Tawse Winery
Tawse Wine & Spirits is a family-owned organic winery and distillery situated on the lower slopes of the Niagara Escarpment. Founder Moray Tawse, inspired by his love of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, purchased 6 acres on the Cherry Avenue property in 2001, and in 2005 he opened his state-of-the-art winery complete with a geo-thermal system and wetland bio-filter. Since then, Tawse has become a four-time winner of the Canadian Winery of the Year award and grows grapes in five estate vineyards on over 100 acres across the Niagara region. They now produce 30,000 cases of wine and have one of the largest portfolios of organic wines in the Niagara region.
Tawse is focused on uniting traditional winemaking techniques with state-of-the-art technology to create terroir-driven wines of exceptional elegance, depth and character. Their fruit is harvested from old-growth, low-yield vines and gently handled using natural gravity flow and geothermic energy. They proudly apply rigorous organic methods to every aspect of their production from grape-growing to winemaking and EcoCert seals appear on all wines made from their estate fruit.
We invite you to visit our winery, discover our portfolio of fine wines, and meet the people who have helped us earn the reputation as one of Canada's most acclaimed wineries.
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The story behind Tawse Winery
Tawse is the work of Moray Tawse, a Toronto financier who fell for Burgundy and wanted to make wine that could stand beside it. He opened the winery on Cherry Avenue in Vineland in 2005 and it grew fast from there.
It grew well, too. Tawse has been named Canadian Winery of the Year four times, most recently in 2016, a run few Canadian wineries can match.
Organic, biodynamic, gravity-fed
Tawse farms certified organic and biodynamic, and the winery is built into the Escarpment on six gravity-flow levels so the grapes are handled gently. Geothermal energy and a wetland that cleans the winery's water round out the design.
The focus is Burgundy: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, including single-vineyard bottlings like Quarry Road. The late Paul Pender led the winemaking for years and guided the estate through its organic and biodynamic conversion.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tawse Winery known for?
Tawse is known for Burgundy-inspired Pinot Noir and Chardonnay farmed organically and biodynamically on the Twenty Mile Bench. It has been named Canadian Winery of the Year four times, and it holds one of the largest organic wine portfolios in Niagara.
Is Tawse organic?
Yes. Tawse is certified organic through Ecocert and certified biodynamic through Demeter. That means no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, and a whole-farm approach to the vineyard rather than treating vines in isolation.
Where is Tawse Winery?
In Vineland, on the Twenty Mile Bench of the Niagara Escarpment. The gravity-flow winery is set into the slope itself, letting the hillside move the wine gently downhill through each stage.