I was excited last Friday morning to begin filming a TV commercial about Ontario wines here at The Grange. By lunchtime I was a little weary, and by the time the TV crew left that night I was worn out.

Somebody said “I guess you’re used to this, eh Caroline?” referring to when I used to model, but that was more than 20 years ago - and I never was a smiley model. So having to be “on” and smiley all day was the most tiring part! Don’t get me wrong, I’m a happy person, and I’m happiest of all at this time of the year - harvest time. It’s so exciting, and I want everybody else to be excited, too.

This is what we work for all year, and, honestly, I can think of very few experiences in my life that have felt quite like this. This part feels like the third trimester (a little pregnancy reference) when you feel like you’re almost there, you can hardly wait, but you know you have to be patient for the good of everybody. I think that’s a unique perspective that I bring to the vineyard that maybe the men don’t.

This summer we celebrated our fifth anniversary at The Grange, and everyone feels really proud and positive and excited. Now summer is almost over and we’re having this wonderful sunshine and warmth at exactly the right time and it has put us within days of our targets in the vineyard. We’re breathlessly awaiting our seventh harvest, knocking on wood, and it looks like it’s going to be fantastic. I have learned to be patient. We all have to be patient in this business. Our first vintage was October 2003 but it actually took us five vintages before we felt the vines were mature enough, that we knew enough and felt ready to release a Grange of Prince Edward wine.

Waiting is hard, but you need to have a real commitment to the agriculture and to the quality you’re aiming for.

That commercial we were filming is for a promotion by the LCBO called “Go Local” that will promote Ontario wines in their stores in September. It’s their biggest ever promotion of domestic wines. They say Ontario VQA net sales rose more than 12% in the last five months, compared to 2% for imports, and The County is part of that big growth in sales. It’s funny, because people think The Grange is one of the “big guys” in Prince Edward County, and they talk about us that way, and you can’t fight that, so I just kind of “Suck it up buttercup…” But you know we’re all small here, in the County and in Ontario, and even in Canada. Did you know Canada isn’t even in the top 50 countries in the world for amount of grapes grown? We’re all small, but we’re all going for quality. And I think we all get emotional and excited at harvest time. It’s a good time to talk about your commitment and your hopes and dreams.

We had a really busy long weekend at the winery, and now I’m off to Toronto to take part in a preview for TASTE! a celebration of regional cuisine at a restaurant. It’s kind of a taste of TASTE, and then we’re doing it again in Ottawa. So I’m really busy and that’s good. It helps me to be patient and wait for the harvest!

Caroline Granger is President and C.E.O. of The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards and Estate Winery. Caroline Granger is breathless in the vineyard as told by Jan Davies

Tags: TASTE! a celebration of regional cuisine, The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards & Estate Winery