Vineyards

Our current production vineyard includes Cabernet Franc, Pinot Gris, Vidal, Bacon Noir and Riesling vines. The earliest plantings in the production vineyards include Riesling and Baco Noir, planted in 1994. The estate also has a 3 acre block of Concord vines, originally planted in 1899. The fruit from these ancient vines is not used for wine, but the block is kept as a living legacy of the Staff family's long history of grape-growing.

Niagara Peninsula

Diverse terroir, sheltered slopes, lakeside vineyards, a world of character in its wines.

Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery vineyards fall in the 20 Mile Bench and Vinemount Ridge sub-appellations. These are both located within the Niagara Peninsula, Canada.

The Niagara Peninsula has the largest planted area of all viticulture areas in Canada. Situated at approximately N43 latitude this prime and diverse appellation is characterized by rich, fertile soils and unique microclimates, which provide ideal conditions for producing wine grapes with more complexity and intense flavour than in many warmer climates.

The classic cool-climate varieties such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc flourish here. The Niagara Peninsula continues to shape a rapidly expanding premium wine industry in Canada as the home to approximately 65% of Ontario's wineries.

Vinemount Ridge

South and east-facing slopes, early spring warming, hot summers.

Vinemount Ridge lies just above and south of the brow of the Niagara Escarpment. This appellation covers two prominent geological features - the Fonthill Kame to the east and the Vinemount Moraine on its western edge. The youngest moraine in the Niagara Peninsula, the Vinemount Moraine is a long narrow ridge of material that was deposited by the glacier that occupied the Lake Ontario basin approximately 13,000 years ago. Erosion from the several streams that cross this appellation has produced a gentle undulating landscape with many shallow east- and south-facing slopes, unique within the Niagara Peninsula. These slopes provide sun exposure and early spring warming to its deep clay soils and early budburst for the vines.

Twenty Mile Bench

Complex topography, double benches, deep soils, reflective wines.

The Twenty Mile Bench stretches east to west from Fifteen Mile Creek to west of Cherry Avenue. Bisected by Twenty Mile Creek, it has a complex topography with a distinctive double bench formation west of Twenty Mile Creek, and short, varied slopes that roll to the brow of the escarpment. The sheltered north-facing slopes and the air circulation from Lake Ontario provide for year round temperature moderation, setting up an ideal growing season for quality grapes.