20 Bees at Lakeview Winery

If you are looking for a fun winery experience with an extensive variety of great tasting wines, Lakeview Wine Co. in Niagara-on-the-Lake is your place.

The Winery

Located in the popular winery zone on Niagara Stone Road, Lakeview has a good-sized tasting room that has plenty of space for wine tasting and shopping.  The friendly staff will guide you in your tasting journey and you can pick up some wine and wine accessories in the shop.  Vineyards behind the tasting building offer a great opportunity for Instagram worthy pictures in any season.

The 43,000 square foot production facility is a testament to the scope and size of the publicly traded parent company, Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Ltd. (DWS.V) which offers several brands at Lakeview Winery, a total of nine.  

Lakeview offers multiple wines under a variety of brand names that cater to every wine palate.  At the tasting bar you will find Lakeview Cellars, Eastdell, and the new brand, Fresh.  Let’s not forget the very popular 20 Bees brand, which will be my focus today.

The Wines

20 Bees wines are easy drinking wines that are superbly priced.  Ranging from $10.95 to 12.95 you will find a variety of reds, whites and even a rose.  Multi-packs that include a variety of brands are available for sale also and add to your tasting pleasure.

With Fall upon us we find ourselves cuddling up by the fireplace with a nice deep red.  20 Bees Baco Noir is the perfect choice for a soothing drink on a cool autumn evening here in Niagara.  This medium-bodied dry red offers notes of dark cherry and vanilla with a hint of bitter chocolate on the palate.  The light smokiness adds to the pleasure of a fireside evening of wine sipping and pizza.  

If you are looking for a heavier bodied wine in the same value driven price range you must try the 20 Bees Cabernet Merlot blend.  30% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot this is a well-balanced wine offering intense flavours of cherry and cranberry with mild tannins.

No online girl soiree would be complete without 20 Bees Sauvignon Blanc.  Although we can’t see our girlfriends in person (thanks Covid), we can meet virtually with a glass of 20 Bees Sauvignon Blanc in hand.  This light crisp wine with notes of green apple and citrus, is perfect for girlfriend get-togethers complete with side bending laughter and a few spills.  That’s a story for another day but be warned that the fun will quickly get out of hand, when holding a glass of 20 Bees Sauvignon Blanc.

20 Bees offers VQA wines from grapes grown in the Niagara Peninsula and hand selected from their own estate as well as tried and true growers in the Niagara area. You can shop their wines and all brands in one place.  Link below. 

The Details

Address: 1067 Niagara Stone Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake
Established: 2000
Owners: Publicly Traded under Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Ltd. (DWS.V)
Varietals: Cabernet Franc, Vidal, Riesling, Gamay Noir and Moscato onsite.  Other varietals sourced from 25+ Niagara Grape Growers.
Estate: Sub-Appellation of Four Mile Creek with grapes sourced throughout Niagara Peninsula.
Winemaker: Tom Green (VP, WINEMAKING & WINERY OPERATIONS) Scott McGregor (WINEMAKER) Jessica Wallace (ASSISTANT WINEMAKER)

If you are looking for easy drinking wines for girlfriend get-togethers or to appreciate alone with a good book in hand, 20 Bees has it all wrapped up for you.

I will share more about 20 Bees fun and well-priced wines on Instagram so don’t forget to follow me there and join in the fun of Wine Wednesday Trivia.

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