Perenelle
Watchful Eye Winery
Volta Estate Winery
Hidden Bench Estate Winery
The Grange of Prince Edward
Perenelle
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
About Perenelle
Perenelle is a small, family-run winery rooted in Niagara-on-the-Lake, guided by a deep respect for land, balance, and restraint. Our focus is on crafting wines that reflect site over style wines that feel honest, grounded, and expressive of Niagara’s cool-climate potential.
Perenelle was founded by Melissa Beausoleil and Matt Kilkenny, whose backgrounds outside of traditional winemaking bring a thoughtful, intentional lens to everything we do. We work closely with our vineyards, prioritizing precision farming and careful decision-making in the cellar, allowing each vintage to speak clearly rather than forcing a signature.
Our wines are built around elegance and structure, favoring freshness, texture, and age-worthiness over excess.
Representative Biography
Melissa Beausoleil, Co-Founder
Melissa Beausoleil is the co-founder of Perenelle Vineyards and a driving force behind the winery’s Chardonnay program. With a background rooted in flavor, hospitality, and connection, Mélissa brings an intuitive, detail-oriented approach to winemaking. One that values patience, nuance, and the long view.
Rather than chasing trends, Mélissa is drawn to wines that feel composed and complete, shaped by thoughtful vineyard work and minimal intervention in the cellar. Her role spans vineyard decisions, blending, and shaping the overall philosophy of the brand, always with an eye toward clarity and balance.
Why We're Cool
Perenelle’s Chardonnay program is rooted in one of Niagara’s most compelling geological features: the ancient St. David’s Buried Gorge, located within the St. David’s Bench.
Formed thousands of years ago by glacial meltwater, the Buried Gorge carved a deep channel through the Bench, later filling with layers of sand, gravel, and limestone-rich material. These well-draining, fractured soils are ideal for Chardonnay, naturally limiting vigor while encouraging deep root systems and consistent ripening. The result is fruit with high natural acidity, fine phenolic structure, and a distinct mineral tension.
The Bench’s elevation and gentle slope, combined with Niagara’s northern latitude, create a true cool-climate growing environment. Lake Ontario plays a critical moderating role, softening temperature extremes and extending the growing season, allowing Chardonnay to ripen slowly and evenly without sacrificing freshness. Subtle shifts in airflow and exposure across the Bench further shape the vineyard’s microclimate, adding complexity and nuance to the fruit each vintage.
In the cellar, Perenelle’s approach mirrors the precision of the site. Chardonnay is handled with restraint to preserve clarity and site expression. Fermentation and élevage decisions are made to enhance texture and structure rather than dominate the wine, allowing acidity, mineral character, and length to remain at the forefront.
Perenelle’s Cool Climate Chardonnay is ultimately a reflection of the St. David’s Buried Gorge itself: structured, layered, and quietly powerful. It is a style defined not by excess, but by balance where geology, climate, and careful craftsmanship converge to produce Chardonnay with depth, energy, and a strong sense of place.
Watchful Eye Winery
Lincoln Lakeshore , Canada
About Watchful Eye Winery
Watchful Eye Winery is a small-batch, family-run winery on the Lincoln Lakeshore, where the presence of water shapes every aspect of what they do. The vineyard sits uniquely near the shoreline, so close that lake breezes move through the vines, creating a growing environment and tasting experience unlike anywhere else in Niagara.
Watchful Eye welcomes guests the way family welcomes friends, into a space that feels personal and deeply connected to the land. With a glass of wine in hand, guests settle into the easy pace of the lakeshore and the comfortable, at-home feeling that comes with it.
The winery operates from the original family homestead, cared for across generations on land the family has farmed since 1796. Watchful Eye takes its name in honour of the family’s grandfather, Poppy, who kept a steady watch over the farm and the lake.
At Watchful Eye Winery, each bottle reflects both the place it comes from and the people who continue to watch over its land, lake, and vines.
Representative Biography
Kate George, Co-owner
Kate George grew up on the Lincoln Lakeshore farm that Watchful Eye calls home. Her work is grounded in a long relationship with the vineyard, shaped by growing up on the farm and learning how the land expresses itself over time.
She works across every part of the winery, connecting farming decisions, wine development, and the way guests experience Watchful Eye. Her role bridges the agricultural and public-facing sides of the business, keeping her closely connected to both the land and the people who enjoy the wines.
Chardonnay has been part of Watchful Eye’s story from the beginning, and Kate continues to be involved in conversations around each new vintage. What draws Kate to cool-climate Chardonnay is the way it holds freshness and depth at the same time, something Niagara does beautifully. It’s a reminder of why Niagara’s wines continue to inspire her
Why We're Cool
Watchful Eye’s Chardonnay vineyard sits right on the shore of Lake Ontario, where lingering winter chill and steady onshore winds keep the site a few degrees cooler than much of Niagara. Early in the season, these cooler conditions often delay bud break, naturally pushing growth later and helping protect the vines from spring frost. As the season unfolds, the lake continues to moderate temperatures, offering gentle daytime warmth and cooling nights that limit extreme swings. These influences create a more stable growing season, supporting healthy development and the even ripening that defines their Chardonnay.
Volta Estate Winery
Prince Edward County, Canada
About Volta Estate Winery
Volta Estate is a family-owned winery located in Prince Edward County with a passion and mission to create premium quality, terroir-driven wines. We have an unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, sustainability, and the intersection of art, agriculture, gastronomy, and culture.
Our state-of-the-art facility is expected to open in 2028.
Representative Biography
Chris Thompson, Winemaker
After spending 15 years on both sides of the pass in the restaurant industry and ready for a shift, Chris stumbled his way into a wine career while looking for one in beer. With an already honed palette and an insatiable thirst for all things food and beverage, all it took was simple wine course to get hooked on the source.
After starting some initial wine education and managing a wine bar in Toronto, Chris headed eastward to Prince Edward County to dive into the cellars and continue the educational journey. Studies through Brock, UC Davis, and Somm Factory rounded out the hands-on approach that started as Assistant Winemaker and ended as Winemaker at Lighthall Vineyards.
After 7 years, Chris moved on to take the role of Winemaker at one of Prince Edward County's newest and most existing wineries, Volta Estate, promising to be a location with premium wines and an unforgettable architectural experience.
Chris is a CMS Certified Sommelier, foodie, wine-nerd, and sustainable agriculture enthusiast.
Why We're Cool
Nestled in the heart of Hillier, Prince Edward County, our vineyards are a classic expression of Ontario cool-climate. Sandy loam and clay soils over limestone bedrock provide the foundation for racy and mineral-driven Chardonnay. The county’s geographical location tucked into the northern pocket of Lake Ontario provides a moderating influence on the extremities of our cold winters, and a useful and refreshing wind throughout the growing season. A slightly more truncated growing season compared to other parts of Ontario further south make for wines well suited to fresh, vibrant, and refined styles in both still and sparkling wines. At Volta, we aim to strike a balance between tradition and innovation, luxury and elegance, story-telling and palate pleasing. Barrel program practices are light handed and restrained, and other vessels like amphora, acacia, steel, and concrete are all used as tools to craft the purest and most layered expression of county terroir.
Hidden Bench Estate Winery
Beamsville Bench , Canada
About Hidden Bench Estate Winery
Founded in 2003, Hidden Bench is an artisanal, estate winery situated in the heart of the Beamsville Bench sub-appellation of Niagara. This boutique winery whose mantra is “Sustainability, Terroir, Technology and Passion” has established a reputation for excellence both domestically and internationally due to the consistent benchmark quality of its wines. Reputed for its forward thinking use of environmentally sustainable practices as well as the superb quality of its wines, Hidden Bench farms its low yield vineyards (<2 tonnes /acre 35hL/hectare) using organic practices, employs geothermal technology to control cellar and wine process temperatures and was the first Ontario winery to generate its own electricity through 105 solar panels.
“Grown , produced and bottled by Hidden Bench” proudly appears on every bottle of Hidden Bench wine , as it’s one of only a handful of Ontario wineries that continues to make wine exclusively with organically certified fruit that has been grown on its estate vineyards. The raison d’être of Hidden Bench is the ancient limestone rich glacial moraine soils of the Beamsville Bench which permit the Hidden Bench team to craft complex, benchmark Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling with passionately focused attention to detail from the vineyard to the bottle. The unique climatic conditions and limestone/clay/ silt soils of the Beamsville Bench continually inspire the Hidden Bench winemaking team to use traditional, gentle and minimal intervention winemaking techniques to produce both estate blends and single vineyard wines which are truly reflective of their unique terroir.
Representative Biography
Alex Baines, Winemaker
Alex joined the Hidden Bench team as the Assistant Winemaker in January 2017 after completing the Winemaking and Viticulture program at Niagara College and was promoted to Winemaker in March of 2022. Originally from Finchingfield in Essex County, England he has 10 vintages of experience at premium producers in California, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. The small quality focused team at HB and the multifaceted responsibilities is what originally attracted Alex to join our small winery team. Alex has a keen interest in Organic and Biodynamic viniculture and above all the attention to detail required to craft exceptional low- intervention wines. When not in the cellar Alex enjoys being active hiking the Bench or playing soccer a couple of times a week year round.
Harald Thiel, Vigneron & Proprietor
Since he was a young man Harald has had the dream of owning a premium quality artisanal winery. In 2003, after a successful business career in the audiovisual industry, he and his family founded Hidden Bench Estate Winery with the goal of producing premium quality estate grown wines, which Canadians could serve with pride side by side with the best wines in the world. As a hands-on fully engaged owner he is actively involved in the day to day operations of the winery from vineyard to bottle and provides the winery its strategic direction and focus. A passionate foodie and wine consumer, he is also one of the founders of the Upper Canada Cheese Company and the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Festival. A strong believer in giving back, he sits on a number of not–for–profit boards, is the current Chair of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and has spearheaded a number of local environmental causes to protect the Beamsville Bench area. In his spare time Harald loves to read, cook, fly fish and ski.
Alex Baines, Assistant Winemaker
In January of 2017 Alex joined our team after having completed his degree at Niagara College in Viticulture and Winemaking. Originally from Finchingfield in Essex County, England he has completed more than 10 vintages at different premium producers in California, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. The small quality focused team at HB and the multifaceted responsibilities is what attracted Alex to join our small winery team. Alex has a keen interest in organic and biodynamic viniculture and will be a key assist to our viticulture team in the ongoing implementation of our biodynamic programme. When not in the cellar Alex enjoys being active hiking the Bench or playing soccer a couple of times a week year round.
Why We're Cool
The mitigating factors which contribute to the success of Hidden Bench Chardonnay program are the following: We use 100% estate grown, organically certified fruit from our three vineyards. Locust Lane, Felseck and Rosomel.
All of the fruit is hand-picked, sorted and whole bunch pressed to yield the most pure juice. We use non-interventionist winemaking methods including barrel fermentation with indigenous yeasts and naturally occurring malolactic fermentation which adds to the richness and complexity of the wines.
The Grange of Prince Edward
Prince Edward County, Canada
About The Grange of Prince Edward
Since its establishment in 2002, The Grange of Prince Edward Winery has become a cherished part of Ontario's vibrant winemaking landscape. Spanning 135 acres in Hillier, Ontario, Canada, the winery hospitality destination encompasses some of the most significant vineyard plantings in the region, with over 40 acres under vine planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Cabernet Franc.
Apart from producing exceptional low-intervention wines that showcase the unique terroir of the area, The Grange is committed to offering a culinary experience centered around locally sourced farm-to-table ingredients. Visitors to the estate can enjoy wine tastings, explore the charming 200-year-old barn and grounds, and indulge in bespoke experiences such as private tours, dinners, weddings, and special events.
Since 2021, under the guidance of President and CEO Michael Leskovec and the unwavering support of co-founder Robert Cudney and Northfield Capital of Toronto, Ontario, the Grange team has embarked on an exciting journey of vineyard rejuvenation and a comprehensive revamp of the winemaking program. With the expertise of viticulturist Mike Peddlesden and winemaker Jonas Newman at the helm, the team has poured their passion and dedication into elevating the quality of both the vineyards and the wines.
Their unwavering commitment and tireless efforts have been instrumental in shaping the remarkable transformation of The Grange. Marlise Ponzo, the Grange’s Sommelier and VP of Sales and Events, orchestrates the seamless execution of memorable events, while Chef Paul Tobias takes charge of the culinary program, creating a thoughtful and enticing menu where guests can savor the finest flavors and indulge in the artistry of The Grange’s wines
Representative Biography
Jonas Newman, Winemaker
Marlise Ponzo, VP Sales & Events
Marlise Ponzo is Vice President of Sales and Events and Sommelier at The Grange of Prince Edward, where she has spent seven years shaping the winery’s guest experience, sales strategy, and brand presence. Deeply connected to the estate’s terroir, she works closely with the winemaker and proprietors to curate the wine portfolio and guide marketing and storytelling initiatives. Marlise is known for creating meaningful connections through media engagement, on- and off-site events, and her active involvement in the wine community, always centering people, place, and purpose in her work
Jonas Newman, Winemaker
At 18 years old Jonas began his adventure in the wine world working in a few of Toronto’s fine dining establishments. In 2003 he met his business and life partner Vicki Samaras and they together bought their first property in Prince Edward County, planting their first vines in 2005. While waiting for the vineyards to mature he apprentice at two Niagara based wineries Daniel Lenko and Thirteenth Street. The first vintage of Hinterland Wine Co, Vicki and Jonas’ winery, was in 2007. In 2008 they decided to focus exclusively on sparkling wine have been producing some of Canada’s finest ever since. In 2020 With Hinterland fully established and running smoothly, Jonas went looking for new adventures, consulting at various wineries around Ontario. In fall of 2022, Jonas landed at the Grange Winery just in time for the vintage! He is thrilled to have joined an amazing team there and is looking forward to many more years as winemaker.
When not in the cellars, you’ll find Jonas hanging out with his family, somewhere on the water or in the woods.
Winemaker Quote: “The oldest vineyard in the County is probably 25 years old, so we’re constantly discovering. We’re also growing grapes on the knife’s edge in terms of what can ripen, so the attention to detail has to be so high. There’s constant innovation. I think that kind of growing produces wines that have energy and are exciting to drink. Here at The Grange we have some of the oldest vineyards in the County, some of the blocks are over 23 years old and I
think they are starting to really show what these soils can do. Especially our Chardonnay, which can show 'sense of place' more than any other varietal, in my opinion. Chardonnay loves the County."
Why We're Cool
From our winemaker: "Winemaking is hands off as a general rule - really believe we are on special soils with a special vineyard - French barrels for the most part ( a bit of Austrian lately) - barrel ferments and really trying to express minerality over power.
Searching for the balance at all times!" Jonas Newman
From our Viticulturist: "We use Chardonnay Clone 95 in Northfield Block (3.3 acres) and Chardonnay Clone 76 in Victoria Block (4.1 acres)
We are on latitude 44 degrees (same as Bordeaux). Our soils here are Hillier Clay Loam with a depth of 1 metre. Clay soils with calcareous limestone.
Our vineyards are located 6.5 km from Lake Ontario. Both clones ripen around the same time (typically the first week of October." Mike Peddlesden
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