March 12, 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!
There is a Fancy Farm Girl in all of us!
Timing is everything. When I visited Sue-Ann in August last year, we walked through the vineyards & I suggested that we feature her this month; at that moment in time neither Sue-Ann nor I knew that March would be a turning point for her. Sue-Ann Staff is, to use her words, “going at it on my own”. She is shedding her responsibilities as a winemaker at other wineries and focusing 100% on her own winery:
Sue-Ann Staff Estates Winery. This is a big leap for anyone, yet, in my humble opinion, this remarkable woman can do
anything.
Sue-Ann & I have been friends since I started The Savvy Grapes over 13 years ago. She was the first woman winemaker we featured at a winemakers dinner showcasing her talent at Pillitteri Estates Winery. And she wowed everyone with the delicious wines she made and most of all, her charm. Read on as our Savvy Sommelier Velma LeBlanc captures more about the dynamic Sue-Ann & her deeply rooted ties to Niagara’s vineyards.
Meet Sue-Ann!
You are the first to know….The Fancy Farm Girl herself is coming to Ottawa. We are delighted to host a portfolio tasting on Wednesday April 22nd at the Orange Art Gallery,where Sue-Ann will be showcasing all of her wines – and perhaps some barrel samples too. This event will also showcase Pondview Estates Winery of Niagara-on-the-Lake. We are just nailing down the final details, so watch your inbox for your invitation.
As a Savvy Selections subscriber, 2 complementary tickets await you. To be added to the guest list, email me directlydebbie@savvycompany.ca
Can’t attend? You can still order the featured Sue-Ann &Pondview wines. And share the experience by giving the tickets to friends.
Cheers!
-Debbie & Savvy Team
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Fancy Farm Girl
March 6, 2015 · by Caroline ·
At a recent wine event I heard about this Ontario wine for the first time and was instantly drawn to the name, Fancy Farm Girl. One day soon after, I found a little burlap wrapped package at my door and was so delighted how it brightened up my day. The message that I found inside won me over, and so did the wine.
After a few years as a blogger, having tasted many gems around the Niagara region, I now know why they have grabbed the world’s attention. See the frivolous white and the flamboyant red below. If you are still one of those few who stay away because of some old fashion attitude – get over it!
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