New Travel Guide Launches with Most Winery Listings Ever

- Available at Ontario wineries now and at www.winecountryontario.ca -

NIAGARA, ON, May 16, 2013 /CNW/ - Award-winning vintages from Ontario wineries have won praise from experts the world over, so now it's time to venture deeper into our own backyard and discover the sources of all that acclaim.  Ontario wine country attracts close to two million visitors each year and the newly release 2013 Wine Country Ontario travel guide makes trip planning to Ontario's wine regions especially easy. The 2013 edition boasts 101 wineries, the most ever!

Released at wineries this week, this must-have travel tool, in partnership with the online winecountryontario.ca, and convenient pull out map allows visitors to explore a year-round world of vintner-hosted tastings, inspired cuisine, elegant inns and unforgettable experiences. This year's guide includes winery properties from Ontario's four primary wine destinations - Lake Erie North Shore, Niagara Escarpment & Twenty Valley, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Prince Edward County, in addition to the Emerging Regions section, where innovative vintners are expanding the borders of Ontario's Wine Country.

"This year's Wine Country Ontario Travel Guide is your guide to the charm and beauty that make Ontario's great wine regions a top travel destination," says Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment. "Ontarians should be proud of our local wines, and by visiting our wineries they can discover firsthand why Ontario wines are recognized internationally for their quality and taste."

Throughout the year, copies of the Guide, will be available at winery locations and Ontario Tourism & Information Centers (OTIC). In June, 500,000 copies will be distributed in Food & Drink magazines and available at many LCBO stores. Consumers can order a free copy of the guide by calling 1-800-ONTARIO or view an easy to use flip-through electronic version at www.winecountryontario.ca.

"We couldn't be more excited about the depth and breadth of this year's Guide", added Ed Madronich, Chair of the Wine Council of Ontario.  "Even veterans to Ontario Wine Country  travel have some new gems to explore and new wines to taste and I know they will be excited by the prospects of these discoveries."

A few of the newer wineries along Ontario's Wine Route are:

• Prince Edward County's Lacey Estates that prides itself on its County Roots or Harwood Estates that has taken winemaking off the grid
  
  
• Harrow's Oxley Estate in the Lake Erie North Shore Region  that is pioneering new varieties of wine developed just for Essex County
  
  
• Grey County and Collingwood Wine fans are raving about Coffin Ridge winery whose "Into the Light" and "Back from the Dead" wines bring a gentle humour to wine or perhaps Georgian Hills that is rewriting the agricultural history of the Beaver Valley area with its viticultural successes
  
  
• Vieni Wine and Spirits on the Niagara Escarpment who will be one of the first wineries to complement their fine wines with Grappa.

Wine Country Ontario also chose this year to use 100% post-consumer paper stock in alignment with its industry leading Sustainable Winemaking initiatives and the environmental choices our wineries and our winemakers make every day.

Wine Country Ontario is dedicated to promoting Ontario's wine-growing regions—from the wines and wineries themselves to the complete experience of each destination: local cuisine, year-round activities and warm hospitality. Wine Country Ontario promotes Ontario's vintners and the unique qualities of our authentic, 100% VQA wines.

Image with caption: "Niagara Escarpment and Twenty Valley (CNW Group/Wine Country Ontario)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130516_C7607_PHOTO_EN_26812.jpg

Image with caption: "Niagara Escarpment and Twenty Valley (CNW Group/Wine Country Ontario)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130516_C7607_PHOTO_EN_26813.jpg

SOURCE: Wine Country Ontario

Media contact:
Hillary Dawson, President
Wine Council of Ontario for "Wine Country Ontario"
www.winecountryontario.ca
Twitter @winecountryont
905-562-8070 ext. 225
Cell: 416-407-3607
[email protected]