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2005 may bring major harvest for the County/s wineg‘rowers V BILL HUNT SPECIAL TO THE COUNTY Prince Edward County’s burgeoning wine industry has been making a lot of in roads during recent years, but Richard Johnston thinks this season could be the break- through year. Johnston, past president of the Prince Edward County Wmegrowers Association, said mistakes have been learned from and changes made that could see harvests rise from 70 tonsofgrapesin2004tobetween 400 and 600 tons this year, although it will probably be closer to 400 “because there are so many things that could go wrong.” For example, Johnston and his wife, Vida Zalnieriunas owners of By Chadsey's Cairns Winery and Vineyard in Hillier, expected 24 to 25 tons last year and ended up producing 13 tons of grapes The association includes several Vintners from Lennox Addington County. The larg» er harvest should occur this season because the county's winters are colder than those in the Niagara region and wine growers hereâ€"inmostcasesforthefirsttimeâ€" completely covered their vines with dirt, rather than just the graft Temperatures below -20 C kill the top of the vines and it's not uncommon for the county to reach such laws. Johnston and a couple other Vintners have been burying their vines for several years, thanks to advice from Martin Gremmrich, who sold Johnston some vines in 1999 and 2000. But most local Vintners didn‘t follow suit until last year, with the exceptions of himself and Long Dog Winery. Grange earns Ontario Wine Medal JUDY FRASER SPECIAL m Tm: C(Jl'NlY "This is the first year that the bulk ofpeoâ€" ple have tried to lay down their canes and cover (them) with dirt,” said Johnston. "On thewholel‘dsaythisisagoodtestyear. We‘ve now got two thirds of (our) vines off the ground.” Johnston noted Vintners will lose some of their crop to not because burying them isn’t natural, and others don’t cover them enough. Johnston was president of the PECWA for the previous three years and when he fol- lowed Gremmrich’s advice, many local wine growers thought burying the entire vine unnecessary That belief was accentuated by the fact the winter of 2000â€"2001 was unusu- ally mild, therefore less damage was done here than should have been expected. With most or all area wine growers now covering their vines, Johnston said the har- vest should be signifimntly higher, although not 100 per cent of its potential, because last summer‘s high rainfall likely increased diseases It: prevent fiost'from affecting the vines,lastfallhefilledoi]drumsâ€"cutin halfâ€" with wood and lit them throughout his vineyard at night to keep the air moving and prevent the frost from settling. “We shouldknow by the end of May what we call primary bud survival,” he said. Growers in Prince Edward County “only produwd 70 tons of grapes last year. So let’s say we only produced two tons per acre. 1 would say we should be up in the hundreds of tons of grapes this year." He’ll have a more accurate idea of the amount of grapes produced in June, when the vines yield their clusters In 1999, there were about three wine growers in the county. The region now has between 35 and 40 vineyards on approximately 600 acres, said Johnston Those 600 acres have 15 difierent soil types compared to four or five in the Niagara region. Also, the county is based on limestone, which helps pro duce better quality wines bemuse water sits on top of the stone and feeds the vines Johnston expects his Chadsey’s Cairns Winery to produce 15 different wines for sale this year, including Reisling from past years, and 12 of them will have Johnston says it will be the distinctiveness of County been made completely with wines that people will come looking for. Bill Hunt photo county grapes (he still buys some grapes from Gremmrich). Other growers are also using fewer grapes from other regions “So we‘re making the transition (for our wines)tobemostlyfiomthecounty,"hesaid “They’re allaiminginthatdirection and there’llbesornelocal productfmmeverybody” The association is trying to get more transparency with regard to where the grapes used in county wines originate. The PECWA has labels stating “100 per cent County Grown" but not all Vintners in Prince Edward are members of the associa- tion, although they market their wines as coming from the county. The association’s goal however, is to have the region’s wines known for their unique and varied tastes. “It will be the distinctiveness of our wines that people come (for),” he said “Because we have all these different soils we grow from, I think it will be a wonderful variety of tastes that come out of the county.” Another vineyard is being opened in Hillier this year by Norm Hardy, making for about seven in that ward alone, and Johnston expects the businesses to produce “a wonderful Pinot Noir bewuse of the simi- lar soils to those in France.” . As for county residents worried about the region losing its rural quaintness, Johnston doesn't worry about that. ‘The fact that it is island-like guarantees it’s not going to be over-developed,“ he said. Because the businesses are still agricultur- al, “we’re not really changing the nature of the style of life.” 05' â€" /3- a: The Grange of Prince Edward Estate Winery’s 2003 Trumpour’s Mill Gamay Noir has been awarded the Niagara Grape Wine Festival Gamay Award bronze medal at the 10th annual Ontario Wine Awards. The Ontario Wines Awards is an annuâ€" al event, founded and hosted by notable Canadian wine writer Tony Aspler. This year’s competition drew a record-break- ing 443 entries in 27 categories. The Grange award represents the first of its kind to a Prince Edward County winery. Caroline Granger, President and CEO of The Grange of Prince Edward Estate Winery, was on hand to receive the award last Friday evening in Niagaraâ€"onâ€"the- Lake. “This is a tremendous honour for The Grange wines and a significant milestone . to dairy cows and bou htflieHilfiei.fa_ Walter and Val Miller Our Own Dairy Farm 1606 Danforth Road Hillier 613-399-5649 P/drcol} (,4 1‘77; a 9/1: / 0e Walter Millér is‘pmud tofgiie. theifirn ation on . , his Hillier ‘fannHe worked ‘on "hlS uncle George Emlaw‘s South'Marysburgh farm before 90an off to‘um- versity but wa‘snftsure hewould actually be a farmer. :â€" n 1982, he and Val began‘raising a few beef cattle on rented land. '7.We moyed ea tomes iniz years," says Walter laughing; "they went freezerbeef to heifers a good barn. I don‘t ink l eveniook Nous/«they have 130 cows, with 60 for all wineries in Prince Edward County,” Granger said. “We are absolute- ly delighted to have participated in an award process that celebrates Ontario VQA wines. The 2003 Gamay Noir was our first vintage, and it has devel- oped very well. This is encouraging and bodes well for the future of our other vin- tages.” Granger was passionate in her praise of Grange winemaker Jelf Innes. “Jeff has really done an outstanding job in bringing our wines to this point so early. The Grange is a small boutique winery compared to the large commercial operations of some of the Niagara winer- ies.” Granger said. “This award is a testa- ment to Jefl"s talents and commitment to the highest standards of winemaking.” Caroline Granger The Grange of Prince Edward Estate Winery is dedicated to producing delicious quality wines. As a company The Grange respects local heritage, its history of agriculture and its Loyalist legacy. They have committed themselves to maintaining historical authenticity and winemaking following traditional Burgundian techniques. 0r-/3â€" or lgrowlsoaae‘s-ofcornfandglfalfaiof‘ them w -‘ several cuter County . W , ., shareholdeisdn the Black lover .Cheese :' Factory He. believes in. the future of i'amsan“ cheese, the factory/s favourite old cheddars and new products being devel- oped, and he loves this County land and asks, "Where elsecou esplte' .thediallenges ofborder, .. demo and bizarre weatl'ietrWalter‘is toug ndop ._ -' . dairy” farmers are directors and .‘He gestures across his dyou‘Wanttobe?’ ' ‘