Megalomaniac Winery

Perched atop a hill on the western edge of the Twenty Mile Bench, the winery offers spectacular views of the area. The tasting room is spacious and can accommodate a large number of people. Staff are friendly and knowledgeable as they should be.
I like some of the wines here, particularly their Rieslings. They are clean, easily drinkable and a good match with many foods. On the negative side, I find some of their wines bordering on the more commercial type offerings and somewhat lacking in distinction of terroir and minerality, but that could just be the wine snob in me talking. You can always taste and find out for yourself — no matter what, the views are worth the stop.

I took my special lady here for a trip to some of the best (only) wineries Niagara has to offer. We did a tour of the usual suspects such as Angels Gate, but decided to take a detour into Megalomaniac Winery. I’m not the biggest wine drinker and can hardly call myself a wine connoisseur, but I can certainly comment on the décor and service.
The place was fairly packed with lots of people admiring the beautiful view and sights and sounds the place has to offer. The décor inside is very nice, with fancy chandeliers and wooden tables that would make the three bears and Restoration Hardware proud. It certainly looks clean and classy and that’s what they achieved with the design.
The service however, was a bit slow. I know they were quite busy, but it took a while to flag down a member of staff to get our wine tasting on the road. When it came down to the wine, it wasn’t what I expected. Sure the labels are cool and I got to sip my glass on a table that was worth more than most people’s cars, but still, it tasted quite bland.
If you want to film a rap video this place is your jam, so at least give it a try. The view and décor are something to be admired and should be seen up close!

Based on the other reviews, I seem to be the one who loves this winery. The winery is more modern no old architecture here.
This is not the place for a wine snob. The wines were all different and I loved them. Loved the Bubblehead and narcissist. I will be back. Great view from the building.

A beautiful setting for a winery atop the highest point in Niagara. Gorgeous view. They make a variety of wines hear that include two nice rose styles. When that’s bubbly and one that still. Still is an unusual combo of Riesling and Merlot. Both were worth purchasing. The bubbly is 29 and the still is 20.
The reserve merlot is distinctive but honestly not as good as some of the others in the area at $ 40 a bottle. So a bit too commercial but decent wines at moderate prices.

You can’t always judge a book by it’s cover.
Unless your cover is an ugly prefabricated castle perched on the top of the escarpment.
It’s not everyday where you can find yourself in a place that’s so obliviously and comically out of sync with the rest of it’s environment.
Going down the wine route, there are several quaint wineries of various sizes all of whom show a passion for their craft and a love for their surroundings. This pride of place is apparent. It shows. You can even taste it in the wine that’s produced from the region. Not here.
Here you’re forced to drink beautifully-​labelled fermented grape juice while you marvel at the idiocy of strangers.
The McMansion of wineries. Unsophisticated production meets oblivious tour buses. A stunning lack of quality and substance wrapped inside an incredibly attention-​seeking package.

Beautiful space, up on the escarpment. The inside of the winery was the most spacious I’ve been to in a while. There’s chandeliers galore, with some super impressive wooden slab tables, the kind that makes you wonder how old that tree was when they downed it.
The tastings themselves were 4 wines for $ 5. They have a selection of rieslings, reds, one rose and a couple of ice wines. I tried two rieslings, and both were not impressive. I asked for recommendations from them from the somm, and both were similar to a house white. The next were the two ice wines, one cabernet-​franc and one riesling. To be honest, they both tasted the same, and nothing memorable. We had just come from another smaller winery and was blown away by the affordable ice wines, so we were much harder to impress. The somm gave us one more try of the red — I asked for their best one of the list, so I tried the Big Mouth Merlot. My impression was a house red…
I would recommend this place simply for the venue — gorgeous, spacious, will probably be amazing in the summer. I would be there for the wine, but since tastings are reasonable… I could come back with friends.

***From my mother and I’s self directed wine tasting tour of Niagara– 6 vineyards /​/​1 day***
There were quite a mix of pros and cons with Megalomaniac for me.
Pros:
–The tasting experience was fairly good. The people doing our tasting were friendly and helpful.
–Whoever does their marketing is incredibly gifted, as I wanted to buy the wines just from their hilarious labels alone!
–The wines were definitely interesting…
Cons:
–The biggest con was the wines. This was the only winery we did not purchase a single bottle from. Although they were interesting they weren’t all that great– in my opinion at least.
–There was clearly some construction going on, and the whole place had a very ‘work in progress’ type feel.
Despite my overall positive experience, the wines were quite a let down for me, and I don’t think I would return here for another tasting.

Wow is this place Pretty, Great wine, etc, The big thing is the architecture though, they build the main building and then buried it so it works as a Cave while you walk in, Truly Unique. Worth checking out.
Next time I go I will likely change my review just because I cant remember the wines all that much because I was infatuated with the Architecture and Scenery more.

Our last stop on a great weekend in the Niagara region for the New Vintage Festival. Got here right before they closed. What a crazy drive up to the tasting room (albeit with a beautiful view of the vineyards). Very rocky road, they should really think about paving it, but I survived in my sedan. The debuted their new sparking rose, which was decent, I’d think about buying it, but it wasn’t a must buy, pretty bland overall, but overall exactly what I’d expect from a sparking rose. The food sample they gave was amazing though! A sugar cookie crusted tart filled with a white chocolate filling and topped with a strawberry compote. I could have eaten ten. Sadly, I only got one.

Megalomaniac has unique tasting room on top of the vineyard. Very unique architectural beauty that I didn’t see before in other wineries.
We visited for «get fresh» weekend in 20 valley wineries. Tasting bar was high without chair, wine store was small but nicely decorated. Didn’t like food and wine pairing they offer, but I liked 2008 Reserved Cabernet Sauvignon.

You must visit this place. Built into the side of a hill, Megalomaniac has the feel of walking into a cave. There are two rooms… a main room with gleaming vats and golden barrels where the wine is produced and all tastings happen, and a side room where sales take place.
The place is beautiful. The merlot is some of the best in the Beamsville Bench. When you walk outside, the view over the vines toward the lake is pure magic.
The layout of the place has a couple of challenges that can be remedied or improved upon…
1. The tasting bar is quite high and has no seating. While I am sure they do not want to encourage lingering, it is just a bit too awkward for shorter customers.
2. The tasting bar did not have a price list or tip sheet that showed any awards won, what could be bought at the LCBO, Etc. When I asked, I was told the prices were posted by the front door. Well, that is ok, but if you really want to sell me on a wine, let me see the price and any other awards won at the exact moment I am sipping it.
3. The wines are actually sold in a cool, small room adjacent to the main space. The disconnect between the sales room and tasting room was a bit of a problem. Without a list or any help from the nice young lady in the tasting room, I could not remember each specific wine and vintage I had tasted and liked. The tastings were presented with energy and enthusiasm, while the sales room seemed a bit flat.
I really liked this place and appreciate the great wine. Hopefully, they can get better and better. I will be back.

Megalomaniac is a unique name for a really cool winery built in the side of the hill. We stopped here on Saturday while touring the country side tasting wine. The place itself is set way back up on a hill, a few twists and turns gets you up there. Once out, you have a beautiful look of the lake and could see Toronto on the other side since it was a clear day. Walking inside has a bit of a medieval castle like feel, with the tasting room actually being built right into the hill you drove up.
Wines here were excellent, with a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon being the main reds featured. I took home some Cabernet as it would make an excellent Steak wine.