By Thomas Hartley
Business First

New Department of Homeland Security rules are an "Iron Curtain" for wineries on the U.S.-Canada border, says a Niagara County winery operator, paraphrasing Winston Churchill.

But if "Iron Curtain" is a relevant though overblown description, it seems to be benefiting Niagara County wineries.

Michael VonHeckler, managing partner of Warm Lake Estate Vineyard and Winery in Cambria, who used the term, says tougher rules imposed by the U.S. government on June 1 are cutting into the number of Americans traveling to Canada.

As a result, more Americans are staying in Niagara County, where many purchase local wine instead of traveling to Canada and buying wine at Ontario wineries.

"With the new requirement to have a passport to cross the border, it is my understanding that sales at Canadian wineries to Americans are down significantly, while at the same time, sales at Niagara Escarpment AVA (American Viticultural Area) USA wineries are up as much as 45 percent. It is about 35 percent at Warm Lake," VonHeckler said.

"Apparently, a significant amount of wine sales (at Canadian wineries) have in the past been attributed to American tourists visiting and returning home with wine," he added.

Oscar Vizcarra of Vizcarra Vineyards in Gasport, president of the 12-winery Niagara Wine Trail, agrees that the overall increase in business is about 45 percent from last year.

"It's not so much that we're seeing fewer Canadians - in fact, because the value of the Canadian dollar has fallen recently, we're seeing more," VonHeckler said.

Canadian buyers have not been a large customer base for Niagara County wineries because of limits that Ontario places on the quantity of New York wine that can be taken back into Canada.

Another long-time annoyance to American wineries, say VonHeckler and Margo Bittner, owner of The Winery at Marjim Manor in Appleton, are the taxes and duties that they say can add up to 104 percent on the retail price.

Niagara Landing Wine Cellars, established in 1998, also is seeing a rise in overall sales, though sales to Canadians have dropped.

"Our business is up 18 percent from last year, but the Canadian business, which probably accounted for about 10 percent of our sales other years, has definitely dropped off quite a bit," says Robert Wasik, outside events coordinator for the Cambria winery.

"I can't say when the last time was that we had someone in from Ontario. We've been in business 11 years, and it used to be a daily occurrence. People are just not crossing the border as often as they used to," he said.

Jeremy Hoover, son of Honeymoon Trail Winery's owners Garry and Lori Hoover, attributes the increase in winery sales to the Niagara Wine Trail's growing popularity and the notoriety gained in recent years of its member wineries and the local wine industry.

"I'm hearing more and more people say they are staying local and traveling less to Canada, though we still are seeing a fair amount of Canadian business," said Hoover at the Cambria winery.

Bittner, whose five-year-old winery is 25 miles from the border, also credits the increase to more active participation by member wineries, and the launch this summer by Niagara Majestic Tours.

A pilot project that involves daily afternoon tours that start in Niagara Falls includes lunch in Wilson and ends with visits to several wineries, including Marjim Manor, Schulze Vineyards in Burt and Freedom Run in Cambia.