Here's their news announcement!
"Our well balanced, cherry-laden Cabernet Franc has caught the attention of several excellent restaurants in Prince Edward County, including East and Main, Angeline's, and The Devonshire Inn plus the Boiler House in the Distillery area of Toronto. These restaurants now have this wine on their wine list. In addition, our delicious, thirst-slaking Vinemount Ridge Chardonnay is being offered by Angeline's and Blumen in Prince Edward County. The Carriage House in Bloomfield, PEC, is also featuring our Pinot Gris, our Devil's Wishbone Pinot Noir and our Estate Chardonnay."
We highly recommend their wines as a definite buy! You can shop online from Stanners http://www.stannersvineyard.ca/wines.html
Stanners Vineyard
Charlene and I set out Saturday morning with nothing more than to visit a few vineyards taste some wines and see some art. Pretty simple plan. We took the Loyalist Parkway and soon found ourselves speeding by the Stanners Vineyard sign on the side of the road. We came to a quick halt and made the first of several U turns we'd make that day. Following a twisty road met a coyote as he went about his business and soon after we were bumping up the laneway to Stanners Vineyard.
We could not have planned any better than to end up at a relatively brand new vineyard with the most exceptional guidance from the proprietor himself Colin Stanner. Colin told us that they had bought the land in 2003, planted in 2005 and their first wine was produced in 2008. The winery itself is a unique straw bale construction which does well to help keep the temperature steady which is one of the requirements to making fine wines. There were several wines we tasted but not before Colin gave us a quick lesson in how to taste wine. Charlene and I really enjoyed the wines there and bought a bottle of their 2008 Pinot Gris and a 2009 Pinot Noir.
On the window sill we noticed some fossils and it was one of the fossil shapes that had worked itself into the Stanners logo by California graphic designer Ann Hadland (Studio Artz). Colin himself who has a chemistry background spent 16 years in California working before returning to Canada and starting up his own business. A lovely family business and honestly if you are looking to get a start in wine tasting, growing your knowledge of wines you can't go wrong making Stanners your first stop. I can't help but think that if Colin and his family keep this approach to making fine wines and their warm approach with customers they will find nothing but success in their future. We wish them the very best.
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| Charlene strikes a pose outside Stanners |
Please visit them at http://www.stannersvineyard.ca/ or email them at info@stannersvineyard.ca
Black Prince Winery
After visiting Stanners we felt that anything less than the personal touch just wouldn't do. So we were not as keen about the Black Prince for that very reason. The wines are quite nice here and they have to their credit a number of award winning wines. After tasting several wines we found two that we enjoyed and duly purchased them from their shop. The vineyard itself appears quite successful, though having only 10 acres of land many of their grapes are bought from other vineyards. We were pleased to see that the Black Prince also has an Art Cellar so we were glad to take that in too.
You can find the Black Prince Winery on the Loyalist Pkwy just west of Picton.
Chadseys Winery & Vineyard
Our last vineyard of the day was Chadseys. We really liked the feel of the place and the lovely old building that houses the store is lovely. Adorning the walls of the store is art work from I assume a local artist, which was also for sale. I was impressed with their website too which is no nonsense, funny and informative. It was from the website that I learned not all Ontario wines necessarily have 100% Ontario grapes in them - check out his site to learn more.
Anyway, one of the reasons I wanted to go to Chadseys was their site and the picture of Richard laying across the baskets of grapes. Turns out that he endured yellow jackets and a lengthy photo shoot to get that picture. Chadseys is one of the original eight wineries. They started growing in 1999 and by 2002 they bottled their first vintage. Charlene is not normally a fan of rose wines, Chadseys changed that and by the time we left she had three bottles under her arm. Well actually I carried them but you get the point. Both Richard and Vida are busy people - like most in this demanding business. They never made us feel rushed and they took the time to chat to us and explain their wines and tell us about their vineyard.
It really is a beautiful spot and while there were many wines to choose from on this particular visit my personal favourite from our tasting was the 2008 Rosarugosa Rosé featuring a unique blend of Chardonnay, Gamay and St. Laurent. Definitely a must stop vineyard easily found right off the Loyalist Parkway - check out their site and perhaps while you're at it order a couple bottles http://www.bychadseyscairns.com/
