Reif Estate Winery is located in

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York (state), New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the R ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Reif Estate is primarily known for playing an important in role pioneering the

Ontario wine Ontario wine is Canadian wine produced in the province of Ontario. The province has three official wine-growing regions, the Niagara Peninsula, the north shore of Lake Erie, and Prince Edward County, Ontario, Prince Edward County, although wineries ...

Industry, as well as planting some of the first ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern ...

'' vines in the Niagara region.

History

Before Reif Estate Winery settled on the banks of the

Niagara River The Niagara River ( ) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce T ...

, the family tradition of

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

traces back 13 generations, starting in Germany. The Reif family tradition of winemaking began in the 17th century in a small winemaking town called Neustadt, Germany. In 1977, Ewald Reif moved to Canada and purchase a plot of land, where the

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

is still situated today. After purchasing the land, Ewald began uprooting existing ''

Vitis labrusca ''Vitis labrusca'', the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, ...

'' grapes that were planted on the property, replacing them with ''Vitis vinifera'' vines. Ewald opened Reif Estate Winery in 1982. The winery's first vintages in 1982 included

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and which performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz ( ; although this is never the case in German, because mean ...

and

Vidal Vidal (, , , ) is a Catalan language, Catalan, Aragonese language, Aragonese, and possibly also Romansh language, Romansh surname, which also appears in French language, French, Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Engl ...

. In 1984 Reif produced its first Icewine. In 1987, Klaus W. Reif took over from his uncle Ewald as President and Winemaker at Reif Estate Winery. In 2024, Eric Pearson became winemaker.

Vineyard

Reif Estate's vineyard is located in Niagara Peninsula

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

, in the Niagara River sub-appellation. The Niagara River sub-appellation is characterized by its east facing slopes, offering

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimportant to agriculture, see ''V ...

necessary sun exposure during the day. In addition, the Niagara river acts as a convective current which moderates vineyard temperatures and ultimately extends the

growing season A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the amount of daylight. The growing season is that portion of the year in which local conditions (i.e. rainfall, temperature, daylight) permit normal plant growth. Whi ...

. The number of degree days in th
Niagara River sub-appellation
is 1470. Some of the first vines grown on the Estate included

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

and Riesling. White Varieties include: Chardonnay,

Chenin blanc Chenin blanc (, ; known also as Pineau de la Loire among #Synonyms, other names) is a white wine grape variety from the Loire Valley (wine), Loire Valley of France (wine), France. Its high acidity (wine), acidity means it can be used to make var ...

, Gewürztraminer,

Pinot grigio Pinot gris, pinot grigio (, ), or ''Grauburgunder'' is a white wine , white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its ...

, Riesling,

Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

and Vidal. Red Varieties include:

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

, Cabernet Sauvignon,

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

Gamay noir Gamay () is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th cen ...

, and

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

Milestones

Winemakers

Klaus W. Reif was born in the winemaking region of Neustadt, Germany. Klaus was also born into a long line of winemakers in his family, dating back 13 generations. In 1978, Klaus traveled to Canada to visit his Uncle Ewald Reif. Inspired by this visit, Klaus applied to one of Germany's most prestigious winemaking schools, the

Geisenheim Institute The Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute was founded in 1872 and is located in the town of Geisenheim, in Germany's Rheingau region. In 1876 Swiss-born professor Hermann Müller joined the institute, where he developed his namesake grape variety M ...

. Klaus obtained a degree in

Oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

and

Viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

, and then moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. In 1987 Klaus became President and Winemaker of Reif Estate Winery. Roberto DiDomenico's father was a winemaker, and Roberto was a winemaker's assistant when he was growing up. In 1985, Roberto attended the

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

and studied

Microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

, focusing on

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

technology. While a student, Roberto interned at Reif Estate Winery as a research assistant. After graduating in 1989, he joined the winery as winemaker and is still with the winery today.

References

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