Well known for its vineyards and beaches, the Prince Edward County region has everything to make your vacation an unforgettable experience.
Going hand in hand, gastronomy and oenology coexist pleasantly on this island whose terroir is the pride of its inhabitants. Cyclists and hikers of all kinds will enjoy the 46 km Millennium Trail, demonstrating an ingenious revitalization of an abandoned railroad.
The wine lovers that we are were delighted with this first part of our journey. We started our trip with an almost empty cellar in the RV and decided not to buy anything before leaving to leave room for discovery. What a good idea!
For our first night, we stopped at a Harvest Host: 33 Vines at the very beginning of Prince Edward County. This vineyard is under reconstruction, as it was abandoned for 5 years, but there are still many good bottles vinified by the previous owner and this is enough to keep the tastings going until the vineyard gives them something to do their own experiments!
Let Curtis find YOUR perfect wine, you will be pleasantly surprised! After a few questions about your tastes, he will recommend which grape variety and year you should enjoy. He knows his product! There’s also an art gallery with artist-in-residence, Matt Muller, who you can meet and even take a workshop with him in his bright studio. This is just the beginning for them and we will surely be back in a few years to see their progress!
Our second day begins with the discovery of the incredible Sandbank Provincial Park with the largest sand dune formation forming a barrier beach in the world. There are three beautiful beaches in the park, but our favorite was Outlet Beach, which has soft, fine sand over an impressive width. In addition to the beaches, bird watching, hiking trails, the various daily interpretation programs will allow you to have a good time in this beautiful corner of the country.
If you plan to taste wines, be aware that at the end of the day the authorities set up roadblocks to control alcohol consumption, so make sure you have a designated driver or leave one of the many tour operators will make you discover the region safely. At Hinterland Wine Company, which specializes in delicious sparkling wines made using different methods to experience different styles, from dry to sweet and fruity, we caught up with Mark, a driver for his wife’s tasting tour company, Tina’s Wine Tours and they are awesome! They plan your tour around you and your expectations and there is always a little something extra!
Continuing our tour, we stop at Closson Chase Wineyards which we already knew, as we have already bought a few bottles at the Charlottetown, PE Wine Festival where we taste delicious Chardonnays which pair wonderfully with lobster! They have a beautiful garden where you can taste their wines and have a snack on a sunny afternoon.
The Grange is another vineyard where we stop and where we received very good explanations of their different wines. The price of the tasting will be offered to you with the purchase of bottles (which is common in many wineries) and you can even benefit from it online after your visit!
We are finishing our second day at Norman Hardie Winery. Friends had highly recommended this destination to us and we were not disappointed. We had a very nice tasting of several of their products and enjoyed a delicious meal of pizza straight out of their wood oven. Note that the kale salad ordered to accompany the pizza was just as amazing! All accompanied by their best cuvées on a magnificent patio with a view of the outdoor art exhibition and the vineyard. What a nice way to end a great day!
Day three starts late after settling in at Struisvogel Ranch, which breeds ostriches and chatting with owner Brittany. It’s a beautiful place with ample space to spend the night, as they are a Harvest Host, but also to learn more about these large birds and experience their red meat, as surprising as it may seem, but much healthier for health. Getting close to these animals is an experience in itself!
We started at Redtail Vineyards, which is still a young, low-intervention winery making many different products, from classic Chardonnay and Pinot noir to experimental Rosé Pet Nat and Früt, a small can of wine full of character for your picnic on the beach!
Then a massive, long-remembered thunderstorm hit, and we retreated to Sandbank Winery where we spent a few hours exploring their wines while waiting for the sun to return. They have many wines to discover and you can also buy a cheese and charcuterie board that you compose yourself to avoid tasting wines on an empty stomach.
On the way back, we make an unscheduled stop at Karlo Estate because it was late and they were still open. What luck, we would have missed out on a pearl! Monday night is Jam Session and that night Kevin, Dave and Paul entertained us with lots of great tunes as we discovered a completely different way of making wines and we have to admit they do it very GOOD! The variety is interesting and the product delicious! We became members of the Quintus club, because we bought one of their special cuvées that we can’t wait to taste!
After a quiet night at the ranch and a quick stop at the Farmer’s Market to stock up on local produce and where we picked up some of the best scones I’ve ever tasted (choice of cheese or blueberries, both excellent), we left Prince Edward County for the Bruce Peninsula.
It should be noted that the region has more than forty vineyards, breweries and distilleries and that our short visit will not have been long enough to visit them all, but it is only a postponement.
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