Prince Edward County

Prince Edward County (PEC) has many excellent wine experiences available including wine tours and tastings, wineries, vineyards, picnics, local restaurants, and accommodation.  it is approximately a 2 hour drive from Toronto and so is a great weekend destination.   Other attractions include beaches, antique shops, golf and fine dining. Check out Grapevine Magazine, published quarterly, for wine articles and what’s on.

Picton is a great base for a weekend visit and Bloomfield is a good alternative. Check out Bed & Breakfast Canada or the official PEC Tourism site for accommodation possibilities. As far as restaurants in and around Picton are concerned, my top picks are Blumen (476-6841); Portabella (476-7057); The Inn – Lake on the Mountain (476-1321) – ten minutes outside of Picton towards the ferry; and the pub at the Waring House (476-7492), five minutes out of town on Highway 33 West.

County Cider Company in Prince Edward CountyA special mention goes to the County Cider Estate Winery. It is located on a little hill in the Waupoos area and has an extremely inviting patio at the back, which gives way to a picturesque vineyard sloping down to the lake. If it’s a sunny day, I can’t think of a better location to have lunch and enjoy the view.

 

For golf, I recommend Picton Golf & Country Club (476-1485) five minutes out of town on Highway 49.

Prince Edward County Winegrowers AssociationFor detailed information on PEC wine experiences, start with the Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association which has a profile on each winery in the county as well as a comprehensive restaurant listing and news on current events.  As an alternative, Wine Country Ontario has a PEC section.  It is managed by The Wine Council of Ontario – a non-profit trade association for the wine industry in Ontario.

 

Wine Tour Operators

 

Prince Edward County Wine Tours

Sandbanks Vacation & Tours

If you want to be to be chauffeured around in luxury by a local tour operator, try PEC Wine Tours or Sandbanks Vacations & Tours. Both offer half day and full day tours

 

 

The Culinary Adventure Co. are based in Toronto and historically ran day trips to PEC on selected dates. They used to visit a number of wineries, and “maybe even make an unscheduled stops at a cooperage, lavender farm, artist shop or road side veggie stand”. Lunch was included.

Other Ontario wine regions worth visiting are EPIC and Niagara.