Harvest time is upon us. (If you’d like to come to the winery to help out, full details on participating are at the end of this post.)
Mother Nature has been extremely kind to us at Norman Hardie Wines this year with long, dry, warm days, and cool nights. We’re anticipating the earliest harvest ever in Prince Edward County! This is partly due to the magnificent weather; however, it is mainly due to the tireless work of my fastidious vineyard crew. We are heading into harvest with smaller clusters than usual, resulting in fantastic concentration of flavour and colour.
My 2010 County Pinot Noir has only been released for three weeks and is already receiving some great press! Click here to read David Lawrason’s review. The 2010 County Pinot Noir is given a score of 91 points and was featured as the National Post’s “Wine of the Day.”
I’m often asked about when my Pinots should be enjoyed and how long they should be cellared. I’ve always believed the best Pinot Noirs are balanced and approachable at a young age; this harmonious balance of acidity, tannin, and flavour also lays the foundation for the wine to cellar well. If this review of my 2008 confirms anything, it’s that early approachability and cellaring potential are not mutually exclusive. Even in challenging vintages like we saw in 2008, my philosophy of creating harmony at a young age continues to reward four years later. Although we have long since sold out of the 2008 County Pinot Noir, my 2010 County Pinot Noir is stunning to drink now, and I’m just as excited to see where it will go.
In a few weeks, our much anticipated 2011 County Chardonnay will be released. Click here to order our current releases and reserve the 2011 County Chardonnay (the 2010 County Chardonnay sold out in a mere few months). As always, we offer free delivery to your home or office in Ontario for orders of $200 or more. Mixed cases are more than welcome.
Hopefully we’ll see you in beautiful Prince Edward County for harvest this year. Thank-you for all of your support!
Cheers!
Norm
Harvest Details:
We think we will be harvesting the weekends of September 15th & 16th, and/or September 22nd & 23rd. Please email mackenzie@normanhardie.com with the date (or dates, for the brave) that you will participate, and the number of people/children in your party who will be joining us for harvest. This is a family affair, and as always, children are very welcome; however, we advise against bringing dogs, as you will have a large vet bill 24 hours after your dog has consumed a few pounds of grapes!
Picking requires many knee bends and spending lots of time close to the ground. If you feel your knees are not up for this please still join us as we have many important tasks in the winery and field that do not require significant knee bends. For those participating in picking, you should come prepared with garden snips (we do have some on hand if you do not have any), sunglasses/protective eyewear, comfortable farm shoes, and your energy and enthusiasm. You are also welcome to bring work gloves and a stool to sit on.
If you get in touch, please check your Blackberries/iPhones/email over the course of the next ten days; we will update you on exact dates. On the morning of the pick, please check your inboxes again in case we have a rainy day in the County and need to cancel.
Looking forward to your being part of our experience here! As is our custom, we will serve a decadent lunch of wood-fired pizza, roasted pig, lamb legs, organic chickens and plenty of vegetables from our garden paired with Norman Hardie Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Norman Hardie Wines is a Certified Good Food Fighter. Please support the businesses and organizations that support Good Food Revolution.
