🏡 Accommodations:
If you aren’t familiar with Niagara-on-the-Lake, the accommodations are quite pricey as compared to nearby St. Catherine’s. However, for good reason! It’s an adorable town and close to the wineries.
For Groups:
We stayed here for a bachelorette party and only wish we could have stayed longer! Right beside Joseph Estate Winery too and a quick bike ride to a handful of others.
If you’re only 2 people, I would suggest a nearby hotel or bed & breakfast. There’s a lot of quaint places to stay, both inside & outside of town.
Feel free to reach out if you want some recommendations!
🚲 Bike Rental:
Why take an Uber or drive, when you can have fun on a bike? 😁
Zoom Leisure Bike Rental & Wine Tours
@hollymarietravels
We always go with Zoom for our bike rentals.
It’s easy - go on the website and pre-order your bike. Full day is best.
If you’re at a nearby accommodation they can deliver for FREE (like we did). Or, you can go and pick up the bikes at the location.
Details
🗺️The proposed itinerary:
📍Stop #1 - Bella Terra
PondView at Bella Terra Vineyards
@hollymarietravels
The tasting experience here is truly a 10/10. The staff are extremely knowledgeable and the wines are excellent 👌
Don’t forget to take a walk out back for a self guided tour of the pond. Lots of photo ops.
⭐️Worthy mentions:
1. Sparkling Brut
2. Sparkling Rose
3. Chardonnay
👎What we didn’t like (personal taste):
1. Viogner - the taste is very strong and hits you in the face. I prefer smooth wines.
Details
📍Stop #2 - you have a few options
Option 1: Caroline Cellars
1 min bike from Stop # 1.
Disclaimer: Never had the wines or food here, but please read my description. It’s based on Google reviews:
Caroline Cellars
@hollymarietravels
Just across the road from Bella Terra. I would more so recommend this spot for lunch if you don’t want to picnic.
❤️The rustic building is quaint (I can attest to this) and there’s a restaurant to eat lunch, which is hard to find on the back roads.
⭐️Only $5 for 4 tastings
👎 Customer service is not the greatest. Wines are hit and miss. There’s better options out there.
Details
Option 2: Between the Lines
14 min bike from Stop # 1.
Please read my honest review first. Then you can decide.
Between The Lines Winery
@hollymarietravels
A bit more “rough around the edges” and a less refined experience.
❤️It is a smaller and family owned winery, which I love.
⭐️Noteworthy is the sparkling rosé. It comes in cans though (for me, encironmrntal consideration).
👎However, the person who did our tasting was a bit rude and not professional. This kind of tarnished the experience for us.
Overall note, could be a decent experience just depending on who you get. The Google reviews are excellent, so I think we just got a bad apple.
Side note - we had a picnic here at the picnic table.
Details
Option 3: Marynissen
13 min bike from Stop # 1.
Of the 3 options I would recommend this place the most ⭐️ Tried and true. Favorite winery.
Marynissen Estates Winery
@hollymarietravels
New favorite winery in NOTL!
The tasting room and outdoor space is quaint. Tucked away from the busy road, so it’s very peaceful to sit outside.
⭐️Noteworthy mentions:
1. Platinum rose (make sure it’s this one)
2. Blanc de Noir (sparkling)
3. Cabernet Sauvignon
4. Pinot Noir
Bonus:
🧀Charcuterie boards (limited quantity!)
🍹Sangria flights!
🐶Dog friendly
Details
📍Stop #3 - Byland Estate
6 to 13 min bike, depending which winery you’re coming from @ Stop #2.
Byland Estate Winery
@hollymarietravels
The smallest winery on this list.
It’s owned by a very kind couple who live on the property. So while you’ll find it not as “high end” as the others, it feels GOOD to support small businesses and hardworking people who put their entire lives into this.
⭐️Noteworthy mentions:
-Chardonnay
*They have a variety of Riesling,Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, & ice wine.
✅Bonus:
Good price for the tasting compared to other wineries
They also take large groups on short notice. Being small and lesser known, sometimes you don’t need a reso either (although still recommended).
Details
🍽️Dinner
Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery
@hollymarietravels
Farm-to-table restaurants are a must do in NOTL. Make a reservation at Ravine for dinner! Try the patio in the summer.
We went here for my birthday dinner, it was incredible.
A bit expensive, but understandable given the quality and local ingredients on the menu. Plus, NOTL is known to be expensive almost everywhere 🥲
🍷Bonus - you’ll be able to try their wines while you’re there!
NOTE ➡️For large group reservations, book well in advance. They cannot host large group resos on their patio, it’s a first come first serve.
Details
✅Wine tour tips:
1. Don’t rush ⏰
Biggest mistake people make (including myself) is underestimating how long you need at each winery. They say 1 hour, but I find this to be very rushed! Tastings can take time, plus you want to be able to drink slowly and explore the property/take photos. I recommend 1h 15 to give yourself a buffer, plus you need time to bike between the places.
2. Less is more 👍
Going off the first point, in my personal experience it’s better to do fewer wineries (ex. 3) then cram in too many. Take your time to enjoy yourself at the wineries.
3. Get a saddle bag for your bike 🚲
In case you fall in love with a wine and buy one, you’ll need a bag (warning, most likely will happen). Zoom rentals gives an add-on option for a saddle bag that goes on your bike.
4. Make reservations 🗓️
During the summer and harvest months, the weekends can be very busy! Especially at the most popular wineries and for group resos (4+).
I highly recommend this to avoid being disappointed if they turn you away.
You can make an online reso for almost all wineries. Or, you can just call them. For some tastings you can pre-pay online and avoid the hassle on site.
5. Start early 🖕
A lot of wineries close by 4-5 pm, so you have to plan ahead. Since you’ll want to get all of the wineries in without rushing, I suggest starting by 12 pm latest (11:30 am is even better).
* * *
