WHITE
Huff Estates 2007 South Bay Chardonnay
$29.95 | Prince Edward County | 91 points
This 2010 Artevïno gold medallist from Burgundy-trained winemaker Frederic Picard is maturing gracefully. It’s lush, with barrel notes of butterscotch, cedar and smoke that are melding nicely with the honeyed, peachy fruit. With great length, it can be enjoyed through 2013. huffestates.ca
Lacey 2009 Gewurztraminer
$22 | Prince Edward County | 88 points
Vintner Kimball Lacey delivers a fragrant and spicy gewürz with County minerality and slightly sour acidity. Don’t expect Alsace or even Niagara opulence, but Lacey’s eight-year apprenticeship with local vintners is paying off as his family’s vineyards mature. laceyestates.com
Rosehall Run 2008 Cuvée County Chardonnay
$19.95 | Prince Edward County | 90 points
Chardonnay is winemaker Dan Sullivan’s favourite wine, and it shows. This second-tier bottling won gold at Artevïno—remarkable for this price point. It has the lime and green apple freshness of the cooler 2008 vintage, spun with spicy, cedary notes from the French oak barrels. rosehallrun.com
RED
Casa-dea Estates 2008
CD Rosso $11.95 | Prince Edward County | 88 points
Under new ownership, this small winery (formerly Carmela Estates) is showing Italian flair. This value blend of gamay and zweigelt has the rustic charm of an Italian red, with sour red fruit, tobacco and meaty character. Chill slightly and serve with pizza or burgers. casadeaestates.com
Keint-he 2007 Little Creek Pinot Noir
$45 | Prince Edward County | 92 points
Geoff Heinricks pioneered County pinot by scraping out a gravelly plot in the late ’90s. At his new winery, he sources pinot grapes from three vineyards. This elegant organic wine has pitch perfect sour cherry, bacon, cedar and allspice notes. Amazing length for a wine so light. Best now to 2013. keint-he.ca
The Old Third Vineyard 2008 Pinot Noir
$35 | Prince Edward County | 89 points
With this debut, Bruno Francois joins the top echelon of County pinot winemakers. Refined layers of cranberry, spice, thyme and minerality are set in a sturdy if youthfully tannic frame. The winery feels for all the world like a tiny family farm in rural France. Cellar until 2013. theoldthird.com
You are kidding me right? $30 to $40 for a bottle of bubbly??? I guarantee a $10 bottle of Oz or Cal stuff will put these over-priced bottles to shame!!!
August 10, 2010 at 7:01 am | by Brian B. WolfBrian, you are wrong. Sure $30-$40 is hefty, but the quality really is there. We’ve had the Hinterland and it really was very nice, no Cal or Aus under $30 comes close.
Go visit them, and try for yourself!
August 10, 2010 at 8:58 am | by CDGI agree with David on this. My wife and I were in the County over the long weekend and stopped in at Hinterland. Jonas took about an hour with us and we had a great chat, he showed us around his operation and we sampled the goods.
They were outstanding! We ended up taking home a case it was so good. If you’re in the County, be sure to stop by and have a taste, and support the local boy — he’s from Toronto.
August 10, 2010 at 9:01 am | by Ryan MHave had the Brut from The Grange and it was great!!!
August 10, 2010 at 10:51 am | by Laurie MorissetteThe Brut from the grange is awesome!!! I got it on the third day it was out because I signed up for the news letter. Would recommend taking a trip down to PEC to try the great wines.
August 11, 2010 at 3:17 pm | by Quentiniothe huff sparkling – at $40 – was awesome and a great value, in that it compared really favourably to champagne. i loved it. i wish there was more.
August 11, 2010 at 6:04 pm | by Metal MickyI have to join the choir on this one: the Grange’s sparkling is well worth the $30 odd bucks it will cost you.
February 1, 2011 at 12:24 pm | by Sandbanks Vacationshttp://princeedwardcountywinetours.com