We're Joe & Del, "The Wine Couple", and we moved to the county for one reason: the wine! We found many other things here since we've moved (like the food, arts and the friendliness of the people) but we remain committed to our love of the wine!
We hope to have every winery on this site and have the most extensive list of every wine in the county! Search for your favorite wine or winery using the search bar at the top left of this page and feel free to leave comments on the site. Your fellow wine lovers will appreciate the feedback ... ENJOY!
Our Winemaker's goal is to craft excellent wine, producing fruit that expresses the terrior of our property so as to produce characterful, stylish, elegant wines. Our VQA Approved wines have passed the stringent VQA regulations. To learn more click here for Prince Edward County Appellation Overview.
We invite you to visit our Winery to taste and learn about our wines. Our wine is available for purchase on site at our La Pergola Wine Boutique or by contacting us by phone or email. You can have the opportunity to taste Casa-Dea wines at selected Restaurants, B&B's, Inns and Hotels.
Our wine is available for purchase on site at our La Pergola Wine Boutique or by contacting us by phone or email.
We are able to offer Online Shopping for Ontario Residents Only*. We also design custom Gift Baskets that include Casa-Dea Estates Wine, lovely accessories and more. Let us create that special gift for you.
The history here at the grange is integral to our winery project. Without this property, with its rolling fields and the historical buildings we would not be doing what we are today.
The building that houses our winery is actually the barn that was built in 1826, and in fact, it is the first barn ever built on the property. The hayloft now houses our tasting bar, and the old limestone basement that was once a dairy milking parlor, is now our wine cellar.
In the fall of 2000, Amber and Kemp Stewart purchased the property that is now Hillier Creek Estates. Though the property had not been inhabited for 15 years, the land had quite a bit of history, tracing its roots to the Loyalist days of the County.
Hillier Creek Estates, in its current state, is a farm winery comprised of 50 acres; 24 of which are planted with Gamay, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and our newly planted Vidal. Hillier Creek has already earned medals at an International Wine Competition in Finger Lakes, as well as four bronze Artevino awards in 2009, and six Artevino awards in 2010.
The barn, now used as our winery, cellar, and tasting room, outdates us all. Estimated to be over 160 years old, the original barn was built directly on the ground. After its purchase by the current owners, it was necessary to raise the barn in order to complete renovation and restoration. A cribbing system was used to hold and suspend the barn, alternating timbers four inches at a time. Upon raising the barn, it was discovered that there were two underground streams, which necessitated the building of a 9000-gallon cistern below the deck. The finished foundation stabilized the structure in 2008, and the barn was completed in 2009.
Waupoos Estates Winery sits majestically perched on a gently sloping hillside overlooking Lake Ontario in beautiful Prince Edward County. Surrounded by orchards and perfectly manicured vineyards, the Winery offers an array of wines at the Tasting room, shopping in the Boutique and Dining in the full service Gazebo Restaurant.
(Est. 2001) The modern pioneers of Prince Edward County wine are Ed Neuser and Rita Kaimins. Ed Neuser, a German-born machinist who came to Canada in 1957, purchased the 100-acre farm century-old house in 1983. Ed chuckles when he recalls the night that he and Rita decided to try planting grapes. "It was after a couple glasses of wine, or maybe it was a couple of bottles," he jokes. "Everybody thought we were off our rockers - we had no experience growing grapes or making wines."
In Ed's mind the pair approached the project slowly and carefully, starting with just 1/2 an acre of grapevines in 1993. However, from 1995 onwards they quickly added on to their acreage, planting more vines every year. Today their vineyards comprise almost 20 acres. They grow four red grape varieties and eight white. Ed considers himself and Rita pioneers, "our winery was an experimental block. We didn't know what would work."
Assisting him along the way, insists Ed, was his loyalty and dedication of people like Kyle Baldwin who has managed Waupoos Estates for more than 15 years. A clear vision of what they wanted to achieve didn't hurt either. Ed explains that he and Rita traveled extensively, "we visited every wine region on the planet. We knew we wanted a boutique winery." Among the scores of challenges they faced, according to Ed, was attaining a retail license. It was a process that would end up taking 2 1/2 years to complete. "We had to lobby very hard," he says.
In the end, Ed and Rita's hard work and perseverance paid off: on June 15th, 2001, Waupoos Estates opened for business. Ed is deservedly proud of their accomplishments, "in record time we became a Designated Viticultural Area (DVA). In ten years we've put the County on the world map - it's been quite a journey."
Stanners Vineyard is a family venture that began in 2003 with the purchase of a parcel of farmland near the village of Hillier in Prince Edward County. The “terroir”, that is, the soil, terrain and weather, seemed ideal for our quest to produce a Pinot Noir that would be the rival of any in the world.
We love Pinot Noir, making this quest a pleasure as well as a challenge. It is believed that the best Pinot Noir is made from grapes grown in the most northerly terroir that can actually produce and ripen the grape. Prince Edward County is indeed a northerly location and the moderating influence of Lake Ontario which surrounds us makes grape growth and ripening possible. It also boasts the calcareous, limestone-riddled soils that are highly reminiscent of those in Burgundy, the home of world-renowned Pinot Noir wines. Our goal, however, is not to imitate Burgundy, but to bring out the best characteristics that our terroir can instill in the wine that it yields.
Ours is a relatively small vineyard and winery and we believe that our artisanal approach in which family members carry out most of the viticultural and winemaking tasks helps to ensure the high quality of the fruit and wine. Our vines are planted at high density and cultivated using organic (but not yet certified organic) practices, in accordance with our conviction that these measures give the highest quality fruit.
We made our first wine from the 2007 harvest and the result was striking: a varietally true Pinot Noir with complex and vibrant fruit tastes that are vital and original. Our 2008 Pinot follows the same pattern but is perhaps even better balanced, as the wine critics who have tasted it agree. Could this represent the terroir-specific character that we were looking for? As the vines mature, the wines will tell.
Our unique winery was built in 2009 using straw bales for the walls of the barrel room, a first for Eastern Canada. The winery is now open for tasting and wine sales.
At Lift Haus winery in historic Prince Edward County, the old world meets the new. We grow, nurture, harvest, age and bottle our wines on site in order to present to you the best of our terroir. We invite you to stop by and "lift your spirits" with our wines.
Lift Haus winery is a family run "farm" vineyard located in Prince Edward County. Real "roots" in the County, the Evans family heritage extends back 4 generations. The idea to start a vineyard, and ultimately a winery took seed back in 2002. What started as a dinner table discussion soon became a quest to find the perfect piece of land that would be ideal for growing grapes.
We had in mind the kind of wine we wanted to make which was Pinot Noir. Despite Pinot Noir's reputation as the heartbreak grape, for us there is nobility of taste to this red wine that sets it apart from other red wines.
People grow the grapes and make the wines at Harwood. So, you won't see giant Orwellian machines thrashing the vines in our vineyards, nor any Frankensteinian contraptions in our winery. Harwood's Tasting Room is right inside the working winery were all the wines are made by hand in the old-world tradition.
You'll be meeting us in action quite often. Our Winemakers, Cellar Manager, Vineyard Manager, Tasting Room Hosts...any and all going about their daily tasks. We love to talk about what we're doing. You'll see where the grapes are grown, watch our wines being made and get to know the people who make them.
Sugarbush Vineyards is a small family owned (Robert & Sally Peck) and operated vineyard and winery located in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. We are the garagiste winery of Prince Edward County.
Garagiste:\GA-razh-EEST\ n. fr. - A passionate winemaker who creates limited production premium wine in a garage-sized winery.
We are striving to produce small quantities of hand-crafted premium-quality wines sourced entirely from our vineyard. We start producing premium wines in our vineyard where we limit grape yields to 2 - 2.5 tonnes/acre.
You will never find us in your local LCBO store. We want to be able to manage & perform all aspects of our operation and, at the same time, have an enjoyable lifestyle. In order to do this, we need to stay small. Our wines are only available at our retail store and at a number of Eastern Ontario restaurants. In the next few years we will reach our peak production of 1500 cases/year.
Our vineyard is herbicide free. All of our weed control is performed manually. We keep mowed grass down our alleys, and use a grape hoe and hand hoes to remove weeds between each vine in the row. This is more expensive and time consuming, but is much better for the long term health of our farm.
Although we would like to be totally organic, we have found that it is a very difficult proposition. We only use organic insecticides (kaolin clay for leaf hoppers; pheromone mate disrupting ties for grape berry moths), but in order to maintain a healthy vineyard in our climate we use a combination of organic and inorganic fungicides during the growing season.
Closson Chase is a quality-driven producer that has helped spearhead the birth of the Prince Edward County wine industry. Since 1999, it has been committed to creating distinctive wines that rival the world’s finest. Set in Hillier, Ontario, the estate is over 30 acres of south facing, limestone-rich soil under vine; planted high density to the classic Burgundian-varietals of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with small yields, French-inspired vinification and careful barreling in 100% French oak. But more than that, it is a place of great inspiration.
Viticulturalist (and iconoclast) Deborah Paskus is one of Canada’s most celebrated winemakers. Deborah uses innovative viticultural techniques; she is devoted to dirt – rich, pesticide-free and pure as possible. The vineyards are farmed organically and moving towards biodynamics. Deborah wants what is placed in the bottle to represent as natural an expression of the vineyard as possible.
Closson Chase, in addition to it’s estate grown wines, produces both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards it leases in the Niagara Peninsula. It’s tasting room is housed in a century-old barn that has been totally restored with a twenty-first century flair. In 2007 Closson Chase opened a new, gravity-fed, state of the art production facility with two underground barrel rooms that are climate controlled using geothermal heating and cooling. Now at a production volume of 3,000 cases a year, the winery’s ultimate goal is 5,000 cases annually.
In August, 2009, world renowned wine authority and Master of Wine, Jancis Robinson, singled out Closson Chase Vineyards as “arguably (one of) the two finest producers in Ontario” and selected Closson Chase Vineyards 2007 South Clos Chardonnay as her wine of the week.
Our name, Keint-he Winery & Vineyards, is derived from a native word. Keint-he was the name of one of the four Seneca villages in this part of eastern Ontario. The Senecas were one of the five tribes of the Iroquois. The word Keint-he was later francocized into, Quinte and used in English names such as, the Bay of Quinte.
Ever aware of the Burgundian vineyards we are trying to emulate, all of our vineyards were selected based on soil type, topography and sun exposure. These subtle differences are partly responsible for creating fruit that results in wine with superior style and quality. For this reason, we have three distinct satellite vineyards, each with their own unique personalities and characteristics.
The County Cider Company & Estate Winery is a family-operated estate winery specializing in mouth-watering hard ciders. (In North America hard cider is an alcoholic drink made from fermented apple juice.) Carefully crafted from the best apples grown on our family farm and nearby orchards, our ciders are made with 100% pure apple juice.
Located on the picturesque island of Prince Edward County in Southeastern Ontario, our tasting room and retail store welcomes visitors from May to November. Come visit us or look for County Cider Co. products at restaurants, bars and LCBO stores.
In recent years, the County Cider Company has expanded its production to include classic wine varietals such as Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir. Grown on our Waupoos and Adolphus Reach estates, every grape is hand-harvested and crafted, by winemaker Jenifer Dean, into wine that embodies the area's rich terroir. In fact, our gravelly soils are often described as rivalling the best in Burgundy. Our wines available for purchase at our tasting room and retail store.
Karlo Estates is located in the hub of the exciting new wine region of Prince Edward County ("The County"). Its 93 rolling acres of Burgundian soil straddle the regions of Wellington and Hillier. You will find it on historic Danforth Road, built in 1799. (Yes, the same Danforth famous for Greek food in Toronto.)
Ideally situated close to the shores of Lake Ontario, Karlo Estates enjoys the lake's moderating effects to alleviate Canada's harsh winters and hot summers. The soil, made up of limestone and the famous Hillier clay, closely resembles the celebrated soil of the Burgundy region of France. With latitude similar to Burgundy as well, the County's Karlo Estates promises to produce great Canadian Wines with a distinctive terroir.
Karlo Estates undertook its first planting of grapes in the spring of 2006. The initial varietals planned for Karlo Estates terroir where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Frontenac for the reds; and Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay Musque for the whites where also planted.
We hope you enjoy our artisan wines. Thanks to limestone soils, hand crafting and low yeilds, expect delicate complexity in a lighter weight with a refined texture.
Karlo Estates joins the pionering spirit to offer 100% premium Canadian wines in beautiful Prince Edward County. We are dedicated to bring you wine with character.
Del-Gatto Estates, Bella Vigne is family owned and operated, specializing in hybrid grape varieties. Hand planted, hand picked and hand crafted - our wines will take you on a new journey. You will feel the life in the vines, our love for them, and the passion we have for each vintage. Bringing an authentic feel of Italy to Southern Ontario, we invite you to enjoy something new. Civediamo Presto ! (See you soon ! )
Our vineyard is located in the most picturesque part of Cape Vesey, on the north side of County Road 8, in the heart of the fruit belt. We are a couple kilometers past the Rose House Museum.
The property is approximately 74 acres with currently over 5 acres of vines planted. White Varieties include: Geisenheim (GM322), Chardonnay, Traminette, Frontenac Gris and Seyval Blanc. Red varieties include: St. Croix, Leon Millot, Baco Noir, and Frontenac. You may not have heard of some of these varieties, but we guarantee that once you have tried the wines, you will agree that there are indeed other complex and wonderfully enjoyable varieties available other than the mainstream Cabs, Merlots and Pinots.
The vineyard was planted by hand, and is maintained by family. While we have specialized equipment to keep the weeds at bay; in our first years, we did everything with hand tools. Hand-hoeing still continues but we get a little help from our tractor and grape-hoe. Depending on the variety, we hill up the vines in the fall to protect them through the winter.
Sandbanks Estate Winery is located on the Loyalist Parkway, just west of the historic Village of Wellington.
Guided and self-guided vineyard tours, contemporary art exhibits and a season full of lively events and entertainment are waiting for you at Sandbanks Estate Winery. You are invited to enjoy our picnic area, relax and take in the spectacular views of Lake Ontario.
Come and experience some of the County’s finest award winning wines, and celebrate our tenth anniversary year with us.
Our wine store is a charming one-room building with mysterious origins, an 1840's architectural jewel hidden from roadside view behind weather-greyed barns. Over the years, like all farm buildings, it has been put to good practical use: school house for field hands' children, chapel, apple storehouse and workshop, perhaps even for coffin construction for the nearby Chadsey Cemetery. These days we serve wine tastings.
HOURS:
Open daily June to October, 11 am to 6 pm. Open weekends spring and autumn—best to call ahead. Or open by appointment during the off-season.
TELEPHONE:
(613) 399-2992
ADDRESS:
17432 Loyalist Parkway (Highway 33)
5 km west of Wellington
E-mail:the.cairns@reach.net.
"I grew up in Prince Edward County and I can assure you, once you have it in your blood, you are bound to return. It is a very special place with a long tradition of growing and an exciting new future in fine wine production. That is why I decided to return to 'The County' when my passion for wine could no longer be put aside. Breezy coastal summers, cool colorful falls and ideal soil conditions were the perfect formula for me. Huff Estates was born in an ideal location on the quiet south shore of the peninsula on Lake Ontario.
Our 150 acre plot of land is guarded in the south by ancient oak trees. It seemed to me to be the perfect marriage for great wine. Oak and wine are entwined in a relationship that dates back to early wine making. It is only fitting that the towering oaks of Huff Estate stand guard over the vineyard in the valley below. Huff Estates is dedicated to the production of only the finest wines that this age old relationship of oak and grape can create.”
The winemaker
Norm Hardie is one of a select few winemakers who has mastered the art of tasting, growing and making wine in both hemispheres, in six wine regions around the world. In his early 20s he received his Sommelier certification from the esteemed wine program at the University of Dijon in Burgundy. After working as a sommelier for Four Seasons Hotels for six years, his desire to pursue the art of winemaking led him on a six-year journey apprenticing with winemakers in Burgundy, South Africa, Oregon, New Zealand and California.
In 2003 Hardie put roots down in Prince Edward County by planting 12,000 Pinot Noir vines, 3,000 Chardonnay vines and 2000 Pinot Gris vines. Today Hardie applies his global expertise to crafting wines that reflect the incredible terroir and cool climate of Ontario.
The winery
In just seven years, Norman Hardie Winery has established itself as one of Canada’s premier wineries. One of only four wineries in Canada to be featured in Jancis Robinson’s and Hugh Johnson’s Oxford Encyclopedia’s World Wine Atlas, the winery produces old-world style wines that are designed to be
approachable now, and to age gracefully. Norman Hardie wines can be sourced from the winery, select VINTAGES stores, in top Ontario and Quebec restaurants, and in fine restaurants and boutiques in the competitive Hong Kong wine market.
