Introducing The Great Canadian Wine Coach
Niagara Grape & Wine Festival Adds New Service To Help Wine Lovers Find Sensational Canadian Alternatives For Standard American Sips
ST. CATHARINES, ON, Sept. 22, 2025 /CNW/ - All roads lead to Niagara for Canadian wine drinkers missing their favourite American wines. Attendees at Niagara Grape & Wine Festival's Montebello Park Wine and Culinary Village in St. Catharines on September 26 through 28 will have access to an all-new service designed to help wine enthusiasts who typically drink U.S. products find Canadian alternatives that are equally as enticing.
After asking a few strategic questions about the US wines they have enjoyed in the past, the Grape & Wine Festival's Great Canadian Wine Coach will provide customized Niagara VQA wine suggestions with similar characteristics and flavour profiles. Colour-coded cards will help attendees quickly find new favourites from the over 100 Niagara wines available for tasting in Montebello Park during the Festival.
In addition to finding a new favourite Canadian wine, Grape & Wine Festival attendees can savour delicious wine-friendly food pairings, like Smoked Shrimp Tacos With Garlic Lime Aioli, Pulled Pork Sandwiches With Apple Kale Slaw, and Burrata With Grilled Niagara Plums And Prosciutto, try tasty Niagara wine-based cocktails, sit in on wine and cheese seminars, and groove to an ever-changing soundtrack of Canadian music showcased throughout the weekend. Admission to the Montebello Park Wine & Culinary Village is free on September 26, 27, and 28. Optional experience upgrades, like VIP Wine Cabanas, which include the services of a dedicated Wine Butler, and Harvest Lounge access, which offers comfy seating and premium wine selections, are available for purchase.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Niagara Grape & Wine Festival is without a doubt the best place on the planet to celebrate the amazing grapes and incredible wines that are grown and made right here in Canada! It's going to be a Glasses Up kind of weekend, and for anyone who is still feeling unsure about what to pour in theirs, our Great Canadian Wine Coach is ready and waiting to serve up some spot-on Niagara wine suggestions," said Niagara Grape & Wine Festival Executive Director, Dorian Anderson.
Those not familiar with the Canadian industry are often surprised to learn of the critical acclaim that bottles from this side of the border are generating from the world's wine critics. Ontario VQA Wines brought home 209 medals, including a Platinum Award for Niagara's Reif Estate Winery, from the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards 2024. Fifteen of the 21 wineries serving their wines at this year's Montebello Park Wine & Culinary Village have medaled at the Decanter World Wine Awards in the past 2 years. At the 2025 International Wine Challenge (IWC), one of the world's largest, most scrutinized blind-tasting wine competitions, Canadian wineries won 24 more medals than last year, coming in 12th place out of 36 winemaking countries with nine Gold medals, 41 Silver and 33 Bronze. The Niagara Peninsula was the standout Canadian region this year, winning three IWC trophies.
For complete Grape & Wine Festival programming details, please visit www.niagarawinefestival.com.
About Niagara Grape & Wine Festival
Thanks to generous support from the City of St. Catharines, the Grape Growers of Ontario, the Wine Marketing Association of Ontario, the Ontario Government's Experience Ontario program, and many other generous sponsors, the 2025 Niagara Grape & Wine Festival, Canada's oldest and largest wine festival, is celebrating its 74th anniversary. This final weekend of the Grape & Wine Festival at St. Catharines' Montebello Park offers dozens of creative ways to celebrate Canadian wine, food, music and fun. For complete details, visit www.niagarawinefestival.com.
SOURCE Niagara Grape & Wine Festival
Dorian Anderson, Executive Director, [email protected], 905-933-5737
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