Proving it can be done
Three parts of Ontario are well-recognized for growing grapes which create some of the finest wines ever tasted.
Most notably, Niagara Region, as well as Picton and surrounding Prince Edward County on Lake Ontario, and the north shores of Lake Erie.
But how about the Kawarthas?
"Basically, we think anywhere you can grow apples, you can grow grapes," said Carl Kimmett, the Lindsay-area resident who also happens to be president of the Central Ontario Viniculture Association (COVA).
Comprised of about 35 members, the six-year-old club is testing the feasibility of commercial grape-growing in Central Ontario, and has two test plots in the Kawarthas, just north and west of Peterborough.
"We believe there is opportunity for small grape growing ventures in Central Ontario," said Kimmett, a retired teacher who has spent most of his life around plants with Fleming College and the Ministry of Natural Resources. He also runs Kimdale Lane Nursery at his home on Golden Mile Road.
"With the right weather and culture, things can come together," he said.
The association even has growers as far north as Sudbury and Thunder Bay.
Peterborough's Larry Paterson, also known as 'The Little Fat Wino,' came up with the idea for the association and testing the wine-producing merit of the Kawarthas.
Retired after over 30 years of service with the LCBO, he likened the situation to the state of Iowa in 1997, where there were no wineries. After much government support, there are over 325 vineyards there now, he said.
"We are trying to prove these grapes can be grown. Raccoons wouldn't be busting in if we didn't have something," he said at the 'Chateau,' where a masked predator had somehow found a way to elude the electrified fence surrounding the rows in recent days.
About a half dozen association members, including property owner Eleanor Humphreys, had gathered at the mesh-covered vineyard to begin harvesting some grapes. They would collect enough for about 10 litres of grape juice during the The Daily Post's short visit.
The process even included Paterson getting cold feet to squeeze out the grapes in a cooler, before the mixture was squeezed through a press to filter out the non liquids.
The group owes a special thank you to Humphreys for offering some of the land their project is calling home, Kimmett said.
"It's so important to have someone with some commitment to make it happen. Now, we've got our own place and it's so important to have these sites," he said.
It was friend Paterson who piqued her interest, Humphreys said. She said she is "no expert" yet, but after five years, is enjoying what very clearly is a strong passion for the members of the association. "There is so much to learn," she said.
So far, the COVA feasibility project has been a "limited success," Paterson said.
Producing grapes despite challenges like 230 mL of rain in the flood of 2004 gives plenty of room for optimism.
"I think we've proven it can be done," he said, adding that there are six to eight varieties that he has already learned will do quite well here.
"This is cutting edge stuff, at least here," Paterson said, noting that these days, wineries are starting "in the damnedest places."
"We've set the foundation of what can happen over the next five to 10 years."
Ideally, three conditions need to be met for grape-growing to work, Paterson said.
First, grape varieties are needed that will survive all year, including frost. Second, grapes need to completely ripen in season, meaning between the last hard frost of the spring and the first hard frost of the fall.
Finally, the grapes need to be of a variety that "people will drink."
"If you get all those three, it's entirely possible," he said.
Harvest season is a large variable, because of the different conditions north of the Oak Ridges Moraine, Paterson said. Whereas in most places, October would be the prime time for picking, November might be the right month for the Kawarthas.
It is not nature that poses the biggest hurdle to local grape-growers, Paterson said, it is the politics of wine-making itself.
The only grapes recognized by the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) are the European ones which grow in Niagara Region. The lesser-known French hybrids needed for growing here are not, he said.
"The coons, you can do something about," he said.
Paterson said the association is about two years away from making recommendations of what can be grown in this area, which so far includes about 15 varieties each of both red and white wine producing grapes.
The group is also charting temperatures and typical frost dates to include with its information on what works best.
For more information on the Central Ontario Viniculture Association, visit www.littlefatwino.com/covaproject2002.html.
jbain@thepost.ca
Grape growers harvest in the Kawarthas