The Foreign Affair Winery - News & Events

Len Crispino named Canadian Business Leader of the Year

We are pleased to announce that founder and President of The Foreign Affair Winery, Len Crispino, has been named Canadian Business Leader of the Year. The recognition will be bestowed upon Len by Niagara University in New York on April 24, 2012 at the Conference Centre, Niagara Falls, NY.

Len credits the entire Foreign Affair Winery team for their contribution and dedication to innovation and service excellence. As founder and pioneer of the full application of appassimento to grape varietals grown in Canada, he has brought Canada and Italy a little closer.

The first attempts by the winery were made in 2003. The successful interpretation of appassimento using the classic Bordeaux and Burgundy varietals has been recognized by the industry as a major achievement facilitated by authentic vision, courage and inspiration.

The Exclusive Release of the Foreign Affair's 2009 Vintages

On Saturday November 12th, it was our pleasure to have a great group of people wines at the winery for the release of our 2009 vintage

The Foreign Affair Story

In this Spotlight Toronto article Michael Di Caro tells the story of The Foreign Affair Winery.

Click here to read the article.

Twenty Valley Ice Wine Festival , January 15 & 16, 2011

The Foreign Affair Winery will be a part of the annual “not just icewine” festival in Jordan Village. The festival runs from 11:00am – 5:00pm Saturday January 15 and Sunday January 16. Admission is free, and tokens are $2.50 each, with wine samples offered at 2 tokens, and food samples starting at 1 token.

Click here to learn more about the festival.

Dinner at Borealis Grille , November 15, 2010

At this event Ilya shared some of the secrets to our wine making process. We matched our wines with Rising Star Farm’s elk meat. Borealis Grille owner Neil Vandendool was on hand to discuss the challenges of raising elk in a farm setting. It was a sold-out crowd and a huge success!

Dinner at Biagio Restaurant, October 27, 2010

The Foreign Affair Winery was honoured to team up with Biagio Ristorante in Toronto for an exclusive evening of classic Italian cuisine and our appassimento wines.

Biagio and his executive chef crafted a unique seasonal Italian meal and we accompanied each of the 5 courses with the best from Foreign Affair.

A Tantalizing Mid Summer Evening at The Foreign Affair Winery, August 7, 2010

At this event we introduced our newly minted winemaker Ilya Senchuk who presented some of our soon to be launched 2008 wines, in addition to a number of our much loved and sought after 2007s.

The informative and fun filled evening was paired with a 4-course splendor by Chef/Owner Stephen Treadwell of Treadwell Cuisine

Announcing a new member of the Foreign Affair Winery, May 2010
We are pleased to announce that Ilya Senchuk, award winning winemaker will be joining The Foreign Affair Winery. Ilya comes to us with some 10 years of wine crafting experience in Ontario and New Zealand. He is a graduate from Brock University with a Bachelor of Science in Oenology and Viticulture. Many of his wines have won major acclaim from notable critics and wine writers. Ilya exhibits the important qualities which align with our winery's broader branding philosophy. We look forward to Ilya's oenological leadership at the Foreign Affair Winery as we continue to push the creative and innovative envelopes for appassimento styled wines.

Partners Magazine - Dream, and the World Conspires, Winter 2009
In this article Peter Boyd writes on how the combination of passion and life experiences of Len and Marisa Crispino combined to create The Foreign Affair winery.
Read the article here.

Collections Magazine - The Entrepreneurial Spirit, Summer 2009
This article by Jeremy Finkelstein describes Len Crispino's dream of becoming a winemaker and how it became a reality.
Read the article here.

Taste T.O. Article - Wine of the Week, November 2009
Dubbing it "An Affair to Remember" Chris Saunders selects The Foreign Affair Riesling 2007 as Taste T.O. 's Wine of the Week.
Read the article here.

CBC Radio One - Ontario Today, August 2009
On Friday, August 28 at 12:30 PM EST Konrad Ejbich and Rita Celli spent a few minutes tasting our 2007 The Temptress and talking about its taste, food matches, drinking window, and more. Listen to the segment here.

Frommer's Niagara Region, 2010 (Page 172)
Frommer's Niagara Region travel guide awards The Foreign Affair Winery a top rating (three stars) describing the experience of our wine "a special and memorable treat."

Vines Magazine - Confidential, Summer 2008
There's a vibrant wine scene beyond Niagara-On-The-Lake. Linda Bramble points out some new discoveries.
Download article: PDF 1.0 Mb

Vines Magazine - Last Drop, September 2008
That's Amore! This is a love story...
Download article: PDF 200 Kb

Wine Savvy Consultants, September 2008
Spectacular tasting scores for The Foreign Affair Wines.
www.winesavvy.ca
Download article: PDF 76 Kb

The Standard, August 2, 2008
Patience is rewarded as Foreign Affair Winery produces stunning wines.
By Christopher Waters.
Download article: PDF 355 Kb

Vines Magazine - Confidential, Summer 2008
There's a vibrant wine scene beyond Niagara-on-the-Lake. Linda Bramble points out some new discoveries.

Vines Magazine - Cut & Dried, March 2008
Christopher Waters reports on Two Niagara wineries who have adopted the ancient Italian technique to make more complex wines.