If you're planning to visit the winery seasonally, here's a taste of what's waiting for you!
Click any of the small "thumbnail" pictures below to bring up a slideshow. This page is graphic-intensive, so please be patient if it takes a few moments to load.
You're also encouraged to view our Video Gallery. Enjoy!
Image:
Grapes and the Vineyard.
Each Spring, new buds burst from old vine 'canes'. New vines shoot up from the buds, and from them, tiny little grape clusters. The ripening process takes about 100 days, placing harvest around September-October. Most of the pictures of full, ripe grapes are from the days preceding harvest.
Harvest.
From the middle of September until the end of October, we'll be working long hours daily to take all the grapes in when they're perfectly ripe. Small crops, and grapes from young vines are picked gently by hand. Larger plantings of stronger, older vines are mechanically harvested quickly to ensure the grapes are picked at optimal ripeness.
Image:
Image:
Crush and Production.
Making wine is a complicated process that requires great attention to detail. After removing the grape stems, a wine is either pressed or fermented depending on the type. Most white wines are aged in stainless-steel tanks, and most red wines are aged in small, French oak barriques. After 6-12 months, we begin to bottle the wine on-site.
Icewine.
As arduous as the Fall harvest is, we aren't finished yet. Grapes are netted for protection against birds, as well as to catch any falling clusters. The Icewine harvest takes place between December and February whenever the temperature sits between -8 and -12 degrees Celsius. For more on Icewine, download our brochure here!
Image:
Image:
Events
At Riverview, we like to celebrate. But don't take our word for it; have a look at photos from our Riverview events and see for yourself. We have at least one event per month including our famous Chocolate Falls on Niagara event for Icewine Festival and the Sassy Sangria event for Niagara Wine Festival!
