Eating and drinking iin Prince Edward County

It's hot, hot, hot in the county in July but everyone has air conditioning and pools it's just a matter of getting from car to house, pool, restaurant or winery.  Yesterday we went for a tasting at Norman Hardie and the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is outstanding. They make wine from the Niagara and County vineyards but I love the County wines.  They are grown in limestone based soil and the minerality is fantastic.  Only magnums of Chardonnay available at the moment.  They have a great pizza oven that makes for an excellent lunch available on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. 

We tried to visit Hinterland for some of their delicious bubbly wines but they were closed.

We had lunch at Portabello in Picton.   The Pickerel with saffron and leek sauce was perfectly cooked and  the pickerel tacos were a big hit.  They have an excellent wine and beer list.  David loves the Barley Days beers and the Wind and Sail Dark Ale.  The Muskoka Summer Weiss was pretty fine too.

Pickerel with saffron and leek sauce.

Pickerel Tacos

Looks like we'll have pickerel for lunch today as well. Fresh caught this morning.

This morning Hinterland was open.  

They make bubbly wines, in both the champagne and prosecco method.  Fantastic.  They sell out very quickly but are available in some restaurants.  Watch for it.  

We also stopped at Rosehall Run.  They are making a sparkling wine as well but their Pinot Noir is their finest wine.

Our final stop was at The Old Third Vineyard.  My absolute favourite wine so far.  The Pinot Noir is really great but the '11 Cabernet Franc is the best I've tasted in the county.  

If you have a CIBC Infinit card there are some great advantages; free tastings, tours and sometimes discounts.  The special private tours and tastings need to be booked 24 hrs in advance but some of the wineries were happy to offer us the advantages without an advance booking since it was a Friday morning and not busy.  Check www.visainfinite.ca for details.