Time to tend the vines

The County’s grapevines have been snipped. Most will be buried for winter; others sheltered under wee tents. Some may never see another harvest. Come spring, a few more acres will likely be torn out. After decades of growth that helped transform the local economy, the County’s wine sector is in retreat. For the economy, the stakes are profound. For the people who built it, the losses are personal.

Published estimates suggest the County’s vineyard acreage may have fallen substantially— from about 800 acres reported by WineAlign in 2020 to roughly 400 acres estimated by wine writer Jay Whiteley in late 2025.

It has always been a tough business. Growing grapes in Prince Edward County is harder than in Niagara, Sonoma or Bordeaux. Winters are fierce. Some varieties cannot survive them. Others make it only with painstaking care and costly labour.

The County’s wine sector was built—and sustained—by headstrong individuals. Dreamers, idealists and innovators. Together, they learned to tame the climate and coax great wines from Hillier’s soil while battling a thicket of regulations and taxes. They built a thriving wine economy where none had existed.

They hadn’t counted on time becoming the enemy.

Many of those pioneers are approaching retirement—or working well past it—amid profound economic uncertainty. They cannot keep going forever. What happens to the vineyards when they stop? What happens to Prince Edward County?

Some of this is natural. Expected. Necessary. After an initial wave of investment and growth it is natural to see some consolidation. Bigger wineries buying smaller growers. Spreading expenses across more acres. Seeking more efficient operations, lowering costs and more focused sales and distribution.

It hasn’t happened in Prince Edward County, save for a couple of exceptions. Arterra Wines purchased Sandbanks Winery in 2020. Thomas Stallinga acquired Redtail Vineyards in 2018. Many others have simply withered and gone dark.

What could the municipality do?

1. Gather and maintain sector data. It is in the County’s interest to understand how the sector is changing. Tracking sales, production and employment would provide a clearer basis for municipal decisions. It would enable the sector to make better decisions.
2. Convene a confidential succession and investment working group. Bring together interested owners, industry representatives, financing partners and advisers. Rather than broker private transactions or favour individual businesses, the group would facilitate introductions, share resources and connect prospective partners, including investors from outside the region. Its goal would be to preserve viable businesses and productive vineyards while helping the sector adapt.
3. Revisit OPA 45. These rules were established two decades ago to limit the scale and scope of winery operations. The County should update them to allow a broader range of agritourism activities, including smallscale overnight accommodation. Tuscany offers a useful example: vineyards and olive groves welcome visitors to small inns, demonstrating how even a heavily regulated jurisdiction can accommodate activities that support an important economic sector.
4. Allow existing farm buildings to support agritourism. As part of the same Official Plan review, the County should permit suitable farm buildings to host concerts, performances and theatre. The current rules can make these distinctive structures uneconomic to restore and, in some cases, an obstacle to expansion or sale. Allowing compatible new uses could help preserve them while creating opportunities for farm businesses.

These measures need not require new municipal spending. They call instead for a reallocation of existing staff time, resources and priorities at Shire Hall. The next council must decide whether to help secure this industry’s future—or stand by as vineyards are torn out, livelihoods disappear, and a defining part of the County’s economy fades away.

The canning industry once powered this community. Today, we tell its story in museums. Will the County’s wineries meet the same fate—or will we give the next generation something to build on, not just look back on?

rick@wellingtontimes.ca