Local Production for Local Consumption – Prince Edward County, Canada

Price Edward County attracts chefs and food lovers. More than 40 wineries and a number of local farms welcome the visitors with fresh and tasty food and drinks. In summer, many people heads to the county for vacation to enjoy local food & drinks, art, Jazz on the lake shore.

In early spring, the county is much more quiet than in the peak season. However, its great food and drink, which are locally sourced were still available.

Drake Devonshire

This restaurant in Drake Devonshire Hotel is recommended by the waitress at the restaurant we had a dinner the night before. This restaurant locates on the first floor and is open to non-hotel guests as well.

After passing the front door, the first thing that comes into sight is the hotel  reception.

We were guided to a table next right to the big windows with waterfront view. Although breakfast menu did not provide a lot of options, they are mostly prepared with locally sourced vegetables and other ingredients. Our breakfasts were smoked-salmon bagels and fried halluoumi (english) muffin.

All ingredients tasted fresh and were so perfectly seasoned that we were able to enjoy the tastes of the ingredients themselves. On top of the enjoyable dishes, the atmosphere of the restaurant was quiet and nice. There were only two families in the restaurant because of the low season. Outside of the windows, the waives of Lake Ontario kept swinging ices that used to cover the lake to the shore.

Black Prince Winery & Canadian Vinegar Cellars

After we enjoyed the great local food and nicely quite time at the breakfast, we headed to a winery where also produced vinegar.

As nondrinkers, we never had a winery as our destination. Black Prince Winery & Canadian Vinegar Cellars was our first winery visit because it also partnered with a vinegary. Not only balsamic vinegar, also vinegar made from various local fruits are produced and available for tasting to find the right one for you.

The building on the right in the above picture is the wine and vinegar cellar. The one on the left is a brewery of vinegar. The brewery is also open for event reservations such as wedding from spring to fall.

Geoff (owner of winery) explained the production process and answered our questions at the cellar. Starting with introductions about differences among various kinds of vinegar, he kindly described the entire process of vinegar production. Afterwards, he opened the door of the brewery and let us see inside.

On the first floor of the brewery, there are many barrels used to make vinegar as well as professional tools reflecting fine craftsmanship.

The second floor is a small event space where you can feel the history of the building coming along with the ages of vinegar in the barrels. As the second floor is built as a loft which takes only half of the building, the barrels on the first floor can still be seen from here. Due to the bird view angle, a hole of a barrel is also visible from the loft.

After spending almost one hour in the brewery, we went back to the cellar to see Geoff. He described the entire process of vinegar production thoroughly in great detail by answering more of our questions along with wine production because the productions of vinegar and wine are closely related. While he answered our questions, he also set up the vinegar tasting for us.

We tried all kinds on the list in the picture above except for ice wine vinegar. Each vinegar had a unique smell and flavor. The tasting started with the peach vinegar, which was the lightest, and finished with the maple balsamic. We were so attracted by these amazing tastes that ended up buying 3 bottles of vinegar (Black Currant, PINOT and Maple Balsamic). During the tasting, Geoff also shared his favorite use of vinegar and we tried it right after the trip. We made a syrup by mixing maple syrup with balsamic vinegar and topped sugar-free homemade ice cream with it. This new flavor is incredible, all thanks to the new insights from the cellar visit.

Time flew during the visit and the two hours felt like a second. Vinegar tasting itself was absolutely great experience but on top of that, all things we learned from Geoff brought us to a whole new perspective of vinegar. There is probably no need to mention that we consume more vinegar in our daily cooking than before after this trip.

Local production for local consumption at Prince Edward County teaches us how great the tastes of natural food and drinks are, and definitely strengthened our interest in natural ingredients for cooking.

Information

Drake Devonshire

• Link: Website
• Location: Google Maps
• Payment: Cash or Credit Card

Black Prince Winery & Canadian Vinegar Cellars

• Link: Website
• Location: Google Maps
• Payment: Cash or Credit Card