While the majority of wine drinkers will head west towards Niagara-On-The-Lake to enjoy a variety of wines, heading a bit further west into Erie, PA yields a wonderful wine region via the Mazza family.
Three hours from Mississauga, over the Peace Bridge and west along scenic Route 5 brings you to Mazza Vineyards, Pensylvania’s largest producing winery, founded in 1972.
Erie’s growing conditions are ideal as it offers cool temperatures and fertile soil and, nearly 50 years after opening, Mazza’s product lines have expanded as has their presence and popularity among wine drinkers.

There are a few properties beneath the Mazza umbrella, so let’s start with the original, Mazza Vineyards, founded by Robert Mazza.  What started out with five employees, the modern vineyard now employs nearly 100 people.
As far as what they do and how they do it, Robert’s son and General Manager, Mario, says “We blend a traditional, Old World approach to winemaking with New World techniques for a varied and unique wine list, including varietals and blends using traditional vinifera, hybrid, and native varieties, as well as fruit, sparkling, fortified and dessert wines.”
Simply put, they’ve got a plethora of delectable wines for nearly every palate from Cabernet Franc, to Vidal to Ice Wine and plenty in between.

The property itself is stunning, with a rustic exterior and an elegant, approachable interior. The open-concept tasting room encourages conversations with your host, chatting with those around you and gorgeous photographs.

The South Shore Wine Company property, opened in 2007, is stunningly beautiful.  Their Civil War era cavern tasting room adds to the allure of an already attractive location. Once inside, you’re welcomed by friendly staff and Instagram-friendly surroundings in this stone wine cellar. Wine-wise, it’s different from what you’ll taste at Mazza Vineyards as this one focuses on sparkling and white wines.
Conveniently, it’s only a four kilometers away from the aforementioned so you’ll easily be able to experience both with a brief commute.

Their next property, Five & 20 Brewing is located just across the state line in Westfield, New York, but only 20 minutes away from Mazza Vineyards. Interestingly, it’s the state’s first ever winery, distillery and brewery beneath one roof and smartly named the “Westfield Wonder.” Having 80 acres of farmland for grapes and grain definitely helps.

In true Mazza form, they’ve done a tremendous job in consistently delivering an attractive, high quality product and location for the people.
Their set up produces a variety of products, including small batch/small barrel Rye Whiskey and Bourbon, Corn Whiskey, Limoncello and others. The process is clever as they blend two local grains for a unique taste and as they evolve, new offerings will be released.

Their aptly named “Grain to Glass “process is best described as “Our local roots run deep and we have made it our business to utilize the most locally grown ingredients in our products. We built our entire operation on a Grain-to-Glass model, meaning that we have taken pains to plan farming and production so that the agricultural products we use to craft the beverage that ends up in your glass don’t have to travel very far.”

On that note, what impressed me the most is their on-site TimberFish Technologies facility,
It’s essentially a fish farm (trout and salmon) that reuses all the byproduct nutrients from the distillery and brewery production at Five & 20 and combined with locally made woodchips to create a contaminate-free food chain. Basically, they’ve created a cost-effective, sustainable, clean, in-house ecosystem.

Their craft beer offerings are plentiful and range from a Cream Ale, Stout, Barley Wine to my favourite, a Rye Pale Ale, which is aged seven months.
My stand-out factor is them utilizing local resources, precise distilling techniques and their creativity in creating delicious flavours.

Food-wise, check out Noosa, which expertly creates handmade, mouthwatering food with gorgeous lake views, all at a realistic price point.
The Skunk & Goat Tavern does pub-fare very well, along with a retro feel of exposed brick and hardwood floors .
Looking for something a bit different? 1201 Kitchen deliciously blends Latin and Asian fare in an upscale yet approachable atmosphere.

When you go, stay at Lakeview on the Lake, which is impressively Erie's only waterfront hotel. I stayed in one of their gorgeous cabins and enjoyed a couple of sunrises from their Muskoka chairs…there’s also a hammock to really unwind!

To plan your Mazza and Erie experience:
enjoymazza.com 
visiterie.com