Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery
About
Welcome to Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, now home to Fancy Farm Girl wines, a small, quality oriented winery on the family's 200 year old estate. It is the ultimate assemblage, blending over 100 years of the family's grape growing experience with 18 years of Sue-Ann's award winning winemaking. After opening in 2009, it has been a whirlwind of ultimate experiences, from Weddings to Corporate Dinners to Food Truck Events and Niagara Icewine Programs. Concerts, Fashion Shows, who knows what the future holds!
Location Description
Located on the brow of the Niagara Escarpment in Jordan, Ontario.
Features
- Blending over 100 years of the family's grape growing experience with 15 years of Sue-Ann's award winning winemaking.
Additional Information
- Meeting / Conference Facilities:
- Caves:
- Wedding Facilities:
- Picnic Facilities:
- Dog Friendly:
- Winery Tours:
- Wine Tasting:
- Art or Architecture:
- Organic / Biodynamic:
- Awards:
- Wine Club:
- Lodging / Bed & Breakfast:
Winemaker
She was acclaimed as "2002 Winemaker of the Year" by the Ontario Wine Society and is a two-time recipient of the International Wine and Spirits Award in London, England for one of the top four "Women in Wine" in the world. Currently Miss Staff is proprietor of Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery based on her family's two hundred year old estate in Jordan, Ontario, producing quality VQA wines from grapes grown on the escarpment property.
As well, Sue-Ann makes wine for Megalomaniac in Vineland, Ontario, and liaisons between it and its sister property, Chateau La Confession, in St.Emilion Bordeaux, France.
History
The first vineyard was planted in 1898 by my great-grandfather Howard Alexander Staff and my great-great uncle. It is a 3.3 acre block on Concord's located at the corner of Staff Avenue and 17th Street.
This vineyard is over 100 years old, is still in operation today and is perhaps the oldest productive vineyard in Ontario. We will continue to keep it for generations to come as part of a living legacy. Over the next 100 years, the property served as a hub for the agricultural enterprise that expanded to, at one time being, the largest privately owned fruit growing operation in Canada which included over 800 acres of grapes.
Through each generation, the dream of owning and operating a winery existed. Today, the dream has come into reality. The small, quality oriented winery produces only VQA wines from grapes grown on the property. The range includes enticing, vibrant white wines; fresh, intriguing reds; and luscious, decadent Icewines.
Practices & Techniques
As a conscientious purchaser of packaging supplies, new packages are currently under review considering their appeal to the consumer and environmental impact.
Estate Vineyards / AVA
Niagara Peninsula:
Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery vineyards fall in the 20 Mile Bench and Vinemount Ridge sup-appellations. These are both located within the Niagara Peninsula, Canada.
The Niagara Peninsula has the largest planted area of all viticulture areas in Canada. Situated at approximately N43 latitude this prime and diverse appellation is characterized by rich, fertile soils and unique microclimates, which provide ideal conditions for producing wine grapes with more complexity and intense avour than in many warmer climates.
The classic cool-climate varieties such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc flourish here. The Niagara Peninsula continues to shape a rapidly expanding premium wine industry in Canada as the home to approximately 65% of Ontario's wineries.
Vinemount Ridge:
Vinemount Ridge lies just above and south of the brow of the Niagara Escarpment. This appellation covers two prominent geological features - the Fonthill Kame to the east and the Vinemount Moraine on its western edge. The youngest moraine in the Niagara Peninsula, the Vinemount Moraine is a long narrow ridge of material that was deposited by the glacier that occupied the Lake Ontario basin approximately 13,000 years ago. Erosion from the several streams that cross this appellation has produced a gentle undulating landscape with many shallow east- and south-facing slopes, unique within the Niagara Peninsula. These slopes provide sun exposure and early spring warming to its deep clay soils and early budburst for the vines.
Twenty Mile Bench:
The Twenty Mile Bench stretches east to west from Fifteen Mile Creek to west of Cherry Avenue. Bisected by Twenty Mile Creek, it has a complex topography with a distinctive double bench formation west of Twenty Mile Creek, and short, varied slopes that roll to the brow of the escarpment. The sheltered north-facing slopes and the air circulation from Lake Ontario provide for year round temperature moderation, setting up an ideal growing season for quality grapes.