We visited Flat Rock for the Ice Wine Festival this past weekend and they had a fabulous Pinot Noir with an outstanding Smoked Beef Chili. Such a great pairing and they capped it off with a taste of ice wine. The Winery, itself is definitely more on the boutique side and very charming with an inspired view of the vineyards. Staff were very friendly and eager to show us the way to the Ice Wine Discovery site and to pour samples of their other varietals and blends. I’m going to remember to come back here to pick up some of that Pinot Noir. Great with smoky, spicy food!
S R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Toronto, Canada
As far as Ont vineyards are concerned, ambience:5/5(view is the best In NOTL in my experience) Service: 5⁄5 wine: 3.5(Didn’t try anything we didn’t like) Repeat: yes Highly recommend spending time here, the management is passionate about what they do. The wine stomping events in the summer are fun.
A A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Toronto, Canada
Amazing! Great fun, great wine and gorgeous views! Owner Ed and his staff are so passionate and friendly while being committed to making outstanding wines and giving visitors the best experience. An environmentally friendly vineyard that hand tends to it’s grapes and is pesticide free! Whether your a wine lover or novice this place needs to be on your list if places to visit:-))
Sonya E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Toronto, Canada
***From my mother and I’s self directed wine tasting tour of Niagara– 6 vineyards //1 day*** There was literally only one let down with our experience here, but it was a BIG one. I’m going to get it out of the way first so I can let the praise singing begin. The tasting guide was SO bad(Ted or Todd or something?). He looked at us like he was a vulture. All the tasting guides are partially salespeople but he was nothing but a salesperson. When he looked at us it was like all he could see were dollar signs, you could practically here him calculating how much commission money he could get from us. He was FAR from friendly and paid us only as much attention as he absolutely had to. He was just so unbelievably off putting. Like our experience at Tawse I could tell he was sacrificing service because of my young age– but yet again I have to point out the joke is kind of on him as I am pursuing a career in the wine industry so I care quite a lot more than he thinks, and was there for more than just some free booze or whatever was going through his mind. In fact we left with 4 bottles of wine and a picnic blanket(my mother’s impulse buy of the day). Anyways moving on! The tasting room at Flat Rock has the most picturesque views of any of the wineries we went to. Stepping out onto the balcony you get the most beautiful view of the vineyard. It’s really breathtaking. The room itself it also completely windows so you don’t even need to step outside to experience the view, as well all the windows make the room very bright and airy. Actually the whole experience, from the moment you turn the car into the winery to wandering down by the vines, it beautiful. Everything was so very well thought out. The entrance path was my favourite-being in the car driving with the vines close on either side, was the perfect entrance way! Now onto the wines! Between the two of us we tried quite a few wines, and we enjoyed every single one. This is the only winery that both of us enjoyed every wine and agreed upon their quality. They were all just outstanding! I must say though, I don’t get the huge fuss about their Pinot Noir, but that could just be because it’s not a type of wine I particularly enjoy. The price points are also so reasonable, making the wines very accessible. It’s smart of them to make them so affordable, as they could easily justify charging more, but by doing so would alienate many potential customers. The wines we ended up picking up were– 2009 Riddled Sparkling, 2010 Chardonnay, The Rusty Shed 2011Chardonnay, and 2012 Twisted. Flat Rock Cellars easily deserves 5 stars, but that horrible tasting guide is holding me back from giving them that, it’s a shame as I noticed all the other tasting guides seemed great! Hopefully next time we’ll have better luck!
Vivian W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 San Francisco, CA
Beautiful winery. Great views of the vineyard from the balcony, a modern spacious wine shop, and outdoor tables. Really nice stop. My favorite was the Twisted which is a relatively inexpensive but bestselling white wine that is very drinkable.
Jennifer K.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Markham, Canada
The breath taking view of Flat Rock Cellars is worth visiting even if you are not a wine drinking. Looking at the rolling hills of the vineyard made me want to just get one of my own… that was even before I have taste any wine during our booze day in the area. Daydreaming… Tasting fee is $ 5 for 3 wines or you can pay by each sample 2011 Gravity Pinot Noir 2011 The Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2011 Twisted(blended) 2012 Nadaj’s Vineyard Riesling Love the spacious tasting room. So spacious and of course with the same stunning view! Staff is polite and friendly.
Andrea B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Ottawa, Canada
Wow! What a simply breathtaking vineyard. I came here over the Canada Day long weekend with a group of 14 girls for a bachelorette weekend, and it was a great experience. A sustainable winery with very environmentally-friendly practices, this place is stunning. There’s a panoramic view from the tasting balcony that stretches over the vines and pond — simply lovely! The vineyard itself is located in a small town off the QEW called Jordan. When we went, the street the GPS took us down was closed for construction, so we did have a bit of rerouting to do. We called ahead to let them know we were going to be a bit late and they were super sweet and accommodating. When we arrived we were greeted by Alyssa, our incredibly knowledgable and sweet tour guide. She was so passionate and educated about the whole operation and it was a great tour. She kept things simple, but all of us left feeling much more educated about wine. I really enjoyed knowing that they don’t use any cork in their wines and that they actually have a crown top on their sparkling — so cool! We sampled some super tasty wines(about 4 different types) and my favourite by far was their Twisted White — a mixture of Riesling, Gewürztraminer Chardonnay. We also chowed down on some cheese plates that were $ 10 each. I think this would be a beautiful place for wedding photos. I’d love to come back in another few years and taste more of their awesomeness.
Ellie J.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Fort Lee, NJ
Beautiful, breath taking panoramic vineyard view from tasting room. Very friendly atmosphere, knowledgable staffs. This winery provide us excellent experience. Riesling, pino noir and reserved Chardonnay were my favorite. Brought several bottles back home.
Dan K.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Buffalo, NY
Located in the Jordan Bench area of the Niagara Escarpment, Flat Rock Cellars makes for an excellent stop on any day of wine tasting. They have a bit more focus on white wine here with Chardonnay and Riesling being the main varietals, but have a few tasty Pinot Noir choices for the red drinker in us. The staff is very friendly and will take some time to talk about the wine and process for making it.
Robert S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Jose, CA
Tasty, moderately priced wines. But the best part was how FRIENDLY the staff is here. Extremely friendly and easy going, they provided some really fantastic customer service. Major props. Next time I’m in the area, I’m buying as many bottles as I can take back!
Katherine L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Seattle, WA
This was my first time to this winery and I was extrememly impressed. The location makes for maybe the best view I’ve had in Naiagra. Definitely better than anything in the niagara-on-the-lake area. The building is slightly on a hill so you have a great view of the vineyards around it. The woman helping us was very friendly and knowledgeable. It seems like the winemaker is always trying new things, mixing different grapes etc. We tried a pinot noir rose which was new to us and very enjoyable. Just a warning, if you are coming here because you enjoyed their ice wines in previous years, they are no longer making ice wines.
Crystal E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Toronto, Canada
Flat Rock was the first stop on our own little wine tour adventure a couple of weeks ago and I had specifically chosen to visit this winery because of this web post I read here: ( ). This winery has a beautiful spot on the hill, providing an awesome view of the vines and country-side. Inside has large windows allowing in natural light and the outside has some picnic tables for enjoying the outdoors and the pleasant setting. Service was great, the two gals working the counter were both very friendly and one was very passionate about the wines. For the whites, tasted the Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Twisted which were all light, nice, and crisp. The Twisted is a fun sipping wine due to it’s blend of Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Chardonnay — I quite enjoyed it, would be lovely for summer. For the red, I quite enjoyed the flavours in the Gravity. It’s certainly full of taste and earthiness, great for a full dinner or sharing with a special someone. We were very happy with our visit to this beautiful spot and walked away with a couple bottles of wine. Good to know that some types are available at LCBO as well, will definitely buy again!(I’m still hoping to try the Seriously Twisted, they were sold out at the winery)
Huntting B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Bellevue, WA
Awesome people. Our guy, Chris I think his name was, was awesome. We had a good set of tastings while here. The bottle we wanted wasn’t available, unfortunately, but we did manage to find it at the LCBO so we still ended up taking home two bottles of the Riesling Ice Wine from here. Makes for great Grey Goose Martini’s :)
Scott G.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chagrin Falls, OH
Beautiful grounds here at an earth friendly winery. This place really surprised us with a Pinot Noir that was actually delicious. We have come to expect very little from the Niagara reds, but this one was very different– well balanced with a nice nose. We bought four or five bottles and most people compare it to Oregon Pinot’s, which is really nice. The staff were friendly and the view from the main tasting room is really incredible. Worth stopping off in Jordan if you are in the area.