Prince Edward wine industry grows, prospers

Prince Edward County wine industry is growing like the fairy tale Topsy. In 1999, growers planted 20 acres of grapes but that’s expected to exceed 1,000 acres by 2010.

The number of wineries has expanded from one lonely but elegant enterprise at Waupoos to 16, but no one seems to knows for sure how many wineries are operating and the number of acres. "New vineyards seem to keep turning up," said an area farmer.

Prince Edward has become the second largest grape growing region in Ontario, second only to Niagara, spurred on by middle class owners who combined lifestyle with product aimed at people just like themselves. People who take the tours seldom tour the vineyards. They are into wine making and taste.

Nonetheless, the vineyards are the key to success. Huff Estate Winery manager, in Bloomfield, Alex Hunter, explains that the wind blowing off Lake Ontario keeps the soil dry and the water radiates heat like a water bottle.

About 90 per cent of varieties are descended from the vines of Europe and Niagara. The local wineries produce well known wines like Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet France and Pinot Noir. The region is now one of four in the province that bears the vaunted symbol of quality issued by the province.

But what’s good for grapes is anathema for most field crops. Hunter says this year’s warm dry weather, ideal for his business, played havoc with corn and soybean crops. On average, the area gets about 2,900 heat units, less than in the Niagara region.

A graduate of the vita culture program at Niagara College, he describes the horticultural practices as "guerilla growing" or sometimes "guess and by golly." In Prince Edward, growers have to turn down the canes and cover them with soil to protect them from 20 below and colder temperatures. With this procedure, they can get a 60 per cent to 80 per cent winter survival rate, about the equivalent of Niagara.

The whole region is an evaporated lake bed and plenty of mineral residues had fortunately been left behind. "Nitrogen is plentiful," he says. "The soil consists of clay, loam, shale and limestone." The depth of soil can be as shallow as two feet and as deep as 15.

The European varieties yield one tonne of grapes an acre but newer hybrids can yield four tonnes. Yields like that take the phosphorous and potassium out of the soil. While the hybrids yield more, the European varieties attract more customers and money.

Marketing and tourism are what brings prosperity to the region. Throughout the summer, tourists poured in from Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec. They weren’t disappointed. The wineries provided luxury and sophistication for the monied middle class. Huff Estates Winery boasts a country inn, a rustic name for a quality hotel with room service and a continental breakfast. On Sundays the bands played on while the wine went down. "The longer they stay," says Hunter, "the more they spend."

Business has been brisk for several years, but this October the business got a second bounce. The aging population came in buses, though there were plenty of day trippers in cars.

The wine business is long-term. Sugarbush Vineyards owners Sally Peck and her husband, Robert, refugees from the IT industry (though Robert still puts in time there), got a return from their grapes and wine for the first time last year. "The start-up costs are steep," Sally says. It cost $10,000 to plant an acre of grapes and six years before the vineyard produced enough to pay for itself. "You have to love to do this," she says.

The Pecks say the vineyard was a lifestyle choice.