Bistro Newsletter

Michael, Brisket and I drove about an hour into Ontario’s wine country on Sunday. Known as EPIC, Essex Pelee Island Coast, this area hosts over 15 wineries. Most of the wineries are within 30 minutes of each other, so it made for a great day of bopping around. Our first and favorite stop was Muscedere. An Italian family-owned and operated vineyard. Hospitality, good wine, wood fired pizza and farm animals made for a great experience. We chose two wine flights, the Merlot and Riesling were surprisingly well made, but all the wines we tasted were nice. We will stop here again. Although we had heard nice things about Oxley Winery, their grounds were not dog friendly, so we decided to skip this stop and went to their neighbor Viewpointe Estate. It was all about the view here, overlooking Lake Eerie. Absolutely gorgeous, right on the water’s edge. Third stop was at Paglione Estate where we enjoyed a bottle of Gamay fireside and a sunny walk through the vineyard. They also offered a full restaurant and gelato on their patio which we did not get as we had a reservation elsewhere. Our final stop of the day was Cooper’s Hawk Vineyards (not to be confused with the CH in Troy, that wine is from California). This place was packed with tourists. We enjoyed a tour with the owner Tom and a very enjoyable lunch. Fifteen minutes from there was our rental, Kings Woods Lodge, where we enjoyed a hot sauna, cool plunge and fireside games. This property is on 20 acres, dog friendly with a super cute design and all kinds of amenities. We opted to stay in, and I made pasta for dinner. Unfortunately, the peppershaker provided had a loose top and dumped into our pasta. Let’s just say the night was spicy!​

We opted for a late check out to enjoy the house and walk the grounds. Our mission that day was Point Pelee National Park, about 30 minutes east of Kingsville, but we had to stop at Pelee Island Winery first to taste more local wines, their grapes are all grown on the island. After our tasting, Brisket was ready for a run before our drive so we stopped and had a champagne break at Lakeside Park. Any excuse to pop a bottle of bubbles! We saw about 6 different varieties of waterfowl and Brisket swam in the lake and rolled in the dirt… two of her favorite activities. By the time we got to the park it was nearly 3 and the perfect time to have a picnic on the beach. The park is full of different beaches, coves, places to walk, bike, canoe, camp and picnic. A truly beautiful space, and as the season for vacationers was over, we barely saw anyone else. A trolley ride to the very most southern tip of Canada ended our day with some amazing views. At the tip of the point the waters converge, and some wild waves and currents happen. There is a 10K dollar fine for anyone who enters the water here as the current is very dangerous, but they do allow you to walk to the very end of the point, you just can’t wade into the water. It was slightly thrilling to hear and see the waters surging and changing the beach sand as you stand on it.

With 10 more wineries to visit and much more of the park to see, the three of us will return, or maybe the hens and I will do a road trip in the spring. I would consider the EPIC area to be on par with some of Michigan’s wines, although I do think we are doing it a bit better, especially in Northern Michigan. But for being less than an hour away, I’ll take it! Click on the photo gallery to view the pictures.
 
Cheers,
Sharon

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