When a friend of mine from Montreal wanted to visit me in Waterloo, I couldn’t imagine it would have been the adventure of a lifetime, where I finally got the opportunity to visit Niagara Falls. On the way to the Falls, we drove through the magical city called Niagara-on-the-Lake, not to be confused with Niagara Falls though.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a beautiful quaint town, which gives off a southern American vibe, with beautiful homes, homely patios, and of course renowned wineries. Wanting to make a stop for wine tasting, my friend googled “winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake” and we made our way to the highest-rated winery there.
The De Simone Vineyards had a 4.9 google rating, and was the only winery we visited that day, but was it worth all the “google hype?” It’s important to note that as a woman of color, I’m very sensitive to how I’m treated when I venture out on adventures. But once we arrived at De Simone Vineyards, we were greeting wonderfully, explained the process, and seated.
I couldn’t remember the last time I went to a wine tasting, so I was a little nervous because I wasn’t quite sure of the etiquette.
Once we decided which wines we wanted to taste, we were brought our choice onto a lush garden, where we enjoyed each sip from our selection. So did the experience match the google hype? Well, yes it did.
The tasting was phenomenal, and an opportunity to learn that the owner, Vincenzo de Simone is the youngest vineyard owner in the region. We learned about his family and about his childhood growing up on a farm, which made our connection to the winery deeper.
While many of you may want to venture outside of Canada for vacations, I know many of you are venturing out to the Niagara region. If you do visit this winery, please ask for either Vincent or Kyle.
Here’s a final tip, when you choose your selection, instead of ordering a full glass of it, consider buying the bottle.
Cheers!!
