Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/375259
32 w e s t w o r l d | F a l l 2 0 1 4 It's late October – the tail end of har- vest time – and I'm driving with my friend Illya through Niagara-on-the-Lake wine country. Just an hour from downtown Toronto, we're passing rows of emerald vines, their grapes plum-purple and rain-splashed. The grass verge by the road has become a landing pad for yellow, orange and red maple leaves. Just ahead we spot a giant metal fork. Taller than a person and glinting against a grey sky, the sculpture signals our first stop on a weekend winery tour: e Good Earth Food & Wine Co. A wine-tasting trip might conjure up images of burrowing one's nose into a glass then swirl- ing a sample in the mouth before spitting into a silver receptacle and proclaiming: "I'm getting leather notes . . . lovely mouthfeel . . . remarkably like an '83 Bordeaux!" But you don't need to be an expert to appreciate Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, where 27 wineries sit between the Niagara River Parkway and the shores of Lake Ontario. Here, resident sommeliers have official job titles such as Sparkler Goddess, Wine Wench and Wine Lover, and they don't mind if you drain your glass or ask a dozen questions. But this trip is about much more than wine. "Betty's Blend is the everywoman of our list and has been a real crowd-pleaser from day one," says Kara Wille, retail manager at e Good Earth Food & Wine Co. She pours Illya and me a glass out on the covered heated patio, where we sit beneath timber beams, fleece blankets warm- ing our legs. "It was named after owner Nicolette Novak's mother, Betty, and it's a Chardonnay- Riesling-Sauvignon Blanc blend – elegant and Beyond THE On a leisurely tour of Niagara's wine country, tasting rooms are just the starting point by Valerie Howes