Website redesign concept for Joseph's Estate Wines · prepared by Tech LoopThis is a design proposal, not the live site · techloop.ca
Joseph's Estate WinesNiagara-on-the-Lake · Since 1996
(905) 468-1102Shop wines
Frozen Vidal grapes hanging on snowy vines at blue hour, harvest lanterns glowing down the rows
Niagara-on-the-Lake · Family-owned and family-run since 1996

Thirty years in. Still picking at minus ten.

Premium VQA wines and library icewines from the family winery of Dr. Joseph Pohorly, who made the first Icewine for Hillebrand in 1983 and became one of Canada's early icewine pioneers.

Shop the icewinesBook a tasting
Open daily · 10 am – 6 pmGroups up to 55 in the Hospitality RoomLibrary icewines back to 1998Order online · delivery available

A twenty-acre estate on Niagara Stone Road, a family that has been making Niagara wine since the very beginning, and a cellar that still holds icewines most wineries sold out of decades ago.

Joseph's Estate Wines is a family-owned, family-run winery in the heart of Niagara's wine country. With associate winemaker Katherine Reid, the team produces a full portfolio of premium VQA reds and whites, Vidal Icewine, skin-fermented whites, fruit wines, specialty wines, sherry and port, all staying true to Dr. Joseph's fruit-forward, palate-pleasing style.

Come for a flight at the tasting bar, bring the whole group for a private tour, or have us set aside a bottle of the 1999 for someone who deserves it.

Plan a visit
1979Dr. Pohorly founds Newark Winery in Virgil, one of Niagara's three original cottage wineries
1983He makes the first Icewine for Hillebrand. By the next year, almost every winery in Niagara is leaving grapes on the vine
1996Joseph's Estate Wines opens its doors on Niagara Stone Road
2003A new 10,000-square-foot winery and a bigger tasting bar
2026Thirty years, same family, same style
4.2Google · 238 reviews
1983First Icewine for Hillebrand
2×American Airlines Trophy, Best Dessert Wine
The icewine cellar

Picked on the coldest nights

At minus ten, the water freezes and only the sugar comes out of the press. Apricot, honey, and a finish that keeps going.

Most wineries sell their icewine within a few years. Joseph's still has library vintages from the late nineties, and when they're gone, they're gone.

A small glass of golden icewine on a wooden tasting bar beside a slim dessert wine bottle and frozen grapes
Almost sold out1998

Vidal Icewine VQA

Multiple award winner across Canada and the United States, including the American Airlines Trophy for Best Dessert Wine.

$338.00 375 mLReserve a bottle
1999

Vidal Icewine VQA

The second trophy winner: American Airlines Trophy for Best Dessert Wine, Indiana State Fair.

$82.60 375 mLAdd to cart
2002

Cabernet Franc Icewine VQA

A rosy amber red icewine. Rarer than Vidal, and a showstopper after dinner.

$188.00 375 mLAdd to cart
2006

Vidal Icewine VQA

Rich, intense apricot and honey with a smooth finish. The place to start.

$53.97 375 mLAdd to cart

"The most prestigious being the American Airlines Trophy for Best Dessert Wine, awarded at the Indiana State Fair in 2001 and 2004."

Shop all icewines
Table wines

Rare gems and everyday bottles

From an easy Pinot Grigio to skin-fermented whites with real character, there's a bottle here for every table.

White, rosé & red

2024 Pinot Grigio VQADry · citrus, grapefruit and pineapple, a touch of sweetness on the finish$16.95
2020 Rosato VQADry · pomegranate, lemon zest, nectarine and raspberry$19.95
2019 Reserve Cabernet Franc VQADry · 22 days on the skins, 24 months in French oak, Montmorency cherry and plum$25.95
2021 MerlotDry · plum, blueberry and cherry, moderate tannins$25.95

Skin-fermented whites

2019 Arancia VQAOff-dry · the orange-wine people ask about$22.95
2019 Riesling Skin Fermented VQADry$29.95
2019 Vidal Skin Fermented VQAOff-dry$29.95
2019 Chardonnay Skin Fermented VQADry$39.95

Wines subject to availability. Fruit wines, specialty wines, sherry and port are on the full list at the store.

A long harvest table set with glasses and cheese for a group tasting, barrels along the wall and vineyard views
Visit

Three ways to taste Joseph's

Every group is different, so group pricing is built for yours.

Open every day from 10 am to 6 pm at 1811 Niagara Stone Road. Walk in for a flight, or call James to plan something bigger.

01

Wine flight tasting

A guided flight at the tasting bar, chosen with our staff. The staff get mentioned by name in the reviews, so expect the good stories.

02

Tour & tasting for groups

Up to 55 guests in the Hospitality Room, built from any of these:

  • Private tour with a guide
  • Private tasting
  • Table wines and icewine
  • Cheese
03

Icewine, any day

Library vintages back to 1998 are still for sale. The 1998 won't be here much longer.

Late-summer vineyard rows heavy with dark grapes in front of a modest stone-and-wood winery
Our story

A farmer's son from Vineland

Dr. Joseph Pohorly grew up learning grapes and fruit on his family's farm, and went on to help build the modern Ontario wine industry.

He founded Newark Winery in Virgil in 1979, one of the three original cottage wineries that opened in Niagara in the seventies and laid the foundation for everything after. In 1983 he made the first Icewine for Hillebrand, and by the following year almost every winery in Niagara was leaving grapes hanging on the vines. Joseph's Estate Wines opened in 1996, and the winemaking team has been crafting wines in his style ever since.

1979Newark Winery, Virgil
1983First Icewine for Hillebrand
1996Joseph's Estate Wines opens
2003The new winery and a bigger tasting bar
2026Thirty years
30

Thirty years on Niagara Stone Road

Anniversary events, new releases and the last bottles of the library icewines go to the newsletter first.

Book & order

Groups, tours and special bottles

Walk-ins never need this. For groups, tours, or a library icewine set aside, send a note and James will get back to you.

This is a design concept. On the live site this goes to james@josephsestatewines.com and the group gets a confirmation.

Hours

Monday to Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm

Find us

1811 Niagara Stone Rd (Hwy 55), Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0

Tastings & groups (905) 468-1102Winery (905) 468-1259Toll-free 1-866-468-1259info@josephsestatewines.comDirections
CallShop wines
A note from Tech Loop

Why we built this concept for Joseph's Estate Wines

Thirty years this year, the winemaker who made Hillebrand's first icewine, trophy-winning library vintages still for sale, 238 Google reviews and 2,000 people following on Instagram, on a website with a © 2015 footer. The icewines are at the bottom of a text list, and the story that sets you apart from every winery on Niagara Stone Road is a click away on the About page.

What we found on josephsestatewines.com

  • A 2015 "905 CMS" template: gold banner carousels and small centred text, footer still © 2015
  • The homepage says you founded the winery in 1992 and have been at it "more than two decades"; the About page says the doors opened in 1996. It's your thirtieth year either way
  • The 1983 Hillebrand icewine story, the best line you have, isn't on the homepage
  • Library icewines from 1998 to 2006 sit at the bottom of a plain text wine list, with no photos or buy buttons
  • Ordering happens on a separate store domain, and nothing mentions your 238 reviews

What this concept changes

  • One short, confident headline and a Shop button that never leaves the screen, the way Inniskillin does it
  • The icewine cellar as the centrepiece: each vintage as a card with its price and its awards
  • Table wines laid out by style with prices, straight from your current list
  • Three clear ways to visit, with the 55-guest Hospitality Room front and centre for groups
  • A thirtieth-anniversary moment and a newsletter signup that builds the list

What's included

  • This concept was free. The full site is one fixed price: design, build and launch on josephsestatewines.com
  • Your existing store stays and gets linked from every wine card, or we move it to Shopify with the 19+ gate
  • Built from your own photos: your Instagram has plenty of the estate, the bar and the bottles (the images here are placeholders)
  • Google Business Profile tidy-up: hours, photos, order link
  • Simple editing for prices, vintages and events, with hosting and updates for the first year

Design cues from the best in your field

Before drawing this we studied Inniskillin, the name most people know for Niagara icewine. Their homepage leads with one three-word line ("Obsession wins."), a Shop Our Wines button, a winemaker-curated club, and three ways to experience the estate (tours, a tasting flight of wines and icewines, and seasonal events), with an age check up front. Joseph's has a story Inniskillin can't tell, an icewine pioneer and library vintages back to 1998, so this concept uses their structure and puts your story in it.

Current site, desktop
Screenshot of the current Joseph's Estate Wines website on desktop
Current site, phone
Screenshot of the current Joseph's Estate Wines website on a phone
Want this live for your thirtieth year?

Cameron O'Neill · Tech Loop · Web design for small-town Ontario · hello@techloop.ca

techloop.ca

Details on this page come from your Google Business Profile and the current website, including the wine list, prices and history as published there. The photographs are placeholders until we swap in your own. Anything that's changed is a two-minute fix.