Canada's insider blog

Mark July 22-24 on your culinary calendar – that’s when 45 of the world’s top cool climate wine producers will gather with 15 top Canadian chefs to celebrate the coolest grape on earth – Chardonnay.

The weekend celebration in Ontario’s Niagara wine region is the first International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration. It’s appropriate that winemakers from other cool climate growing regions – from New Zealand and Austria to Burgundy and Italy – would come to Canada, where cool climate oenology is our true area of expertise.

Chardonnay, one of the most widely produced white wines in the world, thrives in Canada’s cool climate. We even have a Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) at Brock University, training winegrowers and winemakers from around the world.

During the wine and food weekend, the 700 guests can sample 100 different Chardonnays from around the world and rub shoulders with winemakers from NZ’s Pyramid Valley Vineyards and Burgundy’s Chateau de Meursault. 

Tickets for individual events start at $35 (they call it the Blend your Own Chardonnay package) and full weekend passes are $595 per person including seminars, tastings and gourmet meals.