Niagara-on-the Lake turned out to be the perfect venue for my second date, from the food and wine, to the picturesque old town, to the sounds of the music festival, a little shopping and a small dose of history. How could he not be impressed with wine country?
And so he was. It was my turn to come up with a plan for Saturday afternoon which was to be our second date. Being quite the foodie and wine lover that I learned he was, spending the day in Niagara was a natural. Three wineries, I thought will be ideal, each with a unique focus, a stroll around the old town, quaint but with sophistication, a little window shopping, and a few stops along the way taking in the sounds of the music festival. This would be perfect. He enjoys a good band or quartet, this I know, as he plays a couple of instruments himself… hmmm we could do a duet, I could sing and tickle the ivories, but I digress.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Queen Street
We’ll top off the evening with a stupendous tasting menu over at Peller Estates. http://www.peller.com Celebrity Chef Jason Parsons rocks the kitchen, is a friend and a great guy with a big personality, I’ll have to introduce him.

Celebrity Chef Jason Parsons of Peller Estates
It’s all come together nicely, the plan is set, just hoping it will be a delightful sunny afternoon!
Saturday afternoon, the sun is shining and we are off, cruising down the highway, the top down and the tunes playing. Niagara-on-the-Lake is 1.5 hours from Toronto, easy drive with easy conversation and anticipation for the day before us.
Our first stop, Konzelmann Winery http://www.konzelmann.ca/ where we are greeted by the General Manger, Jensin Ozkur who personally gives us a tour, so passionate about the winery, the wines and the vineyards. Konzelmann Estate Winery was founded in 1984, although the family has been in the wine business for over 100 years with its origin in Germany, in the town of Uhlbach (not far from Stuttgart) founded in 1893. “This is the only winery in NOTL” Jensin explains “with vineyards on the lake”. The view is spectacular with the vineyards overlooking Lake Ontario, 16 hectares in all, made up of vitis vinifera grapes including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay Gewurztraminer as well as Zweigelt.

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