Rockway Vineyards

About Rockway Vineyards

Come for wine, food, and FUN! Rockway Vineyards is a journey through four unforgettable experiences in one unique destination. Wine | Dine | Golf | Events. Nestled in one of the premium grape-growing regions of the world, Niagara’s Twenty-Mile Bench sub-appellation, Rockway Vineyards is one of only two properties in all of Canada boasting both a winery and a golf course. We are about more than premium award-winning wines, gourmet food, and championship golf, but the experience of community and friendship.

Representative Biography

Simone Ardiel

Representing Rockway Vineyards at this year's i4C will be Assistant Winemaker, Holly Pilato
Holly’s connection with the world of wine traces back to her grandparents who, before moving to Canada, operated a small winemaking facility out of their farmhouse in Southern Italy. Born and raised in Niagara, she developed a passion for the region’s wine industry and the culture surrounding it.
Since graduating from Niagara’s Winery and Viticulture Technician program, Holly has worked for a handful of local wineries and producers such as Domaine Queylus, Honsberger Estate and Le Clos Jordanne. For more than a year, her enthusiasm and commitment have made her a valued member of the Rockway Vineyards team. As Assistant Winemaker, Holly embraces the challenges and intricacies of crafting terrior- driven wines, utilizing her technical expertise and creative flair.Rockway Vineyards is committed to quality fine wines with minimal winemaking intervention and great attention to detail. We believe wines are not made but grown.

Winemaker Simone Ardiel worked with cool climate chardonnay in several different wine growing regions around the world before joining Rockway Vineyards in 2021. Her wines are clean, fine wines, that have garnered national attention, accolades, and awards.
Our goal at Rockway Vineyards is to encapsulate the flavours of the fruit in the wine and present what is grown in our vineyards in our bottles.
When the grapes are nurtured on the vine, picked at optimum ripeness, and crafted with minimal intervention, the resulting wines are reflective of its unique terroir. These wines showcase bright acidity, minerality and fruit forward complexity and balance.

Simone Ardiel has travelled around the world, honing her skills in the cellar as a Winemaker. Raised on a fruit farm in Ontario, Simone learned the value of hard work on the job and at home, where she is currently an avid gardener and forager.

After graduating from the Winemaking and Viticulture program at Niagara College in 2011, Simone worked for both Tawse and Le Clos Jordanne in Niagara before travelling abroad. She spent many vintages chasing harvests around the world at premium international wineries such as Leeuwin Estate and Grosset in Australia, Amisfield in New Zealand, Ponzi in Oregon, and Domaine Fernard et Laurent Pillot in Burgundy. Simone spent 3.5 years in the Okanagan and the last two years reacquainting herself with cool climate viticulture at Adamo Estate Winery in the Hockley Valley before bringing her wealth of experience to Rockway Vineyards. Her wines with Rockway are clean, fine wines that have already garnered her an award at the WINEALIGN NATIONAL WINE AWARDS 2022 for her 2021 Pinot Gris: Silver Medal.

Why We're Cool

Rockway Vineyards is located on the eastern edge of the Twenty-Mile Bench sub appellation. The Escarpment protects our vines from southwesterly winds, while still allowing a desirable amount of sun exposure. The lake breeze rebounds off the Escarpment, circulating the warm air throughout the evening and moderating temperatures as the seasons change. The Vineyard is blessed with mineral-rich soils consisting of limestone and lacustrine silty clay.
At Rockway we produce two exceptional Chardonnays, one from our Estate fruit, and another from a nearby vineyard also located on the Twenty Mile bench. We partner with like minded growers who also practice quality focused vineyard management.
The 2021 Oaked Chardonnay is produced from our Estate vineyard. This wine undergoes partial wild fermentation and is aged in French Oak for 10 Months. We use 20% new French oak to allow the fruit and terroir to be at the forefront while also retaining the richness and complexities of the oak nuances.
Our 2022 Unoaked Chardonnay is sourced from the Wismer-Foxcroft Vineyard. This renowned vineyard produces exceptional quality year after year. Fermented and aged on fine lees in stainless steel tanks, we believe this wine showcases the pure expression of this vineyard’s specific terroir.