Eatdrink #43 September/October 2013

№ 43 | September/October 2013
food while enjoying wine. Pretty perfect!
In Kingsville, Pelee offers complimentary
tastings and has a full retail outlet which
offers many wines not available in the
LCBO. Tours of the facility include the
barrel rooms and bottling areas which
employ about 50 people.
Pelee has over 65 wines now. This summer
saw the release of two new lines aimed at
growing numbers of people interested in
sweeter wines, following the very successful
marketing of plush, velvety wines in the U.S.
The new VQA Island Time semi-sweet merlot
and Island Time Riesling Vidal are meant to
meet the demand for sweeter wines, which
have always done well for Pelee in Alberta.
At 235 grams of sugar per litre this would put
Island Time at 2 to 3 on the old sweetness
scale. “These wines are not complicated, you
don’t have to think about it,” explains Lori
Lupton, sales representative in Southwestern
Ontario. “The aging market getting into wine
and the younger people switching to wine
are really enjoying these,” she says. Pelee has
also released the Singing Moon label, a VQA
sauvignon blanc, a VQA pinot blanc, and a
VQA cabernet sauvignon merlot. Some of
these have replaced some of the Alvar label
as Pelee was looking for a more appealing
designed label to compete in the rapidly
growing marketplace.
Colio Estate Wines continues to enjoy
the popularity of the Girls’ Night Out brand
Wine Tasting at Pelee Island Winery
which now includes six wines and four
flavoured wine beverages with fun names
like Strawberry Samba and Tropical Tango.
New to the line, and also in the sweeter
category, is the crisp and refreshing Girls’
Night Out Sparkling. Colio is known as a
sparkling wine maker and has charmat
method tanks in its Harrow winery. Colio
has recently added a new line of wines
called Lake & River using grapes from their
200 acres in Essex near Lake Erie and also
from 21 acres in Niagara near the Niagara
River. These moderately priced wines are
typical of Colio’s friendly attitude when it
comes to pleasing people. The winery offers
tastings at its Harrow retail outlet.
In between these two giants are nearly
20 other wineries and places to eat and
enjoy the view of Lake Erie. A standout
for scenery is Viewpoint Estate Winery,
situated right on the shores of Erie on
County Road 50. In season, it operates the
Lakefront patio with offerings that include
a charcuterie & cheese board.
If you’re more interested in what comes
out of the lake than looking at it, venture
inland a bit to a long-time Essex county
favourite, Meadows by the Lake restaurant,
near Harrow on County Road 41. The
fresh yellow perch is the #1 seller, and for
good reason, as it is moist and delicious.
Co-owner Neda Thomas-Jahn says they sell
about 8,000 pounds of perch a year, which
they purchase from Taylor Fish Company
in Wheatley. “We’re so spoiled here,” says
Thomas-Jahn happily. They take great pride
in their fish, serving it with homemade
tartar sauce nicely flavoured with dill.
Really helps soak up the wine!
Another way to wear off the wine is to
participate in a Farm Dog Cycles tour of
Girl’s Night Out by Colio Estate Wines