The Project Bench team spent the last several weeks capturing photos and videos of Canada's largest wine region -- the Niagara Benchlands (link is to the official tourism website). And today I'm excited to share that we've launched our own new placemaking website called On the Bench.
The purpose of the site is to help celebrate the region. There's also some very preliminary information about Project Bench. In our humble opinion, we don't feel that the Benchlands region receives the attention that it clearly deserves. More people are familiar with Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls, especially globally.
The Bench is a distinct area, with its own unique character and with more -- and arguably better -- wineries. This v1 website is the start of us working to demonstrate this. So if you're a local business or community member that would like to collaborate with us on this overall initiative, we'd love to hear from you.
To join the Bench community and be first to learn more about Project Bench, email subscribe at the bottom of the page, and follow us on Instagram and X.
A big congratulations to Veronica and Pearce Jarvis on their wedding this weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Thank you for including us in your special day.
Photos taken in the Niagara Benchlands (The Bench) on June 1, 2024 with a Fujifilm X-T3 (23mm).
Neat B and I were in the Niagara wine region over the weekend and I was reminded of a few things:
Winemakers in Niagara will tell you that southern Ontario isn't the easiest of places to grow and make wine. But whatever, I think that Niagara is highly underrated. Niagara has some exceptional wineries that you really should explore if you aren't familiar. Ontario is also the largest ice wine producer in the world, by a long shot. We produce something like 90% of the world's supply. Ice wine can be a bit of an acquired taste -- they're sweet. But if you get a chance, try one from Stratus. They are supposedly the driest in the world.
I don't know how the wine demographics have shifted in other regions, but we were told over the weekend that 10 years ago it was mostly gray hairs who were out at wineries buying wine. Today, there are tons of young people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. And we certainly saw that over the weekend. This shift has winemakers now adjusting their wines. I couldn't tell you what a younger wine palate wants, but apparently it's something.
Lastly, there is a complete lack of cool and modern boutique hotels in the area. I would imagine that part of this is because the Niagara wine region is still emerging. But I think the other reason has to do with my previous point: younger people now want to go to wineries and the hospitality sector hasn't yet caught up. This strikes me as a massive opportunity.