One of the more awe-inspiring wineries in Niagara-on-the-Lake is Jackson-Triggs, as it is very imposing and very impressive as you drive to their tasting room facility. Alan Jackson and Don Triggs started the winery in 1993, and they are billed as “Canada’s Most Awarded Winery.” The last time we were in the area, we enjoyed a wine tasting one evening at the resort that we stayed at, and we wanted to go there on our recent trip.

Jackson-Triggs is a very large winery and they have four distinct vineyards. They have two vineyards in the Niagara district and one very large vineyard in British Columbia. In Ontario they have the Niagara Estate Vineyard which is eleven and a half acres where they plant Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. They also have the Delaine Vineyard which is just less than one hundred acres in the Niagara Parkway. At this vineyard they grow Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Semillon. In British Columbia that have the Okanogan Estate of four-hundred-ten acres which has two smaller vineyards; Bull Pine Estate Vineyard and Bear Cub Site. Also in that province they have the Sun Rock Vineyard of one-hundred-four acres and this vineyard has hand harvested crops.

The winery was packed with wine tasters, and there were so many wines being offered that we decided to try their Icewines which the whole area is famous for and what we had tasted a couple of years back. We tried the Gewürztraminer 2014, the Vidal 2013, the Cabernet Franc 2014 and the Riesling 2014 and they were all excellent with their own unique personality. The Gewurztraminer had the spice that we enjoy so much and it was evident in the Icewine. The Vidal is the varietal of choice for Icewines in the region. The Riesling, I had anticipated would remind me of a Trockenbeerenauslese from Germany, but it was different from what I expected. The Cabernet Franc was very lush and it made my Bride very happy, as almost any wine made from that grape will. We also bought a couple of bottles of each, plus some smaller bottles to give as gifts, because we were that impressed. As busy as the winery was, we also had to stop and have, as they used to say, a “Kodak” moment, for those that are old enough to remember that expression as both my Bride and I both have the same initials of JT.