An inhabitant of Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

I enjoyed becoming a part of the Jackson-Triggs alumni this past weekend, on a refreshing afternoon, accompanied by desirable company. Our tour guide, Paul, was fantastic, his love of all things wine seeping into his words and their delivery. Obviously, we were just another cluster of wine lovers to be walked through the viticultural process of one of Niagara's most successful wineries, but one feels as though it is a exclusive peek into its inner workings, particularly upon our descent into the delightfully moody cellar. I'm positive that the wine tastes better down here!!!

I have always loved watching tidy rows of vines fllitting across my gaze whenever I tour Niagara wine country. (I'm certain that if you look up the word Niagara in some dictionaries, it will be defined as "wine country"!!) I've driven through some Niagara-on-the-Lake backroads around this time of year and have literally smelled the sweetness of the grapes in the air, virtually tasting it on my tongue. And the gnarled old grapevines that have been granted new life from having new limbs spliced onto their extremities (a fact that we learned from Paul!) always exude such character. As I watch them from the vehicle, while en route to nowhere in particular, I liken their existence to subjects in a flipbook, collaboratively dancing their obscure, quirky dance as my eyes jump from one twisted stalk to the next, each one exhibiting its own personality.

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved