Contributed by Karin Desveaux-Potters, Gastronomy Cluster, Economic Development Office, Prince Edward County
Seven of the twenty-two Ontario wineries that participated in the Seriously Cool Chardonnay event in New York City this past week (March 8, 2011) were from Prince Edward County. The event was a follow-up to the one held in London England last spring when the world was introduced to cool-climate chardonnay from Ontario and British Columbia in a big, big way.
World-renown wine critics, the likes of Jancis Robinson, Steven Spurrier and Oz Clarke were all duly impressed and surprised at the consistent quality of the wines these relatively young Canadian regions are producing.
The Seriously Cool Chardonnay event platform is the brainchild of Bill Redelmeier of Southbrook Vineyards. The concept is to give the insiders of the wine-world an opportunity to taste and experience the chardonnays of Ontario and BC, and to link the Canadian identity to Chardonnay the way New Zealand has done with Sauvignon Blanc. Achieving the kind of third party endorsement that this event in its’ (to date) two prestigeous locations has garnered is significant and is making the world take notice.
Included in the PEC lineup was Casa Dea, Closson Chase, Exultet, The Grange of Prince Edward, Huff Estates, Norman Hardie, Rosehall Run. All were very pleased when they returned home and I look forward to receiving their personal recounts after they catch their collective breath. According to Paul Marconi of Casa Dea, it was an incredible opportunity to have the critics and media experience “a taste of what the County can produce”.
If you would like to invest in gastronomy in Prince Edward County, please contact me at 613.476.2148 x344 or email kdesveaux-potters@pecounty.on.ca
