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by steph wallcraft |
photo by steph wallcraft
Having a blast on your Prince Edward County wine tour and don’t want it to end? Guess what: it doesn’t have to. Head east on the Glenora ferry and you’ll find yourself on the eastern edge of the region known as the Bay of Quinte—essentially, the other side of the body of water that separates the County from the rest of Ontario. On this section of the Loyalist Parkway heading eastbound toward Kingston, a microregion for Ontario wine is emerging and creative ideas are being hatched. Here’s a look at the wineries you’ll encounter there now, in the order you’ll find them as you get off the ferry and drive east. One had only just officially opened when we dropped in this past Victoria Day long weekend and at least one more is due to open before the end of the summer. It’s a safe bet that others won’t be far behind.
56 MODERN MISSISSAUGA | EARLY SUMMER 2022
LONGRID WINERY
10941 Loyalist Pkwy., Adolphustown This winery is brand new for 2022—the roadside sign hadn’t even been hung yet when we visited in mid-May! It’s a motherdaughter operation where the grapes are hand-picked across 15 acres of vines, the realization of a dream for this family who arrived in Canada from China in 2015. Their wines present in semi-sweet, fruit-forward style, perfect for easy summer patio sipping. Their 2021 Fruit Feast ($19.95) is made with Geisenheim, a cold-climate hybrid grape of Riesling and Chancellor, and features intense flavours of passion fruit and orange blossom. The 2021 Gewurztraminer ($19.95) is drier and more traditional in style with strong floral notes and lychee flavours. Especially intriguing is the 2021 Midsummer Night ($16.95 for 375 mL), which uses Frontenac Gris grapes to produce an orange wine (a white wine where the skins are left in contact with the juice). The result here is a wine nearly equivalent in sweetness to a late harvest with unmistakeable flavours of strawberry and caramel. These casual, easy sippers will be big hits on hot summer nights.