Claramount Inn & Spa Offers the Perfect "Home Base" for Ambitious Country Grazing

A breathtaking island adventure, Prince Edward County is a mecca for artists, nature lovers and travelers looking for scenic splendor ... be it for a weekend break or an entire season. While renowned sailing, fishing and giant sand dunes may have put the region on the map, The County also offers live theatre, artists studios and galleries, unique regional cuisine and a flourishing wine region.

Prince Edward County offers some of Ontario's most beautiful scenery and best adventure holidays. As well as fine beaches and great surfing, the County has also undergone a gastro-revolution, with high-quality hotels and restaurants opening. Located in Ontario’s "golden triangle" between Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, Prince Edward County is attracting baby boomers, young families and professionals of all sorts. They're dubbed “new settlers” and they come for the County’s lifestyle, its location and its bright future. Prince Edward County is experiencing a rural renaissance, and with it, a new creative rural economy. For the last 30 or 40 years the County was one of Ontario’s best-kept secrets. Today, the community is being revitalized by both locals and newcomers – pioneers, artisans and entrepreneurs.

Residents of the county wear their history with pride, evidenced with beautifully restored and maintained colonial architecture and beautiful old farmhouses. Moreover, the folklore of County ancestors - mariners and farmers, rum runners and politicians - is alive and well in local traditions. A thriving artistic community and sell-out performances at the restored Regent Theatre remains a huge draw to the area.

Gastro Boom Towns

Along the main stretch of Picton, there is the charming air of "one butcher, one baker, one hardware store". It may be wee and quaint, but on the culinary scene it's big news. The accolades and attention belong to the Chef Michael Hoy at The Claramount Inn & Spa as well as to The Devonshire restaurant. The overall philosophy is to use local produce and keep the menu simple and very seasonal. 

Enter the Claramount dining room and you find yourself in a sweetly-lit, bright and airy restaurant where Chef Hoy turns out beautifully presented plates of pan-fried scallops, and seared rack of county lamb to die for. Stocked with antiques, gilt-edged mirrors, chandeliers and artefacts collected from round-the-world travels, the hotel is cosy and traditional without being at all stuffy. With just a few rooms across three stories and a walled garden, it's more like a well-to-do aunt's country home than a hotel and serves as a good base for exploring the local attractions.

Prince Edward County is changing fast and fine wining and dining is just part of the picture. On the back of the budding restaurant scene, local farms are booming thanks to demand for fresh, local produce and there's even a burgeoning wine business. But eating in the county doesn't have to be an extravagant gourmet fest. If rubbing shoulders with urban hipsters playing weekend hayseed isn't your scene, the county is big and wild enough for you to find your own sunspot on the long golden dunes or along the pretty Main Streets, that, despite the gourmet revolution, still serve a mean clotted cream tea.

Wild for the Water

It’s a hotspot for sunbathers, boasting three of Ontario’s largest, most family-friendly swimming areas, not to mention the towering white dunes and 800kms of shoreline. The County is a lifestyle destination with all the delights of the countryside and a growing sophistication, too. Spectacular shorelines, rolling countryside and quaint little towns plus luxury spas, upscale restaurants and art galleries.

Every Autumn, be sure and take the time to Taste the County™ and meet the local personalities whose passion and understanding of good food and wine is reflected in the award winning wines and cuisine, plentiful market gardens and local specialties. This remarkable group of people invites you to share in their bounty and experience a slower pace of life in a bucolic country setting.

From the homegrown goodness to to sophisticated constructions, this year's Taste! food festival had it all. Newly named one of Ontario's top 100 festivals by Festivals & Events Ontario, the eighth-annual event had more than 50 booths -- the most vendors to date. Eighteen wineries were pouring a total of 50 county wines while food was served by 16 restaurants and seven specialty food businesses. Grace Nyman organized Taste! with Kathy Kennedy, executive director of Taste the County, and Sarah Phillips of the Festival Players of Prince Edward County.

WOMAN.ca's Favorite Prince Edward County Vineyard

By Chadsey's Cairns is located 5 kms west of the village of Wellington on the Loyalist Parkway/Highway 33 and has a wonderful collection of old barns that form a new world “Clos” that transports visitors back to an earlier time. In fact, the parking lot is adjacent to the pioneer cemetery where James Chadsey, Ira's grandfather was interred in 1809. The winery itself is established inside the stables that accommodated six teams of draft horses.

The vineyard is named after Ira Chadsey 1828-1905, who was the rather idiosyncratic owner of our 215 acre farm. How wonderful is this little bit of local lore? He was said to have believed that he would be reincarnated as a white horse. As a result, he built Cairns or stone monuments around the horse field behind the original home on the property marking it clearly enough that he would know he was home when he was transformed. Fourteen of the cairns still exist today. 

Richard Johnston and his wife Vida Zalnieriunas, have grand plans for their 215-acre farm and are firm believers in the potential of the Prince Edward County wine industry. They began planting vines in 1999 with 3000 Riesling in the field next to the Applehouse Ira built in about 1850, which now houses their tasting room and store.

The vineyards have slightly different soil mixes. The Applehouse Vineyard is on an ancient beach now called Brighton Gravelly Sand, while the Wellington vineyard has some Ameliasburgh Clay on the slope off the buried beach and the King Eddie not only has both these soils in its eight acres but also incorporates some Hillier Clay closer to Lake Ontario.

By Chadsey's Cairns grows eight vinifera varietals producing small batches of single varietal wines with occasional blends. The Riesling expresses a unique minerality thought to derive from the broken shells of the ancient beach and from the calcerous limestone underneath. In the reds the Pinot has been layered and subtle and the Gamay has been more terroir and vintage affected than any of the varietals. With the only Chenin Blanc planted in the County, By Chadsey's Cairns hopes to have a special Loire-like product to attract its particular following. 

Devoted to authentic County wine, Richard and his winemaker-by-chance wife Vida produce classic whites that range from crisp Chenin Blanc and dry Rieslings to delicate Gewürztraminers and reds that go from sensual Pinots to light-hearted Gamays. 

By Si Si Penaloza, Editorial Director, WOMAN.ca

Si Si Penaloza
		About the author:
		Si Si Penaloza is the Editorial Director of WOMAN.ca. Prior to joining WOMAN.ca's powerhouse executive team, Si Si cultivated strong ties with editors, producers and publishers at all major Canadian media outlets. She is a seasoned print, radio and broadcast specialist. Graduating Magna Cum Laude from Bowdoin College in Maine, Si Si moved to Manhattan to study Film at New York University. Her strengths lie in contextualizing relevant content for a broad audience. She's driven to stay competitive and at the top of the market - commissioning exclusive features and launching bold initiatives. Contact Si Si at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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