Nothing signals the arrival of spring than the Niagara region’s wine tours! You may recall that last year a few girl friends and I explored the Twenty Valley area on a new wine tour. That was our first year exploring the Jordan area wineries as part of a passport program and I knew we had to go back again this year. This year even the hubs wants in on the ride. Today we not only are going to share which wineries we’re most excited about but also have a chance for TWO winners to each win a pair of tickets to Get Fresh in Twenty Valley.

If this is the first time you’re hearing about Get Fresh, think of it as a self guided wine tour through 22 wineries. Each winery has a sample sized glass of wine paired with an hor d’oeuvres sized food option waiting for you. Get Fresh happens during the last three weekends in April and your passport priced at $40 + HST  gives you weekend long access to the wineries. It’s one of the most wonderful ways to learn about the Twenty Valley area wineries and to meet some of the wine making families. Last year many of the winemakers were serving and we got a chance to chat with them and learn about the inspiration behind the wines.

 

 

Our group does a day tour and returns the same evening by hiring a limo to take us to about 15 wineries. We don’t get to visit all 22 but we do get a fair number of them by being disciplined and planning our route ahead of our visit. Get Fresh does offer designated driver passes for $30 which comes with a mocktail and food pairing, so if you have someone who wants to take that route, it’s always an option.

There’s so many fabulous offerings and below are the ones I’m MOST excited about visiting (I really do base most of my decisions on the food pairings and then ensure we have a red and white wine balance) :

 

Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery : 2013 Baco Noir  and Bacon Salad ( I loved meeting her mom last year!)

Vineland Estates Winery : 2012 Chardonnay Musque paired with Smoked Whitefish Taco, Pico de Gallo, Pickled Cucumbers & Crème Fraiche

Mike Weir Winery  : 2011 Dry Riesling and Double Smoked Bacon, Asparagus & Spring Pea Salad with Basil Lemon Crème Fraiche

Tawse Winery : 2013 Unoaked Chardonnay and Homemade Corn Dogs with Celeriac & Apple Remoulade

Kacaba Vineyards and Winery : 2014 Rebecca Rosé or 2011 Pinot Noir and Rustic Pan seared Crostini topped with Fresh Arugula &
Almond Pesto, pickled red onions & Pingue’s Capicollo ( Love that they offer both a red and a white/Rosé)

GreenLane Estate Winery : 2013 Rosé and BBQ Chicken Pizza ( Excited to visit a new to us winery!)

13th Street Winery : White or Red Palette and Cuban Black Bean Soup with Cilantro & Sour Cream Drizzle ( again great choice serving both red and white!)

Rockway Vineyards : 2013 Vidal Icewine and Peach Cream Tart

 

One of the challenges we encountered last year was that there were a lot more whites than red. I solved that by purchasing a few bottles of red for our limo journey ( I may have been the only red drinker on our tour though). This year I think the theme for me is going to be Rieslings and learning about the various differences as there’s quite a few on offer (6 out of the 22 wineries are offering Rieslings). I’m pumped for our visit and here’s your chance to win ONE of TWO pairs of tickets to Get Fresh in Twenty Valley! Good luck!

 

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