From April 3rd to 7th, wine and craft beer lovers can take part in the 4th annual Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest, to delight in tasting new and established Ontario wines and locally brewed craft beers, while getting to know Riverside shops, eateries and community spaces better. It’s essentially an Ontario wine and craft beer tour – right here in Riverside!
This year’s festival is hosted by the Riverside BIA, co-sponsored by Team Sheppard RE/MAX Hullmark and Jason Friesen Mortgage, and supported by festival partners Eastbound Brewing Co., Toronto Food Tours, the Ralph Thornton Community Centre and All Wrapped Up Events.
Riverside restaurants, service providers and retailers will host everything from prix fixe dinners and classes to FREE tasting extravaganzas. the festival culminates in the Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Expo. Get all the details of the festival and RSVP here!
Learn more about this year’s participating local Riverside breweries and Ontario wineries:
Eastbound Brewing Co
Since opening its doors in 2017, husband and wife team Dave Lee, brewmaster, and Tara Lee, head chef, have welcomed a nothing to hide attitude in their brewing process and approach to food. With six serving tanks, five fermentation tanks and one bright beer tank, Eastbound Brewing Co. is a mix of classical and adventurous. Their goal is to respect tradition, but at the same time push the boundaries of innovation. With a chalkboard style menu, their selections of beer are always changing, using creative seasonal ingredients when possible. Eastbound is the first Toronto brewery to sell crowlers (the canned version of growlers)!
We’re so pleased to have Eastbound on board for this year’s Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest as not only a participating brewery but our catering sponsor for the festival!
Craft beers that Eastbound will feature during Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest 2018 include:
- Ryesing River Rye Saison 5.7% | $8.41/950ml
- Full Dunkel Jacket Dunkelweizen 5.5% | $7.97/950ml
- Skipping Through the Dark Porter 4.2% | $7.97/950ml
RSVP for all the details and to get a taste of Eastbound’s amazing craft beers and bites on offer at the following festival events and activities:
- April 3rd Craft Beer Talk & Tasting @ Ralph Thornton Community Centre
- April 5th Tasting Night Market: Eastbound Brewing Co @ Switchback Cyclery
- April 5th Tasting Night Market: Eastbound Brewing Co @ Eastbound Brewing Co
- April 7th Expo @ Ralph Thornton Community Centre
Saulter Street Brewery
Founded in 2016 by John Sterling, Saulter Street Brewery specializes in “producing beer as vibrant and distinctive as the Riverside neighborhood we call home”. Their brewing process combines patience, state-of-the-art equipment and the finest ingredients available to produce high-quality beers, irrespective of fads. Beyond the smooth and crisp taste of Riverside Pilsner, Saulter Street brews experimental small batch beers that can only be found in their onsite tap room.
Craft beers that Saulter St will feature during Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest 2018 include:
- Riverside Pilsner 4.7% alc./vol. $5.50 howler/ 1L
- Golden Pale Ale 5% alc./vol. $5.50 howler/ 1L
RSVP for all the details and to get a taste of Saulter St’s craft beers at the following festival events and activities:
- April 3rd Craft Beer Talk & Tasting @ Ralph Thornton Community Centre
- April 5th Tasting Night Market: Saulter St Brewery @ Diamond Muay Thai
- April 5th Tasting Night Market: Saulter St Brewery @ Saulter St Brewery
- April 7th Expo @ Ralph Thornton Community Centre
Closson Chase Vineyards (PEC)
Celebrating 20 years in 2018, Closson Chase helped spearhead the birth of the Prince Edward County wine industry. What was once a dairy barn is now a quality-driven winery using centuries-old European traditions and sustainable, innovative techniques to create world class wines using only the finest chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot gris grapes. An early advocate for sustainable practices, Closson Chase crafts fine wines that reflect each individual vintage, capturing the distinct qualities imparted by the soil and climatic variations of the year.
Wines available to ‘try & order’ at Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest:
- 2014 Closson Chase Vineyard Chardonnay 12.6% $28.95
- 2015 Closson Chase Watson Pinot Noir 12.5% $34.95
- 2017 Closson Chase Watson Pinot Gris 12% $22.95
RSVP for all the details and to get a taste of their wines:
- April 5th Tasting Night Market: Closson Chase @ Barefoot Beauty
The Grange of Prince Edward (PEC)
The Grange is a family-run 600 acre farm in Prince Edward County. The Granger family who runs it is drenched in the history of Canadian pioneers: their estate has been a working farm for two hundred years. When it came Caroline Granger’s turn to run the farm she decided to “breathe new life into this sleepy place” by transforming it into vineyards. She says”I grew up on this land – my family’s farm – and when I took it over, I knew we could produce excellent wine here. So I built a winery from the ground up…”. Over 15 years later, the Grange offers many excellent varieties including chardonnay, pinot gris, riesling, sauvignon blanc, gamay, pinot noir, and cabernet franc.
Wines available to ‘try & order’ at Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest:
- Almanac White ‘Field Blend’ 2016 12% $19.20
- Almanac Red ‘Field Blend’ 2016 12% $19.20
RSVP for all the details and to get a taste of their wines:
- April 7th Expo @ Ralph Thornton Community Centre
Three Dog Winery (PEC)
John and Sacha Squair started Three Dog Winery in 2000 with 500 vines. Today Three Dog Winery’s estate covers 100 acres in beautiful Prince Edward County. They started off with a focus on Pinot Noir, soon followed by Pinot Gris, and since then have been slowly adding more Pinot clones and some French hybrids, a little Baco, a little Foch, a little Vidal and lots of love. Three Dog Winery was named for their three Golden Retrievers, rescues from their friends at Golden Rescue Canada – needless to say the winery is a very dog-friendly place!
RSVP for all the details and to get a taste of their wines:
- April 4th, 7pm: ($$) 5-Course ‘East + West + Wine + Wood’ Pairing Dinner @ The Peasant Table ($110 pp incl grat + tax – Tickets via tofoodtours.com)
- April 7th Expo @ Ralph Thornton Community Centre
Trail Estate Winery (PEC)
The Sproll family embarked on their wine journey in 2011 when they fell in love with Trail’s 14-acre property. No stranger to hard work, the family had just retired from running a successful bakery for 30 years when they decided to start their own winery. Dedicated to producing truly compelling terroir-driven wines of uncompromising quality and rich character, the Sproll family promises that no two wines are ever the same. Each wine tells the story of the site and vintage with unabashed honesty and freshness.
Wines available to ‘try & order’ at Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest:
- Unfiltered Chardonnay, 2015, 12.2%, $35.00
- Vintner’s Weiss, 2015, 10.8%, $19.95
- Pinot Noir, 2016, 11.5%, $30.00
RSVP for all the details and to get a taste of their wines:
- April 5th Tasting Night Market: Trail Estate Winery Tasting @ Dimensions Custom Framing & Gallery
Southbrook Vineyards (NWR)
Southbrook Vineyards is the epitome and evolution of Marilyn and Bill Redelmeier’s love story with wine, the land and all things “local.” It started with simplicity: to make the finest wines possible in a respectful, local, light-on-the-land fashion. The winery is situated on a 150-acre vineyard in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula wine region of Ontario. From their purchase of the Niagara-on-the-Lake vineyard in 2005, the Redelmeiers committed their energies to sustainable viticulture. By 2008, they had created the first wine estate in Canada to earn both organic and biodynamic certification for its vineyard and winery.
Wines available to ‘try & order’ at Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest:
- Connect Organic White 2016 / 11% / $15.95
- ‘Orange’ Skin Fermented Vidal 2016 / 9.8 % / $29.95
- Estate Cabernet Rosé 2016 / 12.5% / $29.95
- Triomphe Organic Merlot 2016 / 12.5% / $29.95
RSVP for all the details and to get a taste of their wines:
- April 4th, 7pm: ($$) 5-Course ‘East + West + Wine + Wood’ Pairing Dinner @ The Peasant Table ($110 pp incl grat + tax – Tickets via tofoodtours.com)
- April 5th Tasting Night Market: Southbrook Organic Wine Tasting @ Chi Junky Yoga & Wellness Studio
Broken Stone Winery (PEC)
Tim and Micheline Kuepfer purchased three hayfields on a Prince Edward County backroad in 2009, they threw their first harvest party in 2010 and harvested two tonnes of quality Pinot Noir wine grapes. By 2012 they built a small building, got a license and Broken Stone Winery was born. They adopt minimal winemaking approaches and allow nature to express itself.
Wines available to ‘try & order’ at Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest:
- Cabernet Franc 2016 13.1% alc./vol. $19.95
- Simplicity (Vidal) 2016 11.5% alc./vol. $14.95
- Chardonnay Barrel Reserve 2016 14.0% alc./vol. $19.95
- Exuberance Sparking Riesling 12.5% alc./vol. $24.95
RSVP for all the details and to get a taste of their wines:
- April 5th Tasting Night Market: Broken Stone Wine Tasting @ Arts Market
- April 7th Expo @ Ralph Thornton Community Centre
13th Street Winery (NWR)
Owners, partners and friends Doug and Karen Whitty and John and June Mann share a common love of wine, food and art and a genuine heart for hospitality. Their boutique winery, set amongst 25 acres of family estate vineyards, is just minutes west of St. Catharines. They specialize in hand-crafted sparkling wines, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. Their winemaker, Jean Pierre Colas, is one of the most talented French trained winemakers in the business.
Wines available to ‘try and order’ at Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest:
- Cuvee Rose NV 12.5% alc./vol. $27.95
- Burger Blend Rose 2017 11.5% alc./vol. $14.95
- Gamay Noir 2016 13% alc./vol. $19.95
RSVP for all the details and to get a taste of their wines:
- April 5th Tasting Night Market: 13th Street Winery @ Quince Flowers
- April 7th Expo @ Ralph Thornton Community Centre
Check out the full, jam-packed line up of Riverside Wine & Craft Beer Fest events and remember to let us know if you’re coming!