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Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Two Sisters opening new winery near Garrison Village

Two Sisters Winery is expanding its operation with a new vineyard along Niagara Stone Road.

Stone Eagle Winery is being planned at the southwest corner of Niven Road and will focus on producing “ultra premium wines,” estate sommelier Dieter Unruh said during a public meeting about the development on March 2.

“Stone Eagle is really intended to build upon and elevate the success that has already been experienced here at Two Sisters,” Unruh said.

Co-owner Angela Marotta also spoke about the expansion.

“We recognize the potential here to continue to raise awareness about beautiful, high-quality wines on a national and international scale,” Marotta said.

“Our team's primary focus and Stone Eagle Winery’s principal use is the farming and production of wine,” she said.

“Our secondary use at Stone Eagle Winery is the education and retail sale on premise of the wines produced.”

Marotta said the company’s goal is to build “a winery that will become another beautiful landmark in the region, using the highest standards in construction and material with classical architectural details.”

The property is roughly 40 acres and the planting of vineyards is already underway, planner Mary Lou Tanner said.

The main building will cover more than 40,000 square feet, according to drawings shared during the meeting.

The building will include a restaurant, tasting bar, regular bar and a retail space. There will be covered verandas on the flanks of the structure.

Behind the winery and directly attached is the production facility, covering around 24,000 square feet.

Tanner noted the company wanted to be as transparent as possible in sharing building details and noted there will be 142 parking spaces, more than required under the town's bylaw.

The winery is looking for zoning changes to allow connection to the municipal sewer system.

To hide the production facility from street view, the owners also are requesting a variance so the winery can be taller than normally allowed, Tanner said.

Architect Bill Hicks said the driveway off Niagara Stone Road would be lined with trees and designed to represent a classic winery style found around the world. There will be a central green space in the parking lot, he said.

Lord Mayor Betty Disero attended the meeting and asked the Two Sisters team whether they had checked the height of surrounding winery buildings to ensure they would be in a compatible range.

Tanner said they had not but would be sure to provide that information at an open house scheduled for April 4.

Unruh touted some of the accolades Two Sisters has received in its 8 years of operation.

In 2021, its Chardonnay was awarded a gold medal as one of the best in the world in the Chardonnay du Monde competition in France.

“Arguably the world’s most prestigious Chardonnay competition,” Unruh said.

The winery also received a gold medal for its sparkling wine at the World Sparkling Wine Championship in the United Kingdom for 2021, he said.

“The reputation that Two Sisters has managed to establish in such a short period of time is truly an incredible accomplishment,” he said.

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