"Larry Paterson thinks Peterborough County is quietly growing into one of the most unique viticultural areas in Ontario.
It's an idea Paterson admits might be tough for people to embrace given the region's cold winters, gravelly soil and apparent lack of rolling, vine-covered fields. But the amateur grape grower and wine consultant insists the vineyards are there- you just have to know where to look.
"I'd love to see a grape vine census for Peterborough County," said Paterson, founder of the popular website www.littlefatwino.com. "I'd guess within a five minute drive of city limits there's more than 20 small vineyards."
These aren't commercial vineyards, he explained, but small-scale operations ranging from an acre-or-two to the single plot of a dozen vines nestled up against the side of Paterson's Royal Drive home.
Though small, these vineyards and their owners represent a bold new experiment - the search for a uniquely Peterborough wine grape.
Paterson and a handful of other local growers are in the third year of a five-year study to determine what varieties of grape vines are best suited to Peterborough's climate and geology.
While traditional varieties are being tested, Paterson said growers are focusing on stock from Quebec and Minnesota - relative unknowns in the Ontario wine world.
That's fortunate, because the first two years of experimentation have shown popular varieties are not cut out for commercial production in Peterborough.
Bryan Pell, who has an acre of grape vines planted on the top of a glacial drumlin on Lily Lake Road, said last year's winter wiped out 48 of his 50 Pinot Noir vines.
"They were beaten up quite badly, but the French hybrids did quite well," said the president of the Central Ontario Viniculture Association, an organization dedicated to promoting wine making outside traditional grape-growing areas.
Winter-hardy, disease-resistant hybrids such as Landot-Noir or Minnesota-bred Frontenac have been shown to live through temperatures below -30C, he said.
Other promising experimental vines don't even have names yet. Paterson, for one, is keen on ES 6-16-30 from Minnesota.
"It should produce a nice, light white wine that tastes like Muscadet," he said.
Both men said the association would ultimately like to be able to provide information to potential growers about what varieties of vines would work best in different areas of the county and the rest of central Ontario.
Once that happens, Paterson said he won't be surprised if the fledging local wine industry begins to grow.
"It's a baby-boomer's retirement dream," he said.
Paterson's 12 mature vines can produce anywhere from three to 12 litres of wine for personal consumption, which he makes in his basement.
But he cautioned success is not guaranteed. For example, without a good south-facing exposure to the sun, grape vines won't thrive in Peterborough's short summer. Varieites with a delicate constitution also won't survive the winter without being buried or covered in the winter.
Despite the challenges, both men constantly receive calls and e-mails from people inside and outside the province interested in northerly grape-growing operations.
Locally, other members of the experiment include medical officer of health Dr. Garry Humphreys, who has more than one hundred experimental vines growing on his property.
Paterson added a Buckhorn man is planning to open the county's first winery next spring.
"I'm surprised we don't have a winery started up in Peterborough already," Paterson said. "In 10 years, I strongly suspect we'll see a local industry here - and I don't mean one that depends on global warming.""
I'm not particularly interested in imitating Europe; Niagara does that extremely well," he said. "I'm excited about seeing truly unique varieties come up, ones that have never existed before."
