Niagara College Teaching Winery

The Niagara College Teaching Winery (NCT), Canada's first commercial teaching winery, is located at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus of Niagara College within the Niagara Region of Ontario. Situated in the heart of Niagara wine country, the NCTW is the centre for applied wine education for the Canadian wine industry. Officially opened in November 2002, the winery began production in 2001. With three on-site teaching and research vineyards, Winery and Viticulture students are taught the day-to-day responsibilities and inner workings of a winery, from planting grapes to selling wine. Students form teams dedicated to making a specific variety of wine. The Wine Business Management program provides students with expertise in the business, retail, marketing and export aspects of the growing wine industry. The facility operates strictly on a non-profit, cost-recovery basis with all revenue from sales reinvested into the winery program.

The campus is surrounded by an ecological band of wetlands, vineyards at the base of the Niagara Escarpment, a World Biosphere Reserve, which becomes a living laboratory for the programs. At the time of The War of 1812, the Black Swamp could be found where the campus stands today. With 38 acres (150,000 m²) of production vineyards plus the Jack Forrer teaching and demonstration vineyard, the winery provides students with practical, hands-on training that prepares them for the workplace.