The grape harvest is wrapping about in vineyards around the province, which has us thinking about all the delicious new vintages of Ontario wines to come.
For those of you looking for something a little different, let us introduce you to Bonnieheath Winery. This award-winning, Norfolk County lavender farm is making wine with, wait for it, lavender. We see many delicious, all-Ontario cocktails in your near future!
Their philosophy is simple: grow grapes and make wines appropriate for their climate. While Norfolk County is home to a number of very successful wineries, this farm and winery isn’t located in a traditional wine region, and as such, they focus on varietals like Frontenac Gris, Marechal Foch, Marquette and Seyval Blanc.
They’ve just finished harvesting their Frontenac Gris, which is used to make their Lavender Gris, a sweet late-harvest wine with intense herbal notes of lavender on the nose.
They also grow vidal grapes, which they let sit on the vine until the first frosts. After pressing, they infuse the resulting juice with their signature lavender essence. The resulting wine is called ‘Lavender Ice’ and has notes of apricots, honey and of course, lavender.
We think this sweet concoction would make an excellent all-Ontario riff on a Kir Royale for your holiday parties — just add bubbles and a little cassis!
Where to find it
You’ll have to visit Norfolk County to bring some of this sweet stuff home, and it’s well worth the trip!. Bonnieheath is also home to Folkin’ Hard Cider. This line of small batch, craft ciders are made exclusively with Norfolk County fruit and pack a serious punch!
Bonnieheath Lavender & Winery
410 Concession 12 Townsend Road, Norfolk, ON
For other places to eat and drink in Norfolk County, visit Norfolk Tourism!
