Vinalia x Cave Spring, Riesling

Cave Spring was founded in 1973 by John Pennachetti Sr., who transformed an abandoned orchard on the Niagara Escarpment into a vineyard. With remarkable foresight, he planted Riesling and Chardonnay at a time when their potential was largely overlooked in Canada. Beyond producing exceptional wines, Cave Spring has played a pivotal role in advancing the Canadian wine industry; John Sr.'s son Len co-founded the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) and Cave Spring became the first winery to achieve the Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario credential.

Viticulture in Ontario began in 1811 when Johann Schiller planted the first vineyard near Toronto, focusing on native American and hybrid vine species. The landscape transformed in the early 1950s when Brights Winery introduced Chardonnay, proving that vinifera species could thrive in the region’s cold climate. By the late 1970s, more wineries, including Cave Spring, embraced vinifera. Today, the Niagara Peninsula, shaped by the Great Lakes and Niagara Escarpment, is renowned for cool-climate varietals and its acclaimed icewines, crafted from frozen grapes.

Often regarded as the world’s finest white wine grape, Riesling is the crown jewel of Germany’s vineyards, with world class examples also coming from Alsace, Austria, Canada, New York, and Australia. Perhaps Riesling’s most common misconception is that it is universally sweet. Indeed, Riesling is behind many of the greatest dessert wines, but its also yields captivating bone-dry wines. Known for its electrifying acidity, Riesling wines are precise, focused, and laden with cold pear and stony apple flavors.