Spill the Wine Episode 34: History in a bottle and in the vineyard. A visit to Palatine Hills Estate Winery (Part 2)
Release Date: 01/08/2026
Spill the Wine Episode 36: Do YOU want to become a wine know it all? a visit to Brock University Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute
Spill The Wine
We’re going back to school in this episode to speak with Barb Tatarnic, manager of professional Certification in Ontario Wine, and Steven Tully, course designer and teacher of the Certification in Ontario Wines on-line course. This course is designed for the wine enthusiast to take a deep dive into the world of Ontario wines and discover the characteristics of cool climate wines. During our conversation we hit on another t-shirt slogan: Napa is the Niagara of California!! (and yes, we REALLY have to get some made). If you take one thing away from this episode, it should be...
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Spill the Wine Episode 35: Breaking boundaries and challenging the Status Quo! a visit to Cave Spring
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There are a lot of amazing things happening at Cave Spring, so we had to make time to chat with winemaker Gabe DeMarco about the importance of the new yeast strains discovered at the winery. In collaboration with Brock University, they worked to identify, isolate and validate their own yeast strains in an effort to create wine from the Niagara region with zero international inputs. In addition, you’ll also hear about their new concrete vessels which were three years in the making and are 100% domestically sourced. Of course we also taste some fabulous wines, including the first CSV reds....
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Spill the Wine Episode 34: History in a bottle and in the vineyard. A visit to Palatine Hills Estate Winery (Part 2)
Spill The Wine
We continue our conversation with winemaker Vadim Chlekhov and delve into the history of Palantine Hills, a winery that was the site of battles during the War of 1812. They are still finding artifacts on the property and there is a display case in the tasting room where you can view some of the items they have unearthed. We chat about the negative impact of success, Pinot Gris vs Pinot Grigio and learn about the happy mistake that became white merlot. Of course, we also taste some fantastic wine and get another t-shirt idea: Wine is a time capsule. This is one history lesson you will be...
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Spill the Wine Episode 33: Affordable, approachable, easy drinking wines. A visit to Palatine Hills Estate Winery (Part 1)
Spill The Wine
We’re on the road again, this time with our first visit to the Niagara on the Lake region to explore the wines at Palatine Hills with winemaker Vadim Chlekhov. Vadim’s passion and appreciation for wine began at an early age. He tasted wine with is grandfather and then drew pictures of what he tasted. He’s now an incredible wine maker who believes the winemaker is essentially a steward that guides the grapes through the fermentation process. In this episode, we focus on the entry level wines that are affordable, very flavourful and award winners. It’s part of the process of...
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Spill the Wine Episode 32: A GAMAZING experience! A visit to 13th Street Winery
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We return to the Niagara Bench area for our next episode with a visit to 13th Street Winery. We took a little trip down Gamay Lane with President Doug Whitty and Executive Director of Program Development Corinne Witusik. It’s our first episode where the focus was on wines from one grape varietal and it was a really fun and informative exploration into Gamay. A visit to 13th Street is an experience what combines wine with art, food, music and more. You’ll hear about the history of the winery, their award winning Burger Blend wines, get some great tips on food and wine pairings,...
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Spill the Wine Episode 31: From cabbage to wine: a visit to Inasphere Winery
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Our third and final stop in Norfolk County brought us to Inasphere Winery. Sales manager Kathie Gilchrist shared the origins of the winery name – the land is part of the Long Point Biosphere, so the winery is technically IN A SPHERE. How’s that for clever!? Kathie shared the history of the winery, which began as a vegetable farm back in 1963. The land is reclaimed marshland with a dike built around it to allow for farming. Cabbage is grown on 50 to 65 acres of the farm, and grapes were first planted in 2008. Riesling is their claim to fame, and they’ve also got some fabulous reds. It’s...
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Spill the Wine Episode 30: Trading vices – from tobacco to wine: a visit to Burning Kiln Winery
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On the second stop of our visit to Norfolk County wineries, we visited Burning Kiln and chatted with Marketing Coordinator Jaime Drayer. Jamie detailed the winery’s beginnings as a tobacco farm. She explained the reason why the wines are named for tobacco based items, and it was a very cool history lesson and glimpse into the winery’s past. In addition to fabulous wines, Burning Kiln also has a restaurant on site, and hosts a concert series in the summer. It’s a beautiful setting rich in history with fabulous views and amazing wines. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this episode and...
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Spill the Wine Episode 29: I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill: A visit to Front Road Cellars
Spill The Wine
In July 2025, Lukas and Andrea made a trip to Norfolk County to visit three wineries on the shores of Lake Erie. The first stop was Front Road Cellars, a family run winery that is also a blueberry farm. Owner Amanda Vranckx shares the story of the evolution of the winery and shares some amazing wines with us. Amanda also talked about their partnership with Guelph university in planting hybrid varietals of grapes that will withstand colder temperatures. Of course, we also tasted some blueberry wine – which seems like a necessity when you have a winery AND a blueberry farm. The landscape at...
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Spill the Wine Episode 28: From the Bench to the Kame - A visit to Sons and Daughters Winery
Spill The Wine
Owners and brothers Geoff and Anthony Hall named their winery in honor of their children – one brother has sons, the other has daughters so the name is pretty obvious! Along with their adviser Angelo and brother-in-law Dan Sherrington, we sat down for a chat about wine and the challenges of starting a brand new winery in an area far from the lake, higher in altitude and with a different soil composition than the Bench. During the tasting, we discussed the idea of doing pizza and wine pairings (YUM!) and found out more about the coffee they have on site as well. You’ll love exploring...
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Spill the Wine Episode 27: Creating wines outside the norm. A visit to Maenad
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Yvonne Irvine is the assistant winemaker at Creekside and is also the winemaker and owner of her own virtual winery Maenad. Yvonne shares some insights in the positives and negatives of being a virtual winemaker – one positive being she has full control over every aspect of the wines and can be very creative. Her creativity shines in the very unique and innovative wines we tasted like Piquettes and Pet-Nats, as well as more traditional varietals like Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc. It’s our first episode with a virtual winemaker and after listening, I’m sure you’ll be ready to arrange a...
info_outlineWe continue our conversation with winemaker Vadim Chlekhov and delve into the history of Palantine Hills, a winery that was the site of battles during the War of 1812. They are still finding artifacts on the property and there is a display case in the tasting room where you can view some of the items they have unearthed. We chat about the negative impact of success, Pinot Gris vs Pinot Grigio and learn about the happy mistake that became white merlot. Of course, we also taste some fantastic wine and get another t-shirt idea: Wine is a time capsule. This is one history lesson you will be sure to enjoy!
Produced by: Lukas Sluzar, recorded September 10, 2025
Show notes: www.palatinehillsestatewinery.com
Wines sampled: 2024 Pinot Grigio, 2024 Skin Fermented White Viogner, 2024 White Merlot, 2020 Overtime Merlot, 2020 Overtime Merlot Reserve, 2020 Overtime Cabernet Sauvignon