Niagara County is known for its superb fruit. Local legends even persist that apples from the Niagara Escarpment have graced the tables of the King of England. Ask anyone who has moved away from the area what they yearn for most, and they will almost always tell you it is the fruit.
But what exactly makes the fruit—and specifically the wine grapes—from this narrow ribbon of New York so special?
To find the answer, we have to travel back to the end of the last ice age, roughly 10,000 years ago.
The Ancient Torrent: Glacial Lake Tonawanda
Long before the Niagara River became the mighty torrent it is today, the landscape looked vastly different. As the glaciers retreated, a shallow, warm body of water known as Glacial Lake Tonawanda sat pooled above the Niagara Escarpment, extending all the way eastward to Medina.
This massive lake required an escape valve. Its primary, major outlet was located right at the Lockport Gulf, forming the prehistoric predecessor to what we now know as 18 Mile Creek. For centuries, an immense volume of water roared through this gap, tearing away sediment and carrying it down onto the plain below. This massive flow continued until regional water levels shifted, the modern Niagara River formed, and the ancient lake finally receded.
A Tale of Two Deltas
If you look at the bathymetric and elevation graphic below, you can see the modern Niagara River Delta projecting prominently out into the waters of Lake Ontario. This underwater shelf, formed by centuries of deposited sediment, is a legendary haven for local fishermen.
But look closely just to the east, right at the foot of the Lockport Gulf and 18 Mile Creek.
Visible on the dry land of the Niagara Lake Plain is an earlier, forgotten fan. As the graphic illustrates, this ancient land-based delta stands in rough parity to the modern Niagara River fan. This tells us something incredible: the volume and force of the ancient glacial waters rushing through the Lockport Gulf were once remarkably similar to the modern Niagara River.
From Glacial Debris to World-Class Agriculture
When those ancient waters slowed down as they hit the lower plain, they dropped their heavy burdens. They spread out a vast, thick blanket of coarse material across the landscape: a precise matrix of sands, gravels, and silts.
In the world of agriculture, this specific geological formation is known as an alluvial fan, and it represents some of the finest fruit-growing soil on earth. These coarse, layered deposits create inherently well-drained soils. Recognizing this incredible potential, early pioneers and generations of subsequent farmers put immense work into developing sophisticated drainage systems, using strategic ditching and agricultural tiling to give the land a proper outlet.
The result? A highly specialized series of soils that are uniquely and perfectly adapted to fruit production.
What This Means in Your Glass
For our grapevines, this glacial architecture is everything. Grapevines thrive on a bit of adversity. In heavy, waterlogged clay, vine roots suffocate, leading to overly vigorous leafy growth and diluted, bland fruit.
But here on the Lockport Fan, the sand and gravel matrix allows excess water to drain away rapidly. This forces the vine roots to plunge incredibly deep into the earth to find moisture, absorbing trace minerals along the way. Controlled moisture means the vines naturally balance their own growth, focusing their energy on ripening small, intensely flavored berries with vibrant acidity and robust phenolic structure.
When you open a bottle of our wine, you aren’t just tasting the sunshine of a single growing season. You are tasting a unique geological legacy forged by ice, ancient lakes, and a glacial torrent that shaped our soil 10,000 years ago.
