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Lake Erie North Shore
With Gary Killops
February 2010
January always seems to be quiet around the vineyard’s of Lake Erie North Shore. The first local public event of the year
is the Festival of Ice weekend in February
The weather co-operated this year with the 10th annual Festival of Ice. It was a cold, crisp, weekend that was perfect for ice carvers from Henry Ford Community College Ice Carving Club, out of Dearborn, Michigan who spend most of Saturday morning crafting some beautiful ice sculptor’s at Colio Estate Vineyard. The theme this year was the Winter Olympics.
Many other local wineries participate in the ice festival weekend but this is Colio’s premier event, and the place to be. Over the weekend several thousand visitors toured the winery, sampled ice wine, tasted some fine treats, and took horse and carriage rides through the streets of Harrow.
Colio's Vineyard manager Kevin Donohue conducted the public tours. His viticulture knowledge made this one of the highlights of the day for me. Kevin manages over 200 acres of vineyards in the Lake Erie North Shore regions and another 21 acres in the Niagara on the Lake.
Admission to this weekend event at Colio Estate Vineyard has always been free. This year they did request that guest bring along a canned or boxed good which were then donated to other area food banks.
PRUNING
Lake Erie North Shore has had a fairly mild winter so far with below average snow fall amounts. Many local wineries report that they have been able to get out into the vineyards to begin pruning of the vines. NOTES: The landscape of Essex County recently changed as the controversial installation of wind turbines began. The turbines began appear on land between Erie Shore Vineyards and Sprucewood Estate Winery. Several of the wind turbines are very close to homes and roads. The wine makers do not believe these turbines will have any effect on their vineyard
Another winery in Lake Erie North Shores will soon be welcomed to the area. Cooper’s Hawk Vineyards recently installed a sign marker at the vineyard. The vines had an excellent growing season as they prepare to produce grapes soon.
COMING EVENTS:
March 5, 2010: Harrow & Colchester South Chamber of Commerce Wine & Cheese Meet & Greet. $20/person.
This is always a wonderful evening to meet local area wine makers. I have been asked by a local winery to pour wine at this event.
June 6 and 7, 2010: Sip Into Summer. An annual SWOVA event.
August 8th, 2010: 15th Annual SWOVA Vintage Tasting. This year the host winery is Muscedere Vineyards.
About Gary Killops
Gary writes and reviews wines from Lake Erie North Shore and Pelee Island wine regions on his blog at http://www.EssexWineReview.com Growing up in Essex County he wasn't aware that there were so many local wineries producing excellent wines. A visit to a local winery one Saturday afternoon changed that. Now most weekends are spent visiting wineries, talking with wine makers and enjoying wine from the area.
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