Post #24 – Ange Visits PEC and falls in Love!

Tuesday August 17th was a very special day for me, it was my very first day in Prince Edward County. The trip was sponsored by the LCBO Go Local Campaign which will be in full swing on for the month of September.  And considering I am a big advocate for local wines, it was about time I got my butt out there to check another spot in Ontario Wine Country. We couldn’t have asked for better weather either!  I met some new friends (10 of them to be exact) on the trip and twittered  (with twitpics too!) and facebooked the pics I took the whole day away (do you follow me on Twitter?) well at least until my blackberry died…Next week I head to Lake Erie North Shore & Pelee Island next week so stay tuned for more info on that great Ontario wine region. And without further adieu, here is a recap of my day in Prince Edward County.

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NORMAN HARDIE WINERY

We arrived at Norman Hardie Winery after 2.5 hours on the road from Toronto.  Norm welcomed us and started our morning off with a glass of Melon de Bourgogne -  a bottle that is completely sold out.  The winery sits on a a humble plot of land  and the looks like an urban barn. The Winery is a very open space and the urban barn  look fits in quite nicely with its neighbouring barns (see the pic below).

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Norm Hardie (the man who is to your left) has a plethora of passion when it comes to wine. He has traveled around the world studying and experience other wine growing regions. Norm loves Pinot Noir and his love for the grape brought him to such places as California, Orgeon, South Africa, and New Zealand to learn as much as he could so he could produce the best Pinot he possibly could here in Ontario.

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A few tidbits about Norman Hardie Winery:

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>There are 12 acres under vine and that equals to about 24,000 vines.

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>The Clay Limestone soil of the County is what makes the wine so unique and wonderful.

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>Norman plants his Pinot vines very close to ground to withstand winters and to protect their rootstock.

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> On another plot of land there is sand based soil (which is no good for grape growing) Norm Hardie has an on site garden especially grown for the pizza oven (uber yum!)

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> First vintage of property fruit was in 2005

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> Norman uses Horizontal staninless tanks to allow for more surface area with the lees

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> Norman spends time in both Niagara and PEC as he makes wines from both regions at his winery in PEC.

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NORMAN HARDIE WINE REVIEWS:

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1) 2008 County Chardonnay Unfiltered – dynamic and lovely, full of flavour and character. Smells and tastes like a beautiful rock pile. Excellent.

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2) 2008 Niagara Chardonnay – from Beamsville + St.Davids bench. Older vines than County Chardonnay. Elegant, wonderful and full of texture. Well balanced. Knew from the smell it was from the Bench.

3) 2008 Cuvee L Chardonnay Reserve – 65% niagara, 35% county. A great Ontario blend of chards. Fantastically long and loving finish. Great minerality alongside mouth watering fruit. A must try.

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4) 2008 County Pinot Noir – deliciously paired with our country county lunch. Mouthwatering pinot. Sip with a great farm lunch such as beans and onions salad (with truffle dressing), roasted zucchini, tomoto and onion salad, grilled steak. Simply Delicious.

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5) 2008 Niagara Pinot Noir – Beautiful. Elegant. Awesome. The picture to your right is of Norman Hardie Pinot Noir Grapes going through verasion (turning from Green to Purple)

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For more about Norman Hardie, visit his website normanhardie.com. Also be sure to pick up a bottle of his chardonnay or Pinot at the LCBO

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FIFTH TOWN CHEESE

We hopped back in the bus after a tasting, tour and a delicious country lunch at Norman Hardie and made our way across the county to visit Fifth Town Cheese. Fifth Town opened to public in June 2008 and they made their first batch of cheese in July 2008. Fifth Town, the brainchild of Petra Cooper, sits on 20 acres of agricultural land on the East side of PEC and are producers of fine hand made cheese using only local and fresh goat and sheep milk.

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The very cool Fifth Town building (which includes a cheese cave you can peek into) was platinum LEED accredited in 2009. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – so its super green friendly. Check out the picture to your left of the building. When we walked onto the property there were dragonflies more than you could count – it was really crazy. Greg from our group mentioned that having lots of dragonflies means you’re on a healthy plot of land. So dragonflies are very good things.

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We had our  tasting of 5 local cheese all paired with local wines outside in the pavilion. My favourite pairing was the Lighthall Tomme with the Huff Estates 2007 South Bay Chardonnay – it was out of this world.

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When you’re in the retail shop  you can also watch the cheese production room – it was pretty cool. To your right and left are pictures of them both.

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Fifth Town is a must visit if you go to the County. You can also find their cheese at various spots in Toronto including the Healther Butcher on Queen St W, Nancy’s Cheese on Dupont, The Cheese Boutique, Brickworks Farmers Market, St. Lawrence market North, Nathan Philips Square and more!

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for more about Fifth Town Cheese visit their website fifthtown.ca

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SANDBANKS WINERY
Stepping on foot at Sandbanks felt like arriving at a cottage surrounded by vineyards and muskoka chairs (probably my ideal place to ever retreat to). It felt so easy and comfortable – which may have been one of the reasons I truly enjoyed by time there.

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We started off with the Rose, with the sun shining down on us as we sat in Muskoka chairs – it was a perfect pairing We met Owner/Winemaker Catherine Langlois – who was raised on a farm in Quebec and worked in Burgundy and is now making wine in the county. She led us through her wine portfolio and we all tasted through. We found out that they have Yoga in the Vineyard, Harvest Parties and a Spanish Fiesta. They know how to celebrate and relax.

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A couple of us ladies took a little vineyard tour with Catherine and she truly inspired me.  She’s a mom, a wife a winery owner, a winemaker and an incredibly happy and delightful person. Below is a picture of her in the vineyard. She is such a cool chick!

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Then after tasting some wines, we were able to sit back grab a glass of vino (I chose the winter harvest) and eat budha dog – OMG so delicous.

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Wines of Note:

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1) Baco Noir Reserve – Catherine was inspired by the Speck Brothers (really though, who isn’t!) when it comes to Baco Noir and is now making it in the county. It is a must try and a great Ontario signature coming from the county.

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2) Waves Chardonnay – This was my favourite of the bunch. Chardonnay is gaining on my love for Riesling theses days. And seeing as how we make such fantastic chard’s in this province, I might as well have an affair with it. Sorry Riesling but this was a great chard from the county, and I preferred it to the Riesling we had.

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3) Dunes – I was apprehensive as it is Vidal and the only Vidal I’ve have that I’ve liked was an icewine or late harvest. This one however has some Riesling mixed in. and seeing as how Riesling is my favourite varietal, this wine was a pleasant surprise to me.

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4) Foch Reserve – The only other Ontario winery that does this varietal is Malivoire – and theirs is great, and although it wasn’t my favourite of the day, it was interesting to see another winery making it and I’m excited to see how the 2010 vintage comes out.

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5) Winter Harvest – This late harvest was truly delicious. I had a full glass of this at the end of our tasting. It was simply heavenly.

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For more about Sandbanks Winery and Catherine Langlois visit their website at sandbankswinery.com

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I can’t wait to get back to the county and get to some of my other favourite places like Rosehall Run, Black Prince, Huff and the Grange of PEC. With all the water, grass and clear skies in the county, I can completely understand why anyone would want to move there. It is simply beautiful and above all its still in Ontario – a province so wonderful and vast, we forget sometimes that a staycation is really the best way to see all the greatness we have here.

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Stay tuned for my blogs from my trip this week, I just took a peek at the Itinerary and it’s jam packed with some good stuff!!

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Cheers,
Ange