Recently, The Bay St. Bull was thrilled to be invited by Jaguar Land Rover Canada to their exclusive getaway event, Savour the Senses: a weekend escape to Niagara’s wine region with some of the GTA’s prominent people in publishing.

The experience started with a Jaguar F-TYPE deliver ed to our door (and it could have happily ended that way). After a few moments of aesthetic admiration, we were ready to get this Jaguar out of Toronto’s condo jungle. After crawling through the dense gridlock we finally made it to the highway.

It was nice to know this metal beast was gentle while idle, but who wants to push water uphill with a rake all day? Clearly not a group of young guys with an F-TYPE for the day! As the final raging road warriors shrank in the rearview, we were finally able to find some empty real estate on the QEW and get a feel for the F-TYPE’s sharp acceleration and lively steering. These features, along with the body’s rigid suspension were especially impressive through the winding hills in the Niagara countryside.

Almost deliberately lost in these autumn back roads, we eventually arrived at the sprawling estate of John Howard’s Meglomaniac winery. As grandiose as one would anticipate, given the name, behind the façade of this self-proclaimed egoist, there’s a genuine wine enthusiast and his staff. We were given a private tour from John while sampling a selection of the brand’s “wines of distinction.”

We also got to see his personal cellar – a fascinating cavern that could also serve as a World War III shelter where I’m sure you could find some pre-WWII vintages.

Following this fascinating glimpse behind a Niagara wizard’s red velvet curtain, we then headed back to our comparatively humble lodging, the Inn-On-The-Twenty in Vineland. Mixed emotions arose as we weren’t quite ready to check out (of the Jaguar). However, upon entering the cozy abode you felt an immediate restoration. There was a fireplace, a Jacuzzi and a bed that looked like it had some extra gravitational pull. Once our group gathered, we were shuttled to our next stop, Stratus winery, for a five-course “farm-to-table” meal prepared by one of Niagara’s top chefs, Stephen Treadwell.

Stratus, Canada’s only LEED certified winery – a designation awarded for environmentally conscious design, construction and operation - is an elegant building tucked away in Niagara-on-the-Lake. After a comprehensive history of the winery,

we were seated for a memorable culinary experience. A unique blend from the assemblage experts at Stratus was paired with each course by Treadwell’s talented team. By the end of it, we were all in a blissful stupor and parted ways with our

wonderful hosts.

While most would have been content to end this night, your fearless reporters here at the Bull wanted to go the extra mile for our readers. A small group of us added to experience and crossed the threshold of “The Jordan House” down the road. We

careened into the pub like a typical group of tourists, but showed their house cover band, “Broken Cadence”, that we revel like the locals.