Saturday, May 26th 2012 Prince Edward County, Ontario
County Terroir is decanted once again for its 7th year to celebrate the end of Spring and to welcome Summer! This anticipated annual showcase for new County wines (presented by Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association) returns to the beautiful Crystal Palace in Picton, on Saturday May 26th, 2012.
With over 30 wineries, Prince Edward County has much to experience. Many County wineries will introduce their new Spring releases and serve their own unique wines paired with delicious cheeses and other gourmet food tastings. Guests will also have the opportunity to take part in seminars, demonstrations and meet the winemakers themselves while tasting some of Ontario’s finest. The event’s $35 in advance ticket price includes all wine samples and one food pairing.
Additional food pairings are available for purchase. Guests from across the province will be in attendance as there is much to discover in Prince Edward County. Bus/train weekend packages will allow visitors from Toronto to Ottawa to experience all that The County has to offer, with County winery tours, gourmet
dinners, and accommodations that range from quaint to posh.
When: May 26th from 12pm to 8pm Where: The Crystal Palace, Main Street Fairgrounds, Picton
“World’s least-known great wine zone” – Wine Spectator Magazine
“Burgundy of the North” & “Vineyard Haven” – Wine Bloggers
Upcoming transportation options & package deals to be announced soon at:
Artisan, farmstead and specialty cheese from coast to coast showcased June 2-3 at Crystal Palace in Picton, Ontario
An expanded Great Canadian Cheese Festival returns to historic Crystal Palace in Picton, in the heart of Prince Edward County, on the first weekend in June.
The Cheese Festival is the only event in Canada to bring together cheesemakers from coast-to-coast so cheese lovers, foodies and culinary tourists can meet to learn, talk, taste and buy the best in artisan, farmstead and specialty cheese—and sample fine wine, craft beer and artisan foods.
The Festival’s Artisan Cheese & Fine Food Fair (where consumers can sample and buy product) will run two days this year, Saturday and Sunday, June 2 and 3. It was one day last year.
More than 100 cheeses, produced by artisans from Vancouver Island to Prince Edward Island, will be available for tasting and purchase. The largest contingent of producers will be from Quebec, Canada’s leading cheese region.
Artisan foods, ranging from chutney to preserves to sausage and sweets, will also be available, as will Ontario fine wines, craft beer and cider.
The culinary and social highlight of the Festival takes place Saturday evening, at the Cooks & Curds Gala, eight leading chefs from across Canada will use Canadian cheeses to create tasting dishes that will be paired with Canadian wine, craft beer and cider. The evening will conclude with sweets, ice wine, port and coffee. Participating chefs will include Jamie Kennedy, Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, Toronto; Michael Blackie, National Arts Centre, Ottawa; Dominic Serio, Inn at Bay Fortune, Prince Edward Island, Marc Cohen, Lawrence, Montreal; and Katie Hayes, Bonavista Social Club, Newfoundland.
At the Cheese Fair on Saturday and Sunday, Dairy Farmers of Canada, the Festival’s top-tier sponsor, will offer seminars presented by leading cheese educator Deborah Levy in the All You Need Is Cheese® Annex. With sampling of cheese, of course!
The Festival Dairy Farm will be open both days to give city folk a look at the animals that start the process of turning grass into milk into cheese. Yvette, the matriarch of the water-buffalo herd at Ontario Water Buffalo Company near Stirling, Ontario, will likely be the star attraction.
Added to the Cheese Fair this year is a food court featuring Cheesewerks of Toronto, Primitive Cuisine of Trenton and Buddha Dog of Picton.
Concurrent with the Cheese Fair, a program of Tutored Tastings will be offered on topics such as Artisan Cheese Tasting 101, Taste of Québec and Best of the West, presented by cheese experts Julia Rogers, Andy Shay, Vanessa Simmons and Janice Beaton and wine expert David Lawrason. A separate ticket is required.
The pre-Festival program on Friday, June 1, features:
An all-day Cheese Tour of nearby Black River Cheese and Fifth Town Artisan Cheese and other food- and farm-related stops;
Cooking with Artisan Cheese Class conducted by Cynthia Peters, a personal chef and food writer who owns and operates the acclaimed From the Farm Cooking School in Prince Edward County;
Great County Dine Around at restaurants featuring cheese-themed dinners. The county is known as the fasting-growing culinary destination in Ontario.
Georgs Kolesnikovs, founder and director of the Festival, maintains the popular cheese blog CheeseLover.ca.
The Festival is produced by Cheese Lover Productions with the generous support of Celebrate Ontario. Dairy Farmers of Canada is Diamond Sponsor, Ontario’s Artisan Food and Beverage Region (FAB) is Gold Sponsor. A portion of Festival proceeds will benefit a Cheese Scholarship Fund to encourage young Canadians to pursue careers in cheese.
Advance tickets are sold online at www.CheeseFestival.ca. In order to assure a high-quality experience for exhibitors and attendees, Cheese Fair attendance will be capped at 1,500 each day, so don’t delay in ordering your tickets.
Sugarbush Vineyards
1286 Wilson Road, Hillier
613.399.9000
www.sugarbushvineyards.ca
Saturday March 31 & Sunday April 1
11 am to 5 pm
Robert and Sally Peck got the inspiration to start their vineyard while honeymooning in the Okanogan Valley in the late 1990’s. After purchasing their farm and deciding to settle in the County, the couple were unsure of what to name their future vineyard. The former owners of the land informed them that there was a substantial sugarbush on the property: Sugarbush Vineyards was born.
Hand-harvesting their vineyard, and producing six different grape varietals would be enough to keep most people busy, but three years ago this ambitious couple decided they would begin tapping their sugarbush – the old fashioned way. Using no tubing, they tap about 100 trees using traditional buckets. Once collected, the sap is boiled down over an open fire using an old fashioned sap pan. This takes a considerable commitment – the first one up in the morning, must light the fire and keep it going until 11pm. This hard work amounts to the production of about 5-10 litres of syrup a day. The entire season produces about 50 litres for the family to sell in their winery, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Admittedly, they make maple syrup for the fun of it. Though not a large-scale operation, they’d be thrilled if you visited them! This year, Sugarbush Vineyards will be boiling the syrup adjacent to the tasting room, making maple fudge s’mores for children, and selling many maple goodies in store. Visit them and take the 2-3 km hike out to their sugarbush (please bring appropriate outdoor clothing). After your walk enjoy a tasting of their wine – made entirely from grapes from their vineyard.
Sugarbush Vineyards
-Purchased property on Wilson Rd in 2000.
-Planted grape vines in 2002 and 2003.
-Opened winery tasting room in 2007.
-Tapped our first trees (30 taps) in 2010.
-100 taps in 2012. Boiling down over an open fire using an old family flat pan.
Waupoos Winery has always been a supporter of the Maple in the County festival. This year, they’re expanding their programming to include a pancake breakfast in the morning, and a traditional meal of ham and beans in the afternoon – all prepared by Waupoos Chef Scott Royce. They hope to have their marketplace store open in time for the Maple weekend, alongside a petting zoo, maple syrup demos and toffee on snow or ice. Complimentary tastings will be offered at the winery all weekend – and maple syrup will be readily available!
Kyle Baldwin’sfamily has been making maple syrup for generations. His grandmother’s family began the tradition in Quebec long ago – this was passed down to his father who began making syrup in Consecon in the early 1980’s. Shortly after, Kyle began tapping his own trees and continuing the family legacy. His mother was originally from Waupoos, so it seemed a perfect fit when Kyle began working with Waupoos Winery. Noticing a substantial sugarbush behind the barn on the north side of the property, Kyle finally convinced original owners Ed Neuser & Rita Krauss to allow him to begin tapping the trees in 1997. It’s clear that Kyle has true passion for what he does, and enjoys bringing another great product onto the shelves of the Waupoos tasting room.
Waupoos Estates Winery has expanded to include the North side of their property with three exciting new businesses.
The Marketplace
filled with gourmet foods, packed picnic baskets and the essentials for our boater friends.
The Boathouse
stocked with antique ships, nautical items and man cave favourites.
The Garden Shed
equipped with items to make your garden stand out.
We will also have a petting zoo for the kids, wagon ride tours in our back vineyard and live music events all summer long.
Support the Hallowell Volunteer Firefighters pancake breakfast at Honey Wagon Farms.
The pancake breakfasts held at Honey Wagon have always been fundraisers for local organizations. Currently they are pleased to be working with their local Hallowell Volunteer Firefighters who use the money gained to purchase needed firefighting equipment for the area. This year they will have on display a Rescue Saw which is used in extreme situations…cutting through steel doors etc. It was purchased with money received through your generous support of their previous breakfasts.
Come enjoy some good fun and community spirit as we all welcome the first crop of the season. Join our firefighters as they cook up a storm of delicious pancakes, sausages, beans and of course, maple syrup.
Honey Wagon Farms
265 Sandy Hook Road, Picton
613.476.6191
Sat. & Sun., 9 am to 4 pm
About Honey Wagon Farms
When Sandi and Ed Taylor came to the County in 1993 they knew they wanted to both farm and produce maple syrup on a small scale. A year of searching led them to what is now known as Honey Wagon Farms located just down the road from the Waring House. This purchase allowed them to fulfill that desire to grow veggies without the use of herbicides, fungicides or pesticides and to make maple syrup.
The farm originally had a limited source of maple trees. Fortunately, several years after moving in, they were able to add to their maple operation with the purchase of an adjacent sugar bush from the Lockyer family. Now each new season begins with the tapping of 550 trees at the back of their 86 acre farm. They began production using traditional methods and continue to do so today. They still hang buckets to gather sap, boil on an open wood fired evaporator in the sugar shack located close to their house and filter the syrup, gravity feed, through felts. Their syrup is sold in uniquely designed decorative gift bottles….great for home use or as gifts for family and friends alike. In keeping with their efforts to be environmentally friendly these bottles lend themselves to a variety of uses after.
Honey Wagon Farms
1995 began tapping 50 trees, boiled on an open pan over an open wood fire in backyard
1996 – 1999 added another 250 taps
1999 built a protective shack in the back yard
2000 added another 100 taps
2001 built sugar shack by our house, installed Dominion and Grimm evaporator
2002 replaced evaporator with larger size D and G
2003 added another 100 taps
2005 added another 50 taps
2012 continue traditional production, gather in buckets, boil on open wood fired evaporator, filter through felts
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Saturday, May 26th 2012
Upcoming transportation options & package deals to be announced soon at:
