Big Head Wines

We came to Big Head two weeks ago for a couple tastings and it was decent. It’s a local winery that feels more corporate and not as personable as some of the smaller wineries around the area. We weren’t able to do the tastings we were hoping for and instead had to resort to other selections. Luckily, one of their staff members, who wasn’t initially serving us, made us feel more welcomed and made the experience a little more personable. Thank you Alicia for sharing your knowledge and for the great hospitality.

Big Head was recommended to me by another winery on a previous trip, so when we went back to Niagara on the Lake for another wine tour, I had to make sure we stopped at Big Head. It was an incredible experience! The inside of the building is beautiful! Brent was our server and we was spectacular!! He listened to what we were interested in trying and created a wine tasting that was amazing! Everyone in our group was very impressed. We tried different types of wine and grape varietals that we had never had before. The raw wine was a fantastic added bonus! I highly recommend doing a wine tasting at Big Head and we will absolutely be back in the near future!! Thank you for such a great experience!

I have been following Mr. Lipinski on his wine making journey for over 20 years and he has always made great wine in every context. His family were always great host and very personable. I visited the winery today and I did not enjoy the experience. The host and the person pouring were indifferent and somewhat dismissive. I understand it is the end of the day but $20 for three wines and the guy is looking at his watch and explains nothing. For what it is worth the wines were also disappointing. Perhaps that was more context dependent. Regardless, I left without finishing the wines and bought nothing despite intending to make a purchase based upon past vintages.

After visiting a winery that felt like a seminar and another that felt like a self-serve gas station, Big Head was exactly what we were hoping for. Sean and Cadence were the perfect hosts - genuine, engaging, and effortlessly knowledgeable. They gave us just enough insight to appreciate each pour without overwhelming the experience. It felt personal, relaxed, and refreshingly human. The wines were fantastic, but it was the atmosphere they created that made it unforgettable. This is how wine tasting should feel. We’ll be back, and bringing friends.

The most wonderful experience with the absolute favorite wines in the area. Where to start? For reference, we have tasted wines from many areas of the world in the 1,000s and have done 100s of tasting experiences. Few come close to our wonderful time with the owner (Andrzej). We booked his top of the line tasting, and the wines are phenomenal! Imho the rival the most well-known and way more expensive areas of the world. Locally, there is no competition, in my opinion. The wines are so amazing that I'll be blinding my fancy wine drinker friends just tonsee their face when they find out that it is Canadian wine. I'm 100% sure they are going to lose their mind. I talk about quality first as this has always been my biggest focus. Seldomly, I reference anything else when tasting wine. However, this is a win win, the experience matches the quality. Adrezej has a level of passion for what he does that is rarely witnessed. We enjoyed our visit so much that we made a second stop during our 5 day visit to the area, and this just made the whole trip so much more worthy. My strong suggestion is to try as many of his wines as you can. I'll come back soon just to visit this winery. Thank you very much for the wonderful experience. Best gift you can give anyone is a beautiful memory. Cheers !!

Big Head Winery deserves a standing ovation! Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I recently hosted a 45-minute client wine tasting event at this delightful establishment, and it was an absolute hit with everyone in attendance. From start to finish, it was an experience to remember. Tamara, the head of guest experience, was a shining star. Her warmth, knowledge, and willingness to answer all my questions made me feel like a VIP. She effortlessly guided us through the tasting menu, which offered 5 generous 1 oz pours for just $25.00 per person. What a steal! The wine itself was nothing short of divine, each sip a symphony of flavors that left us craving more. Big Head Winery truly knows how to craft exceptional wines. I also appreciate their reservation process through TOCK, which was seamless and convenient. It's clear they value their guests' time and experience. If you're a wine enthusiast or simply looking for a memorable outing, don't hesitate to pay them a visit. Big Head Winery is a hidden gem that deserves to be uncovered and savored. Cheers! 🍷⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Visiting Big Head winery was such a great experience, it was our first time there and we will definitely be back! Kyle was great and made our experience extra special. Beautiful place and great wine, highly recommend

Visiting this pleasant distillery was a good find. I was treated with extra wine sampling and walked away with a great bottle of wine. The staff were very helpful with everything. I will visit again when I’m back in the area. Their winery has won many first place awards. Definitely worth another visit.

Big Head is one of the fantastic wineries in NOTL. Book a reservation if you can in case it's a busy day, but we were able to just walk in without a wait on a recent Saturday afternoon. Our wine tasting included 3 pours for a reasonable price - about $15 which is less than most other wineries in this area. We also purchased some wine bottles and t-shirts to bring back home. The space is expanding in the coming months from what we were told and can't wait to see it!

Cool place was recommended to us by another winery. It was cool how they use different types of barrels. Wine was really good and so was staff

Lovely wines, well priced. Knowledgeable staff. They label your wine glasses so that you know what you tasted. The tasting room has the concrete vats for the Chardonnay.

The red wines here are excellent and the RAW are particularly interesting (age in special vats not oaked or with any other taste imparted) so you are tasting the true grape flavor. Great tasting room experience.

Very nice upscale innovative winery. Dog friendly which is a plus. Make sure to make a reservation to ensure full tasting. They offer standup quick tasting if reservations are full. Very nice and courteous. Loved learning about their unique cement and terra cotta wine containers to make wine.

Simply amazing.. All natural fermented wine. Amazing process of a family operated winery. Very unique wines worth stopping in for.

Best winery we visited in NOTL. Highly recommend if you're more of a wine connoisseur. In addition to a cool tasting room vibe, they had a well informed staff and tasty wine offerings. Our host was a student at the local wine school and working retail was part of her curriculum, so she was friendly and also incredibly knowledgeable.

Chris was a very knowledgeable sommelier. We enjoyed our tasting very much. Very unique wines.

Occasionally you run across a winery that you know you will say "I was there when..." Big Head is such a winery. I've had the privilege of tasting wine at a wide variety of wineries around the world including names that are well-recognized today as top quality. Remember the name "Big Head" because if they keep that moniker this will be a winery that makes a name for itself. These guys are on a world class level and they're just getting started. Every single wine I tasted was extraordinary. Whites and Red both. While I'm always bullish on the small local guys, occasionally you find one that simply knocks you over with amazing flavor and quality - the guys that are playing out of their "league " so to speak. Lets hope that Big Head doesn't let there amazing wine production go to their head. Get it while you can folks. The stuff o' legend.... 18 bottles in the cellar. I'd buy more if customs didn't give me a hard time.

For someone who doesn't know much about wine, the wine tasting was super educational. Our questions were answered thoughtfully. I love that they provide a notepad and pen so you can take notes during the tasting. Would definitely recommend!

Really enjoy this local favourite every time we are in the mood for a robust niagara red. There has never been a bottle we didn't like and Bighead's staff are true artists. We love that they love doing things a little bit different from the other big wineries and that its not all just 'show'....you can really taste the difference. Thanks guys for doing what you do so well!

I usually only buy my wines from agents. The price of the wines landed is awesome & people can't Google them. Canadian wines are too expensive because of logistics & labour. I am a lover of good wines & a collection of about 800 bottles are sleeping in my cellars. I only buy only Canadian wines made by 2 winemakers. One of which is Andrej Lapinski of Big Head . All the reds are great!! The only winery to serve the wine in proper glasses for tasting and not in plastic cups. Very classy!!

Went here 20 minutes before closing and they turned us away rather than try to make us customers and fans of their wine. Very rude and not very customer oriented after we drove 15 miles upon the suggestion of another winery. Very disappointing. May be good wine but these 4 wine lovers will never know.

I've normally found Ontario wines as a general rule to be awful, this could be the first local wine I've enjoyed. Smooth with a pleasant after taste. I can't comment on the tasting experience, but if you want good wine (that doesn't instantly cause a headache), drop in to Big ahead.

Was recommended to go here. This is a no frills tasting room but I like that cuz it means prices are reasonable. Tasting was $10 and I bought a couple bottles so they waved the fee! The wine is pretty good. I was impressed.

Experience a real working vineyard, passionate, fun staff and outstanding wines from a small vineyard. We had the blind taste testing - what a unique idea and so much fun to experience! This is a family owned vineyard focusing on wild fermentation and the appassimento winemaking method (kiln drying of the grapes). Big Head Wines is what they call in the biz "small-batch artisanal winery". We just call it fun!!! Try the bold, flavorful merlot and the blanc de blanc!!

Cute boutique winery. Tastings 4 for 10 waived with 50 purchase. Wines are tasty. Really enjoyed the whites. Well priced wines

An amazing boutique family run winery. They make you feel like family and they usually have cheese and bread which is a nice touch. The wines are unique and different so they stand out from the crowd. If you love bigger red wines this is your place. I love their bubbly too!

We've been to many wine tastings, Napa, Central Coast, Italy, and Spain-we loved our experience at Big Head Winery. The staff and owner set up a delightful 10 wine tasting experience, blind tasting, shared their knowledge with us and we found several wines that we were thrilled to buy and enjoy while in Canada and to take home. Their Pinot Grigio with a coppery color to the wine (they leave the skin on for the color) was delightful! We will be back and plan to buy more in the states. Thank you so much.

This is by far Niagara's best kept secret. It's a family owned and run winery with exceptional wines. If he's around, ask Andzrej, the owner and winemaker, to do your tasting. He's a gem! Did our tasting with him and loved hearing about his story and his passion for wines. Cannot wait to go back. The winery doesn't supply LCBO so that's even more reason to go and buy some wines for home. Can't recommend this place enough.

Very cool place. Love the layout and enjoyed the wines. You pay for your tasting. I think it was 5 or 6 bucks. Pick a few to try and then if you send $50 one of the tasting fees will be waved. I liked the chardonnay and the ICE Wine. YUM. The staff here is very knowable and friendly. Really glad we stopped in here. If you have time, pls make sure you do to.

Five stars because.... 1. Big Head has a unique, relaxed vibe for Niagara-on-the-Lake environs. It feels fun here. Definitely not faux-chateau. 2. Great tasting options. Yes, I almost lopped off a star for the high price, yet you have a choice of a 10$ tasting of 5 wines or a 25$ seated tasting with cheese and more presentation. They forgive the 10$ tasting if you spend 50$. 3. Service is excellent. Yes, with space constraints it can get a bit hectic. However the staff are friendly and focused. They were also gracious in recommending other wineries. 4. Surprisingly good wine. Everything was at least enjoyable, while I found the Pinot noir and dry Riesling to be favourites that I purchased. 5. The story. The people who own and run this may be gazillionaires by now for all I know. If so, they deserve it. I did learn that Big Head started out as a virtual winery. This is a testament to a lot of hard work that they put in to building their business to have the permanent space that they opened here only relatively recently. Great stop!!

Probably the best wines I've consumed in Canada. Very welcoming and knowledgeable staff, bought multiple bottles and will come back every time we're in niagara. Truly impressed with this gem of a winery.

We did the blind wine tasting here which was actually quite fun!! Such a unique and interesting concept. They bring out the wines and don't tell you what they are and you have to try and guess. We met the owner, and his son, the place is a small family run winery which we loved!

Go! Drop everything you are doing and go! Right now! Amazing staff, amazing wines- just all around wonderful. Prepare to bring home some of the loveliest wines in the region. Cheers!!

Big Head wines embrace the art of drying grapes, appassimento, resulting in a concentration of "big" flavor. Tastings are 6 days a week [closed Tuesday] and run $10 for 4 pours - $10 fee waived with $50 purchase. Or they have a 'blind' tasting option. For $25 you'll get 10 tastings and a big old hunk of cheese with crackers. Budget Tip: we shared a blind tasting which was enough for both of us to enjoy each taste. *Disclaimer: must be willing to share! No spoilers here as most of the fun is not knowing, but we found the whole experience to be entertaining. Our sommelier was extremely knowledgeable, as one would expect, and took the time to review the winemaker's process for each taste. The wines at Big Head are good - like WOW good - and you can tell a lot of attention is given. The price point per bottle is around $35+ but the wines are interesting and not fully what you would expect, a result of using a tobacco kiln to dry the grapes and the introduction of wild yeast [wild fermentation] into the process. Worth the $$ in my opinion!!

Cool little winery in Nigara area on the Canadian side. Owner and staff were extremely helpful. You could really tell that they appreciated their craft and very proud of the product. Picked up some really nice reds. What's with the no guest wifi!

Best wine in niagra on the lake. Wine is priced from 20 to 60 dollars. Staff was very friendly. One tip, if you want the full 10 wine tasting experience you must book 24 hours in advance or they won't let you do it.

Wine tasting was very delicious and was recommended by multiple other wineries in the area. Appreciate the education and enthusiasms from Sam but did not appreciate the French Canadian snobbery that permeated the walls from the other staff/owners. I can't discount the amazing product and would have purchased a full case if not for the overwhelming feeling of not being deemed worthy of their product. This is Canada, eh? Again. Superb product. Best I tasted all weekend. But some things cannot be overlooked.

Met the winemaker , tasted a nice selection of wines , bought a bunch of them ! What else can I say.. prolly one of the better wines in the region. I don't recall the winemakers name but clearly the guy knows his stuff and put out a good product to taste us from. Will definitely go back next visit to the area..

We went to a variety of wineries all day. While the wine here was ok, I was extremely put off by their pricing policy. I asked for a splash of a slightly different bottle than the one we selected and was charged $3, EVEN THOUGH I BOUGHT A BOTTLE. While I appreciate they don't want to give out freebies all day, usually when you buy a bottle they don't charge for the tastings. Not so here. Meh.

I didn't know it was possible to get angry at a wine tasting, but I did. First off, the owner gave me an up and down check out, observed by my husband, which is super creepy. We sought out this winery because they had cheese with their tastings, which is unusual in niagara on the lake, for some reason. The tasting was very good. The cheese and crackers were delicious. The girl who helped us was very informative and explanatory. However, because we shared the tasting, we were charged $22 dollars, instead of $17! And might I add that the tasting was very stingy. Some of the wines we each only got one sip! Hardly enough to determine if you like it or not. When I realized that we had paid extra it was after we had bought $130 worth of wine. I could not believe that we had been charged extra to share a tasting that was hardly enough for one person..... Certainly not enough to share and be charged extra! When I brought this to the creepy owners attention he tried to explain (to which there was no explaining in my opinion), and then he refunded the additional seven dollars. I wish I hadn't bought any of the wine.

Came visit this relatively new winery after getting a recommendation from another place (not going to specify). You can still do the regular 'pick your own wine' tasting style or you can taste their full menu "blind". You really appreciate the wine this way and not let the description on the menu bias you. It was way more educational than any wine tour or wine tasting. Admittedly, I don't like everything they got (hey, taste is subjective) but I liked most of their stuff. Their blend (big head) was absolutely awesome and for 19-20 bucks. It had Syrah and Merlot as the main components. Also, they gave you cheese and crackers while you do the blind taste. They give you time to figure things out yourself and give you space; very thoughtful. This is definitely a great educational trip for a group. I don't know where else in the region does this blind taste thingy. It costs ~15 bucks to try 12-13 wines.

This was my favorite wine tasting experiences in Niagara on the Lake. We chose the 10 wine sampling with cheese and crackers for $25. It took an hour and a half and time flew. Our wine specialist was entertaining and quite knowledgeable of the different varieties of grapes and how they were a processed to make the wine. The cheese and crackers was delicious! The bottles are a bit more pricier, but they were about two or three that had a great unique taste that I've never experienced before. I strongly recommend making this part of your trip to Niagara on the Lake!

The BEST wine tasting experience EVER! Delicious wines discussed with very, very knowledgeable staff. We've been back several times and look forward to another tasting at Big Heads when we visit the region again next fall. Our tasting was like a private seminar on grape growing and wine making. Jakob is working on his Master Sommelier rating and shared some of his wealth of information with self effacing humor. As riveting as a play at the Shaw Festival! Oh, and they welcomed Oscar, our black lab. Life is good.

The wine is fantastic, one of my favourites but the experience at the winery has taken a turn for the worst after one year. I first visited Big Head in 2015 on a recommendation from a server a different winery, and I was so happy with the experience I wanted to coke back. Last year, we were greeted by the owners son, had great interaction with the servers, and purchased a 50$ bottle of wine that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was so excited to visit Big Head again this year however the experience included many drastic changes that ruined the visit so completely that I will likely not return next year. Upon entering, my group was welcomed with the conditions that groups of of 4 or more, must all choose the same tastings, that tasting fee would only be waived for purchases of 50$ or more. The remainder of the experience was below par, with the server attempting to push recommendations repeatedly (recommendations are great and welcomed, but not after an initial no or three), with memorized lines rather than organic conversation and just generally poor host attitude.