March 16, 2021
February 2026
Every Day Is Valentine's Day: Wine & Chocolate Flight
$20 pp
Available daily February 2 to March 1, 2026
Treat yourself and your favourite person to a Wine & Chocolate Flight and explore how two of the tastiest things in the world work together!
Includes three wines and three chocolate treats. The best part? You get to choose your wines based on our recommendations!
Swiss Milk Chocolate paired with your choice of:
- Fancy Farm Girl Frosty Fizz
- Riesling Loved By Lu
- Bank Barn Baco
Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries (from our Vineland neighbours Cherry Lane) paired with your choice of:
- Fancy Farm Girl Flirty Bubbles
- Fancy Farm Girl Flamboyant Red
- The Gritstone Cabernet
White Chocolate Coconut Almond Confection paired with your choice of:
- Lavelle's Vidal
- Fancy Farm Girl Foxy Pink
- Howard's Icewine Vidal
$20 per person. Reservations highly recommended to ensure best service, but walk-ins are always welcome. Reserve now: https://www.sue-annstaff.com/collections/tasting-flights/products/everyday-is-valentines-day-wine-chocolate-flight
Lu & Lavelle Sweet Treat Tasting
$10 pp
Available daily February 2 to March 1, 2026
Celebrate long-lasting love with this sweet treat!
Sue-Ann's grandparents Lula and Lavelle were married for over 60 years and were honoured by having their favourite wines named after them. Enjoy a tasting of both Riesling Loved By Lu and Lavelle's Vidal along with a little sweet treat.
Only $10 per person. Available daily February 2 to March 1, 2026. Reservations highly recommended to ensure best service, but walk-ins are always welcome. https://www.sue-annstaff.com/collections/tasting-flights/products/lu-lavelle-sweet-treat-tasting

FLIGHT OF THE ICE QUEEN: Icewine Tasting
$20 pp
Available daily February 6 to March 2, 2026
No one loves making Icewine like Sue-Ann. And that's why we call her the Ice Queen!
This February we are celebrating Canada's liquid gold with The Flight of the Ice Queen, a unique tasting of three of Sue-Ann's finest Icewines, including past, present and future releases!
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2018 Howard's Icewine Vidal (future-release)
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2017 Howard's Icewine Vidal (current release)
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2012 Howard's Icewine Vidal (library wine)
Your flight includes an ounce of each Icewine, and each wine is perfectly paired with a gourmet tidbit.
$20 per person.
Available daily February 6 to March 2, 2026
Reservations highly recommended to ensure best service, but walk-ins are always welcome. https://www.sue-annstaff.com/collections/tasting-flights/products/ice-flight
March 2026
Winter Wine Trail
$120 + HST pp
Saturday, March 7 or Sunday, March 8
Escape the chill this season with the warm hospitality of the Benchlands Winter Wine Trail.
Visit five exceptional wineries to enjoy five different expertly crafted cheese and wine pairings. To keep the magic going long after the fifth stop, you will be taking home five bottles of specially selected wine—one from each winery—to relive the Wine Trail in the cozy comfort of your home. It’s the ultimate winter indulgence: rich flavours, cozy moments, and unforgettable sips.
With your ticket, you’ll enjoy:
- Tastings at FIVE renowned wineries
- Locally sourced bites paired with each wine
- FIVE bottles of wine to take home (one from each winery)
$120 + hst per person. Purchase your tickets online, choosing either Saturday, March 7 OR Sunday, March 8. You can also choose the winery where you'd like to start your day!
https://winetrail.trilogen.ca/

Venison Stew in Red Wine
This recipe comes from Arden Vaughn. She and her family own and manage Lake Land Meats here in West St. Catharines, just a few kilometers away. This farm raises both venison and, at times, elk plus other culinary delights. Their retail store is open year-round selling a wide variety of interesting meats and fish like wild boar, quail, trout, and much more.
This recipe was published in “A Year in Niagara” authored by Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh. Kathleen has been an acquaintance for years and is deeply committed to local product. This recipe book was published in 2002. While I have thinned my inventory of cookbooks many times, this one always makes the grade to stay. I will reproduce it here with the changes I made as seen on the video #SizzlinWithSAS.
FYI: I have made this recipe several times. It is a nice change of flavours from a typical winter stew. My previous renditions used either veal or beef stewing meat. Those folks who lasted until 2:00am at my housewarming party in 2007 will remember it as the sustenance that got us through dancing until 4:00am!
Ingredients:
3 lbs boneless venison stewing meat, cut into 1” chunks
salt and pepper to taste
5 tablespoons olive oil
4 slices of thick bacon
1 teaspoon dried thyme
10 juniper berries
2 bay leaves (4 bay leaves if they are as old as mine!)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 tablespoons all purpose flour (I used gluten free)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup Cabernet Franc
2 large carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 cup beef broth
3 tablespoons blackberry jam (or red currant or cranberry jelly)
Procedure:
Pat the meat dry. Season all sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat. Working in batches, sear all sides of the venison removing it from the pan with a slotted spoon when browned. Reduce the heat to sauté the bacon until soft. Add in thyme, juniper berries, bay leaves, tomato paste and flour cooking the mixture while stirring until it has thickened, the browned bits have come off the bottom of the pan and the aromas are stating to lift. Add in carrots and onion cooking briefly. Stir in the vinegar, beef broth and browned venison. Stir to completely incorporate the ingredients and return the mixture to a boil. Either reduce the heat to a simmer or transfer to a 250F oven for 2 hours. Stir occasionally adding more wine or broth as required. After 2 hours, remove the bay leaves and stir in blackberry jam. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve over buttered mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles or use in tacos with tomato and herbs.
