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A local journey: wining and dining our way through Niagara Wine Country
By Rick VanSickle Like you, I love to eat. And probably just like you, I love to eat with people who love to eat as much as I do. No surprise there. And while the food is important, where it comes from...
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As harvest begins in Niagara, a bumper crop of wines coming to Vintages
By Rick VanSickle A common axiom wine growers in Niagara believe in is that there is no predicting a vintage until you get at least to the Labour Day weekend. Well, after a wet and rather dismal August...
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Nervous time for Ontario Wine Industry as Ford prepares to change the game plan
Rick VanSickle Saturday marks the first day of fall in the northern hemisphere, a time of immense anticipation for the grape harvest, but also one of hope for an Ontario wine industry that is facing an...
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The route to sweet success is tasting more wine and tasting often
By Rick VanSickle The threat of acquiring the so-called “cellar palate” is very real for many of the hard-working souls in wine regions around the world, and that includes Niagara. “Suffering from...
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How the Grinch stole Christmas from Ontario wineries at the LCBO, and how to...
By Rick VanSickle If alcohol is your thing, it’s the most wonderful time of the year, especially at Ontario’s booze monopoly, the LCBO. Also in this Niagara Wine Report: Local wines to grab at Vintages...
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Niagara winemaker took the long way home and it was well worth the wait
By Rick VanSickle The last bottle of Niagara wine made by Marlize Beyers was at Hidden Bench in 2016, so indeed it has been a long way home. Also in the Niagara Wine Report, a look at four new wines...
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23 Ontario sparkling wines that will put a little pop in your holidays
By Rick VanSickle The big Christmas wine releases at the LCBO are all but over for another year, and now the attention shifts to bubbles for the New Year. The Dec. 16 Vintages selection touts a range...
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Niagara winery owners, winemaker purchase sparkling wine facility
By Rick VanSickle The largest independent facility for making sparkling wine in Ontario has been jointly purchased by two of the Niagara’s key winery owners and a veteran winemaker. Hidden Bench owner...
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The Most Thrilling Niagara White and Red Wines of 2023
By Rick VanSickle As we unveil our Most Thrilling Niagara Wines for 2023, it’s also a time to reflect on a year full of surprises in Niagara. The 2023 harvest looked grim with wet weather plaguing...
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A fun look backwards at Ontario wine personalities through a camera lens
By Rick VanSickle In the classic Bob Dylan song, My Back Pages, he wrote: “Ah, but I was so much younger then, I’m older than that now.” I know, I know. The words “younger” and “older” are inversed for...
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