“Part of the reason is that the best producers are very small and they were not seeking an export market,” he said. ”They sold a lot from the cellar door. Interest is starting to grow in the United States, but most Americans still think the idea of Canadian wine is weird.”

The wines and their vineyards are worth getting to know. The Niagara Peninsula offers scores of handsome, welcoming tasting rooms, from Old World traditional to starkly modern.

Visitors will also find wine region attractions like fine restaurants, country inns, villages, cultural events and hiking trails. Think Sonoma, but less expensive and — for the Northeast — without the jet lag.

Less than an hour southeast of Toronto, Vineland Estates Winery sits on the 20-Mile Bench of the Niagara Escarpment. The winery buildings include a 19th-century stone tower that was once part of a Mennonite homestead and overlook riesling vines that descend to a valley with a view of Lake Ontario. One of the older estates, it has been in business more than 30 years.

The winery’s farmhouse restaurant offers seasonal food prepared by the executive chef, Justin Downes, including house-made charcuterie and local cheeses, which can be paired with a sleek, unoaked chardonnay; smoky pinot noirs, and a graceful pinot meunier with a modest 12 percent alcohol.

“We have Mediterranean summers and Siberian winters, so we have to specialize in cool-climate varietals,” said Allan Schmidt, who runs the winery with his brother, Brian. “But we’re realizing that they’re more food-friendly.”

At Hidden Bench, an estate with rustic flair, the chardonnays of Harald Thiel, the owner, are restrained yet aromatic. His pinot noirs are silky, balanced and relatively low in alcohol, often less than 13 percent.