Jackson-Triggs winning combo: Wine, food and outdoor amphitheatre show

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What’s that saying about “wine, women and song”?

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A recent trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) checked off all three boxes with myself and my Toronto pal as the women, three distinct wineries providing the vino, and the gorgeous outdoor setting of Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Amphitheatre giving us a night of song courtesy of headliners Saskatoon retro-rockers The Sheepdogs.

Driving from Toronto to NOTL on a sunny Saturday afternoon wasn’t so bad, despite Gardiner Expressway construction fears, as we pulled into 220-room White Oaks Resort & Spa about two hours later to change into dinner clothes for chow time at Jackson-Triggs, which opened in 2001, about 15 minutes away.

Both indoor and outdoor seating is an option at the winery’s 46-seat Entourage Room and my guest and I begin with a tasting flight of four table wines or two table wines/ice wine with a lovely introduction from Estate manager Craig Swanson.

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I go for two each of the sparkling wines — Entourage Brut and Entourage Rose — and we share Diana’s Hummus (with blistered cherry tomatoes, roasted peppers, olives, pickled onions, toast), Burrata & Blackberries (with fresh mozzarella, toast, prosciutto, pistachio and fermented hot honey), and a hot Muffaletta sandwich (stuffed with hot capicola, prosciutto, salami, smoked cheddar, dill, ciabatta, beetroot horseradish, aioli, and olive tapenade).

Each dish is delicious with special mention to the marvelous Muffaletta, and my guest loves her sparkling Entourage Merlot so much she buys a bottle to take home.

The kitchen closes at 7 p.m. so we wander over to the 500-seat outdoor amphitheatre where we are seated in the fourth row in comfortable camping chairs and everyone uses tokens for wine and merchandise sold in a nearby tent.

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Alt-country opening act Spencer Burton, who hails from nearby Ridgeville, Ont., may have a smooth and tranquil sound but his banter was so sharp and funny that even seasoned Sheepdogs frontman Ewan Currie said he was a tough act to follow despite the playing of his own band’s lead guitarist Ricky Paquette which kept everyone riveted.

One helpful hint: Bring bug spray because we did get attacked by gnats (?) after dusk.

When we return to the hotel, I sneak in a late night swim and jacuzzi (it closes at 11 p.m.) because I don’t have time to enjoy them before my 11 a.m. (same time as checkout) 50-minute relaxation massage at the White Oaks Spa (rated No. 1 in Canada in 2018) on Sunday morning with the lovely Melissa in one of 19 treatment rooms.

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There’s also a steam room and sauna at the on-site fitness club called The Club at White Oaks — the hotel began as a private racquet club in 1978 before starting to add rooms in 1984 and beyond — which you can use when you book a spa treatment (along with the hotel pool and jacuzzi).

We order eggs benedict via room service and then head out post-massage to visit two more nearby wineries — the charming and intimate Kew Vineyards (40 minutes from White Oak Hotel) and the much grander Domaine le Clos Jordanne (about 10 minutes away from Kew).

AJ McLaughlin, the friendly and informative estate manager for both vineyards, settles in with us first at Kew at a table in the shade under one of many trees where a cool breeze hits just as assistant manager Alicia Bender arrives with a tray of sparkling wine, their specialty.

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I could spend the entire day here with a nearby beautiful brick house, built circa 1850, that houses the wine products, and another room that can be used for special occasions. There is no working kitchen but events can be catered.

We reluctantly take off after I purchase a bottle of the excellent 2019 Tradition and next head for Domaine le Clos Jordanne, which rose from the ashes of previous winery Angel Gate, with McLaughlin leading the way.

The picturesque Domaine le Clos Jordanne, which resembles a French monastery in a large country field with both indoor and outdoor seating, is known for its three types of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and a newer sparkling wine.

Again we are treated to a tasting flight — I get the 2021 Claystone Terrace Chardonnay, 2020’s Grand Clos Chardonnay, and 2020’s Blanc de Noir — and I favour the first wine while we dig into a variety of cheese — including my friend’s favourite Delice de Bourgogne — and crackers and cheese puffs.

If only there was time to do it all over again.

UPCOMING JACKSON-TRIGGS AMPHITHEATRE SHOWS

• Aug. 22, 2024 – Brett Kissel
• Aug. 23, 2024 – Jim Cuddy Band
• Aug. 24, 2024 – The Rural Alberta Advantage
• Sept. 13-14, 2024 – Dwayne Gretzky

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