The Ivey Wine & Spirits Club strives to provide valuable education on regions, vintages and varieties of wine, as well as providing the opportunity to explore spirits from around the world in a fun and relaxed environment.
Our first event of the year was an ambitious one. A day trip to Ontario’s own celebrated wine region – Niagara, to sample wines from four distinct wineries.
Our first stop was Cave Spring Cellars, in the quaint little town of Jordan, Ontario. Here, our wine consultant, Brian did a wonderful job of describing the wine industry as it pertains to Ontario growers and vintners while walking us through a tasting of their acclaimed rieslings.
Next we visited Tawse Winery, where they use organic and biodynamic techniques, which include keeping a small herd of sheep on site to keep weeds and excess foliage at bay, as well as entertaining guests.
After a wonderfully relaxing visit at Tawse it was on to our lunchtime destination, the lovely 13th Street Winery, where we sampled aged Quebec cheddar along with 13th Street’s varied Chardonnays.
Our final stop was Fielding, where the staff showed us their wine-making facilities including their on-site barrelling and bottling facilities. We couldn’t help but put our Operations hats on as our guide showed us their small batch adapted bottling process.
Next month, the Ivey Wine & Spirits Club will depart Canada and embark on a virtual exploration of New Zealand’s Marlborough region – all without leaving Spencer!
Wine trip photos courtesy of RJS Bhatia
Darlene Santos completed a BComm in Business Technology Management from Ryerson University and has spent the past 4 years at Rogers Communications, in the Corporate Strategy group. Apart from her role as Social Media Senator and VP of the Wine & Spirits Club, she’s an active member of the Sustainability Club and the Marketing Club. When she’s not busy at Ivey, Darlene can be found baking cupcakes and watching sci-fi flicks.