It’s amazing how quickly summer is rushing by us! May it last a couple of more months and not snow like it did here on May 17th!
Mark and our amazing vineyard crew from Thailand are doing an incredible job in the vineyard. We’ve now green harvested our pinots and the vines are in the perfect balance.
As we look forward to the Fall, harvest is top of mind. Harvest is the highlight of our year, realizing the wonderful potential of the soil and the handwork that our vineyard crew have put into the grapes and vines throughout the year. We will be holding our 16th annual volunteer harvest day for our friends and loyal customers. We anticipate harvest starting in late September or early October. If you and your family would like to come join us in picking grapes on harvest day, please email joey@normanhardie.com and we will add you to the harvest list.
Joey will be in contact with you as we get closer to the weather-determined pick date (more details about our harvest day are at the bottom of the email).
Hats off to my whole team who have embraced some very quick changes and have adapted to the challenges that COVID has presented us with. Our pizza oven and tasting bar will be open seven days a week through Thanksgiving weekend. To ensure the safety of both our team and
guests, we’ve made some very positive changes on our patio and at our outdoor tasting stations. We now have four individual tasting bar stations where guests can enjoy personalised one-on-one tastings in breezy, outdoor covered space. Our outdoor cabanas on the pizza patio have been so well received we will be keeping them post-COVID.
While we are in the process of getting ready to bottle several new releases for the Fall, we would be remiss in not showcasing our recently released 2017 County Pinot Noir. This is possibly the best County Pinot we’ve made to date. The 2017 vintage was a wonderfully cool vintage and reminds me of the classic 2011 vintage. Here are some of the highlights from John Szabo’s 92-point review of the 2017 County Pinot Noir taken from winealign.com (full review enclosed):
light and delicate, silky, beautifully transparent… from a vintage that is proving to be far better than first expected, after a challenging season… light cranberry and red cherry fruit, pure and refined, light cinnamon/old oak influence, sapid acids and fine length. Delicate and refined all around…
-John Szabo, MS, winealign.com
We are offering contactless home delivery across Canada for all our wines. Free delivery on orders over $90 in Ontario, and great shipping rates to the other provinces as well. Mixed cases are welcomed, so feel free to pick and choose your favourites. Visit our online store for home delivery.
Cheers from stunning Prince Edward County,
Norm and Team
Harvest Info
We will be having our 16th annual volunteer harvest day in the fall. This event, which is always a highlight of our year, starts at 10:30 am sharp with a few hours in the vineyard, complete with pizza snack, and continues with a late decadent lunch at approximately 2:00pm.
This is a family affair, and as always, children are very welcome; however, we advise against bringing dogs, as you will have a large vet bill 24 hours after your dog has consumed a few ounces of grapes!
Picking requires many knee bends and spending lots of time close to the ground. If you feel your knees are not up for this, please still join us as we have many important tasks in the winery and field that do not require significant knee bends. For those participating in picking, you should come prepared with sunglasses/protective eyewear, comfortable farm shoes, a
water bottle and your energy & enthusiasm. You are also welcomed to bring work gloves and a stool to sit on.
We are looking forward to you being a part of our experience here! As is our custom, after picking we will serve a decadent late lunch of roasted pig, roast chickens, smoked fish and plenty of seasonal vegetables from our garden. Cold beer, soft drinks, chilled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will be available for your much-deserved thirsty pallet.
