About Us

Husband and Wife Winemakers, Jim and Kathy Baker, Crafting Premier Niagara Wines since 2006

Born out of our love of fine wines and delicious food, Chateau Niagara Winery has become the premiere location for fine wines on the Niagara Lake Plain.

In June of 2006 our odyssey began when we purchased 31 acres of prime farmland on the banks of 18 Mile creek in Newfane and began growing high quality vinifera wine grapes. Varieties include well known wine grapes Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Blaufrankisch as well as some exotic varieties- Saperavi and Turan.

These grapes are part of long term effort to create very innovative wines as well as classic styles interpreted with a sense of the Niagara Lake Plain influence. The vineyard and winery are the lifelong dream of the owners Jim and Kathy Baker who share a passion for the land, the wine and good food.

In Every Bottle, YOUR Story Unfolds

Wine can be complicated and sometimes intimidating. But it certainly doesn’t need to be.

From the early days of conception in 2006, we envisioned Chateau Niagara as a place where everyone could come and not just tour and taste wine but learn about wine.
We offer a highly personalized and immersive experience to every visitor. Whether you are a connoisseur and collector or a novice seeking knowledge, we will personalize the experience for you and your guests.

The grapes we grow are part of long term effort to create very innovative wines as well as classic styles interpreted with a sense of the Niagara Lake Plain influence. The vineyard and winery are the lifelong dream of the owners (your hosts) Jim and Kathy Baker who share a passion for the land, the wine and good food.

Jim spent most of his working life as an bona fide rocket scientist in the aerospace defense world.

Married for 40 years, Jim and Kathy used to visit wineries in the Chatauqua area when they were first dating.

While they were falling in love with each other, they fell in love with the whole lifestyle of food and wine.

They always dreamed of owning a vineyard, growing grapes, and making their own wines.

In 2006, Chateau Niagara was born!

Jim and Kathy Baker

Founders and Winemakers

Chateau Niagara Winery: Leading the Way in New York's Sustainable Winegrowing

New York Sustainable Winegrowing

“The mission of New York Sustainable Winegrowing is to advance the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of New York’s wine and grape industry through regionally defined sustainability standards, third-party certification, grower education, and stakeholder engagement. The vision of the program is to elevate New York State as a world class wine and grape region that protects the environment, conserves natural resources, and improves the lives of our stakeholders.” from the NYWGF website

We are one of the first vineyards in New York to be certified sustainable.

We have been given the opportunity to be stewards of a fantastic vineyard site. We take this seriously and have committed to care for this wonderful property. We want this place to be a special place where great grapes are grown and great wines are made. Finally we want to share this magnificent place with our friends, keeping the experience here very personal.

We have made several environmental commitments to this place. We use no herbicides whatsoever on the property. Not in the vineyard, not in the fields, not in the parking lot. We are concerned for the bees. We only spray an insecticide when absolutely necessary, and when we do, we time it to minimize if not eliminate the hazard to the bees. We have a very sensitive waterway across the road, 18 mile creek. We do not use chemical fertilizers that could runoff into the creek. We maintain a stone parking lot that is permeable to prevent runoff the creek. We maintain vegetative buffer zones in the vineyard to halt any potential runoff from reaching the creek. We have planted a mix of perennial cover crops and native species to make long term nitrogen additions and eliminate mowing while attracting beneficial insects to the vineyard. We are planting clover in the rows to make long term nitrogen additions and eliminate mowing while attracting beneficial insects to the vineyard.

For more information Click Here

Chateau Niagara Winery: New York Grown& Certified

Harvested with Heart

New York State’s agriculture industry is one of our great assets. Keeping it growing and thriving is one of the most important things we can do – and the New York State Grown & Certified program helps us do just that.

Launched in 2016, the New York State Grown & Certified program assures consumers that the food they are buying is local and produced to a higher standard by requiring participating producers to adopt food safety standards and enroll in an environmental management program. Since the program began, New York State Grown & Certified has grown and evolved to cover 20 agricultural commodities and processing industries. This voluntary program is a cooperative effort among producers, processors, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to meet consumer demand for high-quality food and agricultural products.

For more information Click Here