February 16, 2015
FALL FEST (free event)
When: Saturday and Sunday, October 25 & 26
What: It's the season to GET COZY! Help us celebrate the last weekend of the Moyer Marquee with live music, wine, food, cozy fire pits, lawn games and FUN.
Join us the weekend of October 25/26 for live music from BY DESIGN DUO (Saturday) and THE FEVERISH LEMONS ACOUSTIC DUO (Sunday), as well as award-winning wines and food by SMOKE & MOONSHINE FOOD TRUCK.
This is a free, outdoor event! Wine & food available for purchase. Dog friendly. Event open from 11 am to 5 pm both days, live entertainment 1 pm to 4 pm.
November 2025
THE GREAT GRILLED CHEESE EXTRAVAGANZA
When: Saturday, November 1st 11-4:30, Sunday, November 2nd 11-4
Where: Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery
What: Experience the best grilled cheese sandwiches of your life, each one perfectly paired with our wines! It’s a celebration of Sue-Ann’s long-time love affair with inventive grilled cheese sandwiches. “Why have tomato soup with your grilled cheese, when you could have wine?”
Ticket-holders are welcomed with a refreshing sip of our Fancy Farm Girl sparkling before setting off on a delicious cheese adventure. Four fabulous grilled cheese stations are set up throughout Sue-Ann’s home, each one offering delicious sandwich samples with our award-winning wines. MENU NOW AVAILABLE HERE!
$48.53 per person ($42.95+HST). Gluten Friendly timeslots available! Find all the details and buy your tickets online here: https://www.sue-annstaff.com/collections/events/products/sue-anns-great-grilled-cheese-extravaganza-2025
Get Wrapped Up!
When: November 8 & 9 AND November 15 & 16
Get Wrapped Up is back on November 8-9 & 15-16! Pick your weekend and join us for festive food and wine pairings at 8 wineries of your choice for only $49.95.
With over 25 Niagara Benchlands Wineries to choose from, use your pass to visit your favourites and discover some new ones: 13th Street Winery (Saturday only), 180 Estate Winery, Calamus Estate Winery, Commisso Estate winery, Creekside Estate Winery, Dim Wine Co., Domaine Le Clos Jordanne, Fielding Estate Winery, Flat Rock Cellars, Harbour Estates Winery, Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery, Kew Vineyards Estate Winery, King's Court Estate Winery, Malivoire Wine Company, Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery, Puddicombe Estate Winery, Redstone Winery, Ridgepoint Wines, Stonewall Estates, Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, Tawse Winery, The Organized Crime Winery Inc., Thirty Bench Winemakers, Vieni Estates, Vineland Estates Winery, Wending Home Estate Vineyards and Winery.
What: Purchase one ticket $49.95 + hst/fee per person and visit EIGHT participating wineries of your choice for a delicious wine & food sample. https://niagarabenchlandswineries.com/pages/events
Save the Date
Holiday Wine Trail
When: November 29 & 30
Where: Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, 180 Estate Winery, Malivoire Wine Company, Cave Spring Winery, Fielding Estate Winery
What: We put the WIN in Winter Wine Trail. One ticket = five delicious wine and small bite pairings at five fabulous wineries. Stay tuned for details!
Save the Date
Sue-Ann's Annual Holiday Sip & Savour Open House
When: Saturday, December 13
Where: Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winer
What: It's our annual Open House! A one day event featuring wine, food and holiday shopping. A portion of ticket sales is donated to The Howard V. Staff Memorial Fund at the Niagara Community Foundation, supporting Community Care.
Watch this space for details and tickets!
FANCY FARM GIRL
Wines to Watch: Fancy Farm Girl...
Snap up these Fancy Farm Girl wines while you can — they're available in limited supply — and savour the craftsmanship of Sue-Ann Staff, one of Ontario's most successful winemakers.
This month, our featured Wines to Watch come from fifth-generation grape grower and talented winemaker Sue-Ann Staff, who combines her love of the simple life and finer things in Fancy Farm Girl wines. Pair Flamboyant Red, an elegant and approachable Cabernet Franc-Merlot blend, with appetizers, red meats, rosé sauce or milk chocolate. Refreshing and citrusy, Frivolous White is great with chicken, seafood or mild cheese.
FANCY FARM GIRL
Meet Sue-Ann Staff, the record-breaking, medal-winning Niagara winemaker at Sue-Ann Staff Estate Wines and Megalomaniac, and creator of Fancy Farm Girl wines. Here, Staff talks about getting dirty, cleaning up and the secret to fabulous wine.
Q. Your family owned the largest private vineyard in Niagara. What did you learn from that?
I learned not to be afraid of hard work. I used to drop my school bag and run outside to watch trucks loading up or help my grandma plant vines — there was always something happening. Life on a farm doesn’t stop at 5 or on weekends, but the work is wholesome and honest and I get so much satisfaction from it.
Q. What made you become the first winemaker in your family?
You can make a really great wine that tastes fantastic but if the pH is too high, for example, it will be a lovely wine for two months instead of two years. If the pH is too low, it might have an amazing shelf life but be unpalatable. The artistry of making a fabulous wine and the science of lining up the technical details is what appeals to me.
Q. Your wines have already won 500+ awards — more than most winemakers collect in a lifetime. C’mon, what’s your secret?
I got a degree in horticulture from the University of Guelph, then I studied winemaking in Australia. The University of Adelaide trained us for every imaginable condition, so that helps me deal with difficult vintages. I also like to drink really great wine. If I want to drink it, I’d better make it!
Q. Many wineries and farms have a dog around to help. What kind of dog does a fancy farm girl have?
That’s Brix, my five-year-old Burnese Mountain Dog. He’s my greeter: he’s with me wherever I go. Most farm dogs are shorthaired. I’ve got a purebred that has to go to the groomer every month to smell good!
Q. Your new wine labels feature the drawings of Francesca Waddell, a fashion illustrator whose work has appeared in Vogue. What inspired your Fancy Farm Girl wines: Frivolous Red and Frivolous White?
I’m not a typical farm girl. I renovated my family’s 120-year-old farmhouse to make it more glamorous. One minute I’m in the fields with steel-toed boots, and the next I’m at a gala wearing stilettoes. A fancy farm girl is authentically who I am, and I think there’s a little bit of that in all of us.
Watch this video to find out how Sue-Ann Staff mixes New World and Old World in her wines for Megalomanic. Or, check out this video to discover her favourite grape and her digital trick for making better wine.
2012 Flamboyant Red - $14.95 Loaded with bright red fruit and tannin on the finish that isn’t overbearing. This bottle isn’t just a flashy label… but let’s face it the artwork on both the White and the Red are fantastic. This Red blend is well worth the price of admission from the great 2012 vintage. This is drinking great right now with no need to cellar until a later date. The thing that’s great about this wine is that at the price point you can dress it up by pairing it with an expensive steak or fine roasted lamb or dress it down by matching it with pizza.
2012 Frivolous White - $14.95 This is a good easy drinking, well balanced Riesling that offers up a nice mineral note on the finish. There is some sweetness that rolls off the back of your tongue before it’s greeted by the crisp acidity. Flavours of apple and citrus are also what you will find in the glass. Pair with Roast Chicken, or lighter pasta dishes.
