Spill The Wine

Judging by the name, one might think Organized Crime is an Italian Mafia winery. However, when our host Andrea Morris speaks with Owner Ania De Deluba and winemaker Greg Yemen, we discover the incredibly interesting story behind the name. It comes from a battle between two Mennonite churches, resulting in a church pipe organ being stolen and thrown into a ravine. You'll enjoy hearing the whole sto...

If only you could see the beautiful view while listening to Andrea Morris chat with Flat Rock owner Ed Mardonich!  It's a stunning location with beautiful wines, named for the abundance of flat rocks they discovered while doing drainage for the vineyard. During our tasting, Ed challenges our preconceived notions of wine tasting and we taste red wines before whites. It really is a much better way t...

In this episode we travel slightly above the Niagara escarpment for a chat with Wescott's winemaker Casey Kulczik.  Wescott is a winery that is keen on nurturing the micro flora and fauna on the property to produce wines that truly represent the place of where they are. Andrea and Casey start off their tasting with the Blanc de Noir from the Brilliant series. (a brilliant idea for sure!) It led to...

Andrea had so much fun chatting with Ilia and Nadia Sawchuk, owners of Leaning Post Winery, that we had to extend the interview to a second episode. In Part 2, we taste the wonderful red wines we have to offer, starting off with two Pinot Noirs. Pinot Noir is a fussy grape to grow, but it's a beautiful fruit that produces a full bodied wine with less alcohol content. Ilia refers to it as the Emo p...

Ilya and Nadia Senchuk – owners of Leaning Post Winery  revealed to our host, Andrea Morris, that the dream of owning a winery actually started as pillow talk, then expanded to numbers on a napkin and eventually led to a search for the right property. After losing three bids for vineyards, they decided to rent a house with some vines on the property, which eventually became Leaning Post. Their pas...

In part two of Andrea's interview with Thomas Bachelder – owner/winemaker of Bachelder Estates, we taste some wonderful wines. We start off with comparing Gamay Noir wines from Niagara and Bench vineyards, comparing color, taste and the aromas. During the tasting we learn how the colour of red wine is effected by the volume in the glass. As we progress to sipping Chardonnays, Thomas shares some in...

This is the first episode of Spill the Wine that doesn't include a wine tasting! The conversation Andrea Morris had with Thomas Bacherlder – owner/winemaker of Bachelder Estates was so interesting it needed a full episode to itself. Thomas' journey as a winemaker began in Montreal, then led to Burgundy, Oregon and finally, Beamsville, which has the climate and terroir for making the Burgundy style...

If you're a fan of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, this is a winery you MUST visit! Our host, Andrea Morris, speaks with Cloudsley owner Adam Lowy about the reasons for focusing on these two grape varietals, and the choice to outsource their grapes from outstanding growers in the Bench area. Adam talks about making wines that don't make your mouth tired. He provided another great statement regarding wi...

Calamus Estate Winery is quite unique, as it is the only winery in the Niagara Bench area that has a telescope on site. Plus, it's also proud to be a democratic winery, where their wine club members are a part of the process of picking wines. Our host, Andrea Morris, speaks with Peter Van Helsdingen, the owner of the winery, regarding the many events they host featuring astronomy and wine, and abo...

In this episode, Andrea visits with Rob Harold and Joe Schenck, the co-owners of King and Victoria Winery. They have a genuine enthusiasm for making wine and look at each wine as one of their babies. Rob and Joe share the story of how they found the property and started the winery, and explain why their wine club is named for a group of vultures (The Committee). They share some of their innovative...

This episode provides tons of insights into the art of winemaking. Andrea Morris chats with 16 Mile cellar winemaker Morgan Juniper. Morgan shares information about the biodynamic approach to winemaking and talks about emotional winemaking versus lab driven winemaking. Bet you didn't know that was a thing! In addition, for the first time on the podcast, we discuss ladybugs, particularly the multic...

In this episode, our host, Andrea Morris, visits with Wending Home Estate winemaker Ron Giesbrecht, who is well renowned in the Niagara wine making circles. Ron has over 40 years of experience in the wine business – including research, wine making and teaching as a college professor. He has a unique approach to wine making and enjoys experimenting with unique grape varieties. In addition to tastin...

A wine tasting with Nathan and Dave at Dobbin Estate is like a fairy tale. Andrea met them at the foot of the tower (the adult treehouse as they call it) , and proceeded to the second floor to hear the story of the winery and taste some spectacular wines. Nathan and Dave explained their reasoning for opting for an organic approach to wine making and talked in detail about the challenges of organic...

Len Pennachetti from Cave Spring is well known in the Niagara Wine region and his years in the business resulted in one of our most informative podcast episodes. Andrea and Len began their discussion by addressing the pretentiousness of wine, which Len had a very interesting take on. Throughout the course of the conversation and wine tasting, we learn some fun facts about the traditional method of...

In this episode, we discover how land that was once an old air force training site, The Beamsville Aerodrome, has developed into a top tier winery. Andrea and Taylor Emerson discuss the evolution of the winery from the reasons for choosing to purchase this particular plot of land, the grape choices and the decision to create Old World style wines. During the course of the conversation and wine tas...

This is the story of how a family farm becomes a winery. Our host, Andrea Morris, visits Dim Winery and chats with Peter Dim about the history of the farm and of course, we taste some amazing wines. We are also treated to some wonderful stories about the labels and names for the wines. In addition, we also learn a lot about agriculture and weather and their affects on the grapes.  Produced by: Luk...

Your host, Andrea Morris, busts a popular myth that red wine should never be served chilled. During this visit to Italian winery Villa Romana, Ugo explains why the folks in Rome drink their red wine chilled, and Andrea is surprised to actually enjoy chilled Pinot Noir. Ugo and his daughter, Andrea, share their stories of creating unique and delicious award winning wines. You'll hear about the path...

We experience a bit of the UK vibe in this episode as your host, Andrea Morris, visits with Sarah at London Born Winery. We discover how a family from England started a winery in the Ontario wine region and learn the stories behind wines. During the conversation, Andrea and Sarah develop some great ideas for future podcasts and give some helpful hints regarding food pairings. And we even veer off...

Ten acres and a mule was the slogan years ago, and your host, Andrea Morris, visits with Andrew Brooks, the owner of Back 10 about his journey into the wonderful world of wine. Andrew and his wife, Christina,  had no experience in farming or agriculture, but clung to the dream of starting a vineyard from the ground up.   Back 10 Cellars started with a big dream , pure will, gumption and determinat...

If you are a red wine lover, this is the episode for you! Your host, Andrea Morris, takes you one of the wineries in the Bench area that is renowned for their hearty reds – Kacaba Vineyards Winery.  Charles will be our wine steward for the day and guide us through a tasting of a variety of wines, beginning with some bubbly, and ending with deep, rich reds. We will also discuss the history of Kacab...

Your host, Andrea, SERIOUSLY overuses the word "lovely" in this episode. As a matter of fact, it annoyed her so much, she wanted to redo the episode. However, producer Lukas Sluzar felt there is valuable information in this podcast, so Andrea bit the bullet and allowed it to air. Count the number of times she says lovely, and you could win a prize!! (email your answer to spillthewinepodcast@gmail....

Welcome to the first episode of Spill the Wine – a podcast obviously about WINE! Wine is the one beverage that people seem to think they can't enjoy unless they know something about it, which is quite odd when you think about it. But have no fear - we are hear to help you learn about wine, debunk some myths, and introduce you to the wonderful Bench area of the Niagara Wine region. We begin our jou...