Lakeside Niagara wines for Ontario wine lovers and enthusiasts who seek distinct flavour wines that are locally grown with care and crafted not manufactured.
About the winery
What it means for the Wine Lover and Enthuasist
Family owned vineyard and winery
The Lizak’s have owned the farm since the 1940’s. Initially a fruit farm, turning to grapes early 2000
The winery was started in 1999. Initially, producing fruit wines, turning to grape wines in 2001
On the farm farmers – not a corporate investment
Lakeside location
Sandy fertile loam soil that drains well keeping water away from the vine roots
Micro-climate moderating temperature extremes
Fruitier grapes with excellent acidity levels from stronger harvests that don’t need supplemental blending or imported grapes from other vineyards
Regionally rare, difficult varietals like Semillon, Malbec, Merlot and Petite Verdot
Fruit growing heritage
More challenging and labour intensive growing practices brought to growing grapes
Includes the following practices:
- Pruning for fewer buds per vine
- Selective thinning for fewer grape bunches per vine
- Manual de-leafing for more sunlit, airflow and mildew control
Lower volume of grapes with a bigger berries, better acidity
Vine-to-wine quality control
Bio-dynamic farming
Organic(ish) practices including bio-fertilizer, fewer insect spraying with only the weeds between wine rows sprayed
Less harmful to the environment and humans without compromising grape quality
Local, estate and varietal purity
Only 85% of a wine must come from Niagara grapes to qualify as Ontario, Niagara VQA. Blended in Ontario can mean that the grapes come from outside of Ontario
All our vintages contain 100% estate grown grapes
We strive for 100% single varietals, even though legally a varietal label vintage can contain up to 15% other grapes
Blends are similar
Grape farming is not a science – rarely harvests necessitate blending in single varietals and using off the vineyard grapes to maintain flavor profiles
True to grape flavour profiles
Vine to wine quality control
100% Canadian, Ontario grown grapes