Pelee Island Winery
Encyclopedia
Pelee Island Winery is a winery in Kingsville
, Ontario
, Canada
. They have a 550 acres (2.2 km²) vineyard
in the Pelee Island appellation. http://www.peleeisland.com/island/island_vineyard.php
, Pelee Island is at a latitude similar to that of La Rioja
, Spain
, Porto
, Portugal
, Provence
, France
, and Tuscany
, Italy
. It is Canada’s most southerly inhabited point, and has a longer growing season than any other wine region in Canada. http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-region/Pelee-Island.html The island, in Lake Erie
, is 25 kilometres from the mainland. Harvest is early, with picking usually beginning at the end of August. Late-harvest grapes are often in by mid-October. http://www.vqaontario.ca/theWines/appellation.htm
The vineyards have grown Vinifera
grapes, including the following grape varieties:
The vineyards have also grown these hybrid varieties:
mark. The Winery also offers blush, dessert, and ice wines.
Kingsville, Ontario
The Town of Kingsville is located in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, and is Canada's southernmost municipality with town status. According to the 2006 census, the population of Kingsville is 20,908.-Geography:...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They have a 550 acres (2.2 km²) vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
in the Pelee Island appellation. http://www.peleeisland.com/island/island_vineyard.php
Pelee Island Appellation & Vineyard
At just under 42 degrees North42nd parallel north
The 42nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 42 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
, Pelee Island is at a latitude similar to that of La Rioja
La Rioja (Spain)
La Rioja is an autonomous community and a province of northern Spain. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and Nájera.-History:...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Provence
Provence wine
Provence wine comes from the French wine-producing region of Provence in southeast France. The Romans called the area nostra provincia , giving the region its name...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is Canada’s most southerly inhabited point, and has a longer growing season than any other wine region in Canada. http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-region/Pelee-Island.html The island, in Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
, is 25 kilometres from the mainland. Harvest is early, with picking usually beginning at the end of August. Late-harvest grapes are often in by mid-October. http://www.vqaontario.ca/theWines/appellation.htm
The vineyards have grown Vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
grapes, including the following grape varieties:
- White: ChardonnayChardonnayChardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, GewurztraminerGewürztraminerGewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written '...
, RieslingRieslingRiesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
, Sauvignon BlancSauvignon blancSauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
, Pinot GrisPinot GrisPinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...
, ScheurebeScheurebeScheurebe or Sämling 88 is a white wine grape variety. It is primarily grown in Germany and Austria, where it often is called Sämling 88 , and some parts of the New World... - Red: MerlotMerlotMerlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, Pinot NoirPinot NoirPinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
, Cabernet SauvignonCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, Cabernet FrancCabernet FrancCabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
, Shiraz, TempranilloTempranilloTempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape". Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano , a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks...
, GamayGamayGamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century...
, ZweigeltZweigeltZweigelt is a red wine grape variety developed in 1922, at the Federal Institute for Viticulture and Pomology at Klosterneuburg, Austria, by Fritz Zweigelt. It was a crossing of St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. It is now the most widely-grown red grape variety in Austria, as well as having some...
The vineyards have also grown these hybrid varieties:
- White: VidalVidal BlancVidal Blanc is an inter-specific hybrid variety of white wine grape, a cross of Ugni Blanc and Rayon d'Or . It manages to produce high sugar levels in cold climates while maintaining good acid levels....
, Seyval BlancSeyval BlancSeyval Blanc is a hybrid wine grape variety used to make white wines. Its vines ripen early, are productive and are suited to fairly cool climates.Seyval Blanc is grown mainly in England, and the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, as well as to a lesser extent in Canada... - Red: Baco NoirBaco noirBaco noir is a hybrid red wine grape variety produced from a cross of Vitis vinifera var. Folle Blanche, a French wine grape, and an unknown variety of Vitis riparia indigenous to North America. Baco noir produces a medium body, deeply tinted, acidic red wine which is fruit forward and often...
, ChambourcinChambourcinChambourcin is a French-American interspecific hybrid grape variety used for making wine. Its parentage is uncertain. The hybrid was produced by Joannes Seyve who often used Seibel hybrids produced in the 1860s. The grape has only been available since 1963. Chambourcin has a good resistance to...
Wines
Pelee Island Winery produces a wide variety of grape wines, and may offer for sale as many as 15 white and 15 red wines, most of them bearing the VQAVintners Quality Alliance
Vintners Quality Alliance, or VQA, is a regulatory and appellation system which guarantees the high quality and authenticity of origin for Canadian wines made under that system in British Columbia and Ontario. It is similar to regulatory systems in France , Italy , and Germany...
mark. The Winery also offers blush, dessert, and ice wines.