Report from - Terroir, Prince Edward County ... May 17, 2008
19 May 2008- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
There are two big events in the County these days. One is Taste!, which usually occurs in October (this year it has been moved to September 27 so as not to conflict with Thanksgiving) – where (it seems like) all the restaurants come out, pair themselves with a winery, cidery or brewery and tickle your tastebuds with culinary treats. The other is called Terroir … a festival that emphasizes the wineries, food takes a backseat (although still used as a fun pairing partner here). Terroir celebrates the soil in which these grapes are grown and shows what this young wine region is truly capable of. Noticeably absent from this year’s Terroir celebration was the Grange, Rosehall Run, and Long Dog, but everybody else is here from the big names and well-established (Norman Hardie, Huff and Carmela) to the little guys just starting out (Bergeron, Harwood and Sugarbush) – each with a few wines to pour and a story to tell. This festival really shows how far the County has come and also how far it has to go … for every outstanding wine there is something mediocre, and for every “wow” there’s an “oh”. “We’re a young industry, we’re still trying to get our bearing,” one winemaker told me. “We still have to see what works and what doesn’t in the vineyard. We know we can do good Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but we’re all experimenting – this wine region is not for the feint of heart.” I would say that is true for both grower/winemaker and consumer. When it comes to Prince Edward County I’ll take the good with the bad, because it all equals exciting times in wine country.
Let’s start our look at the Wow’s of Terroir... (Read more)
