Sunnybrook Farm’s Gerald Goertz was the first of a new crop of Winemakers in Canada who believe that fruit wine delivers the best that Mother Nature has to offer.

Sunnybrook Farm Estate Winery is Canada’s first Fruit Winery, specializing in wines made from 100% Niagara Peninsula grown tree fruit and berries.

Sunnybrook Farm Estate Winery is owned and operated by Gerald and Vivien Goertz. Gerald was born and raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake and has been involved in fruit growing in Niagara-on-the-Lake all of his life, including involvement in his family’s tender fruit processing factory, Lakeshore Canning Company. Sunnybrook Farm initially consisted of 35 acres of peaches, cherries, plums, pears, and apple along the southern shore of Lake Ontario at Four Mile Creek on what was once a large river delta. The deep sandy loam soil and the temperature moderating effect of the Niagara Escarpment is ideal for growing the over 20 varieties of peaches produced on the farm. A devastating hailstorm on August 1st, 1986 destroyed the entire crop of fruit that year. There was no time to financially recover when more hail struck a few years later. The Goertz’s did not want to lose their land and so decided to diversify the farming operation, inspired by Niagara’s traditional grape wineries. Since Gerald is a fruit grower, it was logical for him to make fruit wine. The farm machine repair shop was modified and so Sunnybrook Farm Estate Winery, Canada’s first fruit winery, was established in 1993. It was, and remains, a family affair. Gerald is the Cellar Master and Vivien manages the office. For the first few years the children helped with bottling and labeling. Gerald and Vivien are very pleased that their daughter Rebecca is now the winemaker. Sunnybrook Farm currently produces about 3,500 cases of a wide variety of peach, pear, apple, plum, apricot, and berry wines, including distinctive iced fruit wines. The wines are true to the fruit that they are made from so, for example, you will taste the true peach character in the Peach wines, and true Cherry in that wine. The wines are light and balanced, naturally fermented, not fortified, and not grape based. Sunnybrook Farm Winery “Quality Certified” wines are your assurance that the wines meet Standards of Excellence determined by Fruit Wines of Canada and an independent, professional Tasting Panel. The QC designation is the fruit wine equivalent of Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) for grape wines.