You would think that an island only 12kms by 6 kms wouldn't have much to see. But there's actually quite a lot!
From mid October through November, Pelee Island has hosted a pheasant hunt every year. It's a 70 year tradition, and is good for boosting tourism to the island during the normally quiet fall period.
The pheasants are bred specifically for the hunt.
Pheasants.
In 2004 there was a plane crash of the coast of Pelee Island. The small plane was carrying 8 hunters, 2 hunting dogs, and the pilot and his fiance. There were no survivors. There is a memorial set up near the airport...
Flight 126 memorial.
This old chapel is being restored on winery property.
And then it was off to the winery!
The current Pelee Island Winery has been in existence since 1979, however winemaking on the island has been around since the 1860's. In fact, there was another winery built in that time period, but it burned down in the 1890's. In fact, there are still ruins on a private property...
The ruins. I took a photo over the fence!
Miniature replica of the old winery.
We were greeted by our guide Tegan. She was going to spend the next hour and a half with our group!
The grapes are all grown on the island. They started off with 85 acres back in 1979, and they produced their first vintage in 1982. Now, they have 600 acres of vineyards on the island. But the actual wine production takes place in Kingsville, Ontario on the mainland.
Tegan, explaining about the different varieties of grapes.
Grapes!
Pelee Island is located in prime grape growing territory, plus it has the added benefit that clover and alfalfa also grow well in the soil there and they are planted in between the grape vines to naturally bring nutrients from deep within the soil up to the surface. Or something like that! We may not have got that fact straight!
They have various sizes of these huge storage barrels.
The big storage barrels hold 5,000 liters of wine! The barrel itself costs about $20,000 each and are shipped from Europe. They last 20 to 30 years though, so if you average out your cost, I guess it's okay. Good thing there's money in the wine business!
Off to the best part... the tasting room!
Get your pencils ready!
Our group dong some wine tasting.
Time for some red.
Tegan and Jill.
Ruth and I have similar preferences when it comes to wine. Good thing! Anyhow, we tried three whites, and two reds.
We liked the Eco Chardonnay for our choice of white, and the Vinedresser Red for our choice of red.
Lots of fun with Tegan because she has been doing tours here for four years, and she's not coming back next year. And it was the last tour of the year, so kind of special for her. I think the tasting sample sizes might have been more generous than they normally would have been!
Afterwards, we bought some wine and went and sat in the gardens at the pavillion and ordered some food. The neat thing about food here is that when you order any meat, you cook it yourself!
Heinz and Bob, manning the grill!
Another nice day on Pelee Island.
Our time on the island was over far too quickly. We sure had fun with Heinz and Ulli, and we look forward to seeing them in Mexico at some point over the winter. Thanks for everything!
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Big price drop on the Coleman Extreme wheeled cooler...
And in Canada...
What a fun weekend you had, and with such a supper couple. Nice that you got to see the island.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great weekend and Heinz and Ulli are wonderful hosts.
DeleteBoy there were a ton of people there. We love visiting wineries...as you probably have read. lol Looks like a grand time.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say a ton but yes, there were quite a lot of people there although it never seemed too busy. It is always fun visiting wineries, especially when you get to the tasting part of the tour! :-P
DeleteHm, a tour with tons of wine, a great day in my books lol
ReplyDeleteYep, that's what we thought too! :-)
DeleteLooks like you had better weather than Ottawa. It rained most of Sat., early Sun. and most of Monday! Today is lovely.
ReplyDeleteWe really had excellent weather all in all. It did rain but only at night and it was cloudy a bit but we also had our fair share of sunshine and the temperature was perfect.
DeleteNice! Are Heinz and Ulli the couple who travelled with Lynne from Winnieviews?
ReplyDeleteNo, they are not the same couple!
DeleteFine-looking grapes!
ReplyDeleteYes, they were and once they are turned into wine they will be even better~! ;-)
DeleteWould you ask Heinz and Ullie if they know Jim and Elaine Heiby who live outside of Washington DC? I think they are related and I think I have met Heinz and Ullie way in the past.
ReplyDeleteI checked with Heinz and Ulli and no, they don't know Jim and Elaine so I think it must have been a different couple. Funny that they have the same names though.
DeleteNice tour. Red wine always makes me too warm and break in sweat...haha but I like reds as much as whites.
ReplyDeleteWe love both red and white! :-)
DeleteThe winery was the highlight of our visit to Pelee Island and like you we had a great guide who encouraged us to sample the product to our heart's content. Great post!
ReplyDeleteWe loved our visit at the winery as well. The staff there are top notch and really looked after their guests. Maybe it helps that we know Heinz and Ulli who are regulars there. :-)
DeleteLove to visit there sometime!
ReplyDeleteWe can definitely recommend it! :-)
DeleteWhat a fun day! Looks like your hosts are taking good care of you.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time, how can you not when you visit a winery. ;-)
DeleteOur hosts were fantastic and we are really hoping to meet up with them again in Mexico this winter.
Your photos make us look forward to seeing Heinz and Ulli in Valle de Juarez in another month! They are superb hosts, whether it is introducing you to their winter hometown, or inviting you over for Happy Hour. What a lovely treat, to visit Pelee Island. Hope you do make it to VDJ this winter. We are building a house on the castle road!!! And so is Balthazar - we all have a beautiful view of the lake. AND Rafael wants to sell land at the Castle. We have great builders, What a lovely, lovely experience we are having, thanks to your glowing reports of Hacienda Contreras and Valle de Juarez. The summer weather was just about perfect - not too much rain, lovely temperatures.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear that you love the little town of Valle de Jaurez so much that you have decided to build a house there. We love the place for so many different reasons and it would probably be a place that we would also want to live in once we eventually stop traveling.
DeleteLoved our visit with Heinz and Ulli and hopefully we will see them again in March of next year and perhaps even you two but just not sure if we will be able to make it to Valle de Juarez this winter. The caravan tour only takes us as close as Villa Corona.