What a difference in 30 hours with Norman Hardie’s grapes
We spent the weekend of August 22nd-24th camping at Sandbanks Provincial Park in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
Our trip included what is now a mandatory visit to Norman Hardie and his vineyard. This is a magical place to me and one that is a very rare treat today – a chance to visit an amazing vineyard and meet the people who make the wine with their hearts and souls. There is a small, charming team that comes together to make the magic that they do and a visit will put you in direct contact with the people and their passions that make your wine.
Norm and his team are as intoxicating as their product and have become fast friends of ours.
Though I know what I like, I will openly admit to not being a wine expert. Allow me to share some expert opinions of the wines (these focus on his newest release which though many of his past, including the County Pinot Noir are also very well received):
“Norman Hardie Finds Perfection by Blending Two Ontario Regions”
- Christopher Waters, editor of Vines Magazine (this review was in Kingston Life and you can see it here)
“A recent trip to Prince Edward County, one of Ontario’s Designated Viticultural Areas (DVAs) located on the north shore of Lake Ontario about 2-2.5 hours from Toronto…One wine in particular that I was especially blown away by was Norman Hardie Winery 2007 Cuvée L Pinot Noir.”
- Sarah Goddard, certified sommelier (her article is here)
“****½”, “recently added – most viewed, rated the best”
- Ontario Wine Review (here)
“Norman Hardie Cuve L Pinot Noir 2007 (60% Beamsville fruit, 40% PEC; hence its VQA Ontario designation): Deep ruby color; minerally, black cherry bouquet; elegant, well balanced, firmly structured and bursting with youthful charm. Tastes like a Pommard in a warm year. A lovely glass of wine (91+).”
- Tony Aspler (30 year professional wine writer; article here)
A visit to this winery is a lesson in passion, a treat to the tastes and a place to ask questions and learn. In my experience it is rare to get close to the art of what is being produced.
We visited the winery on Saturday and bought a bottle of the Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. Both bottles were to be paired with a hearty meal and a campfire.
Norm insisted we borrowed a set of proper glasses and we promised to return them on the way home. We wandered into the rows of grapes (with his permission and guidance) to take photos of what we saw around 11am Saturday morning. We had to walk almost half way across the field to find some grapes starting to turn and the initial photos are below.
We returned around 4:00pm the next day. We were greeted with great excitement – it was like we had arrived on Christmas day. The fields turned a magical corner between Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. We walked 10-15 yards before finding a massive difference in what we had seen the day before. The grapes are starting to turn en masse. Look at the difference between the pictures above (which took a lot of hunting for) and the ones below (which were in abundance).
30 hours can be a world of time when we slow down to take each moment in – these fields clearly understand that… I’m still learning that lesson.
A decision will soon be made to cull some of the field to ensure they get optimal fruit and flavor. Norm is hoping for long sunny days for the rest of summer -and we’re hoping with him!
More info on the winery and Norm can be found in one of our earlier posts here.