History of our Vineyard

The grapes for Calamus wines are from two vineyards, The Bartlett Creek vineyard and the Falls vineyard. The two are 100% owned by the husband and wife team of Derek Saunders and Pat Latin, the owners of Calamus Estate Winery.

CALAMUS ESTATE WINERY grows Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Vidal Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir. Our 100% VQA wines are preserved with screw top to ensure quality and freshness.

September 1999 saw the purchase of 14 acres at Greenlane Rd at Bartlett Rd on the eastern edge of the town of Beamsville below the Niagara Escarpment. The property was an overgrown orchard and vineyard that required clearing, land shaping, tile drainage and soil nutrients prior to planting. First, the neglected old farmhouse on the property was restored. By early summer 2000, the land was prepared and 14,280 vines (10.5 acres) of vinifera and hybrid varieties planted.

In August 2001, the 42 acre property was purchased on Glen Rd. adjacent to the Balls Fall's Conservation Authority between the communities of Vineland and Jordon on the Niagara Escarpment. This was once a small dairy farm where feed crops were grown on the 22 arable acres of gently slopping fields. Bisecting the property and cutting through the site's 20 acre ravine, is 18 Mile Creek. The land was shaped, tile drainage installed, soil amended and 27,200 vines (20 acres) were planted June 2002. The final 1.5 acres were planted June 2004. It was on this site in the spring of 2002 that the owners starting finding artifacts from the era of the native North American Indian population. Fragments of the local rock "chert" were found, which were used to fashion stone tools, implements and arrowheads. From this the name "CALAMUS" was born, as it is the Latin translation of the word for arrowhead.

The Bartlett Creek, and Falls Vineyard sites have a total area of 56 acres with 32 acres of land in vines. The varietal breakdown is: 8 acres of Chardonnay, 7 acres of Riesling, 3.5 acres Pinot Gris, 3.5 acres Gewürztraminer, and .5 acre Vidal in whites, with 5 acres Cabernet Franc, 3 acres Cabernet Sauvignon and 1.5 acres Merlot in red grapes and a small amount of Pinot Noir.