Stonewall Estates is the winery I’m telling my friends about.
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I → tell → friends
Its wines score in the mid-to-high 90s; the place feels like a wine collector’s country home; and the grounds are bursting with lush greenery and flowers.
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grounds → score → greenery
Yet somehow only those scouting wedding venues seem to know about it.
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those → scout → it
But Stonewall welcomes day-trippers, so go and enjoy a fall afternoon of wine tasting before the word is out.
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word → welcome → tasting
Bring home Sauvignon Blanc for your Thanksgiving turkey, Fleur de Glace for the pie and sparkling rosé to sip while the bird rests.
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bird → bring → pie
The winery is about an hour and a half from Toronto, Niagara bound on the QEW, and five minutes off the highway, through orchard-lined roads.
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winery → bind → roads
The winery
Stonewall Estates is housed in two weathered Mennonite barns relocated from Guelph and London, hemmed in by huge hydrangeas, Boston ferns and topiaries that soften their rusticity.
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that → house → rusticity
A wraparound porch doubles as a restaurant patio.
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porch → double → patio
And just beyond, rolling lawns meet mature trees, where a walking trail through the forest takes you to the water’s edge — and a quiet view from the dock.
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trail → meet → dock
Stonewall Estates is family-owned and run.
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Estates → own → ?
“In 2015, my mom started with a little garden.
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mom → start → garden
Then it got bigger.
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it → get → ?
Gardens are a huge draw,” says Alex Floto, the daughter who runs the hospitality side of the business.
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who → say → business
The venue hosts 50 weddings per year.
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venue → host → year
Inside the winery, everything looks lovingly accumulated.
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everything → look → winery
Dark wood shelves line the walls, filled with wine and books, eclectic treasures and brass candelabras.
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shelves → line → wine
Plants are tucked here and there.
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Plants → tuck → ?
A Victorian oak sideboard glows with lamplight, in front of a polished dining table with Chippendale-style chairs and set with china and stemware.
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sideboard → glow → china
Or perch on the porch for lunch or inside if it’s a bit chilly out.
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it → perch → lunch
The wine’s sweet-tart character balances the salty-umami-rich dish beautifully.
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character → balance → dish
“I could drink this all day,” says winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas as we enjoy a bottle over lunch.
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we → drink → lunch
Colas was born and raised in the Chablis region of France and has been making wine for 42 years, including 26 in Canada.
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Colas → bear → Canada
He also makes wine at 13th Street Winery in Niagara.
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He → make → Niagara
The place puts you in the here and now.
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place → put → here
You’ll be more tempted to thumb through a book from one of the bookshelves than to scroll on your phone.
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You → tempt → phone
Though the winery tries to accommodate walk-ins and is open year-round, it’s a small outfit, so book before you go, so they’re expecting you.
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they → try → you
The wine sweeps in with lift and power, showing black forest fruit, red meat, leather.
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wine → sweep → fruit
More Sancerre than Marlborough in style, this seamless white offers pure pleasure.
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white → offer → pleasure
The nose suggests hay, pineapple and green mango with a touch of crushed stone.
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nose → suggest → stone
More of the same echoes on the palate.
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More → echo → palate
And it slips in like white silk.
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it → slip → silk
Score 96
Strawberry and cream aromas laced with rose and ginger lead to a bright, crisp attack.
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aromas → lace → attack
Flavours call to mind memories of peach pie, sliced lemon and fresh berries, while a pithy note lends texture.
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note → call → texture
This amber-hued blend of Cabernet Franc icewine and barrel-aged Viognier is a late harvest style expression that teems with quince and toffee, apple, terracotta, iron, burnt sugar, cream, orange, peach, pear and more — kaleidoscopic.
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that → age → quince
Lip-smacking acidity tempers the sweetness for a dry finish.
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acidity → smack → finish
The Aporia
