Tawse Winery

Meh. Didn’t love any of the wines and it didn’t have the personal touch like the other wineries in the area. Stingy pours. However, they didn’t charge us for the tasting… That was the highlight.

Tawes is a world-​class winery– they can compete with any of the Napa Valley Vineyards that I’ve been to our Mendoza. Their wines are priced accordingly but they are outstanding.
This is a must stop — they got Canadian one year the year three years in a row for a reason. The cab Frank is the best friend dishes I have ever had, and the Chardonnay is buttery smooth and velvet on your tongue.
Be prepared to spend $ 20-​$ 50 a bottle but you won’t be disappointed.

This winery has tastings for 4 wines at $ 8. They’re one of the few who have introduced iPads as their menus, and allows you to scroll digitally through their wines, and click in for more information.
The tasting room is open until 6pm, which is great when most of its neighbours close at 5pm. This allows for a little extension to the wine-​tasting day! I like that the tasting room has floor-​to-​ceiling windows into the production area, much like the viewing room of breweries.
When we went on Valentine’s day, they also added a complimentary tasting of «Spark», their sparkling wine, and showed us a clever way to jazz up sparkling wine by adding a drizzle of ice wine to it. Delish!
Their reds also had some lovely aromas. Better smelling than all the other reds I tried that day, but on the mouth was just ok.
Overall tasting experience was quite ok. No new loves for the wine, and the service was pleasant but nothing to write home about. They gave us the tasting for free when we purchased a bottle of the ice wine, so nice touch.

Have enjoyed their Riesling at LCBO, but didn’t particularly care much for any of the whites or reds tasted. The experience was kind of meh here. Nothing to complain nor praise.

***From my mother and I’s self directed wine tasting tour of Niagara– 6 vineyards /​/​1 day***
Oh Tawse. I had such high hopes for you! A few months back I tried one of their rieslings at the farmers market near my house, and was incredibly impressed. I bought a bottle without hesitation and even my mother (who dislikes rieslings) loved it. I did some research and found out all about the way they run things there and was again, impressed. Big adorable bonus for the sheep. Unfortunately our tasting experience there did not live up to my expectations. The actual tasting room itself was nothing special and was over modernized in my opinion. I wasn’t a fan of the ipad tasting menu. I noticed most people were offered a complimentary taste of a sparkling or a rose, and the woman doing our tasting seemed distracted and did not offer us anything. I think some of that treatment was definitely due to my young age, but what these places don’t know is that I am pursuing a career in the wine industry, so I am just as likely to purchase wine as most of the older people coming through, and am going to be just as, if not more, opinionated. The biggest let down for me though was the wines. We did end up picking up one bottle– a Chardonnay Musque which I would rate about an ⁸⁄₁₀. But none of the other wines we tasted impressed us. I must say though the grounds of the winery are beautiful! The rolling hills of grape vines, the paddock with the sheep grazing and so on. There was also a food truck parked outside so many people were stopping to picnic on the grass, which gave the place a real lively feel. I will give Tawse another chance, but I do hope for some drastic improvements in the tasting experience!

I know you’ve won a lot of awards Tawse, but you did not impress me. When you’re wine tasting, your taste-​pourer can really make or break your experience. The gentleman that poured our wines was nice but was really curt and seemed like it was pulling teeth for him to be waiting on us… and we were the ONLY ones tasting wine on a Friday afternoon.
We weren’t very impressed with their reds, though they are (like the other wineries here) mostly known for their Riesling. Their Ice Wine was very good (light and smooth and not dry) and reasonably priced. We took away that Ice Wine, but felt obligated to, moreso than really loving it. Again, wine is subjective, so someone else could have a Completely different experience than us. This place came so highly recommended that we were so sad to be let down.

After visiting numerous wineries, I finally made it here. It is well-​worth discovering for yourself because…
1. The space is beautiful. Even in the dead of winter, the place is grand.
2. The staff knows wine and is eager to help. I appreciated the knowledge of wine matched with the quiet confidence that their wine was very good.
3. Did I say the wine was very good? Sample the Riesling and the Cab Franc. They also have a cab Sauv ice wine that is a surprise. It is wonderful and not overpriced.
Tawse, like other more elite wineries of the region, does command higher prices per bottle. Still, they are worth it.

Very elegant winery with modern setting of tasting room. Have good red variations and as well as whites. Tasting fee is $ 8 for 3 samples. Tasting room staffs were very professional and knowledgeable. Use good quality wine glasses to make perfect condition to taste. Their reds are very elegant, has depth and also character. My favorites were 2010 Chardonnay and 2009 Cab Franc. This is the must stop when you visit this area.

Canada’s Winery of the Year 3 years in a row (2010, 2011, & 2012). They did not get the hat trick out of luck though, as this place produces some quality wines.
While here my brother and I split a tasting on Pinot and Cabernets. The Pinot were excellent. Very nice to taste 3 from different lots around the area to see the qualities the different soil in the area’s could impart on the wine. Same thing with the Cabernets. Would highly recommend checking them out if you are in the area, or even if you’re not, they are worth making the trip specifically to behold the beauty of their wine first hand.

There seem to be a dizzying number of wineries along the Niagara Greenbelt these days. In my opinion there are three types: the large corporate /​established ones (Peller), boutique establishments that do well (Angels Gate, 30 Bench), and the really sorry ones that think that they don’t need to try hard because they think there are enough visitors for everyone and end up going out of business or becoming a subdivision… Tawse is somewhere between the first and second.
We hit up Tawse as part of a weekend road trip in the region and arranged for a private tour at each facility. For those that haven’t tried a private tour, I highly recommend it wherever you go, it’s usually only $ 5 to $ 10 more than the cost of a wine flight and completely worth it. The tour was fantastic, not only for the education, but for the unique experience and quality of wine itself. Tawse strives to be an eco friendly /​low footprint /​green facility: so part of the tour involved a wine flight in their vineyards among the animals (goats, chickens) that help maintain to the grapes. Our guide, was very obliging with all of our questions, and very generous with the tastings themselves.
The wine itself is definitely something special. I’ve sampled pretty much all of their selection and their Meritage blend is my new go-​to for a red meat type dinner. It’s not too complex and has a bold, fragrant and confident flavour with some depth. Basically, It’s wine that doesn’t try hard but turns out to be amazing in its own right.
If you’re passing by an LCBO, I would highly recommend you pick up a few bottles, and if you’re passing by the region, arrange for a private tour and ask for Jennifer!

Tawse Winery was the second stop on our recent wine tour adventure and we chose this place because we had heard it won winery of the year in Canada (helped by this online post here:
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).
Right away as we pulled up the drive we thought it was beautiful spot that had quite a lively atmosphere with people buzzing around everywhere. Definitely seemed like a popular stop for the start of November, which is nice if you like the excitement of people and tours, but not if you’re looking for more intimate stops. We were greeted nicely at the door as we went in and even though the tasting bar was very busy we were acknowledged relatively quickly. We were served by a guy and a gal (sorry, I didn’t get their names) who were both friendly and knew a lot about the wines. The guy was a bit more outgoing and cracked some jokes while we were tasting, which we liked as we are not the most serious wine tasters — we just like to go and enjoy ourselves and taste delicious wines.
For the whites I tried the Estate Chardonnay and the 2010 Riesling which is their 2010 Gold Medal winner at the Canadian Wine Awards. My preference was definitely for the Riesling, as it was full of taste, not too sweet, and had a lovely hint of citrus flavours. Probably my favourite Riesling that was tasted on this recent tour we did in the Niagara region! For the reds I tasted the Cab Franc and Merlot. They were not my preferred reds on this visit, but the Cab Franc had a nice taste to it that went down easy and was very smooth.
Overall, despite the busyness of this winery, we enjoyed our visit and walked away with a few bottles of Riesling which were drank pretty darn quickly. Worth a stop in the region for sure!

Tawse is a beautiful winery, tucked away in a dip of a valley; I came across it during the Tour de Greenbelt and just had to come back and investigate.
I’m a bit envious of the owners though, since the winery itself is attached to a private home; which apparently is the owner’s weekend getaway «cottage». The entire building is located at the end of a long drive with a water fountain; which helps keep the cellars cool.
Since I am a newbie to wineries and wine tasting, in general. I found Tawse is a great place to start my education in wine. Tawse is where I got my first lesson as to why I find that I preferred Rieslings over chardonnays, and the different between oaked and unoaked chardonnays. Tawse’s Riesling is pretty fantastic; I suggest picking up a bottle.
The staff at the boutique are super friendly and are knowledgeable about their product and the building the winery is held in. Even though Tawse wasn’t running tours at the time, we got a quick tour about the facilities, and about how they make their wine.
Decent medium parking, but they might not be able to handle a whole busload of people.

Great wine, good people
Showed us around the winery, ended up taking a few bottles home with us. Just a nice laid back environment. Seems like one of those places that the regulars come, grab what they normally grab and run out with fewer people doing tastings here…

This winery is awesome, particularly for one in the Niagara region. The building itself is modern with cool features. When you speak to the staff, they are so incredibly knowledgeable that it floored us. They are completely earth friendly in their processing of the wine and care of the grapes. They are a gravity fed winery which they claim allows the wine not to be «bruised» during the normal pumping that other wineries do. I am not sure about this, but they do make a really good bottle of wine. We tried five wines here and they were all well balanced and quite delicious. Give this spot a try when you are in the area.

Beautiful grounds and the most lavendar I’ve seen in Canada.
Fun, friendly, helpful staff guide you through a few of their glasses, including positive and negatives of their own product (s).
Tastings are $ 5 for 3 samples and if you buy two bottles, one tasting is free.
Picked up a fantastic Riesling and a Musque that was awesome.

Up on the «bench» near Niagara-​on-​the-​Lake is Tawse Winery, a relatively new establishment offering an award winning selection of Rieslings and Cab Savs.
While the facility is small, and the tour is short, I would highly recommend it as the winery features some of the most eco-​centric technologies and processes I’ve seen in the region. This includes, but is not limited to: unleashing a wave of baby lambs and chickens into the vineyard to prune, aerate, and fertilize the grapes. Plus, the winery itself and the surrounding area is absolutely beautiful.
Tastings is $ 5 per person. Limited parking is available. The staff all seemed very friendly and eager to help.