If you\u2019re driving through the countryside near Vankleek Hill, you might be surprised to see rows of grape vines that seem to pop up out of nowhere.<\/p>\n
When they happened upon the plot of land and the vines six years ago, Scott Lambert and Teresa Bressan saw potential \u2013 so much so that they bought the 55-acre property that is today the new Vankleek Hill Vineyard (VKH).<\/p>\n
Although the original objective was to dig in and start a commercial vegetable garden, Lambert\u2019s and Bressan\u2019s plans evolved into a much larger undertaking: becoming vintners, despite the fact they originally had no intention of purchasing a vineyard.<\/p>\n
Though the vines were neglected and in disrepair, the partners invested money and a lot of their own labour to refurbish the winemaking facilities and re-vamp and rebuild the vineyard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original owner of Vankleek Hill Vineyard planted vines in 2007 and opened the winery around 2010. We purchased it in 2019 and spent two years cleaning up the vines and got them producing again,\u201d says Lambert.<\/p>\n
A fresh start<\/strong><\/p>\n Having arrived from Saint-Lazare, southwest of Montreal, Lambert and Bressan were \u201cshopping around,\u201d and the possibilities posed by the Vankleek Hill terrain intrigued them: they liked the property, and more and more they then found themselves liking the idea of growing grapes and making wine.<\/p>\n Retaining the vineyard\u2019s original name only \u2013 they developed new wine recipes and have made a full and clean break from the previous ownership, they stress \u2013 the pair work the vines on Dandy Road, which is about 10 minutes\u2019 drive from the town centre.<\/p>\n They currently crop about four tons of grapes from five acres of vines which are hearty North American varietals \u2013 a trio of Frontenac grapes developed at the University of Minnesota \u2013 that can survive cold and frosty temperatures and thrive in the area\u2019s clay-based, sandy-loam soils.<\/p>\n Since they purchased the vineyard, they have been, like farmers must be, unwavering in the face of climatic setbacks which have required resilience and persistence to overcome: shortly after taking over, they lost much of their crop to the vagaries of weather but salvaged about two tons the next harvest.<\/p>\n Wine as \u2018\u2018project\u2019\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Uniquely, while Lambert and Bressan have been making wine for a few years now, they have studiously pursued a \u201cwork-in-progress\u201d approach to what they do.<\/p>\n That means that each year they make new and different wines \u2013 using 100% Ontario fruit \u2013 and tweak production techniques which are captured on the unpretentious yet elegant wine labels that began six years ago at \u201cProject 01\u201d with \u201cProject 50\u201d coming up.<\/p>\n For instance, the 2022 Frontenac Noir ros\u00e9 is \u201cProject 48,\u201d a ruby pink wine (12.7% ABV) with a hint of raspberry on the nose and a smooth finish, while \u201cProject 41\u201d is a medium-bodied Cabernet Franc at 12.9% ABV with slight cranberry and raspberry aromas and a touch of cinnamon.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve tried the Fum\u00e9 Blanc (Project 42) and the \u201corange wine\u201d Frontenac Gris (Project 45) and enjoyed both.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do things a little bit differently here,\u201d says Lambert, \u201cso we don\u2019t have the same wines year after year. Two years ago, it was Gamay and the year before that it was Syrah. Next year it might be Malbec.\u201d<\/p>\n Small-batch production<\/strong><\/p>\n As the VKH Vineyard winemaker \u2013 self-taught, he says, having drawn on consultations with Niagara vignerons and vintners \u2013 Lambert has shepherded the vineyard to producing about 24,000 bottle each year.<\/p>\n For some wines, he employs a \u201cripasso\u201d method in which the vineyard\u2019s Frontenac grapes undergo a second fermentation on the leftover skins of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot grapes.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the case of our Frontenac Gris, we do it on Pinot Noir skins, and we change the characteristics. A lot of our wines are therefore unique to our winery,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Other fruit used in VKH\u2019s winemaking, either as grapes or juice, comes from the Niagara region and goes toward a portfolio that currently sits at about a dozen wines in addition to a trio of fruit wines.<\/p>\n Citing that he has to adjust his grape growing and winemaking for the cold, Lambert notes that the American hybrid vines can withstand temperatures as low as -40C.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also live in a humid area, a very wet climate, as compared to some of the biggest wine regions in the world that are very dry and arid like California, Australia and South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n A small-batch winery that is not part of Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), VKH Vineyard allies itself with a smaller vintners\u2019 organization that represents several eastern Ontario wineries producing fewer than 2,000 cases of wine annually.<\/p>\n Lambert is quick to point out that VKH Vineyard doesn\u2019t produce the volume to warrant being VQA-designated. For instance, if a non-VQA winery wants to sell its wine in a d\u00e9panneur, grocery store or at a restaurant, a fee of up to 55 per cent would go to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario; the fee for VQA wines is one-fifth of that.<\/p>\n Family, community, wine<\/strong><\/p>\n However, Lambert, Bressan and VKH don\u2019t dwell on the politics and bureaucratic rabbit holes of wine-making in Ontario: they\u2019re too busy making wine, hosting customers and being a supporter of the surrounding social organizations in their immediate region, such as local food banks and bike trails.<\/p>\n During the summer season, VKH offers wine tastings and tours; they have a large patio for enjoying a glass of Chardonnay or Fum\u00e9 Blanc \u201camid the vines\u201d while listening to live music at the Vineyard and prepare a small menu of food, including pizza.<\/p>\n The dog-friendly winery is also a versatile event space (accommodating 50 guests seated or 80 standing cocktail-style) which has hosted annual general meetings, comedy nights, trivia nights and fundraisers, one that took the shape of a masquerade party.<\/p>\n Estimating that nearly 50 per cent of their customers travel from nearby Quebec, on an average summer weekend, VKH will see a few hundred customers visit.<\/p>\n That is a significant motivator for them: while the wine\u2019s the thing at Vankleek Hill Vineyard, there is also a strong sense that this is a community project as well as a grape project \u2013 and one that Bressan describes as something \u201cmore than a vineyard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re focussed on family and community even before wine,\u201d she says. \u201cWe have become a popular destination, and we have a completely different vibe here that\u2019s really comfortable and feels like home.\u201d<\/p>\n Vankleek Hill Vineyard is currently open Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. \u2013 5 p.m. Check their website (vankleekhillvineyard.com) for upcoming summer hours.<\/p>\n Food writer Andrew Coppolino lives in Rockland. He is the author of \u201cFarm to Table\u201d and co-author of \u201cCooking with Shakespeare.\u201d Follow him on Instagram @andrewcoppolino.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re driving through the countryside near Vankleek Hill, you might be surprised to see rows of grape vines that seem to pop up out of nowhere. When they happened upon the plot of land and the vines six years ago, Scott Lambert and Teresa Bressan saw potential \u2013 so much so that they bought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":105953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"acf":[],"featured_media_global":[],"yoast_head":"\n