Who doesn’t love wine tasting? How fun is it to bike from winery to winery along a magnificent Great Lake? And did I mention this was an international experience just a little over one hour away?
Many of our Canadian friends highly recommended a visit to the Lake Erie North Shore Wine trail so we decided to see for ourselves; we finished some weekend chores, dropped the dog at our son’s for the weekend and less than 90 minutes later reached Colchester Harbor on Lake Erie near the town of Harrow. We’d made an AirBnb reservation at a place near the harbor but it was too early to check in; we planned to leave our car at the harbor parking lot and spend the day biking the wine trail but first, we walked around the small harbor checking out the boats.
Much to our surprise, we saw lots of fish flies still clinging to the marina buildings. It seemed late in the summer for fish flies – typically fish fly season is early to mid June but we surmised that maybe the extremely wet weather delayed the hatching.
The day was hot and clear and already people were cooling down in the lake. Adjacent to the beach, private homes graced the waterfront.
We decided that a good lunch was in order before hitting the wineries. We had sandwiches and salad at The Wreck at Colchester Beach. Despite the heat, it was pleasant eating on the patio under the shade of an umbrella with a cool breeze coming off Lake Erie; we just had to be cognizant to weigh down our napkins with silverware to keep them from blowing away.
After lunch, we hopped on our bikes and pedaled less than a mile to our first winery. CREW, Colchester Ridge Estate Winery is a family owned operation with 12 acres of vineyards, a small retail store and barrel tasting room.
We sampled a variety of whites and one rose; five pours for $5 (Canadian, so every transaction came with an 20% discount). The tasting room was full of people socializing and enjoying their wines. The sommelier mentioned that the owners were building a brand new tasting room and event venue scheduled to open in the fall. Business appeared to be good!
Our next stop was right next door. Fortunately, each winery had a long driveway so going up and down driveways gave us more cycling time. Along the vineyards were blooming bunches of tiger lillies!
The North 42 Estates Winery had a beautiful, contemporary tasting room with large windows that let in the sunlight. The proprietors also own the adjacent Lavender Farm and the retail shop was filled with lavender fragrances, teas and soaps. We sampled another five pours including a sparkling white wine. Once again, the tasting room was filled with people. Surrounding the winery, was a wrought iron cupola with hanging baskets of flowers and a small peace garden.
This area of southern Ontario is actually a peninsula surrounded by the waters of Lake Erie to the south, the Detroit River to the west and Lake St. Clair to the north. It’s an ideal area for growing grapes due to the climate and its location along the 42nd north parallel (similar to that of French Riviera, Northern California, southern France and Madrid, Spain). The moderating temperature effect from the surrounding water (Lake Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes) and an abundance of sunshine contribute to the high sugars and moderate acid levels of the grapes and produce bountiful harvests. Over 500 acres of vineyards are in this area of southwestern Ontario.
Bunches of ripening grapes were visible on the vines and despite the wet weather, the fall harvest was expected to be good.
Fortunately, our next winery was a few miles down the road. We needed to pedal off some of the alcohol we’d consumed. Biking was pleasant and despite traffic, we felt secure – there was a wide shoulder with a separate bike lane on the main road and lots of cyclists. Oxley Estates Winery was our next stop. The tasting room was in renovated barn built in the 1920’s that opened onto a large garden patio. We had our five pours and sat on the patio enjoying the wonderful weather.
One of the disadvantages of biking the wine trail is the problem of carrying the wines you purchase. I solved this dilemma by keeping notes on which wines I liked so I could come back tomorrow by car to make my purchases. But some enterprising bikers developed more creative ways to haul their bottles!
We decided to bike to the town of Kingsville and then visit one more winery on our route back. Much of our biking was along the Lake Erie shoreline. Water levels in the lake were incredibly high and portions of the road wer still flooded from a heavy rain a few days prior. In about 6 miles we came to Cedar Island Harbor and stopped to look at the boats and beach. We pedaled a few more miles and realized that the actual town of Kingsville was much further than we’d thought; it was getting late and we wanted to stop at one more winery on the way back, check into our room before 7pm, clean up and be on time for an 8pm dinner reservation, so we turned around.
Our final wine stop for the day was Paglione Estate Winery. One of the newest businesses, Paglione is family owned with a beautiful Tuscan inspired tasting room with clay tiled roof, stone facade and a large outdoor patio.
Instead of sampling more wine inside the crowded tasting room, we relaxed in the shade on the patio with a glass of a special blended cranberry apple sangria and shared a meat and cheese plate.
We cycled the several miles back to our car and drove a few blocks to our Airbnb. The Loft Suite, where we would spend the night, is an apartment above the homeowner’s garage on Lake Erie. Our proprietor was out but had texted us the code to the lock box. The suite was charming with comfortable bed, small kitchenette, fireplace and sitting room
Our hostess graciously provided some thoughtful amenities – tea and coffee, a freshly baked loaf of banana bread including the recipe, chilled water, information about local restaurants, wineries and beaches and the wifi password. We relaxed for half hour, before getting cleaned up for dinner. We drove to Kingsville and had an excellent Italian meal at the O’Sarracino Trattoria and Wine Bar. Needless to say, I skipped the wine!
The next morning, after a light breakfast of banana bread, fruit and nuts in our suite, we checked out out and drove to Lakeside Park in Kingsville. Our plan was to bike around Kingsville to further explore this quaint small town. Cycling along the Lake Erie shore along small flower filled greenways and beaches, we had panoramic views of lake freighters and Pelee Island off in the distance.
Eventually, we found an old rail trail that had been converted to a bike trail. This railway dates back to the 1880’s when Hiram Walker built a Canadian branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad between his distillery in Windsor through Kingsville to Leamington. The railroad was abandoned in the 1980’s and converted to a bike trail in the late 1990’s. The trail is called the Chrysler Greenway Trail in recognition of the generous donations made by Chrysler Canada to develop the trail for bikers and hikers. One very nice and unique amenity on this trail that I had not seen before, is a bike maintenance station complete with air compressor and various tools to tighten, fix and replace parts.
We rode about 10 miles on the trail towards Leamington through lightly wooded terrain adjacent to farmers’ fields. Corn, beans, turnips and cabbage were a few of the crops we recognized. About an hour later, we turned around and headed back to Kingsville wishing we had the time to cycle all the way to Leamington. One of the delightful discoveries on the trail was the Mettawas Station. Commissioned by Hiram Walker, the Albert Kahn designed Kingsville Train Station included gentlemen’s and ladies’ waiting room, ticket office, freight and baggage areas, a covered porch, port-cochere and a second floor bed chamber. Completed in 1889, the station was built of stone with a slate room and equipped with gas heating and lighting. Today it is a Mediterranean restaurant that has been been beautifully restored with gorgeous wood paneling and benches in the former waiting area converted to booths. We sat on the side patio shaded by roof overhand and shared a delicious plate of hummus, cheese, olives and fruit.
Our last winery of the weekend was the Viewpointe Estates Winery, a beautiful tasting room, restaurant and event venue situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie. The elegant design of this winery was inspired by the former Mettawas Hotel, a luxury resort and casino built in 1889 by Hiram Walker that no longer exists.
We were ‘wined’ out and driving home this afternoon, so we sat on the patio and sampled one featured chardonnay.
Walking the beautifully manicured grounds, we sat on some large boulders atop the bluff and enjoyed the breathtaking views of Lake Erie. Viewpointe Estates is aptly named!
We were home in less than 90 minutes. The wine tasting, the cycling, the Loft Suite, the charming Mettawas Station, the excellent meal at O’Sarracino Trattoria in the quaint town of Kingsville, the warm, clear weather, the 20% discount and the short drive all made for another close to home adventure that exceeded expectations. Our Canadian friends were right – definitely check out the North Erie Shore Wine Trail and don’t forget your bikes!