Over the weekend of March 28–29, four Ukrainian-owned Niagara Benchland wineries came together to support Ukraine through a celebration of wine, food, and culture. The Ukrainian Bench Tour featured Featherstone Estate Winery, Leaning Post Wines, Rosewood Estates, and Kacaba Vineyards, with proceeds supporting the Canada-Ukraine Foundation. As a fundraising professional at the BCU Foundation, this trip held a special meaning for me. Our organization recently partnered with the Canada-Ukraine Foundation to maximize humanitarian aid to Ukraine. On Saturday morning, my friends and I packed up our car and drove from Toronto to show our support for these incredible Ukrainian-Canadian businesses that are giving back to our homeland.
Our first stop was Featherstone Estate Winery, where co-owner Rayla Myhal was on-site warmly greeting guests. Rayla was instrumental in organizing this event and bringing the wineries together for this important cause. The tasting featured Featherstone’s Four Feathers wine paired with exceptional varenyky crafted by Babci’s Kitchen, who is joining the Featherstone team. The varenyky were truly the best I have ever tasted, featuring innovative flavors of ricotta, honey, and thyme. Guests could also admire a beautiful display of traditional wreaths from Bespoke Vinky, which my friends and I couldn’t resist buying.
Next, we visited Rosewood Estates. Their pairing featured Savor Night Moves, a Gamay served alongside patychky with kapusta, dill potatoes, and a sunflower sourdough bread with honey butter. The Roman family, owners of Rosewood, have been beekeepers for 90 years and beautifully incorporate that history into their brand. They have a history of generosity with the BCU Foundation as well, having donated mead and honey jars to our Resilient Hearts fundraiser in February, which featured chef Yevhen Klopotenko and journalist Caolan Robertson.
Our third stop brought us to Kacaba Vineyards. Founded in 1997 by Michael Kacaba, who is of Ukrainian descent, it was wonderful to see the family and winery embrace their roots across generations. We enjoyed their Reserve Riesling paired with traditional holubtsi while taking in a beautiful live bandura performance.
Our final stop was at Leaning Post Wines, founded by Ilya and Nadia Senchuk. With Easter right around the corner, the food pairing was a deconstructed Ukrainian Easter basket, including handmade paska, eggs, beets with horseradish, and kovbasa. The Senchuk family decorated the establishment with embroidered rushnyky and traditional icons written by Nadia’s mother. It was also an incredibly pleasant surprise to learn that they were donating funds to Project Soniashnyk, a fund of the BCU Foundation focusing on children of Ukraine’s Armed Forces and Fallen Defenders. Leaning Post was also a generous supporter of our Resilient Hearts fundraiser, supplying their Fifty Chardonnay and Cuvee Winona.
As the weekend came to a close, the Ukrainian Bench Tour became far more than a celebration of Niagara’s renowned wines, it stood as a moving testament to how community, heritage, and generosity can come together in service of something greater. Each glass raised, each thoughtfully prepared dish, and each story shared carried with it a quiet but powerful message: even far from home, Ukrainians and their friends continue to nurture the roots of solidarity, resilience, and hope. In bringing together the beauty of Niagara’s Benchlands with the enduring spirit of Ukraine, the four wineries reminded all who attended that philanthropy is most powerful when it is rooted in culture, memory, and love for one’s people. Their collective effort not only supported vital humanitarian work, but also affirmed that the Ukrainian spirit continues to flourish, strong, generous, and unbreakable, wherever it is planted. If you would like to contribute to ongoing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, please visit www.bcufoundation.com/donate-today.
Roksoliana Luciw
Fundraising Operations
Coordinator at BCU Foundation
