The third part of our trip to the Wayne Gretzky Estates was a tour of their winery and distillery. Complete with vineyard frolicking, mad scientists, moonshine wafting and Hogwarts potions class minus the robes.

The most exciting part of the experience was getting to compare different wines and spirits in a methodological and almost scientific way. I will likely never be a winemaker or master distiller but for a few hours I got an inside look into things like, how do you get different tastes out of the same grape?

The winery tour took us into the cellar and the freezer while passing by old world barrels and new age giant, cement, egg shaped fermentation tanks; as painted on the side of their building in the photo below. If you get the chance to visit, give the strange contraption a knock and see if Lady Gaga pops out. (See why I would never make it as a winemaker?)

Along the way we got to try wine throughout its fermentation process. Don’t fall into illusions thinking wine is just a process of grapes to youthful juice to mature barrel to Sunday dinner. Gretzky Estates winemaker, Craig McDonald, is a mad scientist. The fermenting wine is continually tasted and tested and going through blending sessions before the final product. Not to mention prior to all this there is a pressurize carbon gun involved.

Whisky and spirits making is just as intricate. Our group crowded around towering pipes of clear liquid to listen to Master Distiller Joshua Beach talk about distilling as though we were in Charlie in the Chocolate Factory. While Josh is Willy Wonka in this story, the look in his eyes and gestures as he spoke was more like that of a kid in a candy store. Full of excitement and passion.

For the BC readers, Josh is one of the co-founders of East Van’s Odd Society!

In my hand is a cup of raw spirit. Like moonshine, enough to make you go blind.

For all the casual connoisseurs and Hogwarts prospects, the Whisky tour concluded with a half hour tasting session where we sat in front of this wooden table that opened up to reveal the supplies for Potions 101.

We got to try their “artisanal spirited wines.” There’s Vidal, Muscat and Rose. Served straight, on the rocks or in cocktails; think of them as 40% ABV grape juice but not. These grape based spirits are a collaboration between winemaker and distiller. It’s definitely not a wine but it’s not exactly like any other spirit either. Could make a fun substitute for rum or gin on an adventurous night. The bottles and labels are pretty sweet too.

Following the spirited wines we dove into their Red Cask, Ice Cask and Ninety Nine Proof whiskies. One of the most unique things about the Wayne Gretzky Estates is that their whiskies are finished in their own wine casks. Essentially, they have more control over their product in this way and from a sustainability standpoint it’s great too!

Going back and forth between three with sips to figure out my favorite, the winner in my books is the Ninety Nine Proof.  Despite a 49.5% ABV, it is very smooth.

Beyond the tours, Wayne Gretzky Estates has lots to offer for visitors. If you’re there in the winter, you may even get a chance to go skating on their pond!

Want to know how their whiskies and wines go with food? Read about their dinner pairing experience.

In addition to tours and dinners, they also host cocktail workshops.

Address:
219 Niagara Stone Rd, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

Website: https://www.gretzkyestateswines.com/

Once a month, Wayne Gretzky Estates throws a dinner party where they pair 3-course meals with both a wine and a whisky cocktail pairing. After each course, every diner places a secret vote (via sacred voting popsicle sticks) for either the wine or the whisky cocktail pairing. When we were invited to visit, the score of dinners-past was tied between these two rivals.

As a stand-alone happy hour drink, I’d take cocktails over wine any day. So I thought I knew exactly how I would vote. Much to my surprise, my feelings towards these drinks are very different when they’re side by side and in front of food. Because come on, who orders both a glass of wine and a cocktail at the same time with their meal? I was a lucky gal that night.

The first course was a hearty chorizo minestrone soup with a crunchy baked biscuit cheese straw, house Berkshire prosciutto and a ball of fresh mozzarella. The textures of this finger food is a timeless pairing in itself.

Shooting for the cocktails in round one, “Indiana Jones and the Fennel of Doom”, has a name that spoke to the nerd in my heart and vintage champagne glass that spoke to the hipster in my eyeballs. And the taste? A cool and refreshing breeze from muddled basil, mint and fennel with a little spice from the whisky.  Estate mixologist, Zac Kvas, passionately told us a whole story around how he matched the flavours to our food and why he named it what he did. There was something very culinary about the approach to pairing flavours. It makes me think cocktails don’t always get the respect they deserve.

Wine pairings in general on the other hand, is a tradition so deep that every dish is one infographic away from its perfect pairing. That night, the appetizer was paired with a Wayne Gretzky Estate Chardonnay 2013. Crisp, light, and refreshing. It was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the lavender from the cocktail workshop earlier that evening. As much as I love the thought and creativity behind the cocktail, there is something undeniably right about the simplicity of a good wine and food pairing.

The main course was a whisky caramel pecan crusted lamb shank, 6 oz. grilled lamb sirloin and merguez sausage. Not pictured above but the course also came with some icewine marinated red cabbage, white bean and chorizo cassoulet, heirloom carrots and some amazing onion rings.

Playing for the wine team was the Wayne Gretzky Estate Series Red 2015. Maybe I’m just a child trapped in a grown-up body, but despite a table with double the usual glassware, there’s something comfortably casual about chilling with red wine and a fist of onion rings over chit chat at a communal table. The juxtaposition of fine dining with down-to-earth trimmings was a nice surprise.

The cocktail pairing, “My Mint of the Lambs”, was self-assemble concoction of whisky and cherry in a smoked glass. Complex and boozy but tasty. My pick for round 2? If scoring was based purely on taste complimenting ability, it would be the wine. If it was based on how much the drink adds in terms of excitement and pensive thoughts over food, definitely the whisky.

We had our dessert outside by the whisky bar next to roaring fire pits. A creamed whisky cheesecake bar, a “caramel popcorn, dark chocolate and toffee pear” and an unassuming strawberry marshmallow. The trick is to roast it in the fire. Even in Ontario wine country, a trip outside the city, is never complete without some flames.

The wine was Wayne Gretzky Estate Vidal Icewine 2016. The whisky selection, and the shining winner of the night, Wayne Gretzky Cream Whisky on ice. It was essentially their own version of Bailey’s. It’s labeled as a “Canadian cream liquor” made of “fresh Ontario cream”. I love cake and all but I wouldn’t mind if this were my only dessert on a night out.

Some fancy set-course meals are never enough food or booze to be called a real dinner. This is not one of those. When you visit Wayne Gretzky Estates for the dinner pairing you will eat, drink and be merry. If you’re lucky, maybe it’ll be cold enough for a round on their skating pond after you dine. If educational pursuits are more your thing, there’s always the cocktail workshop or winery/distillery tour and tastings too.

Address:
219 Niagara Stone Rd, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

Website: https://www.gretzkyestateswines.com/

On a beautiful autumn evening with a warming whisky in hand, we watched the passionate mixologist Zac Kvas of Wayne Gretzky Estates craft cocktails to a soothing symphony of crackling fire pits.

The Great One’s winery and distillery is located in Ontario’s wine country in the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Once the first capital of Upper Canada, the town is now home to heritage buildings, rolling vineyards and a handful of distilleries.

We were lucky to have been invited to enjoy the full experience of the Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery and Distillery at the end of October. On top of tours and tastings , they also have wine/whisky food pairing dinners and a special Canadian whisky cocktail class with their estate mixologist.

A friendly Zac greeted us with smiles, stories and, of course, drinks. He moved fluidly behind the estate’s Whisky Bar while never missing a beat in conversation. We went from talking about The Goonies to how all of the spirits used at their bar (ex. vermouth, bitters) are made in-house. That was impressive to hear and made me see just how much thought they’re putting in these drinks. Before we knew it there were 20 glasses of an autumn themed cocktail before us.

Aptly named the “Rusty Skate”, this cocktail contains Wayne Gretzky Ice Cask Whisky, a house-made Campari like spirit, a house-made pumpkin syrup, allspice and ginger. Boozy and a little sweet. This was the perfect introduction to loosen us up before heading into the classroom.

Clearly not your average classroom. We sat down to settings of 3 shot glasses, a mason jar, a shaker and a plate with mint, lemon and a gooseberry.  Zac gave us a rundown on the basics of whisky mixology and a quick history lesson on cocktails and pirates.

Following his teaching we made our own cocktails. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon and test my chops at mixing a real drink for the first time. I must admit, between my small hands and general apprehension to making a mess, I need further training on this shaker contraption.

We also tasted the earthiness of a freshly smoked cinnamon and vanilla infused whisky! First impressions of the whisky on its own: flavourful and lighter than other whiskies. A lot like how Canadian whiskies are usually described. It wasn’t until later in the visit, during the whisky tour and tasting , when I learned new ways to admire whisky.

Luckily, this wasn’t the end of the cocktails on this visit. Every month, the Wayne Gretzky Estates hosts dinners that pit cocktails against wines for food pairings. As a hands down beers over cocktails over wine kind of woman, I thought I knew exactly how that would go down on my palate. Boy was I surprised.

Address:
219 Niagara Stone Rd, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

Website: https://www.gretzkyestateswines.com/