New growth

Opening a brand new season: Debbie White uncorks Lighthall Vineyards wine for visitors to Terroir in 2013.

The state of the County wine sector in 2015

One of the tastiest rites of spring in the County arrives this weekend as Terroir welcomes thousands of wine and food lovers to celebrate a new growing season at the majestic Crystal Palace in Picton.

The hills have been pushed away, the canes delicately coaxed back to wires that guide them skyward. It is time to assess the cost of another persistent winter. But mostly it is a time for optimism. Everything is possible in spring—no challenge is insurmountable.

It is a necessary outlook, for growing and making wine in Prince Edward County requires dogged determination.

Yet the sector continues to expand each year.

Currently, the County boasts more than 40 wineries, producing more than 150,000 cases each year. The sector has invested more than $41.5 million in the ground in Prince Edward County in vines, production and customer experience facilities. Annual sales are estimated at about $15.6 million per year, and the sector employs the equivalent of 130 full-time jobs—cultivating, processing, as well as sales, marketing and event management. The collective economic impact is estimated to be more than $84.3 million.

Kathleen Greenaway of Velo Vineyards serves as chair of the Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association—the sponsors of this weekend’s Terroir event. She says the wine sector continues to grow in the County, though at a more modest pace.

“New wineries are coming on, and existing wineries are adding plantings and varieties,” says Greenaway. “Others are adding products. It is not wildfire growth—but that is likely just as well.”

Louise Kerr enjoys a sunny afternoon on the steps of the Crystal Palace in 2013. She was among one of several busloads of wine and food lovers who visit Terroir in the County each year.

BEYOND WINE
There will be 20 wineries at the Crystal Palace on Saturday. And for the second year, wine makers will be joined by some of the many specialty food growers and processors as part of the Terroir Farmers’ Market. There will be vegetable growers, cheese, sausage and bread makers, as well as makers of kimchi and sauerkraut, preserves and jam. They will offer another form of the bounty that is coaxed from County soil. They join cider makers and a growing array of beer makers and hops producers seizing opportunity County.

“The idea is to kick off the season, to give people a reason to visit the County in the spring— and to come back,” says Greenaway.

She believes Terroir is a good bridge between the food and drink sectors in the County who share many of the same aspirations and challenges.

“Each of these businesses requires the same kind of drive that brings people into wine,” says Greenaway. “In the County, these are lifestyle businesses—you have to really want to do this. It isn’t easy. You have to really believe in what you are doing, and really want to do it—or you are not going to be successful.”

It requires versatility and a willingness to do whatever needs to be done.

Chef Professor Osvaldo Avila (centre) of the Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College in Niagara-on-the- Lake, brought his team to Terroir last spring. The event has created an important intersection of fine wine and fine food in Ontario.

“You have to be tenacious. You have to be entrepreneurial. You have to have a variety of skills available to you—from driving a tractor to developing an attractive visitor experience.”

ACHIEVEMENTS
Nearly 20 years after Ed Neuser began planting grapes in Waupoos, the wine industry in Prince Edward County is maturing into a stable economic engine. The benefits spill over to a thriving accommodation and hospitality sector.

“Investment in this sector has moved wine experiences to the top of the list of reasons to visit Prince Edward County,” says Greenaway. “That isn’t luck. That has been hard work.”

The wine sector and other producers have also helped to expand the tourism season from a few summer months into the shoulder seasons of spring and fall—attracting visitors to the County from the first run of sap in March until Wassail in November.

CHALLENGES
Aside from the challenges of growing delicate fruit and transforming it into an alluring wine, the sector endures lingering challenges of access to market and red tape.

Master sommelier and wine writer John Szabo samples a Cabernet from Casa Dea at Terroir 2013.

Ontario wine producers were hopeful the province was finally ready to allow their products to be sold in grocery stores. But when the provincial budget was tabled last month, there was no mention of wine sales in grocery stores.

Greenaway is okay with the delay, if it leads to a better deal.

“They have to get that policy right,” she says. “Done wrong, it could provide no benefit. It could even damage our industry.”

A bigger headache is the mounds of reporting winegrowers must process each month. It is particularly onerous for the smaller wineries who must do it without help.

“One has to ask: what is being accomplished?” wonders Greenaway. “It is quite a burden.”

By contrast, Greenaway reports that winegrowers are enjoying strong support from the municipality’s Community Development department led by Neil Carbone.

“Neil and his team have been terrific,” said Greenaway. “They are working hard with us on joint promotion. We are constantly in touch. He is really committed to growing opportunities and he recognizes this industry as a key. It has been really a good experience working with him.”

Terroir opens at 11 a.m. on Saturday, and runs until 5 p.m.