experience Niagara’s beautiful wine region and should!