Stratus Vineyards

We went to 7 wineries yesterday and this was by far my favourite experience. The winery itself is beautiful and the building is completely eco friendly. We were asked how many in our group (there were 12 of us) and a man named Fred took us into a side room (looked like a boardroom) to have a private tasting of 3 wines and an ice wine. He was sooooo nice and funny. We found out later he was 82– would never have guessed. We wanted him to come with us for the rest of the day. He explained the wines and how they made them and answered any questions we had. The wines themselves are pricey but delicious. We just had a great time here!

Wine was decent, almost double the price of most of the places around it, not really
Worth it. You can find wine similar or better for half price close by.

This Vineyard’s tasting room is modern and beautiful. We loved the sleek interior of the place. The outdoor patio was perfect for picture taking with a lovely view of the Vineyard. We were surprised by the prices of the wine tasting since most Vineyards $ 10 for 4 tastings. They also do not waive the fee if you purchase a bottle of their wine. My husband and I were not very impressed with the wines. They all tasted similar and lacked depth. The service was good and they indicated that the wines were good for aging. That may have been why we didn’t like them. Overall the experience was the same as the other Vineyards we went to and the price hike wasn’t necessary.

Spent a day visiting a few wineries around Niagara on the Lake and Stratus was recommended to me to try. The interior of the building is breathtaking but after walking in and browsing a bit, I felt a little intimidated! We decided to stay and do a tasting of four wines and I’m glad we did. Each wine was unique, bold and delicious. A favourite was the Tollgate Fume Blanc. The customer service was lovely and the man assisting us was patient and knowledgeable. We took our last tasting on the back patio which had a gorgeous view of the winery, great music and seating area. The wines are on the expensive side, with most priced at over $ 40. They are not available at the LCBO however so it is definitely worth taking a trip here. What a great experience!

***From my mother and I’s self directed wine tasting tour of Niagara– 6 vineyards /​/​1 day***
Wow. Even just walking in through the massive doors and looking around the room was an experience.
I was so impressed with my tasting here. First off we had a very interesting tasting guide, whose name was Mary. She was a bit abrasive, but in the best possible way. She really knew her stuff and helped us to get the most out of each wine we tried. I do take notes on wines and like some time to mull them over, so I do wish I had a few moments alone here and there, but that’s just nitpicking. She talked to us for quite awhile and seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say, she also recommended a great documentary to me (Somm) after hearing about my wine related ambitions. Anyways– enough about this, on to the wines!
The wines are where the ‘wow’ comes in. I was absolutely blown away by the wines we tried. The highlight for me was definitely the 2010 Stratus white. It was the best wine I tried all day. I won’t go into details as I’ll start drooling on my laptop so suffice to say despite the 44 $ price tag we had to pick up a bottle. The other wine we felt the overwhelming need to purchase was the 2012 Stratus ice wine, a bit of a surprise as neither of us are big dessert wine or ice wine drinkers. Mary really walked us through how to taste this one properly and the complexity and flavours we got from it were such a pleasant surprise. It was reminiscent of a really good strawberry rhubarb pie, just so delicious. The 2012 Chardonnay was also incredibly fantastic, and if it it was less expensive we would have certainly picked up a bottle. The only slight let down for both of us was the 2010 stratus red, which I found to be lacking depth. Although I find that to be pretty standard among Ontario reds.
There are only a few small things holding me back from giving Stratus 5 stars. The first is the prices. They’re not insane by any means, and they certainly are reflective of the wine quality, but they’re a bit steep for most of us common folk. Worth every penny, but definitely special occasion bottles! The other would be the very measured tasting glasses. They actually had one of the pour caps you see on liquor bottles at bars on the wines, which I found incredibly off putting. The 1 oz glasses definitely don’t cut it for me. The stingiest pours of any of the wineries, which is the main reason I don’t give Stratus 5 stars. But despite that I still say– WOW.
* The unbelievable ‘green-​ness” of Stratus is also a BIG bonus. It just goes to show– doing things environmentally friendly doesn’t sacrifice quality, it actually enhances it! *

This wines match their modern décor. Beautiful bookcases of wines and simple décor of orchids. I almost felt like I was in a library/​museum of wines, not a bad thing, eh? The large windows provided lots of natural light in and a beautiful view of the vineyard and outside patio area. The long marble tasting bar was a high class feeling about it. Well everything had a high class feeling about it.
The wine itself kind of matches it’s décor, modern and different. Most of the wines were blends which I liked with bold flavors. Flights are $ 10 each and we were able to share the flight we just had to share the glass. I don’t know if that’s what they usually allowed but we were the only ones there.
A cool fact, the winery is GREEN! The winery is LEED-​certified, built with recycled materials, I never would have thought that with the way the building looks.

So we decided to come here first because of its rating on Unilocal.We were wrong.
We have previously been to the region and had a lovely time visiting the wineries in the area. We were pleased with how friendly everyone is, how affordable the tastings usually are and have loved the tours we have been on.
We came here expecting the same, and received the opposite. Firstly, you can’t do a tour here. You have to book a tour for twenty something dollars each, four days in advance. This was said to us in a smug, pretentious tone from the pourer we had. In fact, everything she said was smug from the moment we walked in the door. She did not describe the wines to us but only made a few smug, critical comments, even when it came to our taste in wine.
In all honesty, we felt uncomfortable the entire time and just finished the samples to try and leave as quickly as possible. The wines were okay but the tasting is one of the most expensive ones in the area.
We are grateful that the other wineries we went to that day offered the same lovely people and experiences we enjoyed previously. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this winery.

Beautiful elegant tasting room. It has nice vineyard view through huge full length window. General ambiance reminds me elegant museum or library of wine. Staffs are friendly and attentive, very knowledgable about wine. Sell wine related books and accessories also.
Wines are good but they are overpriced. 2008 stratus Sauvignon Blanc ($ 29), 2009 Stratus white ($ 44) and 2008 stratus semillon icewine ($ 44) were my favorite during my tasting.

Signs by the bike rack says there are special service and rates for bikers but upon inquiry they said it was no longer offered. Service was mediocre and we felt rushed out as they were preparing for a wedding. Wines and tasting were also very expensive relative to the other wineries in the area.

This winery was absolutely fabulous! The staff was so friendly and helpful. The ambience was cool, clean and very modern. Loved the eco-​friendly design. The wine was great, too. Highly recommend a tasting or two at this facility!

A bit overpriced and a bit snotty in my book but I love that this winery is breaking ground in the area of sustainable wine production. So kudos for that! Also, their outdoor patio is so relaxing with a great view of the vines. Hubby and I tried 5 different wines plus had a bonus tasting of the Wildass Riesling which was quite tasty but not good enough to purchase. We ended up leaving with a bottle of the 2007 Stratus White. Our favorites were the 2007 Stratus White and the Petit Verdot. The Stratus Red was drinkable but seemed to be having an identity crisis. I definitely would have purchased a bottle of the Petit Verdot as well but it was our first stop and the husband and I didn’t want to get too carried away. The only negative about this winery is that even though we bought a bottle of wine, we still had to pay tasting fees. Lame!

An absolutely beautiful winery, with «meh» wines. I tried a wide variety, and ended up taking home a red ice wine but was not overall impressed. Our pourer touted the complexity of the various wines… by pointing out the number of varietals used in each blend. So, um, more grapes = more complex? How about… terroir?
In general, I am not a fan of the NOTL wines (other than ice and cab franc). Even though the local industry is more mature than the Fingers Lakes, ice wine is still the specialty (and that I can only take in small doses).
Other than the plate of sausage that I chowed down in a hot minute. Sausage = good.

The sleek look of this winery matches up perfectly with their well made wines. Both the red and white ice wines were out of this world.
The staff was friendly, the wine was great and it is definitely worth a return visit.

we took advantage of The Wine & Herb Festival
info — a weekend touring the 21 Wineries of Niagara-​on-​the-​Lake where each will feature a different herb-​themed food pairing matched to a premium VQA wine selected to highlight the flavour and aroma of the herb.
featured herb — Bergamot Crème Brulée with 2007 Riesling Icewine
review — amazing crème brûlée, nice pairing, modern elegant facility, they even had a spot reserved for hybrid fuel cars, my kind of place!!! beautiful outdoor area

Great icewines, but the table wines were not outstanding and seemed overpriced for the quality. It was cool to hear about their status as the first green winery/​first green building in Canada status, though.

One of Niagara Peninsula’s best wineries in my book.
Known for its hand-​picked grapes and their environmentally sustainable practices, Stratus has a good reputation. And it is all well-​deserved.
Both of their icewines (riesling and a cab sauvignon/​franc blend) are exquisite and sublime, bursting with fruit flavors without being too thick or syrupy. Amazing stuff.
Even their table wines were decent – their white blend (made from a half-​dozen white varietals such as riesling, semillion, etc.) was quite good, but what was even more surprising was that their red wine was actually quite drinkable (Niagara is not known for reds and they typically pale in comparison to California’s reds).
The young female pourer, who was attending nearby Niagara College, was very friendly and knowledgeable about wines, and we had a very pleasant chat.
One of my best winery experiences, not only in Niagara, but anywhere.