Have you ever tasted Gewürztraminer wine? I never have. I’m mostly a red wine guy and my favorites are usually from Southern California or Australia. Well friends of ours came to visit us from Pasadena and they had never visited Canada before. They told us in advance that they wanted to do, see and taste Canada and Canadian things. Well after we picked them up at the airport the first stop was at a local poutine establishment. I explained to them that the origins of poutine is Quebec. That’s all I knew. Period. But what became evident to them, and us was that it tasted great and it is totally Canadian! We then took them to Point Pelee National Park. They were surprised to learn that, as the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland, it was at the same longitude as Northern California. Point Pelee is a national park in Essex County in southeastern Ontario, Canada where it extends into Lake Erie. The word pelée is French for ‘bald’. Point Pelee consists of a peninsula of land, mainly of marsh and woodland habitats, that tapers to a sharp point as it extends into Lake Erie. Middle Island, also part of Point Pelee National Park, was acquired in 2000 and is just north of the Canada–United States border in Lake Erie.[2] Point Pelee is located on a foundation of glacial sand, silt and gravel that bites into Lake Erie. This spit of land is slightly more than seven kilometres long by 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) wide at its northern base. Established in 1918, Point Pelee was the first national park in Canada to be established for conservation.
For years I have heard that Essex County has some really great vineyards that produce excellent wine but I have never tried it. On the way to Point Pelee we decided to stop off at a couple of them, call it a mini wine tour. I didn’t realize there are 17 wineries in Essex County with a history dating back to the 1860’s when three guys from Kentucky came north to inquire about wine making. The three – D.J.Williams, Thomas Williams and Thaddeus Smith – opened Canada’s first commercial estate winery, Vin Villa Estates. We stopped at two vineyards and wineries side by side owned by two brothers: Colchester Ridge Estate Winery (Crew)and North 42 Degrees Winery. We purchased a couple of bottles at Crew and ate lunch at North 42 Degrees. That’s where I tasted Gewürztraminer for the first time. Lunch and the wine were excellent! The whole afternoon was a new experience for our guests. Come to think of it, the whole thing was a new experience for Kathy and I! So if you ever want to come to Essex County, Ontario it’s worth it!
North 42 Degrees Dining
