New vineyard offers guests, wine lovers ‘a world-class experience’

With names like Purple Cow, Pink Cow, and Yellow Cow, it's no small wonder that the source of the red, rosé, and white wines is a five-and-a-half-acre vineyard nestled amongst the farmlands along County Road 12 in Vankleek Hill.

As its three varieties of organic grapes continue to grow over the summer season, owner and vintner Marty Kral is eagerly anticipating the grand opening of the Vankleek Hill Vineyard, this Saturday, July 10. In fact, his dream to open a boutique winery has been at least four years in the making.

Kral, who has previously worked in vineyards and with wineries in Europe, said he has also spent the last 12 years tasting different varietals of grapes for their "heartiness." In addition, for this particular vineyard, he needed grapes that were disease resistant and that could withstand cold temperatures, so they would not need to be buried in winter.

The vineyard now boasts eight kilometres of vines, with the rows placed end to end, dotted with about 4,500 plants. At its centre, guests will be welcomed into a "world-class" boutique winery and store, featuring artwork, bright décor, and wine for purchase and tasting. (The Warhol-esque artwork for both the winery and the bottles - a series of multi-coloured cows - was painted by Kral's wife, Laurie.)

In the rear of the winery, the bottling facility contains 10 stainless-steel vats with the capacity to store and chill 16,200 litres of wine - or 20,000 bottles.

"At first, I said, 'Oh, I'm just going to make some wine for myself," he recalled, walking through his vineyard. "And then I got a little carried away."

Though all three varieties - Frontenac (red), Frontenac Gris (white), and Servengy (red) - will be harvested at the end of the summer season, to be bottled and sold next year, this summer the winery will have 8,000 litres of the Yellow Cow white wine available.

The wine is organic, Kral explained, because both the growing and filtering processes are free of chemicals. The yeast is filtered from the wine naturally, as opposed to using potassium sorbate to kill it.

As for the winemaking, the vintner said he did quite a bit of research before planting the five acres of grapes about four years ago: "But I'm not reinventing the wheel here. I have a good grape varietal that makes a good wine, and I just have to put it together."

Much of the process is about letting the wine sit, he continued, similar to making a beef bourguignon - you get the best ingredients together, bring everything to the right temperature, and leave it.

"Wine is like that. You make it, you walk away, and you let it do its thing."

Whereas winemaking is a business of tradition, Kral said his process is not necessarily traditional: "We have our own reality to deal with, climate-wise. But would I put my wine up against some of those in France? Absolutely, today I would.

"I think we've got all the ingredients we need, right here."

Kral added he would like to see the local region become Ontario's next wine country, similar to Prince Edward County, which is located about 200 kilometres east of Toronto and has become "a wine destination for people" from that city.

"It has completely transformed the economy there," he noted.

As a starting point, the Vankleek Hill Vineyard will benefit from provincial and counties tourism signage along Highway 417, as well as County Road 10 and County Road 12.

Considering its proximity to Ottawa, Montreal and the Laurentians region, Kral believes Prescott-Russell could benefit from a dozen local vineyards, a feat that would inject tourism money into the local economy through sales and wine tours. He plans to give informative talks to people interested in starting vineyards of their own, as well as "create an experience" for visitors to the winery, in what could be the beginning of another form of agro-tourism for the region.

"I want people to come in and say, 'I didn't know this existed out here,'" he said. "And then to taste the wine, and then to see the bottle [artwork]. I want to exceed everybody's expectations and create a world-class experience for them.

"Now, you don't have to go to France, Napa Valley, or the Okanogan - you can sit in your own backyard."

Vankleek Hill Vineyard is located at 3725 County Road 12, in Vankleek Hill. The grand opening takes place Saturday, July 10, between 12 and 4 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.vankleekhillvineyard.ca.