Wine country on the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, Canada, may sound a little incongruous. But the area about a half-hour west of Buffalo is home to a wine region of depth, diversity and distinction.

Mezcal, tequila's brash, more rustic cousin, is crashing the cocktail party, showing up in the kind of mixed drinks normally made with more-refined spirits.Until fairly recently, mezcal was an esoteric choice, but it is becoming more mainstream as drinkers...