Staff and volunteers are in high gear this week, as preparations for i4C, the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration, enter the home stretch.

The four-day event runs over the weekend, starting next Thursday, July 17. Organizers are particularly pleased that the very popular “Friday Night Flights” tasting event is back at the Niagara District Airport in Niagara-on-the-Lake this year, for the first time since COVID-19.

i4C is a big draw for tourists, promotes local wineries, and engages a small army of volunteers.

A contingent of more than 100 volunteers will clock over 500 hours of work, doing everything from setting up tables, linens and décor, to pouring wine and creating floral displays, said event director Trisha Molokach.

She says the volunteers are like a family, with many returning year after year.

“It’s hard work, but also a lot of fun,” she adds.

Molokach points out there will be more than 1,100 people attending i4C this year. She says 31 per cent are local, from less than 40 kilometres away.

Another 41 per cent come from farther away in Ontario, and the rest are from across Canada and various international countries, including France, Chile and South Africa.

Last year, she says, the event generated 556 room night stays, to the benefit of local hotels and short-term rentals.

Tourism Niagara-on-the-Lake sponsors the event, which Brianne Hawley, director of tourism services, says brings in affluent wine country tourists who love food and wine.

“They stay longer and spend more. They’re here for the four-day weekend, and they have time outside the i4C events to explore more of NOTL, from parks to theatre to restaurants and breweries,” she says, adding, “That helps to encourage repeat visits.”

This year, 43 wineries will participate in i4C. Some will be part of the events for the first time, while others are long-time alumni.

Winemaker Ann Sperling hasn’t missed a year. In fact, she was part of the group that hatched the idea of celebrating Chardonnay.

“We wanted to have a positive way to let the world know that we make great Chardonnay, putting it on an equal footing with international producers in a celebratory way,” she explains.

“I would say it has been successful. When you go anywhere internationally, anyone who’s into wine — whether sommeliers, critics or buyers — they know that Niagara Chardonnay is excellent. That’s pretty cool, and ultimately, that was our goal.”

Niagara has ideal conditions to grow excellent Chardonnay grapes. Sperling says, “The cool climate and the soil composition with limestone and calcium really works in our favour.”

Sperling has made fine wines at a variety of Niagara wineries. This year she’ll be pouring 2020 Chardonnay and Blanc de Blanc from Dobbin Estate, a new winery on the Bench that produces carefully crafted small-batch wines.

She’s confident the Dobbin wines will compare to some of the finest wines poured over the weekend: “2020 is being hailed as one of the most important vintages this century for Niagara and I think people will be very impressed with this wine.”

At the opposite end of the spectrum is NOTL winemaker Jeff Moote, owner and winemaker at Divergence Wines.

He’s attended the event before, but this year is the first time he’ll be pouring his own Chardonnay at the various events. Divergence is part of Collab Wine & Beverage, a collection of producers who share resources.

“For me, it’s great exposure for my brand, but it’s also just a great celebration of Chardonnay,” he says.

“Chardonnay grows everywhere in the world, but it’s particularly suited, in my opinion, to our climate, and we do a really wonderful, cool climate expression of Chardonnay.”

The other benefit for Moote, as well as others, comes with having so many winemakers in one place.

“We don’t all spend a ton of time together, so it’s great to catch up and swap stories and information about our wines and just learn from each other,” he says.

There are many ways to participate in i4C. There are three marquee events, starting with School of Cool on Thursday, Friday Night Flights on Friday, and a tasting and dinner event at Riverbend Inn on Saturday.

All weekend, more than a dozen individual wineries are hosting special tastings or culinary experiences. The website has details: coolchardonnay.org