About Birchwood Estates WinesBirchwood was established in May of 2000 and is committed to producing high quality, affordable wines, from premium Ontario grown grapes. Birchwood produces approximately 8,000 cases per year and has one brand available in the LCBO. Many wines in the Birchwood portfolio are available in restaurants across Ontario.
The Terroir of the Niagara Peninsula
The Niagara Peninsula is the largest Viticultural Area in Ontario (and Canada), accounting for almost three quarters of Canada’s grape-growing volume with approximately 11,000 acres of wine grapes in place. Situated at approximately N43º latitude, the growing season sunshine is comparable to the Languedoc-Rousillon in France, south of both Burgundy and Bordeaux, or Tuscany, Italy. Wines grown in such temperate climates can produce superior fruit, with more complexity and intense flavours than in warmer climates.
It is bordered by Lake Ontario on the north and the Niagara River on the east and the Welland River and Hamilton to the south and west. Where the Niagara River flows over the Niagara Escarpment, the most predominant topographical feature of the peninsula, the river is transformed into one of the seven great wonders of the world, Niagara Falls.
The Niagara Escarpment is a 335 metre (575 ft.) high ridge that winds for 725 km (550 miles) from New York State through Queenston, Ontario (near Niagara Falls) to Tobermory in northern Ontario, where it continues underwater to Manitoulin Island and then into the state of Michigan. Passing through the Niagara Peninsula, the Escarpment provides the essence of this appellation. Vineyards benefit from the lake’s offshore breezes, which are reflected back to the lake when they reach the escarpment, maintaining constant and active airflow. This circulating activity prevents cold air from settling in lower-lying areas during threatening periods of frost, and maximizes the moderating effect of the warm waters of the lake.
The region’s temperatures are influenced by Lake Ontario, which acts as a hot water bottle in winter – raising winter temperatures on land from its summer-warmed waters. In spring, breezes from its winter-cooled waters help to hold back the development of fruit buds until the danger of late spring frosts has passed. Lake Ontario also cools the summer air so that grapes do not ripen too quickly, and then keeps the fall air comparatively warm so that the first frost is delayed, thus extending the growing season. Approximately 85 % of Ontario’s VQA wineries are located in the Niagara Peninsula.
Sub-appellations within the Niagara Peninsula
As a result of decades of grape growing experience and extensive research, ten unique growing areas within the Niagara Peninsula have been identified. These sub-appellations include areas on the plains close to Lake Ontario and the benchlands of the Niagara Escarpment.
Wines owe their character to a combination of origin and the winemaker’s art. Together, they give us wines that are unique from the different appellations.
Only wines made from 100% grapes grown in a sub-appellation are permitted to make the corresponding claim of origin on the label. In addition to sub-appellations, two regions have been created to regulate the use of widely recognized names – Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Escarpment. Niagara-on-the-Lake may appear on the label of a wine sourced from the growing area east of St. Catharines and Niagara Escarpment may be used on wines sourced along the bench area west of St. Catharines. To use these regional designations, at least 85% of the grapes used must come from the named area, with the balance grown in the Niagara Peninsula.
Origin may be further specified by one of the following sub-appellations if 100% of the grapes used originate from the stated sub-appellation.
The Niagara Escarpment
The Short Hills Bench, Twenty Mile Bench and Beamsville Bench collectively form the Niagara Escarpment which represent the benchlands north of the Niagara Escarpment and west of St. Catharines. The Escarpment is widely recognized as a designation for all lands on the “bench” in recognition of this dominant topographic feature. To use this broader designation, a wine must be sourced from at least 85% of grapes from the area with the balance from within the Niagara Peninsula.
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