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Harwood wines are
made entirely from
grapes grown
in the soils
of our three Estate
Vineyards in
Hillier.
The similarity of
the soils of
Hillier, Ontario and
the soils of
France's Burgundy
Wine Region are
partly what has
drawn winemakers
such as Norman Hardy
(Norman
Hardy Winery),
Geoff Heinricks (Keint-he
Winery), Deborah Paskus (Clossen
Chase Vineyards), Richard Karlo
(Harwood &
Karlo Estates Winery),
Dan Sullivan (Rosehall
Run Vineyards) and
several other notables
to Prince Edward
County.
Our Hillier Clay
Loam soils
are generally laced with
limestone gallets,
as are the best
Bordeaux and Burgundian soils.
In some of our rows,
one has to look
extra hard to be
sure there is some
clay. There's also
quite a bit of sand
in our soils.
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Limestone
gallets
are the
hallmark
of
Hillier
soils |
Those gallets help
the water find its
way through the
soil (grape vines
don't like to have
wet feet) and they
also store up heat
from the sun during
the daylight hours
and extend its
warmth into the
evening hours after
sundown.
Our winters are
similar to the
Continental European
winters,
but because of The
County's position as
a protrusion into
Lake Ontario,
temperatures can
reach lower
extremes. Our answer
to that is simply to
tie down canes to a
wire just off the
ground in late Fall
and 'hill up' soil
over that wire to
protect the buried
canes from possible
Winter extremes.
Then, we hope for a
decent snow-covering
to help protect the
buried vines.
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Here's
the same
row
'hilled-up'
for the
winter |
This
means we have to
'de-hill' the vines
when Spring comes.
So, managing the
canes through the
winter weather adds a large body
of work to raising
grapes in The
County.
Growing grapes to
make wine in a cold
climate demands
exceptional
attention both in
the vineyard and in
the winery. Unlike
wines made in hot
climates, where
ripeness comes
easily and water is
often added to lower
intensity, care must
be taken in cold
climates to give the
grape everything it
needs to fully
develop, and to
extract all it has
to offer. The hot
summer days and cool
nights in The
County's growing
season do something
to intensify the
flavour of our wines
without
over-ripening, so
the flavours are
purer, clearer...not
hidden under a
blanket of density.
The County's very
special soils give
our wines crispness
and life.
The art of the
vineyard here is
challenging, but
worth every single
minute of the labour
as you'll know the
moment you taste our
wines. |
