• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The tasting room at Stratus.   (Photo: Courtesy of Ben Rahn/A Frame)

The quality of Canadian wines has improved much over the past two decades, thanks in large part to the Niagara area’s burgeoning ice-wine industry. Taste some of this bounty by renting a two-seat bicycle from Zoom Leisure, which will deliver your wheels right to your hotel. Then head toward Stratus, a chic little tasting room just a mile southwest of Niagara. Tour the sustainable facilities then try out a few of the bold blends, sold simply as “Stratus Red,” “Stratus White,” and “Wildass Red.”

Pedal—carefully—twelve miles down the road to Henry of Pelham for another tasting (try the citrus-packed 2004 Riesling Icewine), and a selection of artisanal cheeses at the winery’s Coach House Café. Ten miles northwest is Cave Spring, the oldest wine cellar in Niagara, which boasts some of the best dry Riesling in the region. For a late, boozy meal, head to nearby Jordan Village where you should try the Ontario Lamb Trio—liver, roast rack, and seared sirloin—at On the Twenty. Then burn off those meaty calories by biking back to your hotel.

Alternatively, outfitters such as Niagara World Wine Tours sell packages that include lodging, tastings, and meals—though it’s hardly a chore to go solo.

May 16, 2007 issue of New York Magazine