WINE TRAIL
Jaime Kowal and Anna Hardwick share
their top picks of the 45+ wineries in
The County, which has its own VQA
appellation of origin.
Rosehall Run is one of Prince Edward
County’s original wineries, and founder
Dan Sullivan one of the region’s
pioneering vintners. Planted on a former
tomato farm, the rocky limestone soil and
microclimate proved to be better for
cool-weather grapes such as pinot noir
and chardonnay than tomatoes, and what
a fortuitous change of circumstance that
has proven to be. Grange, another
founding winery, offers wicker picnic lunch
baskets and scenic wine tastings among
the vines on their winsome property. “On
our farm, and in our vineyards, we let the
land be everything that it is supposed to
be: thriving, wild, and perfectly imperfect.
We believe that winemaking is a powerful
connection to time and place,” says
Caroline Granger, who runs the winery
with her daughter Maggie.
For lovers of bubbles, Hinterland Wine
Company is Canada’s only winery
dedicated entirely to fizz. They recently
collaborated on L’Imparfait Négociant with
Montreal restaurant Joe Beef, and have an
Ancestral range that includes the Lacus
2017 pet-nat, a dry natural sparkling made
with pinot noir and gamay. Winemaker
Mackenzie Brisbois is another mover and
shaker in The County’s natural wine scene,
creating old-world, low-intervention
orange and pet-nat wines at small-batch
craft winery Trail Estates.
You’ll find Huff Estates wines on drinks
menus across The County, but a visit to its
vineyard is worth the trip to experience
the Oeno Gallery sculpture garden. The
same goes for the ridiculously scenic
Waupoos Estates Winery, a lush parcel of
vines fluttering by the lake. While you’re in
the neighbourhood, check in to Cressy
House on acclaimed Toronto restaurateur
Grant van Gameren’s waterfront property.
You and 13 friends can have the picture-
perfect farmhouse, lavender garden,
vineyard and orchard all to yourselves.