Harvest Report 2024: Ontario winemakers excited about new wine vintage

By Rick VanSickle

The hopes and dreams of that perfect vintage for winemakers and growers took shape with the first grapes harvested on August 26, 2024, which is exceptionally early in Niagara.

Perfect vintages are rare, and 2024 was no exception, but the thrill of bringing in the first grapes of the season, in this case Marquette in Niagara, followed closely by Pinot Noir at Henry of Pelham for sparkling wines, is what gets the juices going for winemakers. “Record heat units and plenty of sun with intermittent rain has led to an earlier start than usual and the potential is just mind-blowing,” noted Matthew Speck, co-owner of Henry of Pelham, as the Short Hills Bench estate began harvesting gapes on Aug. 19, nine days earlier than the 2023 harvest.

Note: Our annual Vintage Chart with 2024 added and new drinking windows for vintages dating back to 1988 in Ontario is coming up soon on Wines in Niagara.

The scene was set for a better than average vintage with the warm Ontario weather, particularly in Niagara, with many regions experiencing intense heat. While rain often came in large bursts, it typically fell at night, allowing for rapid drying during the day. Long dry spells balanced isolated storm events, and the region saw relatively few weather disruptions compared to other parts of the world, according to VQA. The only outlier in Ontario was in the emerging Ottawa Valley where biblical rains during the entire season erased any chance of a memorable vintage.

The summer in Ontario was warmer than average, particularly in Niagara, with many regions experiencing intense heat. While rain often came in large bursts, it typically fell at night, allowing for rapid drying during the day. Long dry spells balanced isolated storm events, and the region saw relatively few weather disruptions compared to other parts of the world.

Though some grapes were harvested in August, September continued to be warm and humid, which posed some challenges, especially for white varieties like Riesling and Chardonnay, which are more sensitive to disease pressure. However, these conditions also resulted in highly concentrated flavours and vibrant colour development in red varieties. Harvest conditions were largely ideal, with dry, warm weather during the final push in October.

Most winemakers in this extensive report feel the 2024 wines will equal or surpass the quality of wines from the near-perfect 2020 vintage.

“We winemakers always say it, don’t we? “This was one of the greatest harvests,” said Domaine Queylus winemaker Kelly Mason (with her harvest team above). “Well, 2024 just might be. With warm climate conditions in the fall, winemakers had ripeness (brix) and we focused on other harvesting parameters — flavour, acidity, and pH levels.”

Hidden Bench owner Harald Thiel agreed with Mason. “Across all varieties, our estate fruit reached exceptional levels of ripeness and concentration this year,” he told Wines in Niagara. “However, cool nights at harvest meant we were also able to retain freshness and acidity in the fruit. It is still too early to tell but we are quietly confident that the wines from 2024 will be among one of our top vintages produced to date.”

Debbie Zimmerman, CEO of Grapes Growers Ontario, said that “overall, most varieties experienced lighter yields than 2023 while Chardonnay tonnage was much lighter than expected. Overall, 64,826 tonnes were harvested with a farmgate value of $103.8 million.” Unfortunately, the GGO also estimates that unsold grapes in Ontario was a little over 5,000 tonnes.

The overall outlook for the 2024 vintage, according to the Vintner Quality Alliance (VQA), is to expect “exceptional reds across the regions, with excellent ripeness, balance, and structure. Quality is high across the board, though some regions had to manage weather-related challenges carefully.”

In this extensive harvest report, Wines in Niagara reached out to dozens of winemakers, growers and winery owners from all Ontario regions for their thoughts on the harvest and what to expect from the wines once they begin to show up on store shelves this spring and a year or two for the big reds. Here’s is what they said, in their own words, beginning with the Niagara Peninsula.

The Niagara Peninsula

The growing season in Niagara started with a mild winter and no spring frost events, with no significant vine damage reported. Spring was warmer than usual, prompting some growers to report an early start to the season, up to a week ahead of normal.

Niagara’s summer was marked by above-average temperatures, with warm days and warmer-than-usual evenings. The region experienced a reduced diurnal temperature range, but this resulted in intense flavours and colour development in the grapes. Veraison occurred up to five days earlier than usual for some varieties.

The harvest season was favorable, with warm September temperatures and some humidity linked to extreme weather events. Despite some disease risk, especially for white varieties, growers who waited for their red varieties saw exceptional ripeness and good acid balance, reminiscent of the excellent 2020 vintage.

October brought three days of rain, but overall, the season was dry. Storms were rare, and many growers reported that rain events forecasted by weather networks did not materialize in wine country.

Here’s what winemakers and owners had to say in their own words about the harvest in 2024.

Amélie Boury, vice-president of winemaking,
Château des Charmes Wines, St. Davids

Ontario is famously known to be the most inconsistent climate and a challenge for viticulture and winemaking. There are no guarantees until it is in the tank. I got a few early season scares, but everything went well in the end.

The growing season started very well for us at CdC, bud break across the board by May 5, with no winter injury or spring frost damages. All vineyard work lined up very well until the end of June when the torrential rain episodes happened, one after another.

Time was running out between the rain episodes, constant humidity, re-entry in the vineyard and sprays. High pressure from downy mildew was around the corner, and we got some stressful weeks, but we were able to get to the end of August without much damage and with the situation under control.

We went through a calm, almost stress-free harvest, with everything coming in at its best and on time, no rain to make us rush any decisions.

Vintage 2024 proved to be an excellent year at CdC for our sparkling program, which is about to expand a lot with this vintage. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gamay and Aligoté showcase beautiful aromatics, texture and acidity for base wines.

Sauvignon Blanc was bottled as early as November giving us a pleasant view on the 2024 whites.

Pinot Noir and Gamays are fruit forward with a great concentration, reaching over 22.5 brix early in the season, which allowed us to produce a Gamay Nouveau to be released on time for the celebration.

The big Bordeaux (grapes) delivered a medium plus quality from our St David’s Bench vineyard, they will rest in barrels for much longer to show their full potential, but it was not an Equuleus year like we call it at the winery.

Paul Speck, president of
Henry of Pelham Family Estate
Winery, Short Hills Bench

Overall, we were very, very pleased with 2024. We had a mild winter with one cold spell in the early spring that knocked about 20% of the crop down. After a larger crop in 2023, the vines also naturally take a year off and produce less.

The growing season was very warm with unusual spurts of almost tropical rains where we would get significant down pours in short spurts. The fall/harvest was amazing. Beautiful and sunny. Grapes ripened well. Some more rain periods which in some vineyards caused some rot because of the high ripeness levels and an early harvest but all in all, amazing red, white and rosé wines from 2024.

Scott Kirby, co-owner Kirby Estate Wines,
Niagara Lakeshore sub-appellation

For the Niagara Lakeshore sub appellation, 2024 might be characterized as the “Year of the Farmer” and a vintage reminiscent of the fabulous 2020 vintage provided vintners had solid expertise in the vineyard.

Spring materialized early and raced ahead for the first 6-8 weeks into June. Bud break occurred between the first and second week of May. The onset of an accelerated warm and dry spring morphed into a wet and humid summer by June and into the latter part of August.

The high frequency of precipitation events provided a high stress environment for powdery and downy mildews both for new and established vines, requiring more frequent and aggressive attention than normal to keep disease at bay. The farming made the difference in ensuring the berries made it to the fall in tip top shape.

As veraison progressed through mid-August, it slowly gave way to warmer days. Phenolically, the berries developed nicely with rich and complex flavours while sugar development accelerated into the fall. The intensity of viticulture during the earlier wet window caused the thinner-skinned varietals to commence breakdown earlier in the harvest window than normal.

Fruit yields were generally very healthy resulting in a highly publicized surplus of fruit being supplied into a slowing consumer market.

The end of October marked a completion of harvest. All varieties had beautifully developed clean fruit bunches with great flavour profiles. The vines were put to bed in reasonable time to ensure hardening. The resulting wines are expected to be full flavoured and robust and elegant in style.

Thomas Bachelder, owner/winemaker
at Bachelder Wine and winemaker
at Domaine Le Clos Jordanne

Wow! It was a “wild and crazy ride,” once again! This year started off very fast and warm, with bud break popping about 10 days ahead of time, and the early abundance of rain and warm weather continued all summer.

At times it was a bit scary — as the rain often came in large bursts. Still, much of it fell overnight, and time after time, the vines dried out perfectly by midday the following day.

We counted our lucky stars as our little peninsula saw few truly crazy weather events — this was sadly not the case with other parts of the wine world.

Fortunately, the rains slowed towards the end of the season when the grape skins are ripening, softer, and most at risk for breakdown, however, the heat and humidity continued unabated. Were we headed to “hell in a hand basket?” Or yet another year with everyone resorting to a heavy “sort” on the “table de trie?”

September, as always, makes or breaks the vintage, and this year was no exception – it was warm and dry with cool nights slowly setting in. We all had great fears of the fungal loads that MUST have been on the grape bunches after such an intermittently-wet summer, so both Domaine Le Clos Jordanne and Bachelder jumped on the Pinot harvest as SOON as we saw the ripe flavours, tannins and brown grape seeds were there — and the skins still clean — with no hint of sour rot, botrytis, splitting or other rots. As we slowly realized that the Pinots were not breaking down, we held on to some plots and picked them later at maximum ripeness (for a cool region).

Pinot Noir: Did we pick too soon? Did we pick too late?

All these factors contributed to great quality across the board for our wineries, with lots of concentration, especially in Pinot Noir. Some of the yields were super low, some were on par: the harvest started early with naturally lower yields, it came upon DLcJ very quickly, but we were ready with some new sorting equipment and a passionate team! 

At Bachelder, the sorting was reserved mostly for the last fruit to come in. In short, we are very excited about the quality and elegant flavours of the 2024s — even though the season was a warmer one.

The proof about our cool climate?

It was a warmer year and, once again, we picked at the usual time – and, yes, the young wines taste ‘cool.’ We started harvest on a classical date of mid-September (about the 17^th) and kept picking right until the 20th of October with little or no breakdown in the Pinots and the Gamay Noirs. And we are only talking the Burgundian grapes here – those which tend to be the first to harvest.

The Chardonnay was fine but with depth — chiseled, mineral and flavourful. An incredible year IF you didn’t wait for the sugar to be ‘perfect.’ If you insisted on a higher brix, you also flirted with bland, even tired flavours. Pick when the seeds are ripe and the flavour is there, even if the sugar is low – that’s the plant telling you it’s ‘ready.’

Gamay Noir was a dream: dark colours, rich flavours, soft tannins, tight, expressive minerality – what a year for terroir definition, for those great Niagara terroirs where this grape is planted.

A longer view: An ‘uncomfortable cycle finally broken’

So often, in Niagara, a winterkill year gives us a short, concentrated crop (2014, 2015, 2020, 2022) and it is followed by an abundant, late year that weakens the vine (as she tries to ripen all her babies), preventing the plant from hardening off. And then we experience a deep cold event the following winter that kills some dormant buds, thus reducing the potential crop of the next season: it is an ‘uncomfortable cycle.’

2024 was just that – a second year in a row with a huge crop in many vineyards, yet the plants did seem to harden off. It is a Leap Year, and we had an extremely mild winter – and, hence, a normal to large crop once again.

2024 is a tasty, aspirational and ultimately cool, vintage.

Note: With thanks to Phillip Brown and Kerri Crawford along with notes from Mary Delaney.

Adam Lowy, proprietor, Cloudsley
Cellars, Twenty Mile Bench

We are very excited about the 2024 vintage at Cloudsley Cellars. The season started with an early spring, with bud-break coming a few weeks earlier than normal.

The summer was unusual in that we didn’t have any significant stretches of very dry weather. In fact, it rained so frequently that the vines continued pushing new growth right until to harvest. All this moisture, coupled with warm temperatures, meant this vintage demanded real diligence in the vineyard. Those that did the needed work at the right times were rewarded with great fruit, while those that didn’t had real problems in 2024. We were fortunate in that this vintage seemed to favour earlier harvested varietals like Pinot and Chardonnay.

It is looking like 2024 will be a very good year for Chardonnay. The wines look to be classic. Although the season was warm, we picked early to avoid any over-ripe flavours. These should be beautiful wines, typical of our style and true to the terroir.

The Pinots are looking great. We had excellent ripeness while maintaining good acid and pH numbers, resulting in wines that have good flesh yet retain the freshness that we strive for.

We’re looking forward to following the progress of these wines in barrel over their 18-month élevage. I think we’re going to be very happy with these wines!

Casey Kulczyk, Garett Westcott,
Marilyn Krmec, Westcott Vineyards,
Vinemount Ridge and Twenty Mile Bench.

The early part of the growing year for 2024 was not particularly notable. Early spring rains persisted well into June with bud break in both of our vineyards occurring May 12 or so with the geo-textile blankets being removed at Westcott Home Farm just after the May 24 weekend.

Spring and summer had very few hot days and lots of rain, but disease pressure was quite manageable. Then came September and the skies cleared, and we had spectacular fall conditions for the whole harvest.

Similar to 2023 conditions, there was virtually no rain with warm pleasant days and cool refreshing nights. Perfect. Early picks of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Riesling for sparkling started Sept. 2 and were followed by Pinot Noir picks for rosé on Sept. 19. These picks were normal, taking advantage of the special weather conditions. Brix were perfect for our style of sparkling wine and the acidity was bright and within range.

The table wine harvest for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay started in the last week of September and proceeded at a leisurely pace with our final Chardonnay harvest on October 11. Pinot Noir was on point and showed great intensity and concentration.

Chardonnay, although lower yielding, had the same the concentration and character exhibited by the Pinot Noir.

Our final pick was Cabernet Franc on Nov. 6. The naturally low yielding old vines gave us wine with great structure and depth. The fruit was so, so special, and expectations are wines that will be of great aging potential resulting in a gutsy and robust wine.

As a direct result of the quality of the fruit, all of our wild ferments behaved flawlessly with very little intervention required. According to Casey (Kulczyk) the wines produced in 2024 show great promise, exceeding the quality of 2023.

Kelly Mason, winemaker and owner
at Mason Vineyard (Twenty Mile Bench)
and winemaker at Domaine Queylus (St. Anns)

If you’d asked me about the growing season in 2024 during the summer, I would have rolled my eyes. There were chilly days in June and precipitation and humidity in July and early August. By the first week of July, we were frantically pulling leaves and opening up the canopy.

The weather felt permanently stuck in hot and humid mode, and we were worried that Pinot would rot before it even reached véraison. Then everything changed. We got exactly what we needed: a dry, sunny fall. The August weather rolled in and lingered through September, and September’s conditions carried into October. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir thrived, while the Bordeaux varietals saw their sugars climb steadily.

We winemakers always say it, don’t we? “This was one of the greatest harvests.” Well, 2024 just might be. With warm climate conditions in the Fall, winemakers had ripeness (brix) and we focused on other harvesting parameters — flavour, acidity, and pH levels.

In tough years, you see winemaker skill; in hotter years, you see winemaker philosophy. It comes down to managing alcohol, maintaining freshness, cap management, barrel selection, and residual sugar.

The season did give us tonnage, making harvest busier than normal. Hangtime was stretched out a bit which played out on tank logistics and fermentation times. This is where, as a team, Brooke (Husband, assistant winemaker), the interns, and myself thrive — our small lots become large lots, harvest hours become work marathons, and with our youthful team this year, I gotta say it, One Direction and Oreos made it all happen. Thanks Brooke and the harvest team of 2024!

Andre Proulx, partner in 80X Wine Company

It was a lot of work — but we’re happy with the quality of the wine being produced. The Chardonnay harvest was sticky, hard work but we were happy with the quality of fruit.

I would be lying if I said this was a spectacular vintage, but I think even three years later we’re all a little traumatized by 2021, and thankfully every vintage has been a bit better since then.

We were able to schedule our Chardonnay harvest to have a group of volunteers come help us out. We don’t always get a chance to schedule the harvest, and by some miracle rain missed the vineyard that September day. (For the record — we have never been able to schedule a Pinot Noir harvest — Mother Nature makes that decision for us).

Elisa Mazzi, winemaker at Malivoire
Wine Company, Beamsville Bench

I’d like to start by saying that this harvest was exceptional in many ways.

For once, the weather was incredibly co-operative —no rainy days meant I could pick at the optimal time without rushing to beat bad conditions. It even allowed me to harvest the same block at different times, which is a rare luxury.

The early spring and mild fall made a huge difference in grape ripening. A few extra weeks on the vine resulted in fully ripened grapes—something that isn’t always guaranteed in Niagara.

On top of that, the fruit was some of the cleanest I’ve ever seen. This made picking much easier, with minimal sorting required. It also meant fewer challenges in the cellar, less need for adjustments, and higher yields, as there was very little discard.

Aside from the unusual rush of picking for sparkling bases, the six-week harvest went smoothly.

Harvest Highlights:

• Pinot Noir stood out across all styles—sparkling, rosé, and reds—showing incredible flavor concentration, great potential alcohol, and promising aging potential.
• Chardonnay and Gamay once again performed exceptionally well on the Bench.
• An exciting first harvest from our new plantings at Cherry Avenue and Genova Vineyard, for Gamay and Cabernet Franc.

Overall, a fantastic vintage with lots to look forward to!

Brian Schmidt, winemaker at Vineland
Estates Winery, Twenty Mile Bench

Vintages come and go. Almost always, I attempt to compare the characteristics of the current vintage with those of a past vintage. More often than not, the only common thread can best be expressed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: “The work is its own reward.”

After one of the mildest winters in memory, the warm first weeks of May 2024 gave the tiny buds emerging from their winter slumber an energetic boost, leading to an early bud break. I can recall many insights and warnings from my father. The one I relied on in this moment was: “Always be wary of the full moon in May; it is the coldest the morning after.” I was indeed wary. However, while the temperature did drop, it did not fall low enough to cause damage. We could rest easy.

June and July were glorious, if only a little humid — nothing to worry about … yet. Then came August. That was when I was robbed of sleep. The heat and humidity rose, introducing us to a nasty piece of work: Guignardia bidwellii, more commonly known as “black rot.” NEVER had we seen this beast act so fast or behave so aggressively. For 20 days, we did battle. We sprayed a common but very helpful household product — hydrogen peroxide. This served to shock, stun, and dry out the nasty beast. Finally, we prevailed. Peace was restored.

Harvest began early, as predicted. Warm, dry weather arrived, and our harvest continued for seven weeks — a short period by our standards.

Aside from some mild concerns about early-ripening, thin-skinned grapes (almost all grapes beginning with the name Pinot), the harvest was a wild success.

My father also demonstrated to me that work ethic and purpose is the foundation of success. I think my father and Sir Conan Doyle would have been good friends.

Jessica Oppenlaender, Liebling
Wines, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Aaron (Oppenlaender, see Heubel Grapes Estates report in growers category) summarized it perfectly. I got the best of this season, the nice spring.

When the bad weather started, I was off with a newborn and got back into it with the sunshine of fall for harvest. It was hot and dry this fall which made for some big wines.

For whites this year we only made Sauv Blanc which is bursting with flavour. The reds were up there on the sugar scale early on and big on flavour, colour and phenolics. Gamay is concentrated and ripe – tasting it now in barrel it is surprising as it is still so young but so big in colour and flavour (that’s thanks to Aaron and his team for going in early and thinning down both the gamay and cab franc).

Cab Franc did really well, great colour and concentrated flavours – it stayed clean and beautiful all season. Harvest finished early this year, and that’s thanks to a great spring and fall. 

Vadim Chelekhov, winemaker at
Palantine Hills Estate Winery,
Niagara Lakeshore

Overall, the 2024 vintage was outstanding here at Palatine Hills Winery. I would not only compare the quality of the fruit to the legendary 2020 vintage, but I am convinced that quality, ripeness and balance of the grapes we grew in 2024, and wines produced from that vintage, might surpass those from 2020. 

Although the summer months were filled with rainy days, receiving above average precipitation, the number of heat units was around normal. Intensity of those rains is something to note as quite a few vineyards in the area ended up flooding. Being tiled every row, our vines did not suffer “wet feet” through those periods and were not hindered in the berry/cluster development.

The months of September, October and November were remarkably dry and warm through the daytime and cool at night. Perfect weather for allowing grapes to hang just a touch longer than usual, resulting in very clean, ripe and flavourful fruit. Balanced acidity at harvesting of each varietal helped wines to be expressive of a warm vintage yet remaining elegant and balanced on the palate.

I predict 2024 whites and rosé wines from Palatine Hills Estate Winery to be highly aromatic and true to varietal character with a crisp and fresh finish while red wines are going to be rich, well-structured and full bodied, with a long ageing potential.

We completed our icewine harvest before the Christmas holidays and are also expecting outstanding results from the 2024 vintage Vidal icewine.

Allison Findlay, winemaker at Niagara
College Teaching Winery, St. Davids

This harvest was beautiful here at on the St. David’s Bench at Niagara College Teaching Winery.

Our first official pick day was Sept. 16, and the students handpicked 1.85 tonnes of perfect Sauvignon Blanc grapes destined for projects and commercial use. In comparison, this was 13 days earlier than last year, and two days later than 2022.  We saw the Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc come in around the same time, in the third week of September, fully ripened and ahead of a pretty significant rain event.

When the clouds cleared, we brought in Gamay Noir, Riesling and some Vidal, while waiting for those later ripening Bordeaux varieties to be ready.

Although the weather forecast was nothing but little yellow dots, for the following week, Mother Nature did give us some frost worries with grapes still on the vine the second last week of October, but we were able to harvest our Bordeaux varieties only days after.

This year was a blockbuster year for Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, with great concentration, and ripeness. There was more rain than desired during harvest which led to some swelling of berries early in October, but with good sun and dryness later in the month we were able to maintain the quality and health of the grapes.

The yields were lower than the previous year by about 15%. This was due to late spring frost, as well as significant bird pressure that has been reported heavily across the region.

With multiple varieties on the property, it is always fun to watch the vintage variation, and the trickle in of the various ripening times.

Harald Thiel, proprietor at Hidden
Bench Estate Winery, Beamsville Bench

The 2024 vintage began with a pre bud break frost event that reduced bud survival somewhat, meaning less fruit thinning would be needed later in the season. The start of spring provided ample moisture with cooler temperatures, and bud break occurred between May 2 and May 8. This was followed by warmer temperatures from late May thru the June.

Flowering occurred a few days earlier than usual around June 17 with some significant rain events occurring during this period. Chardonnay and Riesling appeared to be the most affected varieties at fruit set, and not as much thinning was required in those blocks this vintage.

The main challenge for our vineyard team was to manage a healthy canopy while battling elevated disease pressure from June through August. With high humidity and above average rainfall, it was noted that fungal disease would be a challenge for the season. Unsettled weather in July and August required extra work in the vineyard to stay ahead of disease pressure and keep the crop healthy. The first signs of véraison were noted on Aug. 5.

As harvest approached, September and October saw periods of good, dry weather, with some showers mixed in, which meant the timing of our picking decisions were key to being able to harvest when physiological ripeness and flavour were best balanced. This ensures the finished wines would be of the highest quality possible We started harvest with grapes for sparkling being picked on Sept. 5 and our first table wine grapes being picked on Sept. 20.

Across all varieties, our estate fruit reached exceptional levels of ripeness and concentration this year. However, cool nights at harvest meant we were also able to retain freshness and acidity in the fruit. It is still too early to tell but we are quietly confident that the wines from 2024 will be among one of our top vintages produced to date.

Rebecca Ruggeri, winemaker Lailey
Winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake

The 2024 growing season began with a relatively mild winter, followed by exceptionally warm spring temperatures beginning in May. These conditions persisted consistently throughout the summer months, promoting strong canopy growth and facilitating the development of intense flavors and vibrant colour in the wines.

The early part of the season also saw periods of elevated humidity and occasional rainfall, which increased the potential for disease pressure. However, through prompt and targeted vineyard management practices, these conditions were effectively controlled, mitigating the impact of excess moisture and ensuring the continued health and vitality of the vines. 

As the season transitioned into the fall, the climate shifted to a period of more abundant sunshine and warmth, complemented by cooler nighttime temperatures. This combination proved ideal for preserving the acidity in our Viognier, a critical factor for maintaining their freshness and balance while the drier conditions in the latter part of the season allowed for a longer and more gradual ripening period for our Bordeaux varieties, enhancing their flavour development and overall maturity.

Overall, the season’s weather dynamics contributed to a balanced and high-quality harvest, with the resulting wines exhibiting excellent flavour concentration, structure, and balance.

Taylor Emerson, owner/vintner
Black Bank Hill, Beamsville

At a high level, 2024 will turn out to be a fantastic vintage and the wines will certainly be among our best. But it was a challenging vintage in the vineyard where consistently warm temperatures, precipitation and humidity drove plenty of canopy growth and fungal pressure.

Precipitation was 472 mm during the growing season, ahead of 456 mm in 2023. I commented a few times during the season that, “the ground never fully dried out this summer.” More surprising though was the amount of heat given no big spikes or heatwaves. Consistently warm days and particularly warm overnight temperatures drove seasonal heat units. The average minimum daily temperature for the growing season was 12.5 C vs 11.9 C in 2023 and 11.1 C in 2022. The resulting figure for degree days above 10 C is 9% above Environment Canada’s recently released 1991-2020 climatological normal, which is equivalent to 19 extra days of summer.

This combination of water and warmth meant it was a very labour intensive in the vineyard. The quality of wines we will produce from 2024 is very much due to the diligence and oversight of winemaker and viticulturalist Jonathan McLean, and the consistent support from Claus Wolf and team.

Maintaining fruit quality by fighting fungal growth with multiple rounds of leaf removal, hedging, and dropped fruit was the overall theme. A solid fruit-set in spring laid a base crop from which we could still meet our targets, despite a late April frost which impacted yields in some varietals.

The lack of overnight cooling accelerated the decline of acids in the grapes during ripening and we saw broadly higher pH’s in the wine analysis results compared to previous years. It will be interesting to see whether or how this impacts the overall style of the vintage. The whites may show a little rounder than usual, but the Chenin Blanc for example, which has so far been very high acid, fell into a lovely balance this vintage.

Our 2024 Pinot Noir, which we can pick early and judiciously, may likely surpass our upcoming 2023, lending support to the adage that precipitation and cloud cover result in better Pinot vintages. But, at the same time, the Cabernets show terrific concentration and robust structure in early tasting, suggesting a long and potentially complex future we will greatly enjoy watching unfold.

Kevin Panagapka, head winemaker
and CCO of Niagara Custom Crush Studio

2024 was quite a successful harvest. There were some challenges with specific varieties, but it was quite a good year. There were minor problems with black rot in 2024, but the vintage ended up producing high-quality wines in general.

I see the reds looking very good — pure phenolic ripeness in the vineyard blocks along the Twenty Mile Bench. If we are ripening Cabernet Franc on the bench at 23 Brix in late October with no rain, it’s quite a good year. I also see Chardonnay and Pinot Gris from 2024 looking quite good. It was an exciting vintage with potential for high quality.

Chris Robinson, winemaker Kacaba
Vineyards and Winery, Niagara Escarpment

Heather Henderson- Cellar Hand, Heather Laundry, Chris Robinson- Winemaker on first day of harvest bringing in Chardonnay from Lincoln Lakeshore managed by the talented Heather Laundry. Sparkling was enjoyed celebrating first fruit, and birthdays for Heather Henderson and Chris Robinson.

The 2024 growing season in Niagara presented a mix of challenges and opportunities, ultimately shaping what is expected to be a “reserve” vintage for Kacaba Vineyards and Winery. Lower yields, like in 2020, have produced concentrated, high-quality fruit for exceptional wines.

The growing season began with promising conditions, but July brought significant rainfall approximately 108 mm (4.3 inches) creating a humid environment ideal for powdery mildew (odium). The excess moisture increased disease pressure across the region, requiring vigilant vineyard management. Canopy thinning and strategic fungicide applications were essential to maintain fruit health. Despite these challenges, meticulous attention in the vineyard ensured that grapes remained in good condition heading into the crucial ripening period.

Fortunately, September and October provided ideal conditions for ripening and harvest. Warm temperatures in September helped push varietals to full phenolic maturity, while October’s dry, moderate weather allowed for optimal picking conditions. These conditions were especially beneficial for later-ripening varieties like Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, ensuring balanced acidity, structured tannins, and concentrated flavours.

This year marks an exciting milestone for me at Kacaba Vineyards as the new winemaker, and I’m excited to put my stamp on the vintage. With 18 years of experience working with growers across Niagara, I was able to source fruit from key appellations: Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Lakeshore, Creek Shores, and Niagara Escarpment. Our strong relationships with growers at Kacaba ensure we access top-quality fruit, despite seasonal challenges.

The combination of expert vineyard and cellar management, our deep understanding of Niagara Benchland terroir, and favourable late-season weather has set the foundation for wines with exceptional structure and aging potential.

Kacaba’s 2024 wines, particularly Syrahs, Cabernets and Merlot, will showcase the resilience of our vineyards and the expertise of our team. We look forward to sharing this Reserve vintage with our club members and clients in the years to come.

Corey Mio, owner of Mio Vineyard
and Sempre Mio wine brand, Beamsville

The 2024 vintage in Beamsville felt classically Niagara, as did 2023, but in opposing ways.

Whereas 2023 was a minor miracle with a redeeming dry, extended harvest season on the back of a cool growing year, 2024 was a hot, humid mess for much of the summer. At this point, I think most growers in Ontario are accustomed to the polarity and fluctuations throughout our growing seasons.

Every year brings a new normal, and sometimes even a new first. We must improvise, adapt, and overcome — the farmer’s mantra.

2024 started off relatively early, after an uncharacteristically warm winter. Precipitation was low and our weather station recorded only one short spell where the temps dipped below -10 C. Otherwise, we hovered near 0 C it seemed from December to March.

While that was promising for the vines relative to winter injury and bud survival, I suspect it was a double-edged sword that also contributed to the high amount of disease pressure we experienced later in the spring and summer. I think that because of the warm winter, some of the funguses, bacteria, and pests were able to overwinter better and populate in greater abundance throughout the summer.

Around bud break, in late April, we had two nights of hard frost that affected our Chardonnay, the earliest budding on our farm. Yields were down considerably by harvest (30% less) vs. some of our other varieties (Gamay, Marsanne, Viognier) that produced our largest yields yet.

June was normal, but we had about three times the rainfall totals in July than average. The shoot growth and advancement of the vines was rapid and robust. I heard from some colleagues that they had to hedge their vineyards three times in 2024. Not only was it very wet, but it was very hot, with near historical growing degree days before August, and days above 30 C in the same time frame, as we’ve ever experienced in Niagara.

That combination provided fertile conditions for all the disease pressures we experience in Ontario to flourish dramatically in 2024 — often, it seemed, at the same time. We experienced some black rot, notable in our Gamay and Cabernet Franc but not catastrophic. However, I know of many others whose entire blocks (especially Riesling) were decimated by it. We saw powdery mildew very early in the season, and downy mildew was relentless from July to near harvest. Because of all the rainfall coupled with the hot temperatures, it made timing of fungicide sprays challenging for many, as the windows in which you could spray were very tight when the pressure was highest in July.

We saw mite activity in blocks where we had not seen them before. We even found some phylloxera galls in the canopy on a few vines of Chardonnay and Gamay (see photo). I was very concerned about our ability to keep the vines healthy and the fruit clean. It truly felt like a siege from every angle for about six weeks in the middle of the season. Diligent cluster thinning and leaf removal was critical to retarding the spread of mildew and rot.

August and September that followed were near normal, October was dry, and we were able to escape the most devasting outcomes by harvest. What started off as an early season ended up becoming a normal or slightly delayed harvest.

Yields were considerably large, despite the pressures faced earlier in the year and the dropped crop from the afflicted fruit. Oddly, it seemed the grape chemistry was very strange at harvest, at least in our little enclave here in Beamsville. Low (or lower) sugars (despite extended hot conditions), low acids but conflicting Ph? Across many different grape varieties, pick dates and other vineyards too. In saying that, several of the growers and winemakers in Niagara-on-the-Lake told me that it was an incredible year for them, without hyperbole, saying that it rivaled 2020 or was even better in flavours and ripeness. Maybe there was more variability between the two sides of the canal.

I personally did not find this to be a banner vintage, but that is my stylistic preference as a consumer, particularly in the varietal wines I enjoy most from Niagara. From purely a grower’s perspective, it was a bountiful harvest, mercifully dry in the fall, with average to above-average quality.

I think the best of the wines will be fruit forward for early consumption, somewhat concentrated (our Chardonnay seems to be), with some varieties lacking in freshness necessary for extended ageability and for being better partners with cuisine. If you gravitate to warm climate red wine, then maybe 2024 Niagara reds will be your jam.

I’ve been surprised recently (2021 for example) by the balance and character of the best wines from Ontario once they had been bottled, despite my preconceptions of that year, so I’d like to suspend judgment on 2024 for now. Though my experience is somewhat limited, I believe “vintage” is not the most reliable narrator here in dictating grape and wine quality broadly, especially when it’s mostly just a summary of the weather and it varies so dramatically across the province. I think those grapes grown conscientiously and diligently despite what challenges a year gives you, outclass any “best” vintage grapes grown less thoughtfully.

Some of my favourite, most inspiring wines have come from poorly rated Niagara vintages and conversely, I’ve had some trash 2020 Niagara wines too. Vintage might just be a tool to help tell the story, but what is Ontario’s grape and wine story? Perseverance. For most, it certainly was last year. It’s (expletive deleted) hard to grow great grapes here, and the growers here that do are, without a doubt, among the best in the world at what they do.

Vittorio De Stefano, owner of On Seven
Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake

The 2024 season felt like a long one.

Winter and spring started-off well. Winter was a bit warmer than usual while spring was wet as expected. This combination caused the buds of the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines to bloom a few weeks earlier than usual.

However, every season comes with its challenges, and this one was no different.

With June and July persistently warmer and wetter than normal, it resulted in higher mildew pressures. In order to keep the vineyard under control, we had to implement aggressive de-leafing and fruit dropping practices. Grape yields, once again, were going to be very low, but the good news was that what was on the vines was very healthy.

And then, August and September came with a sigh of relief and excitement. The weather dried up and the moderate heat matured the grapes to our desired state. Harvest occurred on Sept. 20 under ideal conditions. Crop yields for both the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir came in at 1 tonne per acre. Fruit flavours for both grapes were intense with balanced levels of acidity.

Could this vintage be another amazing one? Excited to taste the wines once in bottle.

Emma Garner, senior winemaker
at Andrew Peller Limited

Here is a brief summary of harvest 2024 from my perspective.

• Mild winter and spring enabled an earlier start to the harvest;
• Warmer than average summer resulted in primo ripening in reds;
• Timely rains helped to keep water available to vines (very little if any drought stress observed);
• Warm, dry fall enabled us to make optimal harvest date picking decisions;
• Tasting the whites – beautiful fruity aromatics and flavours, still a surprising yet lovely fresh acidity despite the warm season;
• Tasting the reds – looking to be big and bold, PN still have some elegance whilst BDX reds have a beautiful ripeness.

Nicholas Gizuk, estate winemaker, Inniskillin
Niagara Estate Winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake

The quality growing season in 2024 led us to a strong harvest in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Beamsville Bench.

The Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris aromatics on the bench were ahead of some varieties in the hotter plains of the Four Mile Creek and Niagara River appellations.

Sauvignon Blanc was the standout variety of the vintage with great expression across the region. Chardonnay shows great complexity early in the aging process in barrel. With some fruit left to hang longer, the picking process was stretched over the month, with the last pick in November.

The extra time in barrel was necessary to build flavour and intensity, resulting in a wine with great vibrancy.

The Riesling showcases the cooler start to the vintage; a bit of rain at peak ripeness posed a challenge to harvesting. We produce a variety of Riesling styles, from dry to a very sweet susse reserve, and it remains a staple of the Inniskillin brand. Riesling is truly an undervalued variety in this region. Since some of the oldest vines here are Riesling, we can showcase the unique characteristics of our terroir.

Our Pinot Noirs and Gamays showed great vibrancy and intensity on the vine and look to be some of the best fruits of the year. Both varieties have great acidity and bright fruit tones in the barrels. The Merlot fruit flavours, and colour are something to marvel at early in their life cycle. Deep purple and plum and blackberry expressions can be found in barrel.

The other Bordeaux reds had some extended hang time with some great colour and dark red fruit spectrums. As usual, Cabernet Franc was one of the standout varietals this year and my personal favourite. It was picked from five different appellations, and all show distinct nuances. The Bench fruit showed higher acids with complex tannins, while the Creek fruit showed a softer tannin structure. Cabernet Sauvignon ripened well showing a breadth of dark red fruits and Gamey notes early in the ageing process.

2024 was an exciting vintage with some extended hang time warm temperatures and cool nights that have set us up for some great cool climate expressions of all varieties. The Montague Pinot usually displays bright cherry plums, however, staggered picking this season will allow for a diverse expression of this vineyard.

The Sauvignon Blanc this year was a treat to work with. Early ripening and great acidity retention should make for some stunning wines, with the fruit near the lake showing the best.

We expect to see some notable cool-climate wines emerge in the coming years, becoming signature examples of our unique styles and terroirs. This should be a vintage that we will talk about in future years for aging potential of the reds and great expression of white. One of the rare seasons where we will see well-showcased, varietally true wines from this vintage from all styles. In my opinion, the overall quality from this year will be outstanding.

Ann Sperling and Peter Gamble,
consulting winemakers and viticulturists,
Dobbin Estate, Twenty Mile Bench

2024 was a classic for the region. Warming temperatures in May lead to moderately warm and consistent summer temperatures. No extreme hot days – our hottest days were 26-28 C with only a few in each of June, July, and August.

There were major and minor rain events every month with relative humidity ranging from 70-98% consistently. We had to be vigilant with our spray program as fungal pressure from downy mildew and even some black rot was steady.  Flowering took place a few days either side of the summer solstice.

Veraison was slightly delayed by a few days and ripening progressed steadily through fall with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir harvest taking place in the third week of September and Cab Franc five weeks later. Chardonnay and P Noir show bright characters with good structure on an elegant frame. Cabernet Franc is bold and dense with ripe tannins.

Patience paid off for later ripening varieties because October and November were both warmer and drier than normal, allowing for full maturity of grapes as well as wood hardening-off for winter resilience.

Marc Pistor, Mitchell McCurdy, and Jeff Moote,
winemakers at Collab Beverages Wine
and Beverage,various sub-appellations

Spring was warm with a significant amount of rain. This jumpstarted vines along with the early bud break but needed some quick responses in terms of hedging, shoot thinning and leaf removal to ensure good airflow and that the humidity didn’t lead to powdery and downy. If the work was done the vines were thriving by the time we hit some high summer heats and significantly reduced rain into June, July and August.

All these factors led to some speedy ripening that saw an earlier harvest on a lot of varietals until we hit a cooler spot in September where brix stopped racing, acid was not reduced as quickly and flavour and tannin were allowed to develop. Varietals overlapped and changed their regular harvest order as site and management more significantly influenced readiness for harvest than most other years. Harvest decisions and timing were very important for achieving the best results this year.

For our early varietals, sparkling picks needed an aggressive call otherwise sugars rose too quickly while Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio needed some patience, even in the face of increasing disease pressure. For the most part, Pinot Noir was ready before the big challenges arrived. Mid-season varietals suffered some losses due to the warm, humid days in late September and early October.

Botrytis ran pretty quickly through vineyards with nearly ripe grapes and the affected clusters needed to be manually removed before harvesting if by machine or left in the vineyard if by hand. In our case this year, Chardonnay and Riesling were the most impacted and Merlot had some challenges in some cases. That being said, what was delivered to the winery, delivered in quality in the finished wines.

The importance of harvest timing continued with Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Gewurztraminer, Gamay, Syrah, Malbec and the Cabs and good sites with great management delivered amazing results with the occasional challenge from botrytis popping up. The normal order of things was certainly not followed this year.

We started harvesting Cab Franc from a young block in the Grimsby Hillside Vineyard in early October but didn’t finish harvesting Cab Franc until early November. Green flavours in most reds were gone early but waiting for flavour concentration and tannin development was necessary even in the face of growing disease pressure. We are extremely grateful for the diligence and flexibility of all the growers we work with.

Overall, whites across the board are showing concentrated ripe flavours with balance and richness. Less acidity but the structure from the high degrees of ripeness that were achieved are filling out some very exciting wines. For the most part, red varietals are showing tonnes of fruit and good concentration with soft tannins but rich, full texture. We haven’t seen overall quality this high since 2020 and we think the wines from 2024 will be accessible a little earlier but still bring great balance and finesse.

N.B. This year we harvested a significant amount of fruit from Grimsby Hillside Vineyard and though we have always been stoked with the grapes and resulting wines, this year was other worldly. I cannot praise the work and effort of Paul (Franciosa) and Josh (Mitchell) and the entire team enough for pushing the potential of quality wines in Niagara.

Martin Werner, winemaker/owner at MW
Cellars, York Vineyards, various terroirs

I think varieties that benefit from diurnal shift will be exceptional. We had some extra hangtime in late September, early October which made for the opportunity to pick when the fruit was ready rather than having to pick for clean fruit vs. breakdown. So, I think the aromatics will be singing this year, like our boy Ozzy going back on tour.

Chardo and Pinot were classic, nothing really to report there out of the ordinary, a traditional Niagara harvest. Pinot was picked with less sorting than an average year for Niagara, which is always nice to have more fruit and pay less for hand sorting. However, I’m still waiting for the complexity to show up in barrel. Maybe I picked too early? The numbers didn’t say so but the lack of complexity in barrel and lack of breakdown needing to sort out leads me to think maybe …

As for the big reds, it was a bit of a shit show across the board. A very strange year from the numbers and flavours. Acids are high BUT so are pH’s … and malos are struggling to finish in barrel. An absolute surface yeast’s dream! I feel bad for anyone who doesn’t use barrels and have tanks that aren’t totally full.

With pH’s high it means you must add heaps more sulphur to keep the wine protected. Now, with the legal limit of free sulphur only being 50 ppm the highest pH’s you should have are about 3.6 pH. I can tell you all my reds after malo are all higher than that, meaning we will have to acidify, which is awful because the TAs are also quite high. Needless to say, these wines will need some serious time in barrel before release to hopefully mellow out.

Ontario grape growers Debbie Zimmerman,
CEO Grape Growers of Ontario

Overall, the 2024 growing season was characterized by early harvests, which were up to 14 days ahead of normal.

The warm, wet pre-harvest period created ideal conditions for late-season downy mildew development. Following some rain and warm, humid conditions, there were some challenges for some tight clustered varieties that are susceptible to bunch rot such as Riesling.

Growers needed to be diligent in managing disease pressure and make timely harvest decisions to ensure high-quality fruit.

Late-season red varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon benefited from the fall weather, which allowed brix and quality to rise. Overall, most varieties experienced lighter yields than 2023 while Chardonnay tonnage was much lighter than expected. Overall, 64,826 tonnes were harvested with a farmgate value of $103.8 million.

Craig Wismer, president of Glen Elgin
Vineyard Management, Twenty Mile Bench

Another interesting harvest, to be certain. An early start (bud break) — one of the earliest. The season culminated with a similarly early start to harvest, however, much of the vinifera harvest was typically timed, meaning a longer season and extended hang time was in play. An interesting season no doubt, with some noteworthy markers of an excellent vintage.

These seasonal variables were mostly overshadowed by perhaps a more important variable — what use is a great fruit, if it doesn’t have a market? Many contracts and agreements were cut, and growers were left without sales — has the Grape Growers of Ontario grape sales list ever been so long? It was a question on a lot of minds throughout the season. At the end of the day, wine sales and thus grape purchasing seemed to have caught up with supply, and fruit was finding a home.

All in all, it looks like 2024 has the markers of a great season. Fruit that was picked at the optimum time was beautiful and clean, with excellent numbers (brix, acid etc.). That being said, the season was not without its challenges.

Rain and humidity at a few key times left conditions that presented potential issues. As always, good vineyard management needs to be flexible and adaptable to each individual season, there is no “one size fits all” approach, or a black and white template to follow.

It seems to be an increasingly common question in Niagara — how do we react and adapt to the seasonal challenges, implementing best practises to grow top quality fruit, while simultaneously protecting flavour, acid and etc? These two key components of quality wine growing are often diverging, and at a seemingly increasing rate. It is a fine line to navigate leaf removal and canopy management for airflow and disease prevention, while protecting the fruit from the sun in warm year.

I am always looking at limited, or moderated leaf removal and fruit exposure in a warm season (at least in aromatic whites.) On the other end of the spectrum, making those decisions in July and August, leaves a long way to go until the safety of harvest. Can one ever say in Niagara we are not likely to see rain, humidity and/or heavy dew in that time period? It’s a constant balancing act.

As usual, putting the time in with best practices and good value in the vineyard saw good results, despite the challenging points of the season. Doing the right work at the right time is always the most efficient course of action in a vineyard. The measurable result being good, healthy (appropriate) yields of high-quality fruit, and in this case, despite those times of challenge.

At the end of the day, the white varieties and Pinot Noir appear to be exceptional, especially if treated with a hair trigger at harvest. Day-by-day oversight of each harvest plan was required — sometimes with only days (a day?) to pick at the optimal timing for numbers to come up, before the warm and humid harvest started to affect fruit integrity. Red varieties were a similar story, when brix came up, and they sure shot up quick (by typical Niagara standards) the fruit was ready to go, and it didn’t hang around forever. Unseasonably warm temperatures for most of harvest, with ample dew and humidity did not offer much extended hang time. It looks like some exceptional wines for 2024.

Bob Nedelko, owner of Ivan
Vineyard, Twenty Mile Bench

We started off rather quickly following a very mild winter. June was an average growing month while July was hot and really kick started the growth in the vineyard. When we headed into September it was abnormally wet and humid, which created many challenges with certain varieties such as Riesling being subjected to sour rot.

However, we were blessed with a great and warm October and early November, and we did not receive any frost, which allowed the later harvested varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to fully mature to their potential. My predictions for the 2024 vintage is crisp and lower sugar whites (due to the September moisture and humidity) and more full bodied reds.

Paul Franciosa, co-owner Grimsby
Hillside Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore

The 2024 vintage follows back-to-back high-quality vintages at Grimsby Hillside Vineyard, perhaps exceeding the quality of both 2022 and 2023 (time will tell) by producing grapes that we think led to wines that will show great phenolic development and expressive flavours, and sugar-acid balance. We’re very excited to see what our customers are going to produce from all varieties from this vintage.

The growing season followed a mild winter, with very good bud survival rates across the vineyard. Spring was mostly dry, with great conditions during fruit set for the earlier varietals like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, although some rain and cloud around fruit set for our Riesling, Cab Franc and Cab Sauv seems to have contributed to reduced yields in those varieties. Aside from small amounts of downy mildew that popped up along the edge of one of our vineyard blocks, which is adjacent to a neighbouring vineyard that appeared to have a lot of downy, disease pressure was low all season long.

Unlike the constant sense of anxiety that 2023 gave us, given the wet summer and disease pressure that year, 2024’s summer presented great growing conditions: warm and sunny — with perhaps a bit more heat and a bit less rain than we would have liked at times — with great conditions persisting through harvest season.

Phenolics across all varieties were great given all the sunshine, and sugar levels were on par with 2022 and slightly ahead of 2023, but below 2020 — we think that’s a good thing, given our stylistic preferences. Aside from the reduced yields in the later varieties, the season was one that we would welcome year-in-year-out if we could.

The primary challenge, I think, for winemakers, will have been timing picks to optimize the sugar-acid-phenolics-flavour dynamic: in our own personal winemaking project, we missed the optimal picking window for our Cab Sauv, and picked it a week later than we should have, which resulted in PH rising a bit too much for our liking. Our customers didn’t make this mistake, and we think there will be some great Cab Sauv, not to mention Cab Franc coming out of GHV in 2024.

We think whites will also be somewhere between 2020 and 2023 — with great concentration and a bit more ripeness than 2023, but more vibrancy restraint than 2020. Riesling may end up being exceptional, as we think that the reduced yields may have led to very concentrated wines. Time will tell for all of these, and we’re eager for updates from our customers!

The biggest challenge we faced this year had more to do with market conditions for grapes: lower-than-hoped-for interest in organically grown grapes, concerns about high interest rates and potential recessions causing purchasers to scale back buying, and some previous customers who didn’t need any grapes from us in 2024 because their home vineyards had recovered from the ravaging winter damage of 2021.

This year was our first certified organic harvest on a total of 17 acres across Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Viognier. Achieving this certification and successfully managing disease pressure in our organic blocks for the past few seasons has been a big win for us, and basically all the credit is due to our vineyard manager, Josh Mitchell, who has been doing a lot of research and experimentation with our spray program to dial things in optimally each year.

While organic certification was an important milestone in our continued transition towards environmentally sensitive farming practices, it seems that we care about organic viticulture more than a lot of market participants. We’ve found that aside from a small handful of producers, folks don’t seem to value organics as much as we would like, perhaps given the presence of other certifications in the market. That isn’t much of a deterrent for us though, so we intend to expand our organic program in 2025 — because we believe it’s better for our farm.

As for general market conditions, we found that winery price sensitivity and concerns around avoiding “overbuying” that first popped up in 2023 continued into 2024, and several buyers reduced purchases. We were expecting to have pretty significant (for us) tonnage of unsold grapes at the end of the season, but the effect of sub optimal fruit set actually impaired yields more than we expected, so we didn’t have any unsold fruit, which sounds nice, except that revenues fell short of expectations.

While we lost of couple of customers who refocused on their home vineyards after recovering from 2021 winter damage (being viewed as a ‘backup’ source of grapes is a constant struggle for an independent premium grower like us), we’re hopeful that between boutique wineries and independent winemakers (groups that are more reliant on premium independent growers), we’ll find homes for the production we expect to have in 2025.

We’re also hopeful that there’s some renewed excitement for Ontario wines given the current U.S.-Canada trade dynamics which might be a net positive for our local industry. Renewed passion and excitement for things Team Canada could be a great boon for our local producers, and by extension, local growers. Time will tell if the current enthusiasm is durable or just a passing fad. We’re hopeful that some lasting positive changes in consumer interest in local wine will lead to enough new customers for our local quality-focused producers that it will mean meaningful improvements in market conditions for premium grapes in 2025.

Aaron Oppenlaender, Heubel Grapes
Estates, Niagara-on-the-Lake

The 2024 season brought along many challenges from heavy rain to black rot and downy mildew. It felt like a never-ending battle fighting them off.

Bud break was a key indicator on what was expected coming into the season, and all varieties across the board had a beautiful consistent bud break minus chardonnay. We had a feeling that chardonnay was going to be a lighter crop this year, and as it turns out, we were right.

Spring was off to a good start – we had great weather, and it was dry, resulting in our team being able to do a lot of work early on, and then the rain came … It was a wet season to farm in. Between constant heavy rain, dewy mornings, hot humid temperatures and little winds it brought on many challenges.

In some vineyards across Niagara, black rot was the issue to combat, for others it was downy mildew early on in the fruiting zone, then later in the season on the top of the canopy. It took our team a lot of work to keep the two pests at bay.

By the end of August, the rain stopped, and harvest was off to a good start. It was a warm and dry harvest for the most part. The crop and quality were able to absorb what it needed and go the extra distant for ripening. Early varieties were spectacular: Pinots never broke down. The colour in the reds was phenomenal – we picked Merlot in September with a sugar of 24.8 brix. Organic blocks were just as beautiful as the conventional blocks, even with all the disease pressure from the rainy summer.

Proof that organic farming production has come a long way. Quality wise, 2024 was excellent. One of my favourite years to farm even with the new challenges it brought. I love a challenge, bring it on Mother Nature! 

Prince Edward County

Prince Edward County’s season was defined by contrasts, with cooler spring temperatures giving way to intense summer heat. The cooler start to the season delayed budbreak, but once it occurred, the survival rate of the buds was good, according to VQA.

The growing season progressed typically, with the usual challenges of rain, occasional humidity, and disease pressure. Summer rain may have slightly delayed maturation in some vineyards, but overall, growers reported a healthy crop with yields ranging from 2 to 2.5 tonnes per acre.

The harvest in Prince Edward County was characterized by dry, warm weather in September and October, which accelerated sugar accumulation and allowed for full ripening. The sunny, bright days were ideal for the development of high-quality fruit.

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were standout varieties, showing excellent ripening and character. Some wineries reported completing harvest as late as mid-November, taking advantage of the extended growing season.

Andre Gagne, owner of Last House Vineyard
in Hillier Ward, Prince Edward County

The 2024 season started with a relatively mild winter. The tied down canes were well buried under soil and adequately protected. The exposed aerial canes did not experience low enough temps to cause bud kill. As a result, many exposed aerial canes were used as fruiting canes for the season.

The growing season was a bit slow to start with a cool spring and some wet conditions. Vineyard prep continued as per the schedule. Buds started to show signs of life in early May. As things warmed up canopy growth took off with a gallop. No frosts this year and things were well set by the third week of May.

June, July and August were extremely rainy. That, combined with heavy overnight dews and mist from Lake Ontario, resulted in high disease pressure. The rains came in such a way that things dried up between the downfalls, allowing good access to the vineyard.

We endeavour to be fully organic in our spray regimen. After a tough 2023 season we tightened up the fungicide spray schedule to 5-7 days versus 7-10 in 2023. This was a lot of extra work but made all the difference. We experienced some fruit loss from black rot, but under 10%. Every vine showed signs of downy mildew, but it was limited to young shoots at the top of the canopy and did not affect the overall ripening process.

A light leaf pulling was completed in early August. The rains and quasi-military spray campaign continued into September. By this point it looked like the ripening process was two weeks ahead. Then things slowed down a bit.

The first pick was Chardonnay for traditional method on Sept 21. Excellent quality and the first sign of a bountiful harvest. Next up was more Chardonnay for the skin fermented white on Sept 28. We had hoped to allocate some Pinot Noir to traditional method but got caught out with too much ripeness when the labour was available. The block of Pinot Noir picked on Sept. 28 went toward red table wine. Our mature blocks of Pinot and Chardonnay were picked on Oct. 3 with excellent quality and volume. Three tonnes for 1.2 acres, a historically high number and about three times more than the prior year.

At this point, we still had 1.2 acres of younger Chardonnay left to pick. The experience of 2023 showed that this block of vines benefited from extra hang time. So, we waited, girding our loins until Oct. 17. What a great decision! The fruit held and ripeness and sugars were exceptional. Once again, a higher-than-average volume was achieved.

For 2024, we also took off a small crop of golden russet apples from our orchard. The fruit came in at 21 brix. This cider will be bottle conditioned to be mildly effervescent.

Looking back on the 2024 harvest, I think that this was the first year that the vineyard showed its long-term potential for volume and steadily improving quality. We have more Pinot Noir than we have ever made and a second year of higher volume from the Chardonnay. Quality is very good, with all wines being an honest refection of their Hillier Ward terroir.

Sherry Karlo, owner of Karlo Estates in Wellington

We started harvest on Sept. 30 with our property grown Frontenac Blanc and Frontenac Gris. Harvest ended on Oct. 7 with Malbec and Carménère.

2024 was a fantastic, a bountiful harvest year on the estate, but it was not without its typical Prince Edward County challenges — especially through the growing season.

Although we had just come out of a relatively mild Winter, the sunshine and warmer temperatures took a while to come around. The amount of rainfall we received was also higher than normal in each season. Once things started to warm up, humidity also became a real issue. It was a real battle out in the vineyard keeping the mildew and breakdown at bay. On the other hand, it was all balanced out with a good amount of heat and sunshine as the season progressed.

Because our estate vineyard is planted to both classic Vinifera as well as modern Hybrid grape varieties, we almost always see a decent crop come off the vines. But in 2024, the harvest season weather was so ideal from late August through October that the tonnage ended up being one of the best counts for us in recent years.

The acidity in the harvested fruit, in particular, was markedly low — in some cases, the lowest it’s ever been especially across the hybrid varieties. This should, in turn, translate to big, bold, rich and round estate-grown wines which is particularly exciting for wines both grown and made in PEC. No doubt they will be welcome additions right at home in our wine portfolio at Karlo Estates.

Karlo winemaker Derek Barnett added: I’m Excited by the vintage. Initial tastings are showing promise. As for harvest , I thought the quality was really good. Early, but balanced. Good for making sparkling base. Great ripeness across the board.

Jonas Newman, winemaker/co-owner
Hinterland and winemaker at Grange

The vintage in PEC was a tough one with a few similarities to 2023, especially in the rain department. It seemed like it was always KINDA raining even when it wasn’t.

Early and mid-season details in the vineyard were critical as all vineyards had a bit of downy mildew and some vineyards were devastated by it. Vineyard floor management was also tough because weeds love rain too. Crop loads were light to normal (Prince Edward County normal) with no-one saying they had too much fruit hahahaha.

The difference in 2024 is that we did not get the glorious September and early October of 2023 with intermittent rain and overcast conditions. In short — if you paid attention in June and July you were rewarded in September.

At Hinterland, for sparkling, we took a light crop due to some mildew in the early season on the clusters. We managed to get the canopy back on track and what fruit we took was at least clean if not plentiful. Harvest dates were normal for us, but I think if we were carrying more fruit we would have been a week later. The wines so far seem to be good to very good — concentrated and fresh all at the same time. Very hopeful for these wines.

At Grange for still wines, we were also quite light. Mike Peddleson (our vineyard manager) and the boys in the field did an exceptional job of keeping a healthy vineyard, but the rain made the canopies especially big and leafy.

Leaf stripping was crucial but difficult trying to get it done between the rain drops. At harvest we had a light crop of good quality however, with minimal sorting. Chemistry was solid on the grapes, and the wines so far seem to be very good showing depth and character. Excited for all the wines particularly the Pinots. Same story for harvest dates — almost identical to 2023 with a lighter crop load.

The upside to a light vintage is that we have more time on the crush pads and in the cellars. We had the time to pay attention to details and execute our plan without being overwhelmed in processing.

Dan Sullivan, proprietor/winemaker
at Rosehall Run Vineyards in Wellington

Looking back on the 2024 growing season seems like a distant time and place.

As farmers we understand the forces beyond our control that shape what we grow and the wines we make. Hope for the best and prepare for what may come. A good philosophy for uncertain times.

We have been fortunate here in PEC that the last few vintages have provided the opportunity to make great wines, 2024 continued that string.

There was rain and humidity during summer that necessitated close attention to viticultural practices like leaf pulling and managing mildew pressure. If you were able to avoid your leaf canopy being compromised, you stood a pretty good chance of making wines that will stand along some of the best in the last decade.

The season started cool with bud break about 3 or 4 days later than average, so we were playing catch up most of the summer. Outside of a cool couple of weeks in August we had the warmth to get ample heat units to start harvesting at the end of September starting with Pinot Gris and continuing into Pinot Noir and Chardonnay afterward in orderly but rapid succession. Yields were about on par with our five-year average at about 2.2 T/A (35 hL/hA).

At this point the wines are fruit forward and share a lot in common with 2023 which are about to come out of barrel in a couple of months. Well-developed full fruit and supple tannins with some solid acidity to provide a bit of backbone to keep it all on the up and up.

Overall, I think the Chardonnay should be the real standout and there were blocks of our Pinot Noir that are making deep elegant wines with plenty to love.

We will also have a couple of surprises from the 2024 vintage for folks to look forward to-stay tuned. And Cheers!

Ottawa ValleyBrian Hamilton,
winemaker, KIN Vineyard in Carp

Our 2023 vintage was outstanding with record yields, fruit maturity, a long dry autumn and healthy winter — ready cane wood going under the earth for the 2024 season. The challenges began with a very mild winter, which likely contributed to a significant increase in Japanese leaf beetle presence later in the season and may have also left more disease inoculum in the vineyard in the form of black rot, and downy mildew.

The viticultural milestones of bud break (May 8), beginning of flowering (June 15), onset of veraison (Aug. 23) and harvest date (Oct. 5) were all consistent with previous seasons on the Carp Ridge.

The 2024 vintage in the Ottawa Valley was the most challenging we’ve experienced in the 10-year-old Carp Ridge Vineyard. The entire season from vine flowering, fruit set, veraison and maturation was marked by never ending rain. A typical growing season in the Ottawa area brings an average precipitation of 350 mm while the 2024 season saw over 750 mm. The almost daily precipitation made it impossible to maintain effective spray coverage to protect the flowers, or canopy and as a result very little was harvested.

Cooler, wetter weather through flowering caused coulure (shatter) resulting in reduced pollination and fewer berries per cluster. While shatter does not diminish the grape quality it can, and did, significantly reduce yield, such that the Carp Ridge Vineyard produced only a small amount of Chardonnay and no Pinot Noir.

In addition to poor fruit set, and significant Japanese leaf beetle damage, the seasonal rain made it impossible to keep spray coverage on the canopy leading to significant downy mildew and black rot infections culminating in the loss of the majority of the canopy by mid-season and secondary difficulty in ripening the Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay did ripen.

As most of the canopy was lost by mid-season our longer-term concerns moved toward ensuring the vines and cane wood would have sufficient carbohydrate stores to over winter. The health of the remaining canopy was our primary concern as was the hardening off of the cane wood for burial. We did not do any pruning of the vines prior to burial, opting, instead, to keep the canopy sending carbohydrate stores to the vines’ roots and canes for as long as possible before leaf fall. A delay in soil burial, of the cane wood, until mid-November, also permitted the canes to dry out and reduce the water content which would become frozen over the winter and damage the buds.

Here is hoping for a healthy and bountiful 2025 harvest!

Lake Erie North Shore

Located in the southernmost part of Ontario, Lake Erie North Shore experienced warmer conditions throughout the growing season, promoting earlier ripening, according to VQA. Harvest began in late August, slightly ahead of other regions.

The season saw some rainfall and humidity spikes, particularly early in the season. In May, a humid week introduced mildew pressure, which growers had to manage carefully. At the end of the summer, the residual effects of Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico brought several days of warm rain to the region. Quick action was required to prevent rot, especially in white varieties like Chardonnay and Riesling.

The warm and dry weather that followed the rain helped improve the quality of the fruit. Chardonnay and red varieties, including Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, reached excellent ripeness, with brix readings of 25 and 26 degrees, prompting some growers to hand-pick for optimal quality.

The region experienced another warm rain event just before harvest. Growers either harvested in advance of the rain, with slightly reduced ripeness, or immediately after, leading to some fruit loss, especially among whites.

Ontario icewine

Niagara’s Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery was among the first to pick icewine grapes from the 2024 vintage early on Dec. 13, 2024.

It was the first opportunity for wineries and growers to harvest the frozen grapes, which can’t be picked until temperatures reach at least -8 C.

Due to the return of a strong global icewine market post-pandemic, the 2024 vintage will be the first since 2019 that Henry of Pelham will make an icewine. Matthew Speck, co-owner of Henry of Pelham, said: “With the incredibly warm growing season of 2024, we expect the icewine grapes to be very ripe, making powerful icewine with almost tropical fruit overtones. It is beneficial to be able to start picking early this year, as the grapes are more advanced in ripeness than what is typical. This will help maintain freshness, a very desirable characteristic in icewine.”

According to VQA, pre-registrations for grapes set aside for icewine total 1,976 tonnes, down significantly from last year’s 4,095 tonnes.