Niagara winery tour caters to special guests
“We have personal contacts with each winery”
You are a very important person (VIP), believes Marc André Way. He and his team in Niagara Region have launched a new wine country tour specially designed to make guests feel that way.
“The concept behind the Niagara Private Wine Excursions is that the tour is personalized. It’s just you, or a small group, and the wineries are expecting you: you are not dropping in at a bad time with a large public group.
“It’s all about having a VIP experience,” says Way, CEO of Niagara’s Coventry Transportation.
“We have personal contacts with each of the wineries on the Tour, which is designed to ensure each stop on the tour is made special and welcoming.”
Coventry has recently acquired six brand new SUVs specifically for these tours, which are surprisingly not particularly targeted at tourists to Niagara Falls, Niagara Region or Niagara’s wine country.
“Actually, we find there are a lot of local residents, and local businesspeople, who really want to enjoy a beautiful spring day in wine country – or a fall tour to see the colours. They want to relax and not worry about how many glasses of wine they have indulged in, because they know they will be brought home safely.
“They don’t want to be on a public tour with a group of tourists. They want to have a unique and special experience, with different groups of friends during the year.”
All chauffeurs on the NPWE tours have received specialized training on the region, the wineries, and Niagara to effectively serve the tour groups.
“We had Marcel Morgenstern, a local specialist in wines and the region, write the manual,” points out Way. “These drivers take the program so that they can answer guests’ questions on the wines, the regions, and the history of the area. It really adds to the event.”
One of the most exceptional features of a Niagara Private Wine Excursion is the option to be accompanied by a Sommelier—an educated and experienced wine expert who has an in-depth knowledge of each winery and their finest offerings. “For those who really want to make the Tour an educational experience – for example, other restaurant owners, culinary students or very keen hobbyists – booking a professional Sommelier for the day makes it a tour like no other,” Way says.
