There are approximately 40 wineries located in Prince Edward County so picking the right winery for you can be pretty overwhelming. Wine tours definitely are not at the top of my list of things to do in my spare time, but I was recently in Prince Edward County for a wine tasting bachelorette and had a great time.
We were a pretty large group of girls for the bachelorette so we had chosen to rent a limo to get around to all of the wineries, which was definitely on the expensive side. Other options to consider would be renting a school bus or there is an option to do a bike/wine tour where you bike around Prince Edward County to all of the wineries. We only had one thing on our minds and that was drinking coffee so we opted to go with a limo instead of biking.
Huff Estates Winery
Huff Estates Winery was our first stop on the tour. It was still pretty early so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. They had a nice set up for wine tasting and everything we tried was available for purchase! There was a nice outdoor patio set up, which we weren’t able to fully enjoy, as it was still pretty cool and cloudy that morning.
I feel we didn’t get to fully experience this winery as we were there fairly early and the staff were still working on getting set up for the day. They do have a beautiful space at Huff Estates with a large patio, which is huge bonus for summer weather!
I would definitely like to go back to Huff Estates on a day with nice weather and preferably in the later morning/early afternoon in order to experience everything they have to offer. I would have also liked to try the restaurant located in the winery as most of the options on the menu sounded delicious.
Sandbanks
Sandbanks was the most well known winery to me so I was really looking forward to our stop here. The Sandbanks Winery is located on a beautiful piece of property with picnic tables and muskoka chairs set up along the grass. If you are looking for a shaded area but still want to me inside you can find a spot under one of the their pergolas.
I really enjoyed the wine tasting at Sandbanks as well. The woman leading our wine tasting was very knowledgeable and best of all, there were snacks! There was some really good jelly’s and mustards for spreading on crackers, all of which was available for purchase. There was a small snack section where we were and everything we tried with the wine was available for purchase along with the wine. I’m fairly certain that 75% of the wine our group purchased was from the Sandbanks Winery. It was definitely a big hit amongst our group as many women left will full boxes of wine!
Karlo Estates
Karlo Estates was one of my favorite wineries we went to during our tour. Karlo Estates is found in a very large barn with a rustic original feel. Many of the other wineries we had visited were ‘pretty’ and very modern so it was great to visit a winery that made you feel like you are right in the thick of wine making.
The employee we had for the wine tasting was really what made my wine tasting experience. All of the other wineries went through the basic information for each wine we tasted and how things were made, which can get pretty boring. The guy we had at Karlo Estates really put on a show and kept each one of us engaged in the information he was providing while having a lot of fun. As someone who doesn’t consider herself much of a wine connoisseur, I definitely found myself getting bored at some of the other wineries, but I had absolute blast at Karlo Estates. The entire experience was fun, engaging and exactly what we needed for our bachelorette party.
Another thing that Karlo Estates does that sets them apart from the other wineries is snacks. There were small snacks (chips, nuts, etc.) for each different wine we tasted as they complimented each other perfectly and brought out all the different flavors in the wine. I thought this was a nice touch as it was nice to hang out and enjoy the wine, snacks and entertainment.
Lunch at The Drake Devonshire
By the time we go to the Drake Devonshire we were all starving and pretty drunk, as we hadn’t eaten in about 5 hours aside from a couple snacks at some of the wineries. The Drake is situated right on Lake Ontario with a beautiful view of the water. The restaurant is located inside the Drake Devonshire Hotel. It is a pretty decent size with nautical themed décor and floor to ceiling windows overlooking Lake Ontario. They also have a small patio area that also overlooks the Lake Ontario with stairs leading down to the lake.
I had ordered the buttermilk pancakes, which were pretty good but weren’t quite hitting the spot for what I needed that day. My biggest regret was not ordering the drake burger. A couple of the girls had ordered it and absolutely loved it. The burger looked absolutely delicious and probably would have been exactly what I needed to continue on the wine tour.
During our time at The Drake we received phenomenal service, which was a nice surprise given we were a pretty large drunk group of starving women! I would definitely go back to The Drake if I were ever in the area again.
Hinterland Winery
Hinterland Winery was the last stop on our wine tour and was actually my other favorite winery tied with Karlo Estates. Hinterland had a beautiful outdoors set up so we chose to grab a seat at one of the picnic tables so we could enjoy our wine and the view. I sampled approximately four different wines and actually enjoyed each of them. The sun beating down and the delicious Hinterland wine was the perfect combination and the perfect winery to end our tour on.
Hinterland also has an indoor section for wine tasting and purchasing wine. We had opted to sit outside to soak up as much of the sun as we possibly could. The employee doing our wine tasting was extremely friendly and knowledgeable and thankfully put up with all of our shenanigans.
I could easily spend all day hanging out at the Hinterland Winery on a beautiful sunny day, drinking wine and taking in the scenery.
