Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery

About Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery

Wending Home takes a slow path, as the name suggests - towards home. The added meaning in Cantonese (Wēn文, Dīng 丁) is illustrated by our traditional stamp, to aspire to be the best. These two meanings are blended into a mission: To offer our friends the best that we can, crafting terroir-focused wines, slowly with a whimsical heart.

With a 50 acre estate and 23 acre estate vineyard, Wending Home primarily produces Estate wines and blends, although we reach out to other local Niagara grape growers for premium grapes used in some of our 100% Niagara Ontario wines.

Ron Giesbrecht, veteran Niagara winemaker, wine educator and homegrown supporter of the grape and wine industry in Niagara for over 40 years has partnered with Ying Feng who with her husband and family run the vineyard, lives on the estate and calls this land their new home.

Representative Biography

Ron Giesbrecht, Winemaker & Bonnie Milana, Wine Club & Licensee Manager

Ron Giesbrecht has been in the Niagara wine scene for a while - and he has no plans on leaving anytime soon. Growing up in the Niagara Region near Vineland, he has always been surrounded by the many orchards, vineyards and fields of the area. His love of food, fruit and science led him to receiving a degree in Biology from the University of Waterloo and a master’s degree in Food Science (specializing in Oenology) from the University of Guelph.

Right from the gate, he gained experience at various pioneering institutions of the Niagara wine scene, such as Bright's, but settled into his technique and embraced his experimental inklings at Henry of Pelham for 23 years. Nicknamed ‘Papa Baco’ during his highly respectable tenure at Henry of Pelham for embracing and showcasing the often overlooked Baco Noir grape at the time, Giesbrecht helped make this a stand-alone wine varietal common in the Niagara region. Looking for more challenges, he moved to Niagara College as a wine and viticulture professor, where he taught for an additional 9 years. Retiring only from teaching in 2022, he is focusing now on this new adventure, Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery with co-owner Ying Feng, a previous student of his.

Ron is using his vast experience and knowledge as a backdrop to many of the wines being produced at Wending Home, but his constant thirst for knowledge always ensures that there are some tricks and surprises up his sleeve.
Cool Climate Quote: “I have loved Niagara Cool Climate Chardonnay since I was first introduced to the wines - especially those made from early Niagara plantings that go back to the 1950’s such as Lenko and Lenart. It’s the pure vibrancy of fruit, acidity and that stoney, mineral spine. As a winemaker I love the expansive palette it allows me to explore, which is why I have, for decades now, described Chardonnay as the chicken of the vineyard. It allows me to shape the wine with traditional techniques that add flavour and texture while maintaining a strong link to the site and the terroir.”

Bonnie Milana
With a proven track record of delivering exceptional customer service as the wine club and store manager at Rockway Vineyards for over 4 years, Bonnie has joined the Wending Home family to showcase its amazing wines to a larger clientele. Continuously demonstrating her understanding and appreciation of wines, Bonnie Milana is committed to ensuring guests have a welcoming and educational experience here at Wending Home Winery. Bonnie’s vision for the wine club has always been to build a community of friends that come together to enjoy fellowship, alongside wonderful wine and cuisine. She brings her warm personality and depth of knowledge to every tasting, and elevates any experience to ensure it will be remembered!

Cool Climate Quote: “For me, cool-climate Chardonnay’s are my favourite white wine. How it transitions in the glass as it opens up and showcases the vibrant acidity, and the perfect harmony of well balanced fruit. These Chardonnay’s are refreshing and yet filled with layers of complexity.”

Why We're Cool

Located in the VQA sub-appellation of Creek Shores, Wending Home’s 23 acre estate vineyards contain 11 different varietals. Ehrenfelser, Auxerrois, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay on the white side, and Cabernet Franc, Dornfelder, Gamay and Lemberger for the reds. This variety is a playground for a winemaker who loves to explore and experiment, and embrace what the terroir has to offer.

The VQA sub-appellation of Creek Shores is moderated by the huge mass of Lake Ontario waters, but it is also rich in other waterways that spill down the limestone edge of the Niagara Escarpment. We are between the Fifteen and the Sixteen mile creeks with air flowing down the gentle inclines north towards Lake Ontario, and to the east and west we have the valleys of the creeks that also afford air drainage. Therefore, our temperatures are well moderated with gradual spring warming and bud break. With around 1500 heat units and just over 200 frost-free days, we are situated to easily ripen most cool climate grape varieties, but with a lick of coolness to temper and give definition to the grapes that we grow.

Niagara makes great Chardonnays, and it is truly a gift given to wineries to share what they can produce with these grapes. And there are winemaking methods that allow for such diverse variations, which can be showcased with Wending Home’s Chardonnay. Our winemaker uses primarily used French oak barrels (no more than 20% new), and embraces the longer and cooler barrel fermentation with full malo-lactic fermentation. Wending Home is known for taking its time, and this is showcased in our Chardonnay, which has a long and restful 10-18 months on lees, in barrel.