We have 2 vineyards at Westcott: The Westcott Home Farm and Butlers' Grant Vineyards. 

WESTCOTT HOME FARM

The Westcott Vineyards “Home Farm” is a 40-acre property located at 3180 17th St. in Jordan in the VQA Vinemont Ridge appellation (Latitude 41 degrees N.) of the Niagara Region at an altitude of 170m with 3% southeasterly slope. The property has been continuously farmed since 1834 and was originally used for mixed farming typical of the early Niagara settlements.

The soils are pockets of Beverly and Cashel clay loams and Alluvium till along the 18 Mile creek which traverses the property. Underlying these topsoil’s is very deep Halton Clay till overlaying the dolostone and limestone bedrock of the Niagara Escarpment. These soils are extremely calcareous (2x normal), with PH slightly above 7. 

The land was acquired by Westcott Vineyards in 2006 and the concord and other native and hybrid grape plantings were removed. GPS surveys were completed, vineyard air pockets were removed through targeted land contouring and the 30 acres north of the 18 Mile creek were systematically tile-drained on 8 ft. centers. After consultation with the winemaker at the adjacent Le Clos Jordanne vineyards, the Chardonnay 96,95, Pinot Noir 777, 667 and 115 were planted in 2008. An additional 1 acre of Chardonnay 76 was planted in two trenches in 2010 and 2016, specifically to take advantage of the Alluvium soils along the south-east corner. 

BUTLERS' GRANT VINEYARDS

Butlers’ Grant is a 43-acre Vineyard located in the VQA Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellation at 3243 King St. of Vineland Ontario, Canada. This property is one of the most prestigious bench vineyards in Niagara with a long heritage of viticulture.

The origins of the name “Butlers’ Grant” trace back to a land grant awarded post humus in 1804 to Col. John Butler and his four children by the British Government for services rendered during the American Revolutionary War. 

Modern day viticulture activities date back to the Jordan Ste Michele wine company who established an experimental vineyard to foster improvements in grape-growing in the nascent Canadian wine industry. They planted more than 100 different varietals of Vinefera and French Hybrid grapes. One 5.5 acre block of Riesling vines were imported by Herman Weis, of St. Urban-Hof fame and persist to this day. The property was eventually sold to Marv Kriluck and Andrea Douglas in 1988 just at the point NAFTA was being signed and most felt that the Niagara Wine industry was doomed. They courageously replanted the majority of the vineyard with Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Noir. 

The vineyard is widely recognized by winemakers for the quality of the fruit and has been a closely guarded insider secret for many years. Ironically, the vineyard which never has had a winery onsite has garnered many accolades and awards over the past 30 years. In fact, the very first international wine gold medal in Canada was awarded to Jim Warren of Stoney Ridge for Merlot grown at Butlers. Inniskillen produced a “Butlers’ Grant Chardonnay” which was served to both President Bill Clinton as well as the Pope and his entourage on visits to Canada. 

The vineyard is in the Twenty Valley Appellation on the Lake Iroquois Bench at an altitude of 125m and Latitude 41 degrees N (South of Oregon, Champagne, Chablis, Burgundy, and Washington State). The soils of Butlers’ are Chinguacousy and Oneida clay loams of the Luvisolic order overlaying Halton Clay till. These soils and bedrock were thought to have been formed 300 – 500 million years ago largely as sediments of pre-glacial lakes that predated Lake Iroquois and were redeposited by glacial action in more recent times — 12000 years ago. The underlying bedrock is Silarian dolostone, limestone, sandstone and slate.