Vintners gush about Essex grape

Three local winery professionals gushed about the grapes to be found in Essex County last week. They joined local foodie Adriano Ciotoli in an appearance on Lightning Talks. 

 Lightning Talks with Community Creators is a monthly virtual event hosted by the Art Gallery of Windsor on Zoom. Artists, bakers, chefs, craft brewers, entrepreneurs, muralists, musicians, tour guides and  vintners have seven minutes to tell their stories followed by a Q & A period, moderated by Abbey Lee Hallett, the AGW’s Audience Engagement Co-ordinator. 

 One question Hallett asked each participant was,“what is your favourite part of what you do?”

 “It’s the conversations with people you meet that wine brings,” said Madison Dosant, a master wine-taster who has been with the Oxley Estate Winery, located outside of Harrow, for five years. 

 Wine tastings are conducted daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. inside Oxley’s retail store. Dosant encourages everyone to come in and say hello. She recommends the pinot noirs, the rieslings, and her favourite, the chardonnays. According to Dosant, nine out of 10 people love these wines. 

 Many fine red wines like the cabernet franc are produced by Essex and Pelee Island wineries. It is mainly because of the warm climate, sandy soil, proper irrigation, and a breeze from water bodies similar to Northern California and Italy’s Tuscany region. 

 “I’m out in the fields a lot,” said Tom O’Brien, a former accountant with Price Waterhouse Coopers for 39 years, who now owns the Cooper’s Hawk Vineyard and The Vines Restaurant located in between Harrow and Kingsville. “I get satisfaction from people when they come into the winery and I share a glass of wine with them.” 

 During the past week the grapes for Cooper’s Hawk’s talon reds and pinot noirs were harvested and the grapes for their pinot grigios were pressed.  

 Cooper’s Hawk offers 28 different kinds of wine. O’Brien said their 2018 Hawkeye cabernet merlot won an award based on labelling, affordability and taste. The flagship brand is a blended white wine  

called Mantra. And the mantra for Cooper’s Hawk is all about their 4-Fs of life: friends, family, food and fun. 

 The Pelee Island Winery, which is Sustainability Winemaking Ontario Certified, does not have a flagship wine. Instead, the winery has many brands in 27 varieties at different price points. Around $20 for a    

bottle of wine is their average price. 

 “What we are doing is selling high quality products that people love to try,” said Matt Gale, who has worked for the Pelee Island Winery as a sales representative and a tour guide both at the winery in  

Kingsville and the wine pavilion on the island. Gales is the current marketing co-ordinator at the company. 

 There are wine tastings every day at the Pelee Island Winery,. where you can learn all about the “vine to wine” process. Staff at the winery will ask about your palate and try to find a wine specifically for you.  

Gales says their wines are approachable and fun. 

 WindsorEats, the food and restaurant guide, also showcases regional wineries in fun and exciting ways. Countless guests have participated in culinary tourism events such as table feasts and bike tours. Other  

promotions include the Urban Wine Festival which focuses on specific varieties like pinot grigio and cabernet franc as well as the 30 Days of Local Wine in December promotion. 

 “For me, it’s coming up with ideas and creating them,” said Ciotoli, the founder and co-owner of WindsorEats.