Niagara's Wine Visionaries: Profiles of the Pioneering Winemakers

As recently as the 1970s, the term "fine Ontario wine" was an oxymoron, and a bottle of Ontario wine at a wine-tasting produced skeptically raised eyebrows.

The Ontario wine industry in the Niagara region began to experiment as early as the 1920s with French varietals and hybrids -- only to have its efforts frustrated by Prohibition, government restrictions, the Depression,and a World War.

And yet today the wines of Ontario are among some of the finest in the world. What did it take to change the practices of a century and transform an archaic industry into a modern one in just thirty years? Who were the leaders of this revolution? What were the challenges? And what might the future hold for this vibrant community?

In Niagara's Wine Visionaries, Linda Bramble tells the dramatic story of people who carried out this transformation of the Niagara industry. Here are the pioneers, the visionaries, the scientists, the entrepreneurs, and the all-round "characters" who pushed, cajoled, and dragged Niagara into its proud place in the world of international wine-making.