Flat Rock Cellars
We are here at Flat Rock Cellars for two reasons. First, we’re here to make great wine. Second, we’re here to offer you a truly personal wine experience. Everything we do comes from these two basic principles. – Ed Madronich, President
Founded in 1999 on a spectacular piece of the Niagara Escarpment known as the Jordan Bench – Flat Rock Cellars is perched on a gently rolling slope studded with vines. The winery building is a quirky, glass-encased, hexagonal masterpiece that‘s distinctive and fun. From here you can enjoy their crowning glory, the breathtaking views of the Peninsula and across Lake Ontario to Toronto.
Flat Rock's incorporated environmentally responsible technologies include:
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Geo-thermal systems for heating and cooling.
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Environmentally sensitive waste management system.
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The use of ozone to clean, reducing the use of chemicals in the winery.
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Low impact viticulture practices to manage vineyard.
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Gravity flow reduces the energy required to make wine.
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Landscaping that complements natural surroundings.
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Underground barrel cellars offering natural temperature and humidity control.
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Light-weight glass options minimizes carbon footprint.
Flat Rock's Estate Vineyard
Only in finding the perfect piece of land on the Twenty Mile Bench were they able to make the Flat Rock dream a reality. The estate combines perfect growing and soil conditions (or terroir) with natural beauty and ideal topography. In fact, the slope is reminiscent of the great vineyards in Burgundy.
Flat Rock Cellars’ vineyards are comprised of 80 acres of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, with a small patch of Gewurztraminer for good measure. They chose these varieties as an integral part of their overall winemaking strategy, because they are best suited to cooler climate of the Niagara Peninsula and more specifically the Twenty Mile Bench.
One of the fundamental principles in quality winemaking is the ability to control and ensure balanced yields in the vineyard. At Flat Rock Cellars all of their grapes are cropped at levels that ensure fruit quality and intensity of varietal character.
Winemaking
To make great wine, Flat Rock's strategy is to combine sustainable, quality-driven vineyard management practices, high quality winemaking equipment, proven traditional vinification techniques and an uncompromising commitment to quality and innovation.
Each step of their winemaking process was carefully developed to ensure that the wine has every opportunity to achieve its maximum potential. Let’s use Pinot Noir as an example. Utilizing their 5–level gravity flow design, the wine can be crafted using the gentlest of processes from picking of the grapes through to the filling of the barrels.
Here’s what happens: The handpicked grapes arrive at their “harvest doors” at the top level of the winery in small 14 kg baskets. The baskets are tipped by hand onto a slowly shaking sorting table, where trained harvest crew can visually inspect and remove any unwanted bunches. Only those bunches deemed worthy carry on to the highly effective, yet gentle de-stemmer/crusher.
From here the grapes descend into 4.5 tonne, temperature controlled fermenters, specially designed to allow for manual manipulation of the fermentation cap. This involves using elbow grease (harvest crew power) and hand tools such as the “outil de pigeage” (a type of stainless steel plunger) to gently push the floating grape skins back down into the fermenting wine. This is done every 6 hours to facilitate extraction of colour and tannins from the skins into the wine.
When the time is right the contents of the fermenter will be drained by gravity into the press below, where a carefully orchestrated series of gentle squeezes will liberate the wine from solids. A brief stay in a tank at the lower level will allow the wine to settle more suspended solids before it is racked (again by gravity) to the French oak barrels waiting in the lowest recesses of the winery. This is where the aging process begins. The final step is the blending of the individual barrels to create a harmonious bottle of wine.
With all this attention to detail, by the time the wine is ready to drink, you can count on a great bottle of wine!
| Address | 2727 7th Avenue Jordan Ontario L0R1S0 |
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| Wine Maker | Allison Findlay |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Region | Niagara Peninsula |
From this Producer
This off-dry wine shows Riesling's bright acidity with notes of melon and stone fruit, a kiss of lime and our signature limestone, chalky minerality on the palate. These are the signature characteristics from the single parcel within the West Vineyard from which the grapes originated.
The foundation for great wine is built from the geologically diverse, ancient limestone soil upon which our exceptional winery stands. Sustainably made with great care and precision in our five-level gravity-flow production facility.
A true expression of place, the 2023 "Unplugged" Chardonnay was picked early to preserve primary fruit character and balanced acidity. It was fermented and aged in stainless steel to showcase the influence of terroir on this grape without the cover of oak. Additional layers of complexity and texture are added using special techniques and subtle lees contact.This maintains freshness and is a great way to show the versatility of Chardonnay in Niagara.
Flat Rock Cellars' bold red is created by blending together Gamay, Merlot & Pinot Noir. Each variety is vinified and barrel-aged separately and then thoughtfully combined to create the ultimate red crowd-pleaser. Bright-fruited bouquet with aromatics jumping right out of the glass. The palate showcases velvet tannins and a touch of sweet spice. Utterly expressive and infinitely sippable.
Hand-picked, hand-sorted, small batch ferment, French oak barrels; no detail is spared when crafting our Pinot Noir. True to the 2021 vintage, the wine portrays bold red fruit flavours paired perfectly with balanced spice from oak ageing.
Elegant and concentrated red fruit flavours, vibrant colour and youthful grippy tannins. The refreshing acidity balances the nuanced spice from oak ageing.
Gravity reflects not only the gravity-flow design used to treat our grapes as gently as possible, but also the seriousness with which thwy make their wine. The wine shows the true potential of Pinot Noir in our vineyard and ultimately in the Niagara region.
The 2019 Gravity Pinot Noir is incredibly expressive, driven by classic Bench red fruit characteristics like tart cherries and ripe raspberries. There is a high-toned floral note and subtle spice coming from the French oak barrel-aging that melds together in perfect harmony for a stunner you can drink today or cellar for up to a decade.
The flagship Chardonnay featuring the top blocks of the Estate. Discover why this wine is a regular medal winner at Decanter!
Opulent nose, with layers of toast, cashew nut, hints of struck match, and lush vanilla oak leading to a textured palate of bright lemon, plush peach, rounded, supple oak spice and apple.
Gravity reflects not only the gravity-flow design used to treat our grapes as gently as possible, but also the seriousness with which thwy make their wine. The wine shows the true potential of Pinot Noir in our vineyard and ultimately in the Niagara region.
A vintage, and a wine, like this do not come around very often. This is something special. True to the ripeness of the 2020 vintage, this wine pours darker and richer than Gravity's past. The nose of this youthful wine is concentrated red primary fruits; a complex medley of red and black cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and black currant all perfectly balanced with the spice notes from careful barrel ageing. On the palate, there is a distinct intensity of fruit - powerful yet finessed. The flavours match the aromas and lead to a long, lingering finish of sweet red fruit. The grippy tannins are ever present, showcasing the ageing potential of this wine, but a velvety texture develops with time in glass. Decant and drink now to appreciate the opulence of the 2020 Gravity.
This is a blend of 5 distinct micro-parcels of Chardonnay at the estate. It’s aged in a variety of French oak barrels, 17.1% of which were new. There is a nose of savoury notes to go with yellow apples, bergamot, baked pear, flint, and an array of barrel spices. It’s concentrated and rich on the palate with ripe stone fruits, saline and flinty minerality with lemon curd in a creamy textured style that’s bright and lifted on the long finish. Decant if drinking in the next few years or test your patience and be rewarded over the next 8+.
Gravity Pinot Noir from the 2022 vintage exemplifies the importance of vineyard management. Extreme winter events made balance a focus in the vineyard and our diligent canopy management resulted in extremely high quality, deep coloured, fully-mature berries - despite it being one of our smallest Gravity productions ever. The wine is a nearly equal selection of 5 distinct micro-parcels within the estate vineyard. The harvest took place over several weeks giving the winemakers ample variety to craft a wine of complexity, balance and ageability. Drink or hold. This is a young wine that wasn't officially released until late in 2025. Decant if drinking in the next few years or test your patience and be rewarded over the next 8+.
The 2021 Riddled is the culmination of our soil, climate and winemaking expertise coming together to harness the power of Mother Nature in a bottle of wine. The palpable acidity and rich structure of the 2021 growing season come together to create a complex and vibrant sparkling wine. The expressive nose exudes notes of freshly baked almond croissant, crisp green apple and citrus, while the palate matches that energy with flavours of wet stone and electric lemon meringue.
Flat Rock Cellars' bold red is created by blending together Gamay, Merlot & Pinot Noir. Each variety is vinified and barrel-aged separately and then thoughtfully combined to create the ultimate red crowd-pleaser. Bright-fruited bouquet with aromatics jumping right out of the glass. The palate showcases velvet tannins and a touch of sweet spice. Utterly expressive and infinitely sippable.