We all know that Niagara is the region where you will be welcomed by vibrating beds, wax museums and monstrous wine compounds filled with tour buses and teetering drunk grannies. If you are looking for a wine region that is a little less brash, I recommend heading East past our beloved Big Apple to the dew kissed Prince Edward County. Get swooned with winding mazes of manicured gardens and strips of land engulfed in sandy beeches and soft singing sparrows. Hidden behind dirt roads discover a ripe selection of family run wineries, cheese factories, jam shacks, farm fresh delights and goats that practically call out – maaaa-maaa.
Wouldn’t you love a bottle of wine and some snacks on that picnic bench.
Antiques in barns….sometimes on these sorts of trips I begin to feel sixty, in a relaxed and good way
The view a top Lake on the Mountain, if you walked fifty feet to the other side of peninsula – water was at ground level
Often ghosts live in barns. Horse ghosts. NAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY
Blueberries – better in yoghurt? Or in my mojito?
After my meal at the harvest, I felt warm-wholesome and whimsical
Flowers were everywhere, as were miniature fairies that danced on my ears
Pat’s shack of jams – I took home strawberry-banana
I wanna try the old fashion way of stomping on them ’till the town gets drunk
Long Dog Winery – in honour of the hot dog wiener dog
It was practically Provence
Flea Market Finds – Yessssssssssssss!
My $2 1980’s Cool Cam works, my pet monster and I tried it out
Now I’ll just have to surf the net to find cheap film
I don’t know what their names were, I’m going with Jeremy and Falafel.
This past weekend I took a break from deafening DJ’s, car exhaust bike rides and band-aid infested public pools to a rural retreat where the land is painted emerald green and even pumping gas in your car felt healthy. Bounding along the 401, each mile I got closer to my la-la land stress was diffused a few ounces from angry and bubbling hot stove top pot to a refreshing mint julep
Stumbling into our bed and breakfast late in the night, tip-toeing and creaking up stranger’s stairwell, we took turns muddling the key into the door with irritable feuding whispers:
“Turn it like that, no – let me..”
“Just hold on.”
“I’ve had a key like this before, I know..”
And just as he darts me a look of “CALM THE F*CK DOWN!” the door creaks open into our very own soft room with stars painted on the ceiling and the slow monotonous beat of the ceiling fan comforting our exhausted brains. We take turns opening drawers, sniffing the soap, peering out the window and flipping through our bedside literature about pool rules, dinner spots and wine tours. Ahh yes, this is what it feels like to be RELAXED.
The bed enraptured us like quick sand and within moments our eyes felt heavy and numb.
Our cheeks aglow, we woke to sunshine beaming in lines across our bodies. I stretched my legs, sliding in and around the airy sheets, pulling the sleep from my eye and yawning in fresh country air.
Downstairs we are greeted by Nona and Brooke Bussell, who immediately felt like the Aunt and Uncle we had always enjoyed taking in the sunset with over a full bodied Merlot. One by one, guests made their entrance to the outdoor breakfast table with vacation smiles and well rested limbs.
Within about three minutes, I realized I was sitting across from a recognizable face, a Film Professor from Concordia; a flashback to the days of rebellious rum and cokes and boy crazy nonsense. I admitted to him that I had wanted to major in film but due to my crap-ass first year film about perverted shampoo apartment peepers ,and middle of the road grades, was slotted into the SOUND major instead. Meow…honk honk! I took that opportunity to incubate myself in a sound booth and privately record myself singing The Cranberries and Sarah McLachlan. Every once in a while, someone would walk past and catch me, and this was always very embarrassing.
La-de-dah – this is not a newsletter about frustrating years at uni. Back to my new found love of Picton Ontario:
The rest of the day was spent meandering around in the car, lapping up cider from the County Cider Company, wetting our mouths with Pinot Grigio from Long Dog, HUFFS, and Norman Hardie Winery – getting lost chasing down cheese, Black River that is and having cat naps on the beaches at Ontario’s most notable sandy waterfront; the Sandbanks.
Oh, and despite being a town of 4000, Picton has quite the consignment shop, CITY REVIVAL, where I tried on a Chanel three piece suit, Helmut Lang lace up witch bitch boots and Prada swimwear. Snazzy.
In the evening we were instructed to dine at Harvest Restaurant , which has a menu on par with Jamie Kennedy’s Wine Bar; with the mandate to bring fresh farmer goods with the least amount of distance traveled – not hard in these parts. Mallard duck with oven roasted heirloom beets, fresh Pickerel drizzled in lemon butter, a mosaic of summer vegetables from local farms paired with local table wines; simple and delicious. I left thinking of the childhood classic, Goodnight Moon – tummy full and ready to nestle in my burrow under a warm tree.
Sunday morning, we met everyone downstairs for another decadent breakfast. I nibbled and listened to the other guests while privately having my red polished toes licked by the Great Dane handsome Bull dog mutt Nina under the table.
Sigh. Although I would have loved to have been adopted by the friendly South African couple – as some sort of cabana girl / cocktail waitress, we reluctantly packed our bags. A quick kiss-kiss to our hosts and we were off for a few hours of adventure before getting slammed in 401 gridlock.
If I had been blessed with a few more days, I would have spent them picking blueberries, taking a ferry to nowhere, finding a horse to ride and doing an oyster and wine pairing but instead we slowly meandered home, stopping at flea markets and curious stands along the way.
I got lost picking through records and old toys at a very filthy and sprawling flea market near Belleville. The man, Don – followed me around his dusty quarters explaining how he had operated the shack of oddities for twenty some years and kept opening his mouth, pushing back his lips to show me how in that time his teeth had rotted, and he had lost some. He had a bed that was plunked in the middle of ragged Encyclopedia Britannica’s, 45’s, Spice Girl pencil cases, rusty lamps, picture frames of horses, key chains, broken armoires and dolls with beady eyes.
I built a pile of fun things including a pink Polaroid camera branded ‘COOL CAM’, an assortment of records (Dolly Parton, Tiffany, and naturally – the Mini-Pops), 4 pairs of sunglasses and an illustration of a little girl called ‘sugar bun’ nuzzled with her kitten. Definitely all things that I absolutely needed – whatevs – it was less than 20 bucks.
No trip to the country would be complete without stumbling upon two llamas perfectly poised under a tree. As I purchased some snap fresh green beans en route home, I chatted with Jeremy and Falafel and I vowed to myself that someday I will too have a llama and a nice tree. I will muddy up gigantic boots, feed my furry buck toothed friend carrots and brush her coat of thick fur.
Feel like taking a trip?
The Wineries to visit:
Norman Hardie Winery
www.normanhardie.com
Carmela Estates Winery
www.carmelaestates.ca
Closson Chase Vineyards
www.clossonchase.com
Huffs Estates Winery
www.huffestates.com
Long Dog Vineyard & Winery
www.longdog.ca
County Cider Company
www.countycider.com
Recommended Accommodations:
Harrington House B&B
www.harringtonbandb.com
Lake on the Mountain Resort (very cool vistas and land formations)
http://www.lakeonthemountain.com/
Claramount Inn (Fancy with Spa)
http://www.claramountinn.com/
The Restaurants to hit up:
The Harvest
http://www.harvestrestaurant.ca/
Buddha Dog (Yes there’s one on Roncesvalles too – but this is the original)
http://www.buddhafoodha.com/
The Taste Trail stops:
Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company – for tasty Bedda Fedda Goat Cheese
http://www.fifthtown.ca/
Fosterholm Farms
Pick your own berries
www.fosterholm.com
Cherryvale Organic Farm
www.cherryvaleorganicfarm.ca
Black River Cheese
913 County Rd. 13, R.R 2
Milford, ON
Pat’s jams
113 Morrison Pt. Rd., RR2
Milford, ON
The MUST DO Clothing Shop
City Revival
http://www.cityrevival.com/
For the beach bum:
ontarioparks.com/english/sand.html
BOOK FOR THE BEACH CONTEST
We have five copies of CHASING HARRY WINSTON to giveaway.
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A delightful story to compliment your sangria and sun soaked, sea side, summertime self.
For full review;
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with subject line “VODKA, BEACH, BOOK”
Xo
jen
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