The
Wine Route is signed in several different segments in
Southern Ontario, ranging from
Essex County, to the
Niagara region, and to the northern shore of
Lake Ontario. It is still signed to this day, and promoted in
newspapers and other media. The Wine Route starts in
Windsor, Ontario, and travels down
Essex County Road 20, formerly
Highway 18, through
LaSalle, Ontario and
Amherstburg, Ontario. It continues through
Harrow, Ontario, before branching off to the ferry docks in
Kingsville, Ontario, serving
Pelee Island's
Pelee Island Winery via a ferry crossing. The trail continues on Pelee Island, and along County Road 20 on the mainland; both meet in
Leamington, Ontario at the intersection of Seacliffe Drive and Erie Street, formerly part of
Highway 77. The wine route designation continues, unsigned, north to and along Highway 77 to
Highway 401. From there it travels east to
Highway 403 in
Woodstock, Ontario, which it continues along to
Hamilton, Ontario and the rest of the
Niagara Peninsula. Through the
Niagara Region, the route is designated as the
Niagara Wine Route, and while well-signed, exists in the form of loops and spurs connecting the various wineries to the communities of the region. The trunk route follows
Niagara Regional Road 81, formerly
Highway 8 from
Grimsby eastward, where in western
St. Catharines it diverges into two primary routes. The first route travels north along Regional Road 34, then turns east, following the shore of
Lake Ontario along Regional Road 87 and passing through
Port Dalhousie and many of the wineries along the lakeshore. The other route passes along the edge of the
Niagara Escarpment and through
Niagara-on-the-Lake along Regional Roads 69, 100 and 55. A spur along Fourth Avenue and Ontario Street connects wineries in the west-end of the city and
Downtown St. Catharines to the northern route, while another spur crosses through central Niagara-on-the-Lake and the community of
Virgil, connecting both routes to the
Niagara Parkway. The primary routes reconvene in the
Olde Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake where Regional Roads 89 and 55 meet, not far from the mouth of the
Niagara River. A wine route also exists along
Highways 33,
Highway 62 and
Highway 49 in
Prince Edward County. Newer signs are purely dark blue with white
grapes, with the text "Wine Route" written below. These new signs are seen throughout Niagara Region and Prince Edward County. == Rideau Heritage Route ==