For anyone who loves wine, every day is a perfect day to visit Niagara’s wine country. The landscape is always lush and nearly without equal. The tours and tasting rooms are top-notch, and the wine — well, the wine is internationally renowned, so you know it’s always going to be worth your time. That being said, Niagara’s wineries also do an excellent job of curating a wide variety of events for oenophiles of all persuasions. For the November visitor to Niagara, here are three of those events.
1. Fabulicious
Fabulicious is a wine- and food-centered event that takes place twice a year — once during the dark and cold of February and once during the crisp and cooling month of November. This year’s November event is slated to take place between November 12 and November 19, and it will involve over 15 excellent restaurants in quaint and endearing Niagara-on-the-Lake. Enjoy specialty, prix fixe, three-course menus at discount prices at some of the Niagara region’s most prized farm-to-table restaurants. Both lunch and dinner are offered at most of the participating restaurants. Lunch is only $25, and dinner is just $35. While you’ll have to pay for wine on top of those fees, the reduced rates, plus the excellent wine pairings available are more than worth it. Especially if you love exceptional food complemented by world-class wine, come to Fabulicious in November, and get your fill of both.
2. Savour the Sights
A dinner experience offered by Jackson-Triggs winery, Savour the Sights is a night of near-hedonistic delights. Enjoy five courses of the best cuisine in the region, painstakingly prepared from the bounty of local farms. Each course is paired with an award-winning wine from Jackson-Triggs, and each course takes place in a different location of the winery. A progressive dinner that could only happen in Niagara, the entire evening and meal take place on-site at Jackson-Triggs for just $135 per person (plus tax and gratuity) and lasts from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on November 14. Get reservations and tickets ahead of time, as the number of people who can experience the night is limited.
3. Annual Nouveau Release Party at Reif Estate
If you’re up for a night of eating and drinking that’s a little more casual but no less Niagara-flavored, take part in the Reif Estate Winery’s Annual Nouveau Release Party, held this year from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on November 19. A tradition that never fails to excite, this year’s party will feature Reif Estates’ Gamay Nouveau and Kerner Nouveau.
Just like they do in the Beaujolais region of France, Reif Estates sets aside the third Thursday of each November to pop open the delightful, young Nouveaus — those bright, bold wines that are traditionally drunk in the same year their grapes were harvested after being fermented for just a few weeks. For just $25, you’ll not only enjoy fresh and delicious wine, but also oysters, local charcuterie, and local, artisanal cheese.
So, come to Niagara during the month of November. Whether you want the first fruits of this year’s harvest or a feast fit for a king, the region will be bursting with wine-centered opportunities.