There is no question that Ontario is not California's wine country; there are no mountains, no Russian River, no vegan cafes. But trace the latitude line of the region west across the globe, and you'll end up on the northern edge of California; go east, and you'll end up a bit south of France's Bordeaux and Burgundy regions, and not far from Tuscany.
And only 40 minutes from Motown, it's the kind of weekend destination that's still a secret to most Metro Detroiters. But if airfares keep climbing and connections keep getting longer, Ontario's wine country may become less and less hidden.
Lake Erie's North Shore has two other things going for it: the fertile earth and the climate. Hot, dry summers are ideal for grapes, and the winters are relatively mild due to its peninsula locale – though enough below-freezing nights to pick grapes for ice wine, something California and France lack.
In fact, grapes were grown on the peninsula a hundred years ago, flourishing in the late 1900s; when tobacco became a big crop, it displaced grapes. Now, the flourishing wineries are bringing the area's agriculture scene back full circle.
Red grapes, especially, do well in the heat. "They don't need rain so much," says Bernadette Robertson, who handles sales for
D'Angelo Estate Winery. "They need more of the warm weather."
D'Angelo is either the first or last winery a visitor hits on the loop from Windsor, depending on the traveler's direction. Situated east of the town of Amherstburg, the winery celebrated its 25th anniversary of planting last year. Now, they have 40 acres of vines, growing seven different varieties of grapes.
Sal D'Angelo, the owner and winemaker, was the first outside the Niagara wine region to win the Grape King Award in 1999, a big deal for wine makers. The D'Angelo family also has another winery in British Columbia, where Sal lives; he comes back to Ontario for the harvest and wine making.
Tanya Mitchell is the winemaker at
Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery, the first winery a traveler approaches heading east along the south edge of the peninsula. The family-run winery has been growing grapes for 22 years, after buying the property more than 30 years ago, and started bottling its first vintage in 2004.
Mitchell's dad, Gord, had a dream years ago to start their own vineyard. He had grown up on a farm with a neighbor who grew grapes for a hobby. Gord saved his money and after retiring from Chrysler invested in the vineyard. "He really understood the soil," Mitchell says. "When he bought the property 30 years ago, three other vineyards were just starting up. He realized that there was potential because other people were doing it."
At first, the Mitchells stayed in Toronto, relying on a full-time staff to run the winery. Eventually, they all moved there.
"It was a big jump from Toronto," Mitchell says. But, "we all realized there's so much potential here. The ability to grow grapes here is outstanding."
By 2004, when they started actually making wine, Hannah Mitchell had been diagnosed with leukemia and was back in Toronto with her husband for treatments, so Tanya took charge of the wine-making. That first year, the winery took home a gold medal on their
meritage.
Since then, they've built a large winery building with plenty of space for tasting, parties, lunches, and other events. There's also a shoreline picnic tables for visitors to stick their feet into Lake Erie while enjoying a lunch.
Although their Lady in Red might be the easiest to remember, with its funny slogan -- "Nice nose, good legs, great body!" -- Mitchell says the winery's whites are even better than their reds, using complex flavors and some blends. They hope to expand both production and operations over the next few years, producing 50 percent more wine each year for the next three years, and eventually building a house on the property's lakeside that will serve as a bed and breakfast.
Chilled to perfectionOntario's latitude and its cold weather are perfect for the production of the region's signature ice wine, which is collected when the grapes are frozen (18 degrees or colder). They're even harvested at night so the sunlight doesn't start to thaw the grapes. Few other countries around the world, notably Austria and Germany, have both the latitude and climate to make ice wine.
"Germany and Austria both claim to have discovered ice wine, but we can get higher sugars because of our summers, which is important for ice wine," says Alma Hollingshead of
Erie Shore Vineyard. "We can reliably do a little better product, even though they thought of it first."
Alma and her husband Harvey run their winery on the southern edge of the peninsula. They purchased the property in 1994, formerly tomato and pepper crops, and planted 15 acres of grapes over the next few years. Their seven grapes produce 16 different vintages; their most popular this time of year is their Summer Sun, a cabernet franc that's served chilled.
The region also grows grapes you may not have heard of, including red
baco noir and
vidal, a sweet white that's popular for ice wines. Both
baco noir and
cabernet franc do well in Ontario because of the climate. "The climate here is really well-suited to it," says Hollingshead. "Some areas of the world where
cabernet sauvignon is grown, aren't as well suited to franc -- it can be too hot."
Colchester Ridge Estate Winery is another stop on the southern end of the peninsula, owned by Bernard Gorski and his wife, Nancy. He's been making wine for about 20 years, and planted 12 acres in 2001; their first harvest vintage was in 2004, and now they bottle 3,500 cases each year.
Among their specialties are a
Gewurztraminer ice wine, which translates to "icy" and the Italian town from whence the grapes originate. "We're one of the few people in Ontario that make it," says Michelle Plunkett, who manages the winery and handles its sales and events. The winery has about two acres of the Gewurz grapes; they also make an ice wine from them.
Plunkett says they don't hurry the wine-making process along: "Bernie refuses to bottle something unless it's ready. It's time and patience. Bernie comes from a long line of farmers. He believes you cannot make good wine unless you make good grapes."
Head north from Lake Erie, and north of the small town of Harrow is
Muscedere Vineyards. It's run by brothers Fabio and Rob Muscedere (pronounced Moo-shed-er-ee), with their wives and mother helping out, too.
Neither of the Muscedere brothers had a background in wine-making or managing a vineyard, but it was something they started talking about 10 years ago, when there were only a handful of established wineries in the area. At the time, they were both working in corporate America, Fabio in Boston and Rob in Troy. But they'd grown up in Windsor, their father owned land in Essex County, and they had been fortunate enough to visit their grandparents in Italy every other summer, where their grandfather managed commercial vineyards.
To learn about managing a vineyard, they visited different wine regions and conferences, and did all kinds soil tests and temperature tests.
"We're kind of nerdy," Muscedere laughs.
They started planting nine years ago, working their way up to the 13 producing acres they have today, and have been running their retail area for five years. Muscedere says he focuses a lot on reds, as well as their
riesling.
Taking rootThere are already more than a dozen wineries on Lake Erie's North Shore, and several more are set to open soon. How do so many find their own niche without competing against each other?
"There's a working relationship among us," says Hollingshead, of Erie Shore. "There's quite a good mix of wineries here -- a lot of family operations like ourselves, but also some larger ones too, with large hospitality rooms and dining facilities."
Mitchell, of Sprucewood Shores, is currently the president of the
Southwest Ontario Vintner's Association (SWOVA). She says one goal is to be together as one region and let the world know who they are.
Robertson, of D'Angelo, says the wineries work together closely for festivals, such as the
Shores of Erie International Wine Festival this weekend -- tickets for the Saturday night event sold out more than a month ago -- and The Festival Of Ice in February, celebrating the area's ice wines.
"It's nice that we all work together and we all get along," she says. "I think we all have something unique; we all have our signature wine. It's all about the wine and teaching people how they can enjoy it."
SWOVA's slogan is "Come for our wineries, experience our region." With more and more inns and bed and breakfasts opening in rural Essex County, the peninsula is learning how to capitalize on its wine industry.
"We've always had really great tourism capability," Mitchell says, from gaming and nightlife in Windsor, to fishing, boating, and touring the wineries throughout the rest of the county. "The wineries have added another layer to that."
"Every winery makes good wine," says Muscedere. "We all represent each other, in a way. We're fortunate that everyone seems to be making good wines. People want to come back."
NOTE:
Something to keep in mind: International travelers have to declare their wine when returning across the border, and the duty works out to about 20 cents per bottle. However, most people find custom agents don't bother to make them pay, especially if they bought only a few bottles.
Kristin Lukowski is a Detroit-based freelance writer. She covers Development News for Metromode. This is her first article for the magazine.Send comments or feedback here.
All Photos by Dave Lewinski
All Photos from Muscedere Vineyards