Canada has a booming wine industry, including Erie Shore Vineyard. As the name suggests, the vineyard and winery is located on the banks of Lake Erie in Harrow, Ontario, Canada, and it produces delicious and affordable estate-grown wines.
Erie Shore Vineyard
Located at 410 County Road 50 W, Harrow, Ontario, Erie Shore Vineyard has been producing wine since 2002 and growing grapes on its own vines since 1997. It is a small, family-owned operation started by the husband and wife team Harvey and Alma Hollingshead. It was the first wineries on Lake Erie's North Shore. Currently, their son Andrew works with them in the vineyard.
Affordable Canadian Wines
One of the primary goals at Erie Shore Vineyard is keeping the wines affordable and producing high quality wines at a low price point. The winery has been apparently quite successful here, with their wines winning multiple awards over the years including Double Golds, Silvers, and Bronzes in wine competitions.
Erie Shore Vineyard's Wines
Erie Shore Vineyard makes red wine, white wine, rosé wines, ice wines, and dessert wines. The wines are estate wines, meaning the grapes are all grown and managed on the winery's property. The result is wines that reflect the terroir where the grapes are grown, which is on the 42nd parallel North.
Beaches
A fruity, dry white blend, this is an affordable, easy drinking wine that's an unspecified blend. Cost is $20 per bottle.
Chardonnay
Erie Shore Vineyard produces a Chardonnay that costs less than $10 for a 750 mL bottle. It's a buttery Chardonnay with apple and mineral notes.
Dockside
This citrusy, zesty dry white wine blend is acidic and fruity with plenty of aromatic goodness. It costs around $11 per bottle.
Riesling (Dry)
Riesling grows well in cooler climates where the slow ripening period yields aromatic, flavorful wines bursting with acidity and mineral flavors. This version is aromatic and dry with notes of apples, pears, and grapefruit. You'll pay about $13 per bottle.
Riesling (Off-Dry)
If you like your white wines on the sweeter side, this one's for you. The off-dry Riesling from Erie Shore Vineyard is honeyed and slightly sweet with fragrant notes of peaches and apples.
Vidal (Off-Dry)
Vidal Blanc is a white wine that's a hybrid of Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano) and Rayon d'Or. It's a wine that's similar in flavor to Riesling, and the grapes are commonly grown throughout the Northern United States and Southern Canada. Expect a floral-citrus aroma in this lovely white wine. You'll pay under $9 for this lightly sweet wine.
White Caps
This blend of Vidal Blanc and Riesling is fruity and smooth. It costs under $9.
Shoreline
This rosé is a blend of hybrid grapes that's perfect for summer. Expect a dry pink wine with notes of grapefruits, berries, and cherries and crisp acidity. It costs around $12 per bottle.
Summer Sun
Summer Sun is a rosé of Cabernet Franc. The stems, seeds, and skins are removed before fermentation, resulting in a dry, light pink wine with delicate flavors of berry and cherry. It's the perfect summer sipping wine for hot days when the sun is at its peak. The cost is just around $11 per bottle.
Baco Noir
Baco Noir is a red wine hybrid North American grape. The grape is a hybrid of Folle Blanche (Picpoul), grown in France to make Armagnac and Cognac, and an unknown variant of the indigenous North American grape Vitis riparia. It produces a medium-bodied red with deep fruit notes similar to Pinot Noir. Erie Shore Vineyard's version is deeply colored with flavors of dark berries and currants, and it sells for around $10.
Boathouse
Boathouse is a blend of dry red blend of Baco Noir and Zweigelt. It's dark and intense with spicy flavors of dark fruits, and it sells for around $20 per bottle.
Cabernet Franc
Cab Franc is a French Bordeaux varietal that does very well blended into Bordeaux blends or on its own. Erie Shore Vineyard's version costs around $13 and is deep and intense with sturdy tannins and cherry and berry flavors.
Duet Reserve
An unusual blend of Cabernet Franc and Zweigelt, the Duet Reserve costs around $22 per bottle. Expect a well-structured and complex wine with flavors of cherries and hints of spice.
Pier 41
This red table wine is an unspecified red blend with dry, fruity flavors and notes of cherries and berries. It's affordable at under $10 per bottle.
Sandbar Reserve
A new release from Erie Shore Vineyard, Sandbar Reserve is a red blend that's been aged in oak for two years. Expect vanilla and cherry flavors with hints of spice in a $17 bottle of wine.
Zweigelt
This Austrian red is thriving in Canadian soil. It's a dark, acidic, dry red wine with currant and clove flavors. It costs around $13 per bottle
Cabernet Ice
If you're looking for dessert wine, this one is a great buy. It's a Cabernet Franc ice wine with candy-sweet flavors of berries. It costs under $30.
Fire and Ice
A fortified ice wine from Cabernet Franc, Fire and Ice is sweet and balanced. It costs around $40 per bottle.
Vidal Ice
This ice wine made from Vidal Blanc is honeyed and sweet with notes of tropical fruits. It costs under $25 per bottle.
Visiting the Winery
Erie Shore Vineyard's winery is open daily. Hours of operation are 1 PM to 6 PM Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM Saturdays, and noon to 5 PM on Sundays. The winery offers tours and tastings to visitors. You can purchase wines at the winery or online through their website.
Enjoy Fine Wines From Ontario
Note that the winery can only directly ship within the Province of Ontario but if you are in the Detroit area, it's only a short drive to Harrow to get a taste of Erie Shore Vineyard wine.
