Sunday, April 13, 2008
Life, Travel, In this Issue...
A river runs through it
Exloring Niagara, Ontario, Canada
CREDIT:Photos/ Courtesy of Tourism Niagara
IF YOU GO
Getting There…
Delta and AirTran offer direct flights from Atlanta to Buffalo, New York. Niagara-on-the-Lake is approximately a 45-minute drive from the airport; transportation is available by shuttle, bus, taxi and rental car. For border crossings, U.S. Citizens need valid documentation; up-to-date requirements are posted online at http://travel.state.gov/travel.
When To Go…
Wineries welcome guests year-round, but visit in January to take part in the annual Niagara Icewine Festival. Other tasty festivals in 2008 include Flavours of Niagara, June 28–29, and Niagara Food Festival, October 3–5.
Where To Stay…
Fallsview Casino Resort
Niagara Falls, Ontario
888-325-5788
www.fallsviewcasinoresort.com
Old Stone Inn
Niagara Falls, Ontario
800-263-6208
www.oldstoneinn.on.ca
Queen’s Landing
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
888-669-5566
www.vintage-hotels.com
Who To Contact…
Tourism Niagara
905-984-3626 or 800-263-2988
info@tourismniagara.com
www.tourismniagara.com
By Hope S. Philbrick
An ice jam on the upper Niagara River stopped the flow of water on March 29, 1848, for 30 hours, transforming the spectacular Niagara Falls into a pile of rocks. It’s never happened since, but even if the area’s biggest attraction were to disappear there are plenty of other reasons to visit Ontario’s Niagara region.
Located in southeast Canada between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, the Niagara Peninsula functions like that country’s Florida. Rich soil and consistent seasons create some of the best farmland anywhere, and farmers grow fruit that’s prized throughout Canada. Visit during harvest, and you’ll find fruit stands filled with peaches, strawberries, cherries, plums, pears, apricots, apples, grapes and more. Trust still thrives in this rural setting: Some busy farmers sell produce by placing filled baskets at the ends of their driveways with signs stating the price, and shoppers pay on the honor system.
Wine grapes are the key crop. The Niagara Peninsula is Canada’s largest wine grape-growing region; vines are planted on 11,000 acres and grow more than three-quarters of that country’s grapes. With more than 70 wineries in 10 different sub-appellations, the Niagara Peninsula boasts the country’s largest concentration of wineries. To make visiting wineries easy, pick up a copy of “The Official Guide to the Wineries of Ontario” from Tourism Niagara, and pull out the map in the center for guidance. Then keep an eye out for the blue signs posted strategically along the Wine Route.
“We have found with care that we can grow vinifera grapes,” says Joe Will, winemaker and president of Strewn Vineyards, located in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The Niagara region wineries produce a variety of wines in many styles, but Canada is particularly known for its icewine. In order for a wine to be icewine, grapes must freeze naturally on the vine. The juice extracted from frozen grapes is highly concentrated and very sweet. Icewine was first made in Germany in 1794, but because Canada—and in particular the Niagara Peninsula—has more reliable winter freezes, it has become the world leader of icewine. “We’re the only country that can consistently produce quality icewine every year,” says Gabriela Butera-Fuccillo, marketing and media relations manager, Pillitteri Estates Winery. “Icewine is really the main driving force of the wine industry here in Canada. I think it would be fair to say that Canada as a whole put icewine on the global map.” Pillitteri Estates Winery, which is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is the world’s largest estate producer of icewine.
Most wineries welcome visitors year-round and boast tasting rooms for samples and gift shops for purchases. Strewn Vineyards also houses Canada’s only winery cooking school. With hands-on instruction, proprietor Jane Langdon says, “We’ll give you some ‘wow’ factor and show you that you can do it.”
The Wine Route encompasses more than just wineries. Along the way, you’ll find the Niagara Escarpment—which was named a World Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations for its rare and diverse ecosystem—plus quaint towns with galleries, boutique shops, museums, hotels and restaurants. Some available entertainment options include taking in a performance of a play written by Bernard Shaw at Shaw Festival Theatre, gazing at the extensive art collection at RiverBrink, gambling at Fallsview Casino Resort and exploring history at Fort George.
On the Niagara River, Fort George was positioned at “the front” during the War of 1812. Now a National Historic Site of Canada, its costumed staff members bring the past to life. Learn about lifestyle differences between officers and soldiers, music traditions, period recipes, social customs and more. Then head across the U.S. border to compare Fort George with Old Fort Niagara because the Niagara region is the only place in the world where you can visit both an American and a British fort from the War of 1812 in one afternoon. “It’s been 200 years and where we once had guns pointed at one another we now have bridges,” says David Webb, chief of heritage presentation. “It’s a beautiful lesson we can teach the rest of the planet.”
Visiting Canada is the best way to celebrate our friendly relationship with our northern neighbor. SP