I filmed a couples session at The Hare Wine Co., and what struck me was the brick. Most Niagara wineries are either modern glass or rustic barn, and Hare is neither — it is red brick with columns, and it reads as warm and solid in a way that neither of the other two categories manages. Brick takes low sun better than glass and better than weathered wood: it holds colour instead of blowing out or going grey. For an evening portrait, or for the walk out of a ceremony, that is a real advantage and it is the thing I remember about the place.
The light across the property is even, too — this is open vineyard land without much to break it up, so golden hour arrives everywhere at once rather than in patches.
The spaces
The Hare Wine Co. is a winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and its weddings are serviced and catered by the Prince of Wales Hotel and Vintage Hotels. That partnership is unusual and it matters: you get a winery setting with a hotel group’s kitchen and planning team behind it.
The stone courtyard is open-air, walled, and is the winery’s signature space. It carries ceremonies and receptions both, and it is the larger of the reception options.
The barrel room is the indoor space, surrounded by barrels, and it suits smaller receptions. It is also used for showers and engagement parties.
The winery tasting room is the other indoor option, with high ceilings, and it leads directly out to the courtyard and side patio.
The vineyard lawn sits beside the vines and is the outdoor ceremony setting, with the option of a floral arbour. There is also a private patio.
A bridal suite is on the second floor of the winery.
The winery hosts weddings for up to 130 guests, with each space holding a different number. Get the figure for the specific space and configuration you are considering from the Hare and Vintage Hotels team directly rather than from a listings site.
Filming here
The brick is the backdrop. Columns, walls and warm red tone, and it works at almost any hour. If you are choosing where to stand for portraits, stand against the building rather than only in the rows.
The courtyard shoots in every direction. Because it is enclosed by stone rather than open on all sides, you can work around a couple through a full circle without ever finding a bad background. Very few outdoor spaces let you do that.
Golden hour is even, so it is schedulable. You do not have to know exactly which corner of the property still has light at seven. Pick your time and go.
The vineyard gives you depth. Rows recede, which is the thing that makes a vineyard worth filming in the first place — foreground, middle, distance, all in one frame.
Everything is close together. Ceremony, cocktails and reception happen within a compact footprint, so nobody is shuttled and no part of the day is lost to transit. That keeps guests together, which is where candid footage comes from.
Planning notes
The venue closes to the public for your wedding. The winery is not running tastings alongside your ceremony. For a property this size that is a meaningful difference from the larger Niagara wineries.
Catering comes from the Prince of Wales Hotel’s culinary team, with wedding planning through Vintage Hotels. If you have looked at Prince of Wales or the other Vintage properties in Old Town, this is the same operation in a vineyard setting.
The courtyard is open-air. It has a canopy of sky rather than a roof, which is the point of it — so ask what the wet-weather plan is and what the decision deadline looks like.
Season shapes the day here. The vineyard and the courtyard are the reasons to book, and both are at their best from late spring through autumn. A winter wedding here is a barrel room wedding — smaller, indoors, a different evening from the courtyard in September. Worth knowing which one you are booking.
Accommodation is off site, though the Vintage Hotels properties in Old Town are a short drive and the connection makes a room block straightforward.
Who it suits
The Hare Wine Co. fits a couple with a guest list under about 130 who wants a Niagara winery wedding with a hotel group’s food and planning behind it. The combination of an enclosed stone courtyard, a brick building and open vineyard is distinctive — it does not look like the other wineries in the region, which matters when every venue starts to blur together on a tour.
If you are planning for more than that, or you picture a glass-walled dining room full of afternoon light, one of the larger modern wineries is the closer match. And if you want everyone sleeping where they celebrate, the Vintage Hotels properties in Old Town — Prince of Wales among them — are worth a look on the same trip.
If you are comparing Niagara wineries, this is the one where the building itself does the most work.
The Hare Wine Co. is at 769 Niagara Stone Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
I’m based in Niagara-on-the-Lake and film weddings across southern Ontario. If you’re planning a wedding in this region, here is more on how I work as an Ontario wedding videographer.
